SB 797 California Senate · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Electric utility distribution and transmission system facilities: undergrounding and insulation.

Summary

Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Under existing law, it is the policy of the state that each electrical corporation continue to operate its electric distribution grid in its service territory and to do so in a safe, reliable, efficient, and cost-effective manner. This bill would require the commission, until January 1, 2031, to form a working group to study the cost of undergrounding and insulating overhead electric utility distribution system facilities or transmission system facilities, compile wildfire mitigation reports of electric utilities, and provide the Legislature, on or before July 1, 2027, with a plan on how to most effectively invest in undergrounding and insulating those facilities or how to otherwise support electrical corporations, as provided.

Bill status failed 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Feb 21, 2025 Last action Feb 2, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons

What changed between versions

04/09/25 - Amended Senate → 05/06/25 - Amended Senate · 3 edits · May 6, 2025

MINOR

This amendment to SB 797 is primarily technical and formatting in nature, with minor rewording of the legislative digest for clarity. The most notable potential substantive change is to the state-mandated local program designation, which appears to have been altered from 'yes' to an ambiguous 'yes no,' though this may be a clerical error given that the bill's text still describes a lead agency determination requirement. Section numbering also shows what appears to be a drafting artifact.

TECHNICAL

The legislative digest was reworded from 'electric utility distribution system facilities: and transmission system facilities: undergrounding and insulating. insulation.' to 'Electric utility distribution and transmission system facilities: undergrounding and insulation.' for conciseness.

Section numbering shows a drafting artifact where 'SEC. 2.' was separated onto its own line and 'SECTION 1.' was inserted before the Public Utilities Code section, likely an error since the content remains the same working group provision.

REQUIREMENT

The state-mandated local program designation changed from 'yes' to 'yes no,' which is ambiguous and may be a clerical error. If intentional, it would remove the finding that the bill imposes a state-mandated local program on lead agencies determining CEQA exemption eligibility.

02/21/25 - Introduced → 03/26/25 - Amended Senate · 5 edits · Mar 26, 2025

MODERATE

The amended version of SB 797 dramatically expands the bill's scope beyond its original nonsubstantive cleanup of general plan language. It now adds a temporary CEQA exemption for undergrounding and insulating overhead electric utility distribution and transmission facilities, and requires the Public Utilities Commission to form a working group that must deliver a plan to the Legislature by July 1, 2027 on how to most effectively invest in those measures to prevent wildfires in high-hazard areas.

SCOPE

Added Section 21080.6 of the Public Resources Code, which exempts from CEQA any project converting overhead electric utility distribution or transmission facilities to underground or insulating those facilities. The exemption becomes inoperative when the CPUC plan is submitted (no later than July 1, 2027) and is repealed January 1, 2028.

REQUIREMENT

Added Section 279 of the Public Utilities Code, requiring the CPUC to form a working group to study the cost of undergrounding and insulating electric facilities, compile wildfire mitigation reports from electrical utilities, and provide the Legislature with a plan by July 1, 2027 on how to most effectively invest in those measures or otherwise support electrical corporations to prevent fires in very high fire hazard severity zones, Wildland Urban Interface Fire Areas, and state forests.

TIMELINE

The CEQA exemption expires no later than July 1, 2027 (or upon submission of the CPUC plan) and is fully repealed January 1, 2028. The CPUC working group mandate is repealed January 1, 2031.

FISCAL

Fiscal committee review changed from 'no' to 'yes' and state-mandated local program changed from 'no' to 'yes,' reflecting the new CEQA exemption that imposes a state-mandated local program on lead agencies. The bill states no reimbursement is required because local agencies can levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to cover the mandated program.

TECHNICAL

Made nonsubstantive corrections to Section 65300 of the Government Code: removed duplicated words ('prepare prepare' to 'prepare,' 'adopt adopt' to 'adopt') and fixed a grammatical error ('which that' to 'that').

Floor votes

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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

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Key actions

Committee

Amendments

May 23, 2025

Upper · Passed

May 23 hearing: Held in committee and under submission.

upper

May 6, 2025

Upper · Passed

Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

upper

May 5, 2025

Upper · Passed

From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 13. Noes 1. Page 935.) (April 29).

upper

Apr 23, 2025

Upper · Passed

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on E., U & C. (Ayes 8. Noes 0. Page 867.) (April 23). Re-referred to Com. on E., U & C.

upper

Apr 9, 2025

Upper · Passed

From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on E.Q.

upper

Apr 2, 2025

Committee

Re-referred to Coms. on E.Q. and E., U & C.

upper

Mar 26, 2025

Upper · Passed

From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on RLS.

upper

Mar 12, 2025

Committee

Referred to Com. on RLS.

upper

Feb 21, 2025

Introduced

Introduced. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors