BILL NUMBER: SB 427 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 17, 1999
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 6, 1999
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 7, 1999
INTRODUCED BY Senator Peace
FEBRUARY 16, 1999
An act to add Section 8037.5 to the Public Utilities Code,
relating to public utilities.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 427, as amended, Peace. Electrical corporations: tree
trimming programs.
Existing law, except as specified, requires any person that owns,
controls, operates, or maintains any electrical transmission or
distribution line upon any mountainous, forest-covered,
brush-covered, or grass-covered land, to maintain a clearance in all
directions between all vegetation and all conductors that are
carrying electric current, as prescribed.
This bill would require the Public Utilities Commission
to allow full cost recovery by an electrical corporation
, as specified, for to implement a tree
trimming program in compliance with prescribed requirements.
The bill would require the commission and the Department of
Forestry and Fire Protection to issue notices of noncompliance to
owners of electric lines and would require an owner to take
corrective action, as prescribed. The bill would require
the Department of Fish and Game to assist electrical corporations in
developing a plan to minimize the impact on nesting birds of those
electrical corporation tree trimming programs. The bill would
require the commission to create a working group to select and list
trees appropriate for each region of the state, as prescribed. The
bill would require an electrical corporation to consult with the
Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to minimize the risk of
plant disease transmission in the conduct of specified activities by
an electrical corporation. The bill would make a related statement
of legislative intent.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 8037.5 is added to the Public Utilities Code,
to read:
8037.5. (a) (1) It is the intent of the Legislature to consider
the enactment of laws to deal with the public safety issue of trees
and other vegetation growing into electric lines.
(2) It is the intent of the Legislature to provide energy safely
and reliably and reduce the long-term tree trimming and removal costs
for electrical corporations, thereby reducing energy costs to
consumers, improving energy efficiency by promoting shade tree
planting, and improving the quality of life in cities through tree
planting and maintenance.
(b) An electrical corporation may shall
implement this section in all or part of its service
territory. If an electrical corporation implements this section, the
corporation, the section in all of its service
territory. The commission, and the Department of Forestry and
Fire Protection shall comply fully with all the requirements of
the section in this area affected. this
section.
(c) The Department of Fish and Game shall assist electrical
corporations in developing a plan to minimize the impact on nesting
birds of electrical corporation tree trimming programs in accordance
with this section.
(d) (1) The commission shall create a working group comprised of a
representative of the Department of Fish and Game, who shall chair
the committee, urban forestry experts, native plant experts, a
representative of the Department of Food and Agriculture,
representatives of local government, and interested citizens. On or
before July 1, 2000, the working group shall select and list trees
appropriate for planting in each region of the state. Species on the
list shall be species that will not interfere with power lines or
the maintenance of those lines. The working group shall not list
non-native tree species that the committee determines to be noxious
due to proliferation or the production of pollen, nectar, seeds,
leaves, or fruit. The commission shall adopt the list and shall make
the list available to the public via the Internet.
(2) The list shall take into account the various climatic and
habitat conditions throughout the state and may specify different
tree species for different areas of the state.
(3) The working group shall review the list three years and six
years after the date that the list is adopted, and shall change or
modify the list as the working group determines to be appropriate.
(e) An electrical corporation shall consult with the Department of
Forestry and Fire Protection to minimize the risk of plant disease
transmission in the conduct of tree and greenwaste disposal, and the
pruning or removal of trees in accordance with this section.
(f) The commission shall allow full cost recovery by an electrical
corporation pursuant to subdivision (g) for a tree trimming program
in accordance with this subdivision, after the competition transition
charge and the rate freeze imposed pursuant to Chapter 2.3
(commencing with Section 330) of Part 1 of Division 1 have ended.
The commission shall determine the costs attributable to a program in
accordance with this section. To be eligible for full cost
recovery, an electrical corporation tree trimming shall comply with
all of the following:
(1) (A)
(f) (1) For each tree removed by an electrical corporation,
the electrical corporation shall plant
mitigate the lost value of the tree by planting an appropriate number
of Number 5 container trees or the equivalent, as defined by
American National Standards Institute standard Z600, as determined to
be appropriate to the setting where the trees are being
planted, for each tree removed, according to the following schedule:
Size of tree removed in inches in Number of trees planted
diameter at breast height
0-5.0 0
5.1-12.0 1
12.1-18.0 2
18.1 or larger 3
(B) Notwithstanding any other provision of this paragraph, one
palm tree shall be planted for each palm tree removed that exceeds
five inches in diameter at breast height.
(C) trees are being planted.
(2) An electrical corporation is not required to plant a
tree to mitigate the removal of a tree by a person who was not
authorized to do so by the electrical corporation.
(2)
(3) Trees planted by an electrical corporation shall be
selected from the list created pursuant to subdivision (d) if, in the
determination of the electrical corporation, the trees have the
potential to affect power lines.
