BILL NUMBER: AB 102 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 26, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Rodriguez
JANUARY 8, 2015
An act to amend Section 7718 of the Public Utilities
Code, amend Section 8670.40 of, and to add Article
3.9 (commencing with Section 8574.30) to Chapter 7 of Division 1 of
Title 2 of, the Government Code, relating to hazardous
materials.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 102, as amended, Rodriguez. Railroad and surface
transportation safety and emergency planning and
response. response: hazardous materials.
Existing law establishes the Railroad Accident Prevention and
Immediate Deployment Force in the California Environmental Protection
Agency and designates the force as being responsible for providing
immediate onsite response capability in the event of a large-scale
release of toxic materials resulting from a surface transportation
accident. Existing law requires the agency to develop a state
railroad accident prevention and immediate deployment plan, in
consultation with specified state entities, other potentially
affected state, local, or federal agencies, and affected businesses,
and designates the force as being responsible for implementing the
plan, acting cooperatively and in concert with existing local
emergency response units.
This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these
provisions.
Existing law establishes the Office of Emergency Services
within the office of the Governor and under the supervision of
the Director of Emergency Services and makes the office responsible
for the state's emergency and disaster response services for natural,
technological, or manmade disasters and emergencies. Existing
law requires the office to serve as the central point of
state government for the emergency reporting of spills, unauthorized
releases, or other accidental releases of hazardous materials and to
coordinate the notification of the appropriate state and local
administering agencies that may be required to respond to those
spills, unauthorized releases, or other accidental releases.
This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to
reauthorize the Railroad Accident Prevention and Immediate Deployment
Force, to transfer the force from the California Environmental
Protection Agency to the Office of Emergency Services, and to require
the Office of Emergency Services to designate the force as
responsible for providing onsite response capability in the event of
a large-scale release of toxic materials resulting from a railroad
accident. The bill would make related findings and declarations.
This bill would create the Regional Railroad and Surface
Transportation Accident Preparedness and Immediate Response Force in
the Office of Emergency Services, consisting of specified
representatives, and would designate this force as being responsible
for providing regional and onsite response capabilities in the event
of a release of hazardous materials from a rail car or a railroad
accident involving a rail car or a hazardous materials release from a
truck accident. This bill would require the office to develop a
state regional railroad and surface transportation accident
preparedness and immediate response plan, in consultation with
specified entities, and would require that plan to become an annex to
the state emergency plan. This bill would require the force and the
Office of Spill Prevention and Response to coordinate in their
respective authorities and responsibilities to avoid any duplication
of effort, ensure cooperation, and promote the sharing of information
regarding the risk of discharge of petroleum by rail into state
waters. The bill would require the Office of Emergency Services to
biennially review the training of all emergency response personnel
with responsibilities along rail lines and other surface
transportation routes to ascertain the level of readiness to respond
to an accident and to identify all equipment and response assets
available to respond to a spill or discharge of a hazardous material.
This bill would require the director to establish a schedule of
fees to determine the amount of a fee to be paid by a person owning
hazardous materials that are transported by rail or surface
transportation in California. The bill would require that the fees be
fair, as required by the federal Hazardous Materials Transportation
Act, and state the intent of the Legislature that the schedule of
fees reflect the proportionate risks to both the public safety and
the environment resulting from a release of hazardous materials and
the expense of preparing to respond to those risks. The bill would
authorize the director to exempt from the fee a shipment of hazardous
materials that meets certain criteria and would prohibit the
collection of fees in excess of the reasonable regulatory costs to
the state. The bill would also require every person who operates a
railroad that transports hazardous materials by rail car to register
with the board and to remit the fees to the board pursuant to the Fee
Collection Procedures Law. The bill would create the Regional
Railroad and Surface Transportation Accident Preparedness and
Immediate Response Fund in the State Treasury and would require that
all revenues, interest, penalties, and other amounts collected
pursuant to the bill's requirements be deposited into the fund, less
refunds and reimbursement to the board for expenses incurred in the
administration and collection of the fee. The bill would require that
moneys in the fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, be used
by the director for specified purposes. This bill would limit the
amount available for appropriation from the fund to $10,000,000 in
any calendar year. For any fee imposed upon persons and corporations
owning crude oil or petroleum products that are transported by rail,
the bill would provide for an offset of the amount of the fee against
the amount of the fee imposed pursuant to the
Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act.
