California 2013-2014 Regular Session Status: Enacted

SB 1371 — Natural gas: leakage abatement.

Last action — Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 525, Statutes of 2014.

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. ✓
    Passed Senate
  4. ✓
    Passed Assembly
  5. ✓
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 21, 2014. Enacted.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 74% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

High

How often bills like it became law.

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 3 sponsors

    1 primary, 2 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 8 recorded votes so far.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

The California Constitution establishes the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, authorizes the commission to establish its own procedures, subject to statutory limitations or directions and constitutional requirements of due process, and authorizes the commission to fix rates and establish rules for all public utilities, subject to control by the Legislature. The Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 2011, within the Public Utilities Act, designates the commission as the state authority responsible for regulating and enforcing intrastate gas pipeline transportation and pipeline facilities pursuant to federal law, including the development, submission, and administration of a state pipeline safety program certification for natural gas pipelines. The act requires each gas corporation to develop a plan, as specified, for the safe and reliable operation of its commission-regulated gas pipeline facility, as defined. The act requires the commission to accept, modify, or reject the plan for each gas corporation by December 31, 2012, and to build into an approved plan sufficient flexibility to redirect activities to respond to safety requirements. The act requires that the plan be periodically reviewed and updated. The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 requires the State Air Resources Board to adopt regulations to require the reporting and verification of emissions of greenhouse gases and to monitor and enforce compliance with the reporting and verification program, and requires the state board to adopt a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions level in 1990, to be achieved by 2020. This bill would require the commission, giving priority to safety, reliability, and affordability of service, to adopt rules and procedures governing the operation, maintenance, repair, and replacement of those commission-regulated gas pipeline facilities that are intrastate transmission and distribution lines to minimize leaks as a hazard to be mitigated pursuant to the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 2011, consistent with specified federal regulations, and a specified order of the commission, and to reduce emissions of natural gas from those facilities to the maximum extent feasible in order to advance the state's goals in reducing emissions of greenhouse gases pursuant to the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. The bill would require the commission to require gas corporations to file a report as soon as practicable, that includes a summary of utility leak management practices, a list of new methane leaks in 2013 by grade, a list of open leaks that are being monitored or are scheduled to be repaired, and a best estimate of gas loss due to leaks. The bill would require the commission to commence a proceeding by January 15, 2015, to adopt those rules and procedures, in consultation with the State Air Resources Board. The bill would require that the rules and procedures (1) provide for the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective avoidance, reduction, and repair of leaks and leaking components in those commission-regulated gas pipeline facilities that are intrastate transmission and distribution lines within a reasonable time after discovery, (2) provide for the repair of leaks as soon as reasonably possible after discovery, consistent with established safety requirements and the goals of reducing air pollution and the climate change impacts of methane emissions, (3) evaluate the operations, maintenance, and repair practices for those facilities to determine whether existing practices are effective at reducing methane leaks and promoting public safety, achieve the goals of the bill, and whether alternative practices may be more effective at achieving the goals of the bill, (4) establish and require the use of best practices for leak surveys, patrols, leak survey technology, leak prevention, and leak reduction, (5) establish protocols and procedures for the development and use of metrics to quantify the volume of emissions from leaking gas pipeline facilities, and for evaluating and tracking leaks geographically and over time that may be incorporated into a gas corporation's plan for the safe and reliable operation of its commission-regulated gas pipeline facility, or into other state emissions tracking systems, or both, including regulations of the State Air Resources Board for the reporting of greenhouse gases, with the requirement that the metrics provide operators, the commission, and the public with accurate information about the number and severity of leaks and about the quantity of gas that is emitted to the atmosphere over time, and (6) to the extent feasible, require the owner of each commission-regulated gas pipeline facility that is an intrastate transmission or distribution line to calculate and report to the commission and the State Air Resources Board a baseline systemwide leak rate, to periodically update that systemwide leak rate calculation, and to annually report measures that will be taken in the following year to reduce the systemwide leak rate to achieve the goals of the bill. In order to achieve transparency and accountability for rate revenues and best value for ratepayers, the bill would require that the commission consider specified topics in a manner consistent with the commission's existing ratemaking procedures and authority to establish just and reasonable rates. 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.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 525, Statutes of 2014.

