The Elder California Pipeline Safety Act of 1981 requires the State Fire Marshal to administer provisions regulating the inspection of intrastate pipelines that transport hazardous liquids. A person who willfully and knowingly violates the act or a regulation issued pursuant to the act is, upon conviction, subject to a fine, imprisonment, or both a fine and imprisonment, as provided.

The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 establishes the State Air Resources Board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources emitting greenhouse gases. The act requires the state board to ensure that statewide greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to at least 40% below the statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit, as defined, no later than December 31, 2030.

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report (EIR) on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment.

This bill would revise the definition of pipeline, for purposes of the Elder California Pipeline Safety Act of 1981, to include intrastate pipelines used for the transportation of carbon dioxide. The bill would require the State Fire Marshal, by July 1, 2026, to adopt regulations governing the safe transportation of carbon dioxide in pipelines that, at a minimum, are as protective as certain draft regulations issued by the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration on January 10, 2025. The bill would authorize the State Fire Marshal to amend those regulations, as provided. The bill would prohibit the approval of a pipeline for use in transporting carbon dioxide if the pipeline is originally constructed to transport any other liquid or gas, and would prohibit the construction of those pipelines using previously used pipe or components. The bill would prohibit an operator from constructing a pipeline transporting carbon dioxide in a location where one or more sensitive receptors, as defined, are located within the emergency planning zone of the pipeline, which is defined as an area within 2 miles of either side of the pipeline, except as provided. The bill would require an operator of a pipeline transporting carbon dioxide to submit to the State Fire Marshal and the public agency that is the lead agency for the project that includes the pipeline an emergency planning zone inventory and map, as provided, and would require the State Fire Marshal and the lead agency to review, at least once every 3 years, the inventory and map for completeness and accuracy. The bill would require the operator, at least once every 3 years, to provide to local governments providing emergency response services to sensitive receptors within an emergency planning zone the inventory and map determined by the State Fire Marshal and the lead agency to be complete and accurate and any updates to the inventory and map. The bill would require the State Fire Marshal and the lead agency to make publicly available on its internet website all inventories and maps determined to be current, complete, and accurate and would require the State Fire Marshal and the lead agency to redact any personally identifiable information from the publicly available inventories and maps. To the extent this requirement imposes additional duties on a local agency regarding the posting of, and the redaction of information from, the inventories and maps, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the operator to annually provide the map to sensitive receptors within the emergency planning zone of the pipeline. The bill would authorize the State Fire Marshal, for a pipeline transporting carbon dioxide, to order a pipeline shutdown for violations of state or federal laws, or if continued pipeline operations present an immediate danger to health, welfare, or the environment. The bill would, in the event of a pipeline rupture, require the pipeline to remain nonoperational until an investigation into the pipeline rupture is completed and the origin and cause of the pipeline rupture is determined. Because the bill would expand the application of a crime to pipelines transporting carbon dioxide and because a violation of the regulations adopted by the State Fire Marshal related to pipelines transporting carbon dioxide would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require that to be recognized by the state board for meeting any requirement under the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, carbon dioxide transported by pipeline be transported only by pipelines meeting or exceeding the standards adopted by the State Fire Marshal.

This bill would, for a project that includes the construction of a pipeline transporting carbon dioxide subject to the requirements of the Elder California Pipeline Safety Act of 1981, require the lead agency to prepare or cause to be prepared an EIR or equivalent documentation, as defined, and to certify or adopt those documents for the project. The bill would require the lead agency, upon the completion of a draft EIR or draft equivalent documentation, to notify owners and operators of sensitive receptors within ¹/₄ mile of the proposed pipeline and the State Fire Marshal, as provided. The bill would require the lead agency, at least 60 days before the certification of the EIR or the adoption of the equivalent documentation, to notify the State Fire Marshal of the project. By imposing additional duties on a lead agency, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require that the State Fire Marshal provide to the lead agency, in writing, its confirmation that the pipeline is constructed consistent with the Elder California Pipeline Safety Act of 1981 and to make the determination publicly available on its internet website.

Existing law requires that pipelines only be used to transport carbon dioxide to or from a carbon dioxide capture, removal, or sequestration project once the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has concluded its rulemaking regarding minimum federal safety standards for transportation of carbon dioxide by pipeline.

This bill would limit the language restricting the transportation of carbon dioxide by pipeline to apply only to federally regulated interstate pipelines, and would require that intrastate pipelines be used to transport carbon dioxide to or from a carbon dioxide capture, removal, or sequestration project only after the State Fire Marshal adopts its regulations pursuant to the bill and only once the project operator demonstrates that the pipelines meet the standards in those regulations.

Existing law assesses a civil penalty for a violation of the act or regulations adopted pursuant to the act. Existing law requires civil penalties assessed for violation, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be available to the State Fire Marshal to provide hazardous liquid fire suppression training to local fire departments.

