Railroads: safety: report., the official text

An act to amend Section 916.2 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to transportation.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission to annually report to the Legislature on sites on railroad lines in the state that the commission finds to be hazardous, including a list of all railroad sites in the state that it determines pose a local safety hazard. Existing law authorizes the commission to submit in the annual report the list of railroad sites submitted in the immediate prior year annual report, and to amend or revise that list from the immediate prior year as necessary. In determining which railroad sites pose a local safety hazard, existing law requires the commission to consider, among other things, whether any local safety hazards at railroad sites have been eliminated or sufficiently remediated to warrant removal of the site from the list.
This bill would require the commission, on or before July 1, 2029, to review the list of railroad sites and, in the annual report, to include an evaluation of each site on the list and determine whether changes in conditions, operations, or safety data warrant the removal, modification, or addition of any site.

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

SECTION 1.
Section 916.2 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:
916.2.
(a) The commission shall annually report to the Legislature, on or before July 1, on sites on railroad lines in the state it finds to be hazardous. The report shall include, but not be limited to, information on all of the following:
(1) A list of all railroad derailment accident sites in the state on which accidents have occurred within at least the previous five years. The list shall describe the nature and probable causes of the accidents, if known, and shall indicate whether the accidents occurred at or near sites that the commission has determined, pursuant to paragraph (2), pose a local safety hazard.
(2) A list of all railroad sites in the state that the commission determines, pursuant to Section 20106 of Title 49 of the United States Code, pose a local safety hazard. The commission may submit in the annual report the list of railroad sites submitted in the immediate prior year annual report, and may amend or revise that list from the immediate prior year as necessary. Factors that the commission shall consider in determining a local safety hazard may include, but need not be limited to, all of the following:
(A) The severity of grade and curve of track.
(B) The value of special skills of train operators in negotiating the particular segment of railroad line.
(C) The value of special railroad equipment in negotiating the particular segment of railroad line.
(D) The types of commodities transported on or near the particular segment of railroad line.
(E) The hazard posed by the release of the commodity into the environment.
(F) The value of special railroad equipment in the process of safely loading, transporting, storing, or unloading potentially hazardous commodities.
(G) The proximity of railroad activity to human activity or sensitive environmental areas.
(H) A list of the root causes and significant contributing factors of all train accidents or derailments investigated.
(b) (1) In determining which railroad sites pose a local safety hazard pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), the commission shall consider the history of accidents at or near the sites. The commission shall not limit its determination to sites at which accidents have already occurred, but shall identify potentially hazardous sites based on the criteria enumerated in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) and all other criteria that the commission determines influence railroad safety. The commission shall also consider whether any local safety hazards at railroad sites have been eliminated or sufficiently remediated to warrant removal of the site from the list required under paragraph (2) of subdivision (a).
(2) On or before July 1, 2029, the commission shall review the list of railroad sites identified pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a). In reviewing these sites, the commission shall, in the report required pursuant to this section, include an evaluation of each site on the list and determine whether changes in conditions, operations, or safety data warrant the removal, modification, or addition of any site.
(c) The commission may combine the information required to be reported by this section with the report prepared pursuant to Section 916.