Sacramento CA: UPDATE: Senator Jerry Hill Bills - Final Part

Sacramento CA: UPDATE: Senator Jerry Hill Bills – Final Part

2014 Legislative Session Ends with 16 Senator Jerry Hill Bills on Governor’s Desk; Two Others Already Signed

SACRAMENTO – The California Legislature adjourned for the year early today with 16 bills by Senator Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo/Santa Clara counties, awaiting action by the governor, including bills that would protect consumers, improve oversight of utilities by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and restore public access to Martins Beach. The governor – who has already signed two Hill bills – has until Sept. 30 to sign or veto the legislation.

SB 1249 – Auto & Appliance Shredder Waste Regulation –Would require the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to regulate shredded automobile and metal appliance waste. Roughly 700,000 tons of this waste – also called fluff – is disposed of in the state’s landfills each year. But state toxics regulators have failed to revoke an exemption granted decades ago to the metal shredding industry regarding this type of waste, despite warnings from top scientists that this waste could become hazardous during the shredding process. A 2001 legal opinion by DTSC attorneys called the exemption “outdated and legally incorrect.” Seven fires have broken out at metal recycling facilities in the Bay Area since 2007. After fires in November and December, Redwood City leaders called on regulators to do more to help protect residents from future incidents. This bill would rescind exemptions for facilities that deal with vehicle shredder waste and require DTSC to develop regulations to ensure that treatment, transport and disposal are conducted in a manner that protects public health and the environment. The legislation would also provide for better DTSC oversight of the industry to prevent contamination, explosions and other risks to California communities.

SB 1409 – CPUC Safety Investigations – Would require the CPUC to list in a report the gas and electric accident investigations the commission finalized in the previous year, as well as those pending completion. The bill also requires the commission to summarize these investigations in its annual report. The CPUC has reported that 150 fatalities and 413 injuries have occurred involving PG&E’s, Southern California Edison’s, and San Diego Gas and Electric’s electrical facilities since 2003. An average of 13 such fatalities occur in California each year. Although the CPUC is required by law to investigate accidents involving electricity infrastructure that result in fatalities and serious injuries, the investigations typically take years to complete, and there is no accounting of completed investigations or those in progress, nor has the public been told of the nature of these accidents.

SB 1415 – Bay Area Quality Management District Advisory Council – Would modernize the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s (BAAQMD) Advisory Council. Currently the BAAQMD is the only air management district in the state with prescriptive categories of people that must serve on their Advisory Council which was established in 1959. The bill would reduce the cumbersome membership of 20 to a manageable seven, and it would also require the members of the Advisory Council to be skilled and experienced in the fields of air pollution, the health impacts of air pollution or climate change.

SB 1430 – San Francisco International Airport Unlicensed Commercial Transportation Operators – Would close a procedural loophole and enable the San Mateo County District Attorney to prosecute unlicensed commercial transportation operators that illegally transport passengers to San Francisco International Airport.

SB 1433 – Modern Infrastructure Contracting – Would extend the sunset for the “design-build” contracting tool for transit operators for two years. “Design-build” is a contracting process that allows both the design of a project and its construction to be covered in a single contract—a tool well-suited to large, complicated infrastructure projects. This two-year extension better allows transit operators to deliver critical capital projects like the BART extension or the electrification of CalTrain.

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Nate Solov

Office of Senator Jerry Hill

916-651-4013

www.senate.ca.gov/hill

CONTACT:

Aurelio Rojas, 916-747-3199 cell

Leslie Guevarra,415-298-3404 cell

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Robert Riechel

http://patch.com/users/robert-riechel

Photo Credit: San Bruno Patch Archives

Source Credit: California State Senator Jerry Hill

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