This bill would additionally authorize the assessed civil penalties to be used to provide fire responder training for hazardous gas response and suppression training to local fire departments.

Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.

This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for specified reasons.

With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

The Elder California Pipeline Safety Act of 1981 requires the State Fire Marshal to administer provisions regulating the inspection of intrastate pipelines that transport hazardous liquids. A person who willfully and knowingly violates the act or a regulation issued pursuant to the act is, upon conviction, subject to a fine, imprisonment, or both a fine and imprisonment, as provided.

The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 establishes the State Air Resources Board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources emitting greenhouse gases. The act requires the state board to ensure that statewide greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to at least 40% below the statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit, as defined, no later than December 31, 2030.

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report (EIR) on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment.

This bill would revise the definition of pipeline, for purposes of the Elder California Pipeline Safety Act of 1981, to include intrastate pipelines used for the transportation of carbon dioxide. The bill would require the State Fire Marshal, by July 1, 2026, to adopt regulations governing the safe transportation of carbon dioxide in pipelines that, at a minimum, are as protective as certain draft regulations issued by the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration on January 10, 2025. The bill would authorize the State Fire Marshal to amend those regulations, as provided. The bill would prohibit the approval of a pipeline for use in transporting carbon dioxide if the pipeline is originally constructed to transport any other liquid or gas, and would prohibit the construction of those pipelines using previously used pipe or components. The bill would prohibit an operator from constructing a pipeline transporting carbon dioxide in a location where one or more sensitive receptors, as defined, are located within the emergency planning zone of the pipeline, which is defined as an area within 2 miles of either side of the pipeline, except as provided. The bill would require an operator of a pipeline transporting carbon dioxide to submit to the State Fire Marshal and the public agency that is the lead agency for the project that includes the pipeline an emergency planning zone inventory and map, as provided, and would require the State Fire Marshal and the lead agency to review, at least once every 3 years, the inventory and map for completeness and accuracy. The bill would require the operator, at least once every 3 years, to provide to local governments providing emergency response services to sensitive receptors within an emergency planning zone the inventory and map determined by the State Fire Marshal and the lead agency to be complete and accurate and any updates to the inventory and map. The bill would require the State Fire Marshal and the lead agency to make publicly available on its internet website all inventories and maps determined to be current, complete, and accurate and would require the State Fire Marshal and the lead agency to redact any personally identifiable information from the publicly available inventories and maps. To the extent this requirement imposes additional duties on a local agency regarding the posting of, and the redaction of information from, the inventories and maps, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the operator to annually provide the map to sensitive receptors within the emergency planning zone of the pipeline. The bill would authorize the State Fire Marshal, for a pipeline transporting carbon dioxide, to order a pipeline shutdown for violations of state or federal laws, or if continued pipeline operations present an immediate danger to health, welfare, or the environment. The bill would, in the event of a pipeline rupture, require the pipeline to remain nonoperational until an investigation into the pipeline rupture is completed and the origin and cause of the pipeline rupture is determined. Because the bill would expand the application of a crime to pipelines transporting carbon dioxide and because a violation of the regulations adopted by the State Fire Marshal related to pipelines transporting carbon dioxide would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require that to be recognized by the state board for meeting any requirement under the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, carbon dioxide transported by pipeline be transported only by pipelines meeting or exceeding the standards adopted by the State Fire Marshal.

This bill would, for a project that includes the construction of a pipeline transporting carbon dioxide subject to the requirements of the Elder California Pipeline Safety Act of 1981, require the lead agency to prepare or cause to be prepared an EIR or equivalent documentation, as defined, and to certify or adopt those documents for the project. The bill would require the lead agency, upon the completion of a draft EIR or draft equivalent documentation, to notify owners and operators of sensitive receptors within ¹/₄ mile of the proposed pipeline and the State Fire Marshal, as provided. The bill would require the lead agency, at least 60 days before the certification of the EIR or the adoption of the equivalent documentation, to notify the State Fire Marshal of the project. By imposing additional duties on a lead agency, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require that the State Fire Marshal provide to the lead agency, in writing, its confirmation that the pipeline is constructed consistent with the Elder California Pipeline Safety Act of 1981 and to make the determination publicly available on its internet website.

Existing law requires that pipelines only be used to transport carbon dioxide to or from a carbon dioxide capture, removal, or sequestration project once the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has concluded its rulemaking regarding minimum federal safety standards for transportation of carbon dioxide by pipeline.

This bill would limit the language restricting the transportation of carbon dioxide by pipeline to apply only to federally regulated interstate pipelines, and would require that intrastate pipelines be used to transport carbon dioxide to or from a carbon dioxide capture, removal, or sequestration project only after the State Fire Marshal adopts its regulations pursuant to the bill and only once the project operator demonstrates that the pipelines meet the standards in those regulations.