The Fee Collection Procedures Law makes a violation of any
provision of the law, or of certain requirements imposed by the board
pursuant to the law, a crime.
By expanding the application of the Fee Collection Procedures Law,
the violation of which is a crime, this bill would impose a
state-mandated local program.
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.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no
yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all
of the following:
(a) Each year, billions of gallons of crude oil, petroleum
products, and other hazardous materials are transported by railroad,
truck, or pipeline over, across, under, and through this state.
(b) Recent accidents in other parts of the nation and Canada have
shown that transportation of hazardous materials can be a significant
threat to the health and safety of individuals and a significant
threat to the environment.
(c) Existing prevention programs in California are not able to
sufficiently reduce the risk and effects of significant discharges of
hazardous materials into state waters and onto state lands.
(d) California's inland waters, coastal waters, forests, deserts,
agricultural lands, and other inland areas are treasured
environmental and economic resources that the state cannot afford to
place at undue risk from spills of hazardous materials.
(e) An emphasis must be placed on prevention and response if the
risk and consequences of hazardous materials spills are to be
minimized. Existing cleanup and response measures must be
strengthened and improved to increase safety for individuals and the
environment.
(f) Improvements in the design, construction, and operation of
rail tank cars, tank trucks, tank ships, terminals, trucks, truck
tank cars, and other surface transportation methods and pipelines,
maintenance of emergency response stations and personnel, and
stronger inspection and enforcement efforts are necessary to reduce
the risks of, and from, a major hazardous materials spill.
(g) A major spill of hazardous materials in state waters and on
state lands is extremely expensive because of the need to clean up
the discharged material, protect sensitive environmental areas, and
restore ecosystem damage.
(h) Immediate action must be taken to improve control and cleanup
technology in order to strengthen the capabilities and capacities of
cleanup operations.
(i) Government should improve its response and management of
hazardous materials spills that occur in California.
(j) Those who transport hazardous materials in the state must meet
minimum safety standards and must demonstrate financial
responsibility.
(k) California has approximately 158,500 square miles of interior
area where there are approximately 6,800 miles of pipeline used for
oil distribution, 5,800 miles of class I railroad track, and 172,100
miles of maintained roads.
(l) Having an immediate response system in place to respond to a
spill of hazardous materials by surface transportation will reduce
the effects and costs of that spill.
(m) Establishing a fee on hazardous materials being transported in
California based upon toxicity and risk places the appropriate
financial responsibility on the owners of those hazardous materials
for a response to spills or releases of those materials.
(n) Implementation of the Railroad Accident Prevention and
Immediate Deployment Force will save owners and transporters of
hazardous materials significant costs by mitigating the effects of
spills or releases.
SEC. 2. Article 3.9 (commencing with
Section 8574.30) is added to Chapter 7 of Division 1 of Title 2 of
the Government Code , to read:
Article 3.9. Regional Railroad and Surface Transportation
Accident Preparedness and Immediate Response
8574.30. For purposes of this article, the following terms have
the following meanings:
(a) "Board" means the State Board of Equalization.
(b) "Director" means the Director of Emergency Services.
(c) "Fund" means the Regional Railroad and Surface Transportation
Accident Preparedness and Immediate Response Fund established
pursuant to Section 8574.44.
(d) "Hazardous material" means a material that the United States
Department of Transportation has designated as a hazardous material
for purposes of transportation in Part 172 of Title 49 of the Code of
Federal Regulations.
