BILL NUMBER: AB 1904INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Wilk FEBRUARY 11, 2016 An act to add and repeal Chapter 20 (commencing with Section 26250) of Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to hazardous materials, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1904, as introduced, Wilk. Hazardous materials: natural gas odorants. Existing law authorizes the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board to adopt, amend, and repeal occupational safety and health standards and orders. Existing regulations adopted pursuant to that authorization require natural gas that is delivered into any vessel or system, as specified, to have a distinctive odor of sufficient intensity so that the presence of the gas may be detected down to concentrations in air of not over 20% of the lower explosive limit, and require that these odorants be, among other things, harmless to humans, nontoxic, and noncorrosive to certain metals. This bill would require the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment to submit a report to the Legislature, on or before January 1, 2018, that includes an assessment of the danger of odorants currently used in natural gas storage facilities in the state to public health and safety and the environment, and that identifies alternative odorants for possible use in natural gas storage facilities, as specified. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute. Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Chapter 20 (commencing with Section 26250) is added to Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code, to read: CHAPTER 20. NATURAL GAS ODORANTS 26250. On or before January 1, 2018, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment shall submit a report to the Legislature, in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code, that includes all of the following: (a) An assessment of the danger of odorants currently used in natural gas storage facilities in the state to public health and safety and the environment. (b) Alternative odorants identified by the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment for possible use in natural gas storage facilities that pose a lower risk to public health and safety and the environment. The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment shall evaluate the following issues for every alternative odorant identified: (1) The feasibility of using the alternative odorant in natural gas storage facilities. (2) Any risks of using the alternative odorant, including, but not limited to, the risks of unwanted chemical reactions and increased corrosion. (3) The effectiveness of the alternative odorant at warning of a natural gas leak. SEC. 2. Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this chapter is repealed on January 1, 2021. SEC. 3. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are: In order to immediately begin assessing the danger of odorants in natural gas, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.