Existing law assesses a civil penalty for a violation of the act or regulations adopted pursuant to the act. Existing law requires civil penalties assessed for violation, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be available to the State Fire Marshal to provide hazardous liquid fire suppression training to local fire departments.

This bill would additionally authorize the assessed civil penalties to be used to provide fire responder training for hazardous gas response and suppression training to local fire departments.

Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.

This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for specified reasons.

With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

The Elder California Pipeline Safety Act of 1981 requires the State Fire Marshal to administer provisions regulating the inspection of intrastate pipelines that transport hazardous liquids. A person who willfully and knowingly violates the act or a regulation issued pursuant to the act is, upon conviction, subject to a fine, imprisonment, or both a fine and imprisonment, as provided.

The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 establishes the State Air Resources Board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources emitting greenhouse gases. The act requires the state board to ensure that statewide greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to at least 40% below the statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit, as defined, no later than December 31, 2030.

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report (EIR) on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment.

This bill would revise the definition of pipeline, for purposes of the act, to include intrastate pipelines used for the transportation of carbon dioxide. The bill would require the State Fire Marshal, by July 1, 2026, to adopt regulations governing the safe transportation of carbon dioxide in pipelines that, at a minimum, are as protective as certain draft regulations issued by the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration on January 10, 2025. The bill would authorize the State Fire Marshal to amend those regulations, as provided. The bill would prohibit the approval of a pipeline for use in transporting carbon dioxide if the pipeline is originally constructed to transport any other liquid or gas, and would prohibit the construction of those pipelines using previously used pipe or components. The bill would prohibit an operator from constructing a pipeline transporting carbon dioxide in a location where one or more sensitive receptors, as defined, are located within the emergency planning zone of the pipeline, which is defined as an area within 2 miles of either side of the pipeline, except as provided. The bill would require an operator of a pipeline transporting carbon dioxide to submit to the State Fire Marshal and the public agency that is the lead agency for the project that includes the pipeline an emergency planning zone inventory and map, as provided, and would require the State Fire Marshal and the lead agency to review, at least once every 3 years, the inventory and map for completeness and accuracy. The bill would require the operator, at least once every 3 years, to provide to local governments providing emergency response services to sensitive receptors within an emergency planning zone the inventory and map determined by the State Fire Marshal and the lead agency to be complete and accurate and any updates to the inventory and map. The bill would require the State Fire Marshal and the lead agency to make publicly available on its internet website all inventories and maps determined to be current, complete, and accurate and would require the State Fire Marshal and the lead agency to redact any personally identifiable information from the publicly available inventories and maps. To the extent this requirement imposes additional duties on a local agency regarding the posting of, and the redaction of information from, the inventories and maps, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the operator to annually provide the map to sensitive receptors within the emergency planning zone of the pipeline. The bill would authorize the State Fire Marshal, for a pipeline transporting carbon dioxide, to order a pipeline shutdown for violations of state or federal laws, or if continued pipeline operations present an immediate danger to health, welfare, or the environment. The bill would, in the event of a pipeline rupture, require the pipeline to remain nonoperational until an investigation into the pipeline rupture is completed and the origin and cause of the pipeline rupture is determined. Because the bill would expand the application of a crime to pipelines transporting carbon dioxide and because a violation of the regulations adopted by the State Fire Marshal related to pipelines transporting carbon dioxide would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require that to be recognized by the state board for meeting any requirement under the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, carbon dioxide transported by pipeline be transported only by pipelines meeting or exceeding the standards adopted by the State Fire Marshal.

This bill would, for a project that includes the construction of a pipeline transporting carbon dioxide subject to the requirements of the Elder California Pipeline Safety Act of 1981, require the lead agency to prepare or cause to be prepared an EIR or equivalent documentation, as defined, and to certify or adopt those documents for the project. The bill would require the lead agency, upon the completion of a draft EIR or draft equivalent documentation, to notify owners and operators of sensitive receptors within ¹/₄ mile of the proposed pipeline and to the State Fire Marshal, as provided. The bill would require the lead agency, at least 30 60 days before the certification of the EIR or the adoption of the equivalent documentation, to notify the State Fire Marshal of the project. By imposing additional duties on a lead agency, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require that the State Fire Marshal provide to the lead agency, in writing, its confirmation that the pipeline is constructed consistent with the Elder California Pipeline Safety Act of 1981 and to make the determination publicly available on its internet website.

Existing law requires that pipelines only be used to transport carbon dioxide to or from a carbon dioxide capture, removal, or sequestration project once the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has concluded its rulemaking regarding minimum federal safety standards for transportation of carbon dioxide by pipeline.

This bill would limit the language restricting the transportation of carbon dioxide by pipeline to apply only to federally regulated interstate pipelines, and would require that intrastate pipelines be used to transport carbon dioxide to or from a carbon dioxide capture, removal, or sequestration project only after the State Fire Marshal adopts its regulations pursuant to the bill and only once the project operator demonstrates that the pipeline meets pipelines meet the standards in those regulations.