(e) "Owner" means the person who has the ultimate control over,
and the right to use or sell, the hazardous material being shipped.
There is a rebuttable presumption that the shipper, consignor, or
consignee of the hazardous material is the owner of the hazardous
material. This presumption may be overcome by showing that ownership
of the hazardous material rests with someone other than the shipper,
consignor, or consignee. Evidence to rebut the presumption may
include, but is not limited to, documentation, including a bill of
lading, shipping document, bill of sale, or other medium, that shows
the ownership of the hazardous material rests in a person other than
the shipper, consignor, or consignee.
(f) "Person" means an individual, trust, firm, joint stock
company, business entity, corporation, including, but not limited to,
a government corporation, partnership, limited liability company,
and association. "Person" also includes any city, county, city and
county, district, commission, the state or any department, agency, or
political subdivision thereof, and the federal government and its
agencies and instrumentalities, to the extent permitted by law.
(g) "Railroad" has the same meaning as defined in Section 229 of
the Public Utilities Code.
(h) "Rail car" means a railroad car or rolling stock designed to
transport hazardous material commodities, and includes, but is not
limited to, those railroad cars subject to the requirements of Part
179 (commencing with Section 179.1) of Title 49 of the Code of
Federal Regulations, or successor regulations adopted by the United
States Department of Transportation.
(i) "Surface transportation" means any mode of transportation that
utilizes the public streets, highways, and roads. "Surface
transportation" does not include pipelines subject to the fee
assessed pursuant to Section 51019 of the Government Code or any
natural gas pipeline.
8574.32. (a) The director shall establish a schedule of fees to
determine the amount of a fee that shall be paid by each person
owning hazardous materials that are transported by rail or surface
transportation in California in an amount sufficient to fund the
appropriation from the fund pursuant to Section 8574.44, to reimburse
the California High-Cost Fund-B Administrative Committee Fund for
any moneys loaned, and to maintain a reserve for operating costs. The
fee shall be based on each loaded rail car or truck as described in
subdivision (b).
(b) (1) Within six months of the director establishing a schedule
of fees pursuant to subdivision (a), the fee shall be imposed on a
person owning hazardous material at the time that hazardous material
is transported by loaded rail car or truck. The fee is based on each
loaded rail car or truck.
(A) If the loaded rail car or truck enters the state from outside
this state, the fee is imposed on the owner of the hazardous material
at the time the loaded rail car or truck enters this state. The
railroad or owner of the truck shall collect the fee from the owner
of the hazardous material and shall pay the fee to the board. The
director may authorize the railroad or owner of a truck to collect a
reasonable amount to cover the processing and payment of fees made
pursuant to this article from the owner of hazardous materials being
transported.
(B) If the rail car or truck is loaded within this state, the fee
is imposed upon the loading of hazardous material into or onto the
rail car or truck for transport in or through this state. The
railroad or owner of the truck shall collect the fee from the owner
of the hazardous material at the time the rail car or truck is loaded
and shall pay the fee to the board.
(2) The fee shall be paid to the board by the railroad or owner of
the truck at the time the return is required to be filed, as
specified in Section 8574.38, based on the number of loaded hazardous
material rail cars or trucks transported within the state.
(3) Any fee collected from an owner of hazardous materials
pursuant to this section that have not been remitted to the board
shall be deemed a debt owed to the state by the person required to
collect and remit the fee.
(4) The owner of the hazardous material is liable for the fee
until it has been paid to the board, except that payment to a
railroad or to the owner of a truck registered under this article is
sufficient to relieve the owner of the hazardous material from
further liability for the fee.
(5) Any owner of hazardous materials, railroad, or owner of a
truck who has paid the fee pursuant to this section shall not be
assessed any additional fee under this section for further
transporting the same hazardous materials in the same rail cars on a
different railroad within the state.
