Bill Text: CA AB448 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 448 (Prior Session Legislation)

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

Bill Title: Fire safety: electrical transmission or distribution lines: clearances: notice and opportunity to be heard.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Independent 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2022-02-01 - From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [AB448 Detail]

Download: California-2021-AB448-Amended.html

Amended IN Assembly March 25, 2021

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 448

Introduced by Assembly Member Mayes

February 08, 2021

An act to amend Section 4295.5 of the Public Resources Code, relating to fire safety.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 448, as amended, Mayes. Fire ~~safety.~~ safety: electrical transmission or distribution lines: clearances.

Existing law authorizes any person who owns, controls, operates, or maintains any electrical transmission or distribution line to traverse land as necessary, regardless of land ownership or express permission to traverse land from the landowner, after providing notice and an opportunity to be heard to the landowner, to prune trees to maintain clearances, as provided, and to abate, by pruning or removal, any hazardous, dead, rotten, diseased, or structurally defective live trees. Existing law authorizes this abatement at the full discretion of the person that owns, controls, operates, or maintains the electrical transmission or distribution line but existing law prohibits this discretion from being less than specified law relating to clearances. Existing law does not exempt any person who owns, controls, operates, or maintains any electrical transmission or distribution line from liability for damages for the removal of vegetation that is not covered by any easement granted to that person for the electrical transmission or distribution line. Existing law provides that the willful or negligent commission of any acts prohibited or the omission of any acts required by specified laws relating to fire safety is a misdemeanor. Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law provides that a violation of a rule or order of the commission is a crime. Rule 35 of the commission’s General Order 95 establishes vegetation management requirements with respect to overhead conductors, as provided.

This bill would instead authorize a person who owns, controls, operates, or maintains an electrical transmission or distribution line to traverse land as necessary, regardless of land ownership or express permission to traverse land from the landowner, after providing notice and an opportunity to be heard to the landowner, to fell, cut, or trim trees to maintain clearances as provided, including pursuant to the general order, and to abate, by felling, cutting, or trimming, any hazardous, dead, rotten, diseased, leaning, or structurally defective live trees. The bill would prohibit the person’s discretion, with respect to the felling, cutting, or trimming of these trees, from being less than what is also required in the general order. The bill would require the identification of hazardous, dead, rotten, diseased, leaning, or structurally defective live trees that are to be felled, cut, or trimmed to be accomplished by using a tree evaluation tool or method, as provided. The bill would require any trees that are felled, cut, or trimmed, if valuable timber or wood, to remain the property of the landowner, as provided. By expanding the scope of a crime, the bill would create a state-mandated local program. The bill would instead not exempt a person who owns, controls, operates, or maintains an electrical transmission or distribution line from liability for damages associated with collateral property damage caused by their negligence in felling, cutting, or trimming trees or vegetation in accordance with the above provisions.
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.
~~This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to the above-described provisions.~~

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: NOYES Local Program: NOYES

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 4295.5 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

4295.5.

(a) (1) Notwithstanding any other law, including Section 4295, ~~any~~ a person who owns, controls, operates, or maintains ~~any~~ an electrical transmission or distribution line may traverse land as necessary, regardless of land ownership or express permission to traverse land from the landowner, after providing notice and an opportunity to be heard to the landowner, to ~~prune~~ fell, cut, or trim trees to maintain clearances pursuant to Section ~~4293,~~ 4293 and Rule 35 of the Public Utilities Commission’s General Order 95, and to abate, by ~~pruning or removal,~~ felling, cutting, or trimming, any hazardous, dead, rotten, diseased, leaning, or structurally defective live trees. The felling, cutting, and trimming of these trees, and the clearances obtained when ~~the pruning is performed~~ felling, cutting, or trimming the trees, shall be at the full discretion of the person that owns, controls, operates, or maintains ~~any~~ an electrical transmission or distribution line, but shall ~~be no~~ not be less than what is required in Section ~~4293.~~ 4293 and Rule 35 of the Public Utilities Commission’s General Order 95. This section shall apply to both high fire threat districts, as determined by the Public Utilities Commission pursuant to its rulemaking authority, and to state responsibility areas.

(2) Identification of hazardous, dead, rotten, diseased, leaning, or structurally defective live trees that are to be felled, cut, or trimmed pursuant to this section shall be accomplished by using a tree evaluation tool or method, developed or approved by an arborist certified by the International Society of Arboriculture. Any trees that are felled, cut, or trimmed pursuant to this section, if valuable timber or wood, shall remain the property of the landowner unless the removal of the wood is timely requested by the landowner, in which case the person who owns, controls, operates, or maintains an electrical transmission or distribution line shall remove the wood at no cost to the landowner.

(b) ~~Nothing in subdivision~~ Subdivision (a) ~~shall~~ does not exempt ~~any~~ a person who owns, controls, operates, or maintains ~~any~~ an electrical transmission or distribution line from liability for damages ~~for the removal of vegetation that is not covered by any easement granted to that person for the electrical transmission or distribution line.~~ associated with collateral property damage caused by their negligence in felling, cutting, or trimming trees or vegetation in accordance with this section.

SEC. 2.
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.