Existing law assesses a civil penalty for a violation of the act or regulations adopted pursuant to the act. Existing law requires civil penalties assessed for violation, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be available to the State Fire Marshal to provide hazardous liquid fire suppression training to local fire departments.

This bill would additionally authorize the assessed civil penalties to be used to provide fire responder training for hazardous gas response and suppression training to local fire departments.

Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.

This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for specified reasons.

With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

The Elder California Pipeline Safety Act of 1981, 1981 requires the State Fire Marshal exercises safety regulatory jurisdiction over intrastate pipelines used for the transportation of hazardous or highly volatile liquid substances. The act imposes various requirements in relation to the regulation of these to administer provisions regulating the inspection of intrastate pipelines. pipelines that transport hazardous liquids. A person who willfully and knowingly violates the act or a regulation adopted issued pursuant to the act is, upon conviction, subject to a fine, imprisonment, or both a fine and imprisonment, as provided.

The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 establishes the State Air Resources Board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources emitting greenhouse gases. The act requires the state board to ensure that statewide greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to at least 40% below the statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit, as defined, no later than December 31, 2030.

This bill would revise the definition of pipeline, for purposes of the act, to include intrastate pipelines used for the transportation of carbon dioxide. The bill would require the State Fire Marshal, by April July 1, 2026, to adopt regulations governing the safe transportation of carbon dioxide in pipelines that are equivalent to that, at a minimum, are as protective as certain draft regulations issued by the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration on January 10, 2025. The bill would authorize the State Fire Marshal to amend those regulations, as provided. The bill would prohibit the approval of a pipeline for use in transporting carbon dioxide if the pipeline is originally constructed to transport any other liquid or gas, and would prohibit the construction of those pipelines using previously used pipe or components. The bill would prohibit an operator from constructing a pipeline transporting carbon dioxide in a location where one or more sensitive receptors, as defined, are located within the emergency planning zone of the pipeline, which is defined as an area within 2 miles of either side of the pipeline, except as provided. The bill would require an operator of a pipeline transporting carbon dioxide to submit to the State Fire Marshal and the public agency that is the lead agency for the project that includes the pipeline an emergency planning zone inventory and map, as provided, and would require the State Fire Marshal to review, at least once every 3 years, the inventory and map for completeness and accuracy. The bill would require the operator, at least once every 3 years, to provide to local governments providing emergency response services to sensitive receptors within an emergency planning zone the inventory and map determined by the State Fire Marshal to be complete and accurate and any updates to the inventory and map. The bill would require the State Fire Marshal and the lead agency to make publicly available on its internet website all inventories and maps determined to be current, complete, and accurate and would require the State Fire Marshal and the lead agency to redact any personally identifiable information from the publicly available inventories and maps. To the extent this requirement imposes additional duties on a local agency regarding the posting of, and the redaction of information from, the inventories and maps, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the operator to annually provide the map to sensitive receptors within the emergency planning zone of the pipeline. The bill would authorize the State Fire Marshal, for a pipeline transporting carbon dioxide, to order a pipeline shutdown for violations of state or federal laws, or if continued pipeline operations present an immediate danger to the public health, welfare, or the environment. Because The bill would, in the event of a pipeline rupture, require the pipeline to remain nonoperational until an investigation into the pipeline rupture is completed and the origin and cause of the pipeline rupture is determined. Because the bill would expand the application of a crime to pipelines transporting carbon dioxide and because a violation of the above provisions regulations adopted by the State Fire Marshal related to pipelines transporting carbon dioxide would be a crime, this the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the State Fire Marshal, at least once every 5 years, to assess the additional safety standards and to amend the regulations to increase the safety standards. The bill would require that to be recognized by the state board for meeting any requirement under the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, carbon dioxide transported by pipeline be transported only by pipelines meeting or exceeding the standards adopted by the State Fire Marshal.

Existing law prohibits the use of requires that pipelines only be used to transport carbon dioxide to or from a carbon dioxide capture, removal, or sequestration projects until project once the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has concluded a specified its rulemaking regarding minimum federal safety standards for transportation of carbon dioxide by pipeline and the project operator demonstrates that the pipelines meet those standards. pipeline.

This bill would limit the language restricting the transportation of carbon dioxide by pipelines pipeline to apply only to federally regulated interstate pipelines. The bill pipelines, and would require that intrastate pipelines be used to transport carbon dioxide to or from a carbon dioxide capture, removal, or sequestration projects project only after the State Fire Marshal adopts its regulations pursuant to the bill and only once the project operator demonstrates that the pipelines meet pipeline meets the standards in those regulations.

Under the Elder California Pipeline Safety Act of 1981, the State Fire Marshal exercises safety regulatory jurisdiction over intrastate pipelines used for the transportation of hazardous or highly volatile liquid substances. The act imposes various requirements in relation to the regulation of these intrastate pipelines. A person who willfully and knowingly violates the act or a regulation adopted pursuant to the act is, upon conviction, subject to a fine, imprisonment, or both a fine and imprisonment, as provided.