(c) The fee shall be fair, as required by Section 5125(f) of Title
49 of the United States Code and Section 107.202(c) of Title 49 of
the Code of Federal Regulations. It is the intent of the Legislature
that the fee reflect the proportionate risks to both the public
safety and the environment resulting from a release of hazardous
materials and the expense of preparing to respond to those risks. The
director may establish a separate fee schedule for hazardous
materials transported by railroad and a separate fee schedule for
hazardous materials transported by truck. The director may exempt
from the fee those shipments of hazardous materials that do not merit
inclusion in the state regional railroad and surface transportation
accident preparedness and immediate response plan developed pursuant
to Section 8574.46 and those shipments of hazardous materials that do
not merit additional governmental preparation to respond to their
release in the event of a railroad or surface transportation
accident.
(d) The fee shall not result in the collection of moneys that
exceed the reasonable regulatory costs to the state for the purposes
specified in subdivision (e) of Section 8574.44. The director shall
set the fee consistent with Section 3 of Article XIII A of the
California Constitution.
(e) The director shall be responsible for reporting fee
information to the federal Secretary of Transportation pursuant to
Section 5125(f)(2) of Title 49 of the United States Code.
(f) The director may authorize payments of fees through
contributions in kind of equipment, materials, or services. The
director may authorize payment of fees or a set off of fees for
owners or transporters of hazardous materials that contract with the
Office of Emergency Services to provide equipment, materials,
supplies, or services to be provided in responding to a release of
hazardous materials.
8574.34. Every person who operates a railroad that transports
hazardous materials by rail car shall register with the board
pursuant to Section 55021 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
8574.36. The fee imposed pursuant to Section 8574.32 shall be
administered and collected by the board in accordance with the Fee
Collection Procedures Law (Part 30 (commencing with Section 55001) of
Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code). For purposes of this
section, the references in the Fee Collection Procedures Law to "fee"
shall include the fee imposed by this article, and references to
"feepayer" shall include a person required to pay the fee imposed by
this article.
8574.38. The return required to be filed pursuant to Section
55040 of the Revenue and Taxation Code shall be prepared and filed by
the person required to register with the board, in the form
prescribed by the board, and shall contain that information the board
deems necessary or appropriate for the proper administration of this
article and the Fee Collection Procedures Law. The return shall be
filed on or before the last day of the calendar month following the
calendar quarter to which it relates, together with a remittance
payable to the board for the fee amount due for that period. Returns
shall be authenticated in a form of, or pursuant to, methods as may
be prescribed by the board.
8574.40. Notwithstanding the petition for redetermination and
claim for refund provisions of the Fee Collection Procedures Law
(Article 3 (commencing with Section 55081) of Chapter 3 of, and
Article 1 (commencing with Section 55221) of Chapter 5 of, Part 30 of
Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code), the board shall not:
(a) Accept or consider a petition for redetermination of fees
determined under this article if the petition is founded upon the
grounds that the rail car or truck content is or is not a hazardous
material. The board shall forward to the director any appeal of a
determination that is based on the grounds that the rail car or truck
content is or is not a hazardous material.
(b) Accept or consider a claim for refund of fees paid pursuant to
this chapter if the claim is founded upon the grounds that the rail
car or truck content is or is not a hazardous material. The board
shall forward to the director any claim for refund that is based on
the grounds that the rail car or truck content is or is not a
hazardous material.
8574.42. (a) The board may prescribe, adopt, and enforce
regulations relating to the administration and enforcement of this
article.
(b) The board may prescribe, adopt, and enforce any emergency
regulations, as necessary, to implement this article. Except as
provided in Section 8574.44, any emergency regulation prescribed,
adopted, or enforced pursuant to this article shall be adopted
pursuant to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of
Division 3 in Title 2 and, for purposes of that article, including
Section 11349.6, the adoption of the regulation is an emergency and
shall be considered by the Office of Administrative Law as necessary
for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and
safety, and general welfare.
