Bill Text: CA AB1511 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Real property: disclosures: transmission pipelines.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2012-07-13 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 91, Statutes of 2012. [AB1511 Detail]

Download: California-2011-AB1511-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 1511	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 14, 2012
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 9, 2012
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 8, 2012

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Bradford

                        JANUARY 12, 2012

   An act to  amend Section 1103.4 of   add
Secti   on 2079.10.5 to  the Civil Code, relating to
real property.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1511, as amended, Bradford. Real property: disclosures:
transmission pipelines.
   Existing law requires certain natural hazard disclosures to be
made upon the transfer of residential real property, as specified,
and prescribes the manner and the form of the disclosures. 
Existing law limits the liability of a transferor or listing or
selling agent under certain conditions for failing to disclose
natural hazards or to make other disclosures in specified property
transactions if the transferor or the listing or selling agent
obtains a report or opinion prepared by a licensed engineer, land
surveyor, geologist, or expert in natural hazard discovery dealing
with matters within the scope of the professional's license or
expertise. Existing law conditions this limitation in specified ways,
including the requirement that, when an expert responds to a request
regarding natural hazards, the expert also determine whether the
property is within an airport influence area, the jurisdiction of the
San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, or
designated farmland and, if so, existing law requires the expert to
provide a specified notice or notices with his or her report.
 
   This bill would further condition the limitation on liability
described above by requiring the expert, when responding to a request
regarding natural hazards, to also determine whether the property is
located within 2,000 feet of a gas transmission or hazardous liquid
pipeline, as specified, and if so, to include in the report a notice
and a map depicting the pipeline, as specified.  
   This bill would require all contracts for the sale of residential
real property entered into on or after July 1, 2013, to contain a
specified notice pertaining to gas and hazardous liquid transmission
pipelines. The bill would provide that nothing in the notice
requirement would alter any existing duty under any other statute or
decisional law imposed upon the seller or broker of the residential
real property, as specified. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1.    Section 2079.10.5 is added to the 
 Civil Code   , to read:  
   2079.10.5.  (a) Every contract for the sale of residential real
property entered into on or after July 1, 2013, shall contain, in not
less than 8-point type, a notice as specified below:


   NOTICE REGARDING GAS AND HAZARDOUS LIQUID TRANSMISSION PIPELINES

   This notice is being provided simply to inform you that
information about the general location of gas and hazardous liquid
transmission pipelines is available to the public via the National
Pipeline Mapping System (NPMS) Internet Web site maintained by the
United States Department of Transportation at
http://www.npms.phmsa.dot.gov/. To seek further information about
possible transmission pipelines near the property, you may contact
your local gas utility or other pipeline operators in the area.
Contact information for pipeline operators is searchable by ZIP Code
and county on the NPMS Internet Web site.

   (b) Upon delivery of the notice to the transferee of the real
property, the seller or broker is not required to provide information
in addition to that contained in the notice regarding gas and
hazardous liquid transmission pipelines in subdivision (a). The
information in the notice shall be deemed to be adequate to inform
the transferee about the existence of a statewide database of the
locations of gas and hazardous liquid transmission pipelines and
information from the database regarding those locations.
   (c) Nothing in this section shall alter any existing duty under
any other statute or decisional law imposed upon the seller or
broker, including, but not limited to, the duties of a seller or
broker under this article, or the duties of a seller or broker under
Article 1.5 (commencing with Section 1102) of Chapter 2 of Title 4 of
Part 4 of Division 2.  
  SECTION 1.    Section 1103.4 of the Civil Code is
amended to read:
   1103.4.  (a) Neither the transferor nor any listing or selling
agent shall be liable for any error, inaccuracy, or omission of any
information delivered pursuant to this article if the error,
inaccuracy, or omission was not within the personal knowledge of the
transferor or the listing or selling agent, and was based on
information timely provided by public agencies or by other persons
providing information as specified in subdivision (c) that is
required to be disclosed pursuant to this article, and ordinary care
was exercised in obtaining and transmitting the information.
   (b) The delivery of any information required to be disclosed by
this article to a prospective transferee by a public agency or other
person providing information required to be disclosed pursuant to
this article shall be deemed to comply with the requirements of this
article and shall relieve the transferor or any listing or selling
agent of any further duty under this article with respect to that
item of information.
   (c) The delivery of a report or opinion prepared by a licensed
engineer, land surveyor, geologist, or expert in natural hazard
discovery dealing with matters within the scope of the professional's
license or expertise shall be sufficient compliance for application
of the exemption provided by subdivision (a) if the information is
provided to the prospective transferee pursuant to a request
therefor, whether written or oral. In responding to that request, an
expert may indicate, in writing, an understanding that the
information provided will be used in fulfilling the requirements of
Section 1103.2 and, if so, shall indicate the required disclosures,
or parts thereof, to which the information being furnished is
applicable. Where that statement is furnished, the expert shall not
be responsible for any items of information, or parts thereof, other
than those expressly set forth in the statement.
   (1) In responding to the request, the expert shall determine
whether the property is within an airport influence area as defined
in subdivision (b) of Section 11010 of the Business and Professions
Code. If the property is within an airport influence area, the report
shall contain the following statement:
           NOTICE OF AIRPORT IN VICINITY
    This property is presently located in the
vicinity of an
airport, within what is known as an airport
influence area. For that
reason, the property may be subject to some of
the annoyances or
inconveniences associated with proximity to
airport operations
(for example: noise, vibration, or odors).
Individual sensitivities
to those annoyances can vary from person to
person. You may wish to
consider what airport annoyances, if any, are
associated with the
property before you complete your purchase and
determine whether they
are acceptable to       you.