The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 establishes the State Air Resources Board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources emitting greenhouse gases. The act requires the state board to ensure that statewide greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to at least 40% below the statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit, as defined, no later than December 31, 2030.

This bill would expand the regulation of intrastate pipelines under the act to intrastate pipelines used for the transportation of carbon dioxide by revising revise the definition of pipeline pipeline, for purposes of the act to also act, to include intrastate pipelines used for the transportation of carbon dioxide. The bill would require the State Fire Marshal, by April 1, 2026, to adopt regulations to regulate the governing the safe transportation of carbon dioxide by a pipeline, with safety standards that, at a minimum, meet the standards proposed by in pipelines that are equivalent to certain draft federal regulations proposed regulations issued by the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. The bill would require the regulations to require a project applicant to demonstrate that the transportation of carbon dioxide in a pipeline complies with certain state laws. The bill would require the regulations to require pipelines permitted to transport carbon dioxide to be newly constructed and not converted from existing pipelines. The bill would authorize the State Fire Marshal to require additional safety standards, as specified. Administration on January 10, 2025. The bill would authorize the State Fire Marshal to amend those regulations, as provided. The bill would authorize the State Fire Marshal to require an operator of Marshal, for a pipeline transporting carbon dioxide to cease operation of the pipeline if the operator is found to be in violation of the specified requirements dioxide, to order a pipeline shutdown for violations of state or federal laws, or if continued pipeline operations present an immediate danger to the public health, welfare, or the environment. Because a violation of the above provisions would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the State Fire Marshal, at least once every 5 years, to assess the additional safety standards and to amend the regulations to increase the safety standards. The bill would require the State Fire Marshal to establish, until January 1, 2036, the Carbon Dioxide Pipeline Safety Advisory Committee, as provided, for purpose of providing the State Fire Marshal with recommendations regarding additional safety standards for pipelines transporting carbon dioxide, informing local agencies and pipeline operators transporting carbon dioxide of changes in applicable laws and regulations affecting the operating of pipelines, and reviewing proposed carbon dioxide pipeline safety regulations. The bill would provide require that to be recognized by the state board for meeting any requirement under the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, carbon dioxide transported by pipeline is to be transported only by pipelines meeting or exceeding the standards adopted by the State Fire Marshal.

Existing law assesses a civil penalty for a violation of the act or regulations adopted pursuant to the act. Existing law requires civil penalties assessed for violation, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be available to the State Fire Marshal to provide hazardous liquid fire suppression training to local fire departments.

This bill would additionally authorize the assessed civil penalties to be used to provide fire responder training for hazardous gas suppression training to local fire departments.

Existing law prohibits the use of pipelines to transport carbon dioxide to or from carbon dioxide capture, removal, or sequestration projects until the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has concluded a specified rulemaking regarding minimum federal safety standards for transportation of carbon dioxide by pipeline and the project operator demonstrates that the pipelines meet those standards.

This bill would instead require pipelines limit the language restricting the transportation of carbon dioxide by pipelines only to federally regulated interstate pipelines. The bill would require that intrastate pipelines be used to transport carbon dioxide to or from carbon dioxide capture, removal, or sequestration projects to comply with the regulations adopted by only after the State Fire Marshal regulating the transportation of carbon dioxide by a pipeline and would require adopts its regulations pursuant to the bill and only once the project operator to demonstrate demonstrates that the pipelines meet the standards in those regulations.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Under the Elder California Pipeline Safety Act of 1981, the State Fire Marshal exercises safety regulatory jurisdiction over intrastate pipelines used for the transportation of hazardous or highly volatile liquid substances. The act imposes various requirements in relation to the regulation of these intrastate pipelines. A person who willfully and knowingly violates the act or a regulation adopted pursuant to the act is, upon conviction, subject to a fine, imprisonment, or both a fine and imprisonment, as provided.