8574.44. (a) The Regional Railroad and Surface Transportation
Accident Preparedness and Immediate Response Fund is hereby created
in the State Treasury.
(b) All revenues, interest, penalties, and other amounts collected
pursuant to this article shall be deposited into the fund, less
refunds and reimbursement to the board for expenses incurred in the
administration and collection of the fee.
(c) The adoption of regulations pursuant to this section shall be
considered by the Office of Administrative Law as an emergency and
necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health
and safety, and general welfare. Notwithstanding Chapter 3.5
(commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 in Title 2
emergency regulations adopted by the director and the board pursuant
to this section shall be filed with, but not repealed by, the Office
of Administrative Law and shall remain in effect until revised or
repealed by the director.
(d) The fund shall be used to reimburse the California High-Cost
Fund-B Administrative Committee Fund for any moneys loaned from the
California High-Cost Fund-B Administrative Committee Fund to the fund
to pay for the Office of Emergency Service's administrative costs
associated with implementation of the fee pursuant to this article.
(e) All moneys remaining in the fund after reimbursement of the
California High-Cost Fund-B Administrative Committee Fund pursuant to
subdivision (d) shall, upon appropriation by the Legislature, be
used by the director to pay for the following purposes related to the
transportation of hazardous materials:
(1) Planning, developing, and maintaining a capability for
large-scale hazardous materials releases emergency response relating
to railroad accidents involving rail cars carrying hazardous
materials, including the risks of explosions and fires.
(2) Planning, developing, and maintaining a capability for
large-scale hazardous materials releases emergency response relating
to releases of hazardous materials from rail cars and trucks,
including reducing the harmful effects of exposure of those materials
to humans and the environment.
(3) Creation, support, maintenance, and implementation of the
Regional Railroad and Surface Transportation Accident Preparedness
and Immediate Response Force created by Section 8574.46.
(4) Acquisition and maintenance of specialized equipment and
supplies used to respond to a hazardous materials release from a rail
car or a railroad accident involving a rail car or a hazardous
materials release from a truck accident.
(5) Support of specialized regional training facilities to prepare
for and respond to a hazardous materials release from a rail car or
a railroad accident involving a rail car.
(6) Creation and support of a regional, state and local emergency
response team to provide immediate onsite response capabilities in
the event of large-scale releases of hazardous materials from a rail
car or a railroad accident involving a rail car or a hazardous
materials release from a truck accident.
(7) Support for specialized training for state and local emergency
response officials in techniques for prevention of, and response to,
release of hazardous materials from a rail car or a railroad
accident involving a rail car or a hazardous materials release from a
truck accident.
(8) Support for the Office of Emergency Service's biennial review
performed pursuant to Section 8574.47 and to provide the training,
personnel, and equipment necessary to fill the gaps in preparedness
identified by the office pursuant to that biennial review.
(f) The amount available for appropriation from the fund shall not
exceed ten million dollars ($10,000,000) in any calendar year.
8574.46. (a) The Regional Railroad and Surface Transportation
Accident Preparedness and Immediate Response Force is hereby created
in the Office of Emergency Services. The force shall be responsible
for providing regional and onsite response capabilities in the event
of a release of hazardous materials from a rail car, or a railroad
accident involving a rail car or a hazardous materials release from a
truck accident, and for implementing the state regional railroad and
surface transportation accident preparedness and immediate response
plan for releases of hazardous materials from a rail car or a
railroad accident involving a rail car or a hazardous materials
release from a truck accident. This force shall act cooperatively and
in concert with existing local emergency response units pursuant to
Article 9.5 (commencing with Section 8607). The force shall consist
of representatives of all of the following:
(1) Department of Fish and Wildlife.
(2) California Environmental Protection Agency.
(3) State Air Resources Board.
(4) Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery.
(5) California regional water quality control boards.
(6) Department of Toxic Substances Control.
(7) Department of Pesticide Regulation.
(8) Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment.
(9) State Department of Public Health.
(10) Department of the California Highway Patrol.
(11) Department of Food and Agriculture.
(12) Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
(13) Department of Parks and Recreation.
(14) Public Utilities Commission.
(15) State Fire Marshal.
(16) Emergency Medical Services Authority.
(17) California National Guard.
(18) Any other potentially affected state, local, or federal
agency, as determined by the director.
(b) The Office of Emergency Services shall develop a state
regional railroad and surface transportation accident preparedness
and immediate response plan in cooperation with all of the entities
listed in paragraphs (1) to (18), inclusive, of subdivision (a) and
the plan shall become an annex to the state emergency plan.
(c) (1) The Legislature finds and declares that the state has a
comprehensive program through the Office of Spill Prevention and
Response to prevent and prepare for the risk of a significant
discharge of petroleum into state waters, including a discharge
caused by the transportation of petroleum by rail. The Legislature
further finds and declares that the Regional Railroad and Surface
Transportation Accident Preparedness and Immediate Response Force is
focused on the emergency response for railroad accidents and rail car
discharges and truck accidents and truck discharges involving all
designated hazardous materials regardless of where the accident or
discharge takes place.
(2) The Regional Railroad and Surface Transportation Accident
Preparedness and Immediate Response Force and Office of Spill
Prevention and Response shall coordinate in their respective
authorities and responsibilities pursuant to Article 9.5 (commencing
with Section 8607), to avoid any duplication of effort, ensure
cooperation, and promote the sharing of information regarding the
risk of discharge of petroleum by rail into state waters.
8574.47. The Office of Emergency Services shall biennially review
the training of all emergency response personnel with
responsibilities along rail lines and other surface transportation
routes to ascertain the level of readiness to respond to an accident
involving hazardous materials. As part of this review, the office
shall identify all equipment and response assets available to respond
to a spill or discharge of hazardous materials along those routes.
This assessment shall include the assets and personnel of all private
and public entities that have agreed to respond to a spill of
hazardous materials as part of the response team. The Office of
Emergency Services shall determine where there are gaps in the
ability to respond to spills of hazardous materials in California and
specify what is required to continue funding the training and
response teams to close those gaps.
SEC. 3. Section 8670.40 of the
Government Code is amended to read:
8670.40. (a) The State Board of Equalization shall collect a fee
in an amount determined by the administrator to be sufficient to pay
the reasonable regulatory costs to carry out the purposes set forth
in subdivision (e), and a reasonable reserve for contingencies. The
annual assessment shall not exceed six and one-half cents ($0.065)
per barrel of crude oil or petroleum products. The oil spill
prevention and administration fee shall be based on each barrel of
crude oil or petroleum products, as described in subdivision (b).
(b) (1) The oil spill prevention and administration fee shall be
imposed upon a person owning crude oil at the time that the crude oil
is received at a marine terminal, by any mode of delivery that
passed over, across, under, or through waters of the state, from
within or outside the state, and upon a person who owns petroleum
products at the time that those petroleum products are received at a
marine terminal, by any mode of delivery that passed over, across,
under, or through waters of the state, from outside this state. The
fee shall be collected by the marine terminal operator from the owner
of the crude oil or petroleum products for each barrel of crude oil
or petroleum products received.
(2) The oil spill prevention and administration fee shall be
imposed upon a person owning crude oil or petroleum products at the
time that the crude oil or petroleum products are received at a
refinery within the state by any mode of delivery that passed over,
across, under, or through waters of the state, whether from within or
outside the state. The refinery shall collect the fee from the owner
of the crude oil or petroleum products for each
barrel received.
(3) (A) There is a rebuttable presumption that crude oil or
petroleum products received at a marine terminal or a refinery have
passed over, across, under, or through waters of the state. This
presumption may be overcome by a marine terminal operator, refinery
operator, or owner of the crude oil or petroleum products by showing
that the crude oil or petroleum products did not pass over, across,
under, or through waters of the state. Evidence to rebut the
presumption may include, but shall not be limited to, documentation,
including shipping documents, bills of lading, highway maps, rail
maps, transportation maps, related transportation receipts, or
another medium that shows the crude oil or petroleum products did not
pass over, across, under, or through waters of the state.
(B) Notwithstanding the petition for redetermination and claim for
refund provisions of the Oil Spill Response, Prevention, and
Administration Fees Law (Part 24 (commencing with Section 46001) of
Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code), the State Board of
Equalization shall not do either of the following:
(i) Accept or consider a petition for redetermination of fees
determined pursuant to this section if the petition is founded upon
the grounds that the crude oil or petroleum products did or did not
pass over, across, under, or through waters of the state.
(ii) Accept or consider a claim for a refund of fees paid pursuant
to this section if the claim is founded upon the grounds that the
crude oil or petroleum products did or did not pass over, across,
under, or through waters of the state.
(C) The State Board of Equalization shall forward to the
administrator an appeal of a redetermination or a claim for a refund
of fees that is based on the grounds that the crude oil or petroleum
products did or did not pass over, across, under, or through waters
of the state.
(4) The fees shall be remitted to the State Board of Equalization
by the owner of the crude oil or petroleum products, the refinery
operator, or the marine terminal operator on the 25th day of the
month based upon the number of barrels of crude oil or petroleum
products received at a refinery or marine terminal during the
preceding month. A fee shall not be imposed pursuant to this section
with respect to crude oil or petroleum products if the person who
would be liable for that fee, or responsible for its collection,
establishes that the fee has already been collected by a refinery or
marine terminal operator registered under this chapter or paid to the
State Board of Equalization with respect to the crude oil or
petroleum product.
(5) The oil spill prevention and administration fee shall not be
collected by a marine terminal operator or refinery operator or
imposed on the owner of crude oil or petroleum products if the fee
has been previously collected or paid on the crude oil or petroleum
products at another marine terminal or refinery. It shall be the
obligation of the marine terminal operator, refinery operator, or
owner of crude oil or petroleum products to demonstrate that the fee
has already been paid on the same crude oil or petroleum products.
(6) An owner of crude oil or petroleum products is liable for the
fee until it has been paid to the State Board of Equalization, except
that (A) payment to a refinery operator or marine
terminal operator registered under this chapter is sufficient to
relieve the owner from further liability for the fee.
fee and (B) an owner of crude oil or petroleum
products that are transported by rail who pays fees imposed pursuant
to Section 8574.32 shall be entitled to offset the amount of those
fees against the amount of the fee imposed pursuant to this section.
(7) On or before January 20, the administrator shall annually
prepare a plan that projects revenues and expenses over three fiscal
years, including the current year. Based on the plan, the
administrator shall set the fee so that projected revenues, including
any interest and inflation, are equivalent to expenses as reflected
in the current Budget Act and in the proposed budget submitted by the
Governor. In setting the fee, the administrator may allow for a
surplus if the administrator finds that revenues will be exhausted
during the period covered by the plan or that the surplus is
necessary to cover possible contingencies. The administrator shall
notify the State Board of Equalization of the adjusted fee rate,
which shall be rounded to no more than four decimal places, to be
effective the first day of the month beginning not less than 30 days
from the date of the notification.
(c) The moneys collected pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be
deposited into the fund.
(d) The State Board of Equalization shall collect the fee and
adopt regulations for implementing the fee collection program.
(e) The fee described in this section shall be collected solely
for all of the following purposes:
(1) To implement oil spill prevention programs through rules,
regulations, leasing policies, guidelines, and inspections and to
implement research into prevention and control technology.
(2) To carry out studies that may lead to improved oil spill
prevention and response.
(3) To finance environmental and economic studies relating to the
effects of oil spills.
