Railroad crossings: permit applications: review: public notice., the official text

An act to amend Section 1205.5 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to railroad crossings.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has the exclusive power to, among other things, determine and prescribe the manner and the terms of installation, operation, maintenance, use, and protection of railroad crossings. Existing law prohibits the construction of a public road, highway, or street across the track of any railroad corporation at grade and other specified actions with regard to railroad crossings without the permission of the commission.
Existing law requires the commission to adopt an expedited review and approval process for ratesetting proceedings for an exempt railroad crossing application, as defined. Existing law requires the commission, upon initiating a ratesetting proceeding, to determine whether the proceeding is for an exempt railroad crossing application, and if so, to issue a proposed resolution pursuant to the expedited review and approval process. Existing law requires the proposed resolution to be publicly noticed on the commission’s voting agenda and to be subject to public comment.
This bill would additionally require the proposed resolution to be publicly noticed on a publicly accessible website.

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

SECTION 1.
Section 1205.5 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:
1205.5.
(a) The commission, upon initiating a ratesetting proceeding, shall determine whether the proceeding is an exempt railroad crossing application. If the application is deemed an exempt railroad crossing application, the commission shall issue a proposed resolution with an expedited review and approval process pursuant to subdivisions (b) and (c).
(b) Before exempting any applications pursuant to subdivision (a), the commission shall adopt an expedited review and approval process for exempt railroad crossing applications at a voting meeting after considering input from stakeholders and other public comments.
(c) The process adopted by the commission pursuant to subdivision (b) shall, at minimum, require public notice of the application and service of the application to relevant stakeholders, including, but not limited to, railroads, rail transit agencies, and local authorities, including county and regional transportation authorities. The resolution of an exempt railroad crossing application shall be publicly noticed on the commission’s voting agenda, including on a publicly accessible website, and be subject to public comment.
(d) For purposes of this section, “exempt railroad crossing application” means a railroad application submitted pursuant to Sections 1201 to 1205, inclusive, with clear public benefit, without valid protest objecting, in whole or in part, to the application, and where the commission determines there is no need for an evidentiary hearing or a more comprehensive review.