Steve Bradford
- Democratic
- Senator
- District 35
Author
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 lines, except for certain applicable minimum clearance requirements for those lines. Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission, which has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, has established additional vegetation management requirements. This bill would subject property access by an electrical corporation for felling, cutting, or trimming trees to provisions similar to those applicable to pruning trees, maintaining clearances, and abating trees around electrical transmission or distribution lines, including provisions requiring notice to the landowner and an opportunity to be heard. The bill would explicitly require tree felling, cutting, and trimming activities to comply with certain commission vegetation management rules, if applicable, and with the California Coastal Act of 1976 and the forest practice rules and regulations adopted by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection. The bill would require any trees that are felled, cut, or trimmed, as provided, to remain on the property of the landowner, unless the landowner timely requests the electrical corporation to treat or remove the wood, as specified. The bill would require woody material that was trimmed, cut, or felled to be treated to achieve a maximum postactivity depth of 9 inches when operating within 150 feet of a structure, public road, or other infrastructure, except where the landowner has requested that material to be kept intact. The bill would exempt electrical cooperatives, as defined, from these provisions. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2028. This bill would require the commission, on or before January 1, 2025, to develop, through a public process, standardized content and methods of delivery to be used to satisfy the landowner notice requirement for both vegetation abatement and felling, cutting, and trimming activities, including, among other things, a description of the process that the electrical corporation must provide for a landowner to exercise the opportunity to be heard regarding the proposed pruning, maintaining clearances, abating, felling, cutting, or trimming of trees on property where the electrical corporation does not have existing rights or express landowner permission to do so. Until the standardized content of the notice is developed, the bill would require an electrical corporation to make a good faith effort to communicate the processes associated with the felling, cutting, and trimming of trees under these provisions to the landowner before felling, cutting, or trimming trees on property where the electrical corporation does not have existing rights or the express permission from the landowner. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2028.
Ordered to inactive file on request of Senator Bradford.
From committee: That the Assembly amendments be taken up for consideration. (Ayes 8. Noes 3. Page 4853.)
Set for hearing August 16.
From committee: Be re-referred to Com. on E., U. & C. pursuant to Senate Rule 29.10(d). (Ayes 4. Noes 0. Page 4660.) Re-referred to Com. on E., U. & C.
Re-referred to Com. on RLS pursuant to Senate Rule 29.10(d).
Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 54. Noes 1. Page 5711.) Ordered to the Senate.
In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending.
Read third time and amended.
Ordered to third reading.
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.
From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 6. Noes 0.) (June 6).
Ordered to third reading.
Re-referred to Com. on NAT. RES. pursuant to Assembly Rule 77.2.
Read third time and amended.
Ordered to third reading.
From inactive file.
Notice of intention to remove from inactive file given by Assembly Member Mayes.
Ordered to inactive file on request of Assembly Member Mayes.
Read third time and amended.
Assembly Rule 69(d) suspended.
Ordered to third reading.
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 16. Noes 0.) (August 26).
August 19 set for first hearing. Placed on suspense file.
Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (July 7).
From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on NAT. RES.
In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.
Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 38. Noes 0. Page 1093.) Ordered to the Assembly.
Read second time. Ordered to consent calendar.
From committee: Be ordered to second reading pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8 and ordered to consent calendar.
Set for hearing May 10.
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 9. Noes 0. Page 816.) (April 15). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
Set for hearing April 15.
(Ayes 32. Noes 4.)
Joint Rule 55 suspended. (Ayes 32. Noes 4. Page 272.)
Art. IV. Sec. 8(a) of the Constitution dispensed with.
From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 14.
Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.
| Bill Text Versions | Format |
|---|---|
| SB396 | HTML |
| 02/11/21 - Introduced | |
| 06/30/21 - Amended Assembly | |
| 07/12/21 - Amended Assembly | |
| 09/03/21 - Amended Assembly | |
| 05/12/22 - Amended Assembly | |
| 06/14/22 - Amended Assembly | |
| 06/30/22 - Amended Assembly |
| Document | Format |
|---|---|
| 04/12/21- Senate Natural Resources and Water | |
| 05/12/21- Sen. Floor Analyses | |
| 07/05/21- Assembly Natural Resources | |
| 08/17/21- Assembly Appropriations | |
| 08/31/21- ASSEMBLY FLOOR ANALYSIS | |
| 09/03/21- ASSEMBLY FLOOR ANALYSIS | |
| 06/03/22- Assembly Natural Resources | |
| 06/15/22- ASSEMBLY FLOOR ANALYSIS | |
| 07/27/22- ASSEMBLY FLOOR ANALYSIS | |
| 08/15/22- Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications | |
| 08/22/22- Sen. Floor Analyses |
Data on Open States is updated periodically throughout the day from the official website of the California State Legislature.
If you notice any inconsistencies with these official sources, feel free to file an issue.