   (2) In responding to the request, the expert shall determine
whether the property is within the jurisdiction of the San Francisco
Bay Conservation and Development Commission, as defined in Section
66620 of the Government Code. If the property is within the
commission's jurisdiction, the report shall contain the following
notice:

NOTICE OF SAN FRANCISCO BAY CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION
JURISDICTION

   This property is located within the jurisdiction of the San
Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission. Use and
development of property within the commission's jurisdiction may be
subject to special regulations, restrictions, and permit
requirements. You may wish to investigate and determine whether they
are acceptable to you and your intended use of the property before
you complete your transaction.


   (3) In responding to the request, the expert shall determine
whether the property is presently located within one mile of a parcel
of real property designated as "Prime Farmland," "Farmland of
Statewide Importance," "Unique Farmland," "Farmland of Local
Importance," or "Grazing Land" on the most current "Important
Farmland Map" issued by the California Department of Conservation,
Division of Land Resource Protection, utilizing solely the
county-level GIS map data, if any, available on the Farmland Mapping
and Monitoring Program Web site. If the residential property is
within one mile of a designated farmland area, the report shall
contain the following notice:


   NOTICE OF RIGHT TO FARM

   This property is located within one mile of a farm or ranch land
designated on the current county-level GIS "Important Farmland Map,"
issued by the California Department of Conservation, Division of Land
Resource Protection. Accordingly, the property may be subject to
inconveniences or discomforts resulting from agricultural operations
that are a normal and necessary aspect of living in a community with
a strong rural character and a healthy agricultural sector. Customary
agricultural practices in farm operations may include, but are not
limited to, noise, odors, dust, light, insects, the operation of
pumps and machinery, the storage and disposal of manure, bee
pollination, and the ground or aerial application of fertilizers,
pesticides, and herbicides. These agricultural practices may occur at
any time during the 24-hour day. Individual sensitivities to those
practices can vary from person to person. You may wish to consider
the impacts of such agricultural practices before you complete your
purchase. Please be advised that you may be barred from obtaining
legal remedies against agricultural practices conducted in a manner
consistent with proper and accepted customs and standards pursuant to
Section 3482.5 of the Civil Code or any pertinent local ordinance.


   (4) In responding to the request, the expert shall determine,
utilizing map coordinate data made available by the Office of Mine
Reclamation, whether the property is presently located within one
mile of a mine operation for which map coordinate data has been
reported to the director pursuant to Section 2207 of the Public
Resources Code. If the expert determines, from the available map
coordinate data, that the residential property is located within one
mile of a mine operation, the report shall contain the following
notice:


   NOTICE OF MINING OPERATIONS
   This property is located within one mile of a mine operation for
which the mine owner or operator has reported mine location data to
the Department of Conservation pursuant to Section 2207 of the Public
Resources Code. Accordingly, the property may be subject to
inconveniences resulting from mining operations. You may wish to
consider the impacts of these practices before you complete your
transaction.

   (5) In responding to the request, the expert shall determine
whether the property is located within 2,000 feet of a gas
transmission or hazardous liquid pipeline as depicted on the public
Internet Web site of the federal National Pipeline Mapping System
(NPMS) and, if so, the report shall show on a map the pipeline as
depicted by the NPMS, and shall contain the following notice:



   NOTICE OF TRANSMISSION PIPELINE
   This property is located within 2,000 feet of a gas transmission
or hazardous liquid pipeline as depicted on the public Internet Web
site of the federal National Pipeline Mapping System (NPMS).According
to the NPMS, the nominal accuracy of its geospatial data is plus or
minus 500 feet and not all pipelines in an area are visible on the
NPMS Web site.
   NPMS data shows the general location of gas transmission and
hazardous liquid pipelines under the jurisdiction of the federal
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, but does not
reveal the presence of gathering or distribution pipelines. Every
home that uses natural gas is connected to a gas distribution
pipeline, which is generally of smaller size and lower pressure than
the transmission pipelines that are identified by NPMS.
   For these reasons, you may wish to further investigate information
about this transmission pipeline or other possible pipelines near
this property by contacting the appropriate agency or local gas
utility responsible for the pipeline. Contact information for
pipeline operators in your area is searchable by ZIP Code, county, or
state by clicking on the appropriate link at the NPMS Web site
located at http://www.npms.phmsa.dot.gov. You may wish to consider
what risk factors, if any, are associated with the property's
proximity to transmission pipelines, and determine whether the
information you receive is acceptable to you before you purchase.