(3)
(4) The electrical corporation shall give first priority to
planting replacement trees on or near the site of tree removal, but
may maintain a right-of-way free of trees, and may plant replacement
trees elsewhere.
(4)
(5) The electrical corporation may use volunteer labor or
not-for-profit corporations, to the extent available, to plant trees.
Otherwise, the electrical corporation shall use local conservation
corps or the California Conservation Corps.
(5)
(6) A property owner, at his or her expense, may retain an
arborist to work with the electrical corporation in developing a tree
pruning plan for the property that is acceptable to both the
property owner and the electrical corporation.
(6)
(7) An electrical corporation shall offer wood and shredded
tree material made available as a result of tree trimming to the
easement property owner, or property owners adjacent to the
electrical corporation right-of-way. The electrical corporation shall
remove any flammable materials resulting from tree trimming or tree
removal to a safe place, if local officials with fire management and
suppression responsibilities or the Department of Forestry and Fire
Protection determine the removal is necessary for fire protection.
(7)
(8) Before implementing a program in accordance with this
subdivision, an electrical corporation shall provide notice to the
public and to the cities and counties in which any easements or
rights-of-way of the electric electrical
corporation are located. That notice shall describe the intent of
the electrical corporation to implement a tree trimming program in
accordance with this subdivision. The electrical corporation may use
bill inserts to inform the public pursuant to this paragraph. The
notice required by this section does not substitute for any other
requirement imposed on the commission or another entity to notify a
property owner about tree trimming to be done on the property.
(g) (1) The costs incurred by an electrical corporation as a
result of the implementation of this section shall be tracked by the
electrical corporation in a memorandum account and the electrical
corporation shall select one of the following methods of cost
recovery:
(A) Capitalize costs for recovery in rates as an exclusion to
performance based ratemaking, to be amortized by the electrical
corporation over a 10-year period. The commission shall include
these costs within the electrical corporation's deferred asset
account and shall include the regulatory asset and related deferred
tax account in working capital for ratemaking purposes.
(B) Include costs in rates as an exclusion to performance based
ratemaking for recovery within one year after the costs were
incurred.
(2) The electrical corporation shall provide the commission with
the actual costs incurred as a result of this section, and the
commission shall review those costs to ensure their accuracy.
(h)
(g) Nothing in this section affects the authority of a local
government to regulate the planting, removal, or pruning of trees
within its jurisdiction.
(i)
(h) Tree pruning done by electrical corporations shall
comply with the pruning standards described in Section 53067 of the
Government Code with regard to tree pruning, the American National
Standards Institute A300 pruning standards, and the International
Society of Arboriculture pruning guidelines.
(j)
(i) Nothing in this section affects the rights of electrical
corporations or any other entity to prune, trim, remove, or
otherwise alter trees on their own, public, or other private
property.
(k)
(j) Nothing in this section prohibits an electrical
corporation from offering to plant trees in mitigation of the removal
of a tree or trees.
(l) (1) If, as a result of a field inspection by the commission,
the commission identifies instances of noncompliance with General
Order 95, Rule 35, the commission shall issue a specific notice of
noncompliance to the owner of the electric line. The owner of the
electric line shall correct noncompliant conditions within 20 working
days of the date of receipt of notice from the commission, and shall
provide the commission with written verification of the corrective
action taken to correct the noncompliant conditions within 30
calendar days of the date of corrective action.
(2) Once corrective action has been taken, and if the
noncompliance has not resulted in any damage to any person or
property, the commission shall not use the records documenting any
noncompliant conditions corrected in accordance with this section as
the basis for any penalty or fine imposed by the commission or
introduce in evidence or use the records in any other way in any
administrative, civil, or criminal proceeding, except to enforce
reasonable compliance with General Order 95, or any subsequent
general order that affects tree trimming or removal.
(3) Nothing in this subdivision shall affect any commission
decision pending before the commission on January 1, 2000.
(m) (1) If, as a result of a field inspection by the Department of
Forestry and Fire Protection, the Department of Forestry and Fire
Protection identifies instances of noncompliance with Sections 4292
and 4293 of the Public Resources Code, the Department of Forestry and
Fire Protection shall issue a specific notice of noncompliance to
the owner of the electric line. The owner of the electric line shall
correct noncompliant conditions within 20 working days of the date of
receipt of notice from the Department of Forestry and Fire
Protection, and shall provide the Department of Forestry and Fire
Protection with written verification of the corrective action taken
to correct the noncompliant conditions within 30 calendar days of the
date of corrective action.
(2) Once corrective action has been taken, and if the
noncompliance has not resulted in any damage to any person or
property, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection shall not
use the records documenting any noncompliant conditions corrected in
accordance with this section as the basis for any penalty or fine
imposed by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection or
introduce in evidence or use the records in any other way in any
administrative, civil, or criminal proceeding, except to enforce
reasonable compliance with Sections 4292 and 4293 of the Public
Resources Code.