Public utilities: inverse condemnation.

Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, as defined. The Public Utilities Act authorizes public utilities that are under the regulatory authority of the commission to condemn any property necessary for the construction and maintenance of utility services by the utility. This bill would authorize an owner of property to seek compensation for any substantial reduction in the value of the property proximately resulting from the building, expansion, or operation of a plant, line, pipeline, or other facility by a public utility. The bill would provide that the evidentiary rules and rules of civil procedures applicable to inverse condemnation actions would apply to such an action.