  2. Approved by the Governor.

  3. Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 11 a.m.

  4. Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 23. Noes 11. Page 4911.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.

  5. In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending.

  6. Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 57. Noes 20. Page 6488.) Ordered to the Senate.

  7. Ordered to third reading.

  8. Read third time and amended. (Page 6342.)

  9. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  10. From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 13. Noes 4.) (August 14).

  11. Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.

  12. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  13. From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 10. Noes 3.) (June 23).

  14. Action rescinded whereby the bill was reported from committee on June 25, 2014.

  15. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 10. Noes 3.) (June 23). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  16. From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on U. & C.

  17. From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on U. & C.

  18. Referred to Com. on U. & C.

  19. In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.

  20. Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 25. Noes 10. Page 3692.) Ordered to the Assembly.

  21. Read second time and amended. Ordered to third reading.

  22. From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 5. Noes 2. Page 3715.) (May 23).

  23. Set for hearing May 23.

  24. Placed on APPR. suspense file.

  25. Set for hearing May 19.

  26. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  27. From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 8. Noes 1. Page 3295.) (April 29).

  28. From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on E., U., & C.

  29. Set for hearing April 29.

  30. Hearing postponed by committee.

  31. From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on E., U., & C.

  32. Set for hearing April 1.

  33. Referred to Com. on E., U., & C.

  34. Read first time.

  35. From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 24.

  36. Introduced. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

Sponsors

  • Hill · Cosponsor
  • Leno · Primary
  • Mullin · Cosponsor

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 2 co-sponsors · 119 not signed on · 5 voted No

Sponsors (1)

  • Leno

Co-sponsors (2)

  • Hill
  • Mullin

Not signed on (119)

119 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 119 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

Unfinished Business SB1371 Leno Concurrence

Passed 23 Yea · 11 Nay · 6 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 221104
Democratic 1002
Total 231106
% of votes cast 58%28%0%15%
How each member voted (40)
Member Party Vote
Anderson — Nay
Block — Yea
Hueso — Yea
Lara — Yea
Steinberg — Yea
Walters — Nay
Wright — Not Voting
Corbett — Yea
Correa — Yea
Evans — Yea
DeSaulnier — Yea
Wyland — Nay
Galgiani — Yea
Hancock — Not Voting
Cannella — Yea
Hernandez — Yea
Hill — Yea
Huff — Nay
Mitchell — Yea
Knight — Nay
Leno — Yea
De León — Not Voting
Beall — Yea
Lieu — Yea
Liu — Yea
Monning — Yea
Morrell — Nay
Nielsen — Nay
Pavley — Yea
Roth — Yea
Torres — Yea
Vidak — Nay
Wolk — Yea
Fuller — Nay
Yee — Not Voting
Beth Gaines — Nay
Bill Berryhill — Nay
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Not Voting
Jackson, Corey A. Democratic Yea
Padilla, Stephen C. Democratic Not Voting

