The Justin Kropp Safety Act: electrical utilities: AED availability at worksites.

The bill text was reformatted from a chaptered legislative document into a web page layout, adding navigation elements (home, FAQ, sitemap, login, search fields) and a 'Digest Key' summary block showing Vote: MAJORITY, Appropriation: NO, Fiscal Committee: YES, Local Program: YES.

Minor date formatting change from 'October 6, 2025' to 'October 06, 2025' in the approval/filing dates.

Bill was assigned Chapter number 361 upon gubernatorial signature.

Governor's approval date was filled in as October 6, 2025, and the filing date with the Secretary of State was recorded as October 6, 2025.

The voltage threshold for when an AED must be available at a worksite was changed from 'any voltage' to '601 volts or more,' meaning lower-voltage transmission and distribution work no longer triggers the AED requirement.

The Health and Safety Code Section 1797.196 compliance requirement (covering AED placement, notification, maintenance, testing, and recordkeeping) was moved from item (3) within subdivision (a) into its own separate subdivision (b), making it a distinct obligation rather than one part of a combined list.

The civil liability exemption for utilities that acquire an AED now requires both 'reasonable efforts to comply' with the AED and policy requirements in subdivision (a) AND actual compliance with subdivision (b). Previously, only reasonable efforts toward subdivision (a) were needed. This makes it harder for a utility to qualify for immunity from civil damages.

The gross negligence and willful or wanton misconduct carve-out now explicitly applies to the newly renumbered subdivision (d) (the utility liability exemption), in addition to subdivisions (b) and (c).

The bill summary was updated to label the AED availability requirement as '(AED requirement)' and the written policies requirement as '(policy requirement),' and to clarify that the liability exemption applies to utilities making reasonable efforts toward those labeled requirements while also complying with placement, notification, maintenance, testing, and recordkeeping duties.

Section 768.2, which would have required all public utilities (a broader category) to have AEDs at worksites with transmission or distribution lines, is entirely removed. The bill now only applies to electrical corporations and local publicly owned electric utilities.

Utilities must now adopt a written program of policies and procedures consistent with Labor Code Section 6401 (duty to furnish safety devices) and Section 6401.7 (injury prevention program), which is a new obligation not present in the prior version.

A new training requirement mandates that all employees, contractors, and subcontractors be trained on AED use and emergency procedures, including activating EMS and reporting AED use to the local EMS agency.

The civil liability exemption for a person rendering emergency care now explicitly requires the person act 'in good faith and not for compensation,' more closely tracking the existing Civil Code standard.

A new subsection clarifies that a paid employee who uses an AED without being compensated specifically for that act (but who is compensated for unrelated employment) does not render care 'for compensation' and remains eligible for the liability exemption.

The term 'Local EMS agency' is now defined by reference to Health and Safety Code Section 1797.200.

The AED requirement now applies only at worksites where two or more electrical utility workers are performing work, rather than any number of workers. This exempts solo workers from the AED mandate.

The voltage threshold was changed from 'any voltage' to '601 volts or more,' meaning worksites dealing with lower-voltage lines (below 601 volts) are no longer required to have an AED available.

The definition of 'utility' was expanded to include electrical cooperatives (in addition to electrical corporations and local publicly owned electric utilities), bringing a new class of entities under the bill's AED requirements.

The civil liability protection for utilities and contractors that acquire an AED was changed from requiring actual compliance with all requirements to only requiring 'reasonable efforts' to comply. This makes it easier for a utility to qualify for the Good Samaritan-style immunity from civil damages.

New Section 8310 added to Division 4.1 of the Public Utilities Code (Chapter 1.5, Worksite Automated External Defibrillators) specifically requiring electrical corporations and local publicly owned electric utilities to have an AED available at each worksite where electrical utility workers are performing work on transmission or distribution lines of any voltage.

The bill's title and digest now explicitly reference 'electrical utilities' and 'local publicly owned electric utility' in addition to 'public utilities,' clarifying that the bill applies to both CPUC-regulated utilities and locally governed municipal utilities.

New definitions added in Section 8310(g): 'electrical corporation' (per Section 218), 'local publicly owned electric utility' (per Section 224.3), and 'utility' meaning either an electrical corporation or local publicly owned electric utility.

The new Section 8310 cross-references existing law (Section 1797.196 of the Health and Safety Code for AED placement, notification, maintenance, testing, and recordkeeping; Section 1714.21 of the Civil Code for civil liability protection) rather than duplicating those requirements as the original Section 768.2 does.

The no-reimbursement provision (Section 3) is expanded to add an additional justification: local agencies or school districts have the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the mandated program. This addresses the state-mandated local program concern for local publicly owned electric utilities.