California Senate Bill SB705 Introduced / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: SB 705INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Senator Leno FEBRUARY 18, 2011 An act to amend Sections 328 and 328.2 of, and to amend the heading of Chapter 2.2 (commencing with Section 328) of Part 1 of Division 1 of, the Public Utilities Code, relating to natural gas. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 705, as introduced, Leno. Natural gas: service and safety. Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including gas corporations, as defined. Existing law authorizes the commission to fix the rates and charges for every public utility, and requires that those rates and charges be just and reasonable. The Public Utilities Act authorizes the commission to ascertain and fix just and reasonable standards, classifications, regulations, practices, measurements, or services to be furnished, imposed, observed, and followed by specified public utilities, including gas corporations. This bill would require each gas corporation that provides basic gas service to develop and implement a policy for the safe operation and maintenance of its gas plant, as defined, sufficient to prevent accidents, explosions, fires, and dangerous conditions, and to protect the public and its employees. The bill would require that the policy have priority over cost minimization considerations and be consistent with best practices in the gas industry and with federal pipeline safety statutes and regulations. The bill would require the commission to approve or revise and improve the policy by June 30, 2012. The bill would require that all revenues received by the gas corporation that are authorized by the commission for service and safety purposes, in furtherance of the policy, be expended by the gas corporation only for the purposes authorized by the commission. The bill would require the commission to authorize a gas corporation to recover sufficient revenues and employee staffing to provide for prompt provision of service consistent with the policy in its distribution rate. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because the provisions of this bill would be a part of the act and because a violation of an order or decision of the commission implementing its requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating a new crime. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. The heading of Chapter 2.2 (commencing with Section 328) of Part 1 of Division 1 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read: CHAPTER 2.2. NATURAL GAS  RESTRUCTURING   SAFETY AND SERVICE  SEC. 2. Section 328 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read: 328. The Legislature finds and declares  both   all  of the following: (a) In order to ensure that all core customers of a gas corporation continue to receive safe basic gas service  in a competitive market  , each existing gas corporation  should  shall  continue to provide this essential service.  (b) (1) Each gas corporation that provides basic gas service shall develop and implement a policy for the safe operation and maintenance of its gas plant sufficient to prevent accidents, explosions, fires, and dangerous conditions, and to protect the public and its employees. The policy shall have priority over cost minimization considerations and shall be consistent with best practices in the gas industry and with federal pipeline safety statutes (Chapter 601 (commencing with Section 60101) of Subtitle VIII of Title 49 of the United States Code) and the regulations adopted by the United States Department of Transportation pursuant to those statutes.   (2) The commission shall approve or revise and approve the policy developed and implemented by each gas corporation pursuant to paragraph (1) by June 30, 2012.   (b)   (c)   (1)     No   A  customer  should have   shall not be required  to pay separate fees for utilizing services that protect public or customer safety.  (2) All revenues received by the gas corporation that are authorized by the commission for service and safety purposes, in furtherance of the policy developed and implemented by the gas corporation and approved by the commission pursuant to subdivision (b), shall be expended by the gas corporation only for the purposes authorized by the commission.   (d) The commission and gas corporation shall provide opportunities for full and on-going participation by public utility employees in the development and implementation of service and safety policy, with the objective of developing an industrywide culture of safety that will prevent accidents, explosions, fires, and dangerous conditions for the protection of the public and gas corporation employees.  SEC. 3. Section 328.2 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read: 328.2.  (a)    The commission shall require each gas corporation to provide bundled basic gas service to all core customers in its service territory unless the customer chooses or contracts to have natural gas purchased and supplied by another entity.  A   (b)     A  public utility gas corporation shall continue to be the exclusive provider of revenue cycle services to all customers in its service territory, except that an entity purchasing and supplying natural gas under the commission' s existing core aggregation program may perform billing and collection services for its customers under the same terms as currently authorized by the commission, and except that a supplier of natural gas to noncore customers may perform billing and collection for natural gas supply for its customers.  The   (c)    The  gas corporation shall continue to calculate its charges for services provided by that corporation. If the commission establishes credits to be provided by the gas corporation to core aggregation or noncore customers who obtain billing or collection services from entities other than the gas corporation, the credit shall be equal to the billing and collection services costs actually avoided by the gas corporation.  The   (d)     The  commission shall require the distribution rate to continue to include after-meter services  and shall authorize sufficient revenues and employee staffing to provide for prompt provision of these services to the public, consistent with the policy  developed and implemented by the gas corporation and approved by the commission pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 382  . SEC. 4. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.