This bill would expand the regulation of intrastate pipelines under the act to intrastate pipelines used for the transportation of carbon dioxide by revising the definition of pipeline for purposes of the act to also include intrastate pipelines used for the transportation of carbon dioxide. The bill would require the State Fire Marshal, by April 1, 2026, to adopt regulations to regulate the transportation of carbon dioxide by a pipeline, with safety standards that, at a minimum, meet the standards proposed by certain draft federal regulations proposed by the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. The bill would require the regulations to require a project applicant to demonstrate that the transportation of carbon dioxide in a pipeline complies with certain state laws. The bill would require the regulations to require pipelines permitted to transport carbon dioxide to be newly constructed and not converted from existing pipelines. The bill would authorize the State Fire Marshal to require additional safety standards, as specified. The bill would authorize the State Fire Marshal to require an operator of a pipeline transporting carbon dioxide to cease operation of the pipeline if the operator is found to be in violation of the specified requirements or if continued pipeline operations present an immediate danger to the health, welfare, or the environment. Because a violation of the above provisions would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the State Fire Marshal, at least once every 5 years, to assess the additional safety standards and to amend the regulations to increase the safety standards. The bill would require the State Fire Marshal to establish, until January 1, 2036, the Carbon Dioxide Pipeline Safety Advisory Committee, as provided, for purpose of providing the State Fire Marshal with recommendations regarding additional safety standards for pipelines transporting carbon dioxide, informing local agencies and pipeline operators transporting carbon dioxide of changes in applicable laws and regulations affecting the operating of pipelines, and reviewing proposed carbon dioxide pipeline safety regulations. The bill would provide that to be recognized by the state board for meeting any requirement under the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, carbon dioxide transported by pipeline is to be transported only by pipelines meeting or exceeding the standards adopted by the State Fire Marshal.

Existing law assesses a civil penalty for a violation of the act or regulations adopted pursuant to the act. Existing law requires civil penalties assessed for violation, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be available to the State Fire Marshal to provide hazardous liquid fire suppression training to local fire departments.

This bill would additionally authorize the assessed civil penalties to be used to provide fire responder training for hazardous gas suppression training to local fire departments.

Existing law prohibits the use of pipelines to transport carbon dioxide to or from carbon dioxide capture, removal, or sequestration projects until the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has concluded a specified rulemaking regarding minimum federal safety standards for transportation of carbon dioxide by pipeline and the project operator demonstrates that the pipelines meet those standards.

This bill would instead require pipelines used to transport carbon dioxide to or from carbon dioxide capture, removal, or sequestration projects to comply with the regulations adopted by the State Fire Marshal regulating the transportation of carbon dioxide by a pipeline and would require the project operator to demonstrate that the pipelines meet those regulations.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Under the Elder California Pipeline Safety Act of 1981, the State Fire Marshal exercises safety regulatory jurisdiction over intrastate pipelines used for the transportation of hazardous or highly volatile liquid substances. The act imposes various requirements in relation to the regulation of these intrastate pipelines. A person who willfully and knowingly violates the act or a regulation adopted pursuant to the act is, upon conviction, subject to a fine, imprisonment, or both a fine and imprisonment, as provided.

This bill would expand the regulation of intrastate pipelines under the act to intrastate pipelines used for the transportation of carbon dioxide by revising the definition of pipeline for purposes of the act to also include intrastate pipelines used for the transportation of carbon dioxide. The bill would prohibit require the State Fire Marshal from permitting the transportation of carbon dioxide by pipeline unless the applicant demonstrates that the transportation of carbon dioxide in a pipeline complies with Marshal, by April 1, 2026, to adopt regulations to regulate the transportation of carbon dioxide by a pipeline, with safety standards that, at a minimum, meet the standards proposed by certain draft federal regulations proposed by the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and Administration. The bill would require the regulations to require a project applicant to demonstrate that the transportation of carbon dioxide in a pipeline complies with certain state laws. The bill would authorize the State Fire Marshal to require additional safety standards, as specified. The bill would authorize the State Fire Marshal to require an operator of a pipeline transporting carbon dioxide to cease operation of the pipeline if the operator is found to be in violation of the specified requirements or if continued pipeline operations present an immediate danger to the health, welfare, or the environment. Because a violation of the above provisions would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the State Fire Marshal to establish establish, until January 1, 2036, the Carbon Dioxide Pipeline Safety Advisory Committee, as provided, for purpose of providing the State Fire Marshal with recommendations regarding additional safety standards for pipelines transporting carbon dioxide and dioxide, informing local agencies and pipeline operators transporting carbon dioxide of changes in applicable laws and regulations affecting the operating of pipelines pipelines, and reviewing proposed carbon dioxide pipeline safety regulations.

Existing law assesses a civil penalty for a violation of the act or regulations adopted pursuant to the act. Existing law requires civil penalties assessed for violation, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be available to the State Fire Marshal to provide hazardous liquid fire suppression training to local fire departments.

This bill would additionally authorize the assessed civil penalties to be used to provide fire responder training for hazardous gas suppression training to local fire departments.

Existing law prohibits the use of pipelines to transport carbon dioxide to or from carbon dioxide capture, removal, or sequestration projects until the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has concluded a specified rulemaking regarding minimum federal safety standards for transportation of carbon dioxide by pipeline and the project operator demonstrates that the pipelines meet those standards.

This bill would instead require pipelines used to transport carbon dioxide to or from carbon dioxide capture, removal, or sequestration projects to be in compliance with the requirements of these provisions. to comply with the regulations adopted by the State Fire Marshal regulating the transportation of carbon dioxide by a pipeline and would require the project operator to demonstrate that the pipelines meet those regulations.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Existing law prohibits the use of potable water, as defined, for nonfunctional turf located on common areas of properties of homeowners associations, common interest developments, and community service organizations or similar entities, starting January 1, 2029.