Official roll call →

SB 1371 Leno Senate Third Reading By MULLIN

Passed 57 Yea · 20 Nay · 2 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 531801
Democratic 4000
Republican 0201
Total 572002
% of votes cast 72%25%0%3%
How each member voted (79)
Member Party Vote
Achadjian — Nay
Alejo — Yea
Bloom — Yea
Bradford — Yea
Brown — Yea
Buchanan — Yea
Holden — Yea
Levine — Yea
Logue — Nay
Maienschein — Nay
Mansoor — Nay
Pan — Yea
Quirk — Yea
Wagner — Nay
Wilk — Nay
Bocanegra — Yea
Hagman — Nay
John A. Pérez — Yea
Harkey — Nay
Salas — Yea
Jones-Sawyer — Yea
Allen — Nay
Melendez — Nay
Mullin — Yea
Campos — Yea
Chau — Yea
Nestande — Nay
Olsen — Nay
Chesbro — Yea
Bigelow — Nay
Chávez — Yea
Conway — Nay
Cooley — Yea
Donnelly — Nay
Perea — Yea
Rendon — Yea
Ting — Yea
Waldron — Nay
Weber — Yea
Williams — Yea
Frazier — Yea
Gomez — Yea
Gordon — Yea
Lowenthal — Yea
Garcia — Yea
Gray — Yea
Atkins — Yea
Fong — Yea
Dababneh — Yea
Bonilla — Yea
Ammiano — Yea
Daly — Yea
Eggman — Yea
Linder — Yea
Medina — Yea
Nazarian — Yea
Ridley-Thomas — Yea
Rodriguez — Yea
Skinner — Yea
Wieckowski — Yea
Dickinson — Yea
Fox — Yea
Gatto — Yea
Yamada — Yea
Gorell — Not Voting
Hall — Yea
Beth Gaines — Nay
Jim Patterson — Nay
Lorena Gonzalez — Yea
Mark Stone — Yea
Roger Hernández — Yea
V. Manuel Pérez — Yea
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Muratsuchi, Al Democratic Yea
Quirk-Silva, Sharon Democratic Yea
Dahle, Megan Republican Not Voting
Grove, Shannon Republican Nay
Jones, Brian W. Republican Nay

Official roll call →

Do pass.

Passed 13 Yea · 4 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 12300
Democratic 1000
Republican 0100
Total 13400
% of votes cast 76%24%0%0%
How each member voted (17)
Member Party Vote
Bigelow — Nay
Bradford — Yea
Holden — Yea
Linder — Yea
Quirk — Yea
Bocanegra — Yea
Campos — Yea
Donnelly — Nay
Eggman — Yea
Pan — Yea
Ridley-Thomas — Yea
Wagner — Nay
Weber — Yea
Gatto — Yea
Gomez — Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Jones, Brian W. Republican Nay

Official roll call →

Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on Appropriations.

Passed 10 Yea · 3 Nay · 2 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 10201
Republican 0101
Total 10302
% of votes cast 67%20%0%13%
How each member voted (15)
Member Party Vote
Bradford — Not Voting
Buchanan — Yea
Chávez — Yea
Fong — Yea
Bonilla — Yea
Garcia — Yea
Mullin — Yea
Quirk — Yea
Rendon — Yea
Skinner — Yea
Beth Gaines — Nay
Jim Patterson — Nay
Roger Hernández — Yea
Dahle, Megan Republican Not Voting
Jones, Brian W. Republican Nay

Official roll call →

3rd Reading

Passed 25 Yea · 10 Nay · 5 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 231004
Democratic 2001
Total 251005
% of votes cast 63%25%0%13%
How each member voted (40)
Member Party Vote
Hueso — Not Voting
Morrell — Nay
Nielsen — Nay
Torres — Yea
Wolk — Yea
Evans — Yea
Hernandez — Yea
Cannella — Yea
Corbett — Yea
Correa — Yea
DeSaulnier — Yea
Galgiani — Yea
Hancock — Yea
Hill — Yea
Huff — Nay
Knight — Nay
Wright — Not Voting
Lara — Yea
Leno — Yea
Wyland — Nay
Mitchell — Yea
De León — Yea
Lieu — Yea
Liu — Yea
Monning — Yea
Pavley — Yea
Roth — Yea
Steinberg — Yea
Vidak — Nay
Walters — Nay
Anderson — Nay
Beall — Yea
Block — Yea
Fuller — Not Voting
Yee — Not Voting
Beth Gaines — Nay
Bill Berryhill — Nay
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Not Voting
Jackson, Corey A. Democratic Yea
Padilla, Stephen C. Democratic Yea

Official roll call →

Do pass as amended.