(4) To implement, install, and maintain emergency programs,
equipment, and facilities to respond to, contain, and clean up oil
spills and to ensure that those operations will be carried out as
intended.
(5) To reimburse the State Board of Equalization for its
reasonable costs incurred to implement this chapter and to carry out
Part 24 (commencing with Section 46001) of Division 2 of the Revenue
and Taxation Code.
(6) To fund the Oiled Wildlife Care Network pursuant to Section
8670.40.5.
(f) The moneys deposited in the fund shall not be used for
responding to a spill.
(g) The moneys deposited in the fund shall not be used to provide
a loan to any other fund.
(h) Every person who operates a refinery, a marine terminal in
waters of the state, or a pipeline shall register with the State
Board of Equalization, pursuant to Section 46101 of the Revenue and
Taxation Code.
(i) The amendments to this section enacted in Senate Bill 861 of
the 2013-14 Regular Session shall become operative 90 days after the
effective date of Senate Bill 861 of 2013-14 Regular Session.
SEC. 4. 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.
SECTION 1. (a) The Legislature finds and
declares the following:
(1) Existing law establishes the Railroad Accident Prevention and
Immediate Deployment Force in the California Environmental Protection
Agency. The force is responsible for providing immediate onsite
response capability in the event of a large-scale release of toxic
materials resulting from a surface transportation accident.
(2) Existing law requires the agency to develop a state railroad
accident prevention and immediate deployment plan, in consultation
with specified state entities, and other potentially affected state,
local, or federal agencies. The force is responsible for implementing
the plan and is required to act cooperatively and in concert with
existing local emergency response units.
(3) Authority and funding for the Railroad Accident Prevention and
Immediate Deployment Force program has lapsed, leaving a gap in the
state's ability to respond to spills of toxic and hazardous
materials.
(4) Existing law establishes the Office of Emergency Services
under the supervision of the Director of Emergency Services. The
office is responsible for the state's emergency and disaster response
services for natural, technological, or manmade disasters and
emergencies.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to reauthorize the
Railroad Accident Prevention and Immediate Deployment Force and
transfer it from the California Environmental Protection Agency to
the Office of Emergency Services. It is further the intent of the
Legislature to require the Office of Emergency Services to designate
the force as responsible for providing onsite response capability in
the event of a large-scale release of toxic materials resulting from
a railroad accident.
SEC. 2. Section 7718 of the Public Utilities
Code is amended to read:
7718. (a) The Railroad Accident Prevention and Immediate
Deployment Force is hereby created in the California Environmental
Protection Agency. The force shall be responsible for providing
immediate onsite response capability in the event of large-scale
releases of toxic materials resulting from surface transportation
accidents and for implementing the state hazardous materials incident
prevention and immediate deployment plan. The force shall act
cooperatively and in concert with existing local emergency response
units. The force shall consist of representatives of all of the
following:
(1) Department of Fish and Wildlife.
(2) California Environmental Protection Agency.
(3) State Air Resources Board.
(4) Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery.
(5) California regional water quality control boards.
(6) Department of Toxic Substances Control.
(7) Department of Pesticide Regulation.
(8) Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment.
(9) State Department of Public Health.
(10) Department of the California Highway Patrol.
(11) Department of Food and Agriculture.
(12) Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
(13) Department of Parks and Recreation.
(14) Public Utilities Commission.
(15) Any other potentially affected state, local, or federal
agency.
(16) Office of Emergency Services.
(b) The California Environmental Protection Agency shall develop a
state railroad accident prevention and immediate deployment plan in
cooperation with the State Fire Marshal, affected businesses, and all
of the entities listed in paragraphs (1) to (16), inclusive, of
subdivision (a).
(c) The plan specified in subdivision (b) shall be a comprehensive
set of policies and directions that every potentially affected state
agency and business shall follow if there is a railroad accident to
minimize the potential damage to the public health and safety,
property, and the environment that might result from accidents
involving railroad activities in the state.