This bill would prohibit that use of potable water one year earlier.

 UNFINISHED BUSINESS 

Bill No: SB 614

Author: Stern (D), et al.

Amended: 9/5/25

Vote: 21

SENATE GOVERNMENTAL ORG. COMMITTEE: 11-2, 4/22/25

AYES: Padilla, Valladares, Archuleta, Ashby, Blakespear, Cervantes, Richardson, Rubio, Smallwood-Cuevas, Wahab, Weber Pierson

NOES: Dahle, Ochoa Bogh

NO VOTE RECORDED: Hurtado, Jones

SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 4/30/25

AYES: Blakespear, Valladares, Dahle, Gonzalez, Hurtado, Padilla, Pérez

NO VOTE RECORDED: Menjivar

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 6-0, 5/23/25

AYES: Caballero, Seyarto, Cabaldon, Grayson, Richardson, Wahab

NO VOTE RECORDED: Dahle

SENATE FLOOR: 38-0, 6/4/25

AYES: Allen, Alvarado-Gil, Archuleta, Arreguín, Ashby, Becker, Blakespear, Cabaldon, Caballero, Cervantes, Choi, Cortese, Dahle, Durazo, Gonzalez, Grayson, Grove, Hurtado, Jones, Laird, Limón, McGuire, McNerney, Niello, Ochoa Bogh, Padilla, Pérez, Richardson, Rubio, Seyarto, Smallwood-Cuevas, Stern, Strickland, Umberg, Valladares, Wahab, Weber Pierson, Wiener

NO VOTE RECORDED: Menjivar, Reyes

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 74-0, 9/12/25 - See last page for vote

SUBJECT: Public resources: transportation of carbon dioxide

SOURCE: Author

DIGEST:

This bill requires the State Fire Marshall (SFM) to adopt regulations to regulate the transportation of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in a pipeline, including certain specified safety standards that, at a minimum, are as protective as the draft regulations proposed by the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).

Assembly Amendments

of 9/5/25 rewrote the contents of this bill to align with the provisions of AB 881 (Petrie-Norris).

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Provides, under the Elder Act, that the SFM exercises safety regulatory jurisdiction over intrastate pipelines used for the transportation of hazardous or highly volatile liquid substances. The Elder Act imposes various requirements in relation to the regulation of these intrastate pipelines. A person who willfully and knowingly violates the Act or a regulation adopted pursuant to the Elder Act is, upon conviction, subject to a fine, imprisonment, or both a fine and imprisonment, as provided.
2. Defines “pipeline” for the purposes of the Elder Act, as every intrastate pipeline used for the transportation of hazardous liquid substances or highly volatile liquid substance; and does not include an interstate pipeline subject to federal regulations, a pipeline that transports hazardous substances in a gaseous state, and other specified exclusions. (Government Code § 51010.5)
3. Requires the SFM to adopt hazardous liquid pipeline safety regulations in compliance with the federal law relating to hazardous liquid pipeline safety, including, but not limited to, compliance orders, penalties, and inspections and maintenance provisions. (Government Code § 51011)
4. Prohibits the use of pipelines to transport CO₂ to or from CO₂ capture, removal, or sequestration projects until the federal PHMSA has concluded a specified rulemaking regarding minimum federal safety standards for transportation of CO₂ by pipeline and the project operator demonstrates that the pipelines meet those standards.
5. Governs, under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA), the procedure for the adoption, amendment, or repeal of regulations by state agencies and for the review of those regulatory actions by the Office of Administrative Law (OAL). The APA defines a major regulation as any proposed regulation that the agency estimates will have an economic impact on California businesses and individuals of $50 million or more in any 12-month period. If an agency estimates that the proposed regulation is a “major regulation,” the agency is required to prepare a Standardized Regulatory Impact Analysis reviewed by the Department of Finance before the regulation can be adopted.
6. Grants, pursuant to federal law, the United States Secretary of Transportation the regulatory and enforcement authority over gas and hazardous liquid pipelines, including CO₂ pipelines. (49 United States Code § 60102)
7. Prohibits, pursuant to federal law, the United States Secretary of Transportation from prescribing or enforcing safety standards and practices for an intrastate pipeline or intrastate pipeline facility to the extent that the safety standards and practices are regulated by a state authority, except at provided. (49 United States Code § 60105)
8. Requires, through the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report (EIR) on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect.

This bill:

1. Requires, on or before July 1, 2026, the SFM to develop regulations to regulate the transportation of CO₂ in a pipeline that are, at a minimum, as protectives as standards proposed by the draft federal regulations set forth in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking publicly issued by the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration on January 10, 2025, pursuant to rulemaking (RIN 2137-AF60) regarding the minimum federal safety standards for transportation of carbon dioxide by pipeline (Parts 190 to 1999, inclusive, of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations).
2. Provides that regulations developed pursuant to this bill, or any amendment to those regulations, shall be adopted in accordance with the emergency rulemaking process in the APA.
3. Provides that regulation adopted pursuant to this bill shall not be considered major regulations under the APA.
4. Prohibits an operator from constructing a pipeline transporting CO₂ in a location where one or more sensitive receptors, as defined, are located within the emergency planning zone of the pipeline, which is defined as an area within two miles of either side of the pipeline, except as provided.
5. Provides that the SFM shall not be considered a lead agency for a project that includes the construction of a pipeline to transport CO₂ for purposes of CEQA.
6. Requires an operator to submit to the SFM and the public agency that is the lead agency an emergency planning zone inventory and map, as provided, and would require the SFM to review, at least one every three years, the inventory and map for completeness and accuracy.
7. Requires the operator to provide, at least every three years, a copy of the inventory and a map determined by the SFM to be complete and accurate and any updates to the inventory and map to local governments providing emergency response services to sensitive receptors within the emergency planning zone that encompasses the pipeline. The SFM is required, at least once every three years, the inventory and map for completeness and accuracy and shall notify the operator of any discrepancy.
8. Prohibits a pipeline from being approved to transport CO₂ if the pipeline is originally constructed to transport any other liquid or gas and prohibits the construction of those pipelines using previously used pipe or components.
9. Authorizes the SFM, for a pipeline transporting CO₂, to order a pipeline shutdown for violations of the provisions of this bill or if continued pipeline operations present an immediate danger to health, welfare, or the environment.
10. Requires, in the event of a pipeline rupture, the pipeline to remain nonoperational until an investigation into the pipeline rupture is completed and the origin and cause of the pipeline rupture is determined.
11. Lifts the moratorium on intrastate pipelines used for CO₂ transport for CO₂ capture, removals, or sequestration projects only after the SFM has adopted regulations pursuant to this bill and the pipeline operator demonstrates that the pipeline meets the standards and regulations adopted by the SFM.
12. Requires, for a project that includes the construction of a pipeline transporting CO₂ subject to requirements in CEQA, the lead agency to prepare an EIR, or equivalent documentation, as defined, and to certify or adopt those documents for the project.
13. Requires the lead agency, at least 30 days before the certification of the EIR to notify the SFM of the project.

Background

Author Statement. According to the author’s office, “recognizing its importance – billions of dollars are being invested in carbon capture by industry, the private sector, and governments. In 2022, the Department of Energy (DoE) committed $3.7 billion to finance projects to remove planet-warming carbon from the atmosphere to meet the nation’s goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. On January 10, 2025, the Biden Administration released draft federal regulations that would have lifted the SB 905 moratorium. Unfortunately, there was not enough time to formalize these regulations by adding them to the federal registry. Under the current administration, federal pipeline safety regulations will - at best – be delayed, or - at worst - non-existent and dangerous. California must act to establish robust pipeline safety regulations. By picking up where the Biden Administration left off, we can accelerate the safe deployment of carbon pipelines in California, leverage billions of dollars in federal support to meet our climate goals, and create thousands of high-road green jobs.”

Carbon Capture and Storage. Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and carbon removal is a process of separating CO₂ from a point source and putting it into long-term storage, usually by injecting CO₂ into a geological reservoir. This process is generally considered by experts to be a CO₂ reduction strategy, not a CO₂ removal strategy, since it is only reducing CO₂ from anthropogenic sources that would have otherwise entered the atmosphere, rather than removing what was already there. As of January 2025, there are approximately 13 of these projects in various stages of development in California, especially in the central valley.

Transportation is a key component of CCS and carbon removal projects because the location at which CO₂ is captured may be some distance from the point at which it will be geologically sequestered. Transportation can occur by marine tankers, trucks, rail, or pipelines. Experts generally agree that the most efficient way to transport CO₂, as well as the safest way for the volume of CO₂ they move is through pipelines. In many ways, pipelines are also the most cost-effective way to move CO₂.

CO₂ can be transported as a gas, liquid, or supercritical form. At standard temperature and pressure, CO₂ behaves as a gas, when it is cooled and highly compressed, CO₂ becomes a liquid. When both the temperature and pressure are increased above the standard temperature and pressure, CO₂ exists in a supercritical state, in this state CO₂ has some properties of a gas and some properties of liquid.

Transportation of CO₂ by Pipelines. The federal PHMSA develops and enforces the transportation of hazardous materials via pipelines to ensure the same, reliable and environmentally sound operation of the nation’s pipeline transportation system. The PHMSA maintains regulatory jurisdiction over interstate pipelines, which encompasses pipelines that travel between state and in federal waters. In the Areas of CCS and carbon removal projects, PHMSA has no regulatory jurisdiction over interstate or intrastate pipelines transporting CO₂ as a liquid. Federal statute provides PHMSA with regulatory authority over interstate and intrastate pipelines transporting CO