Passed 5 Yea · 2 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 4200
Democratic 1000
Total 5200
% of votes cast 71%29%0%0%
How each member voted (7)
Member Party Vote
Lara — Yea
Hill — Yea
De León — Yea
Steinberg — Yea
Walters — Nay
Beth Gaines — Nay
Padilla, Stephen C. Democratic Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

environment energy
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Frequently asked questions

What does SB 1371 do?
The California Constitution establishes the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, authorizes the commission to establish its own procedures, subject to statutory limitations or directions and constitutional requirements of due process, and authorizes the commission to fix rates and establish rules for all public utilities, subject to control by the Legislature. The Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 2011, within the Public Utilities Act, designates the commission as the state authority responsible for regulating and enforcing intrastate gas pipeline transportation and pipeline facilities pursuant to federal law, including the development, submission, and administration of a state pipeline safety program certification for natural gas pipelines. The act requires each gas corporation to develop a plan, as specified, for the safe and reliable operation of its commission-regulated gas pipeline facility, as defined. The act requires the commission to accept, modify, or reject the plan for each gas corporation by December 31, 2012, and to build into an approved plan sufficient flexibility to redirect activities to respond to safety requirements. The act requires that the plan be periodically reviewed and updated. The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 requires the State Air Resources Board to adopt regulations to require the reporting and verification of emissions of greenhouse gases and to monitor and enforce compliance with the reporting and verification program, and requires the state board to adopt a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions level in 1990, to be achieved by 2020. This bill would require the commission, giving priority to safety, reliability, and affordability of service, to adopt rules and procedures governing the operation, maintenance, repair, and replacement of those commission-regulated gas pipeline facilities that are intrastate transmission and distribution lines to minimize leaks as a hazard to be mitigated pursuant to the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 2011, consistent with specified federal regulations, and a specified order of the commission, and to reduce emissions of natural gas from those facilities to the maximum extent feasible in order to advance the state's goals in reducing emissions of greenhouse gases pursuant to the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. The bill would require the commission to require gas corporations to file a report as soon as practicable, that includes a summary of utility leak management practices, a list of new methane leaks in 2013 by grade, a list of open leaks that are being monitored or are scheduled to be repaired, and a best estimate of gas loss due to leaks. The bill would require the commission to commence a proceeding by January 15, 2015, to adopt those rules and procedures, in consultation with the State Air Resources Board. The bill would require that the rules and procedures (1) provide for the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective avoidance, reduction, and repair of leaks and leaking components in those commission-regulated gas pipeline facilities that are intrastate transmission and distribution lines within a reasonable time after discovery, (2) provide for the repair of leaks as soon as reasonably possible after discovery, consistent with established safety requirements and the goals of reducing air pollution and the climate change impacts of methane emissions, (3) evaluate the operations, maintenance, and repair practices for those facilities to determine whether existing practices are effective at reducing methane leaks and promoting public safety, achieve the goals of the bill, and whether alternative practices may be more effective at achieving the goals of the bill, (4) establish and require the use of best practices for leak surveys, patrols, leak survey technology, leak prevention, and leak reduction, (5) establish protocols and procedures for the development and use of metrics to quantify the volume of emissions from leaking gas pipeline facilities, and for evaluating and tracking leaks geographically and over time that may be incorporated into a gas corporation's plan for the safe and reliable operation of its commission-regulated gas pipeline facility, or into other state emissions tracking systems, or both, including regulations of the State Air Resources Board for the reporting of greenhouse gases, with the requirement that the metrics provide operators, the commission, and the public with accurate information about the number and severity of leaks and about the quantity of gas that is emitted to the atmosphere over time, and (6) to the extent feasible, require the owner of each commission-regulated gas pipeline facility that is an intrastate transmission or distribution line to calculate and report to the commission and the State Air Resources Board a baseline systemwide leak rate, to periodically update that systemwide leak rate calculation, and to annually report measures that will be taken in the following year to reduce the systemwide leak rate to achieve the goals of the bill. In order to achieve transparency and accountability for rate revenues and best value for ratepayers, the bill would require that the commission consider specified topics in a manner consistent with the commission's existing ratemaking procedures and authority to establish just and reasonable rates. 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.
Who sponsors SB 1371?
SB 1371 is sponsored by Hill, Leno, and Mullin.
What is the current status of SB 1371?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 21, 2014. Enacted.
Where can I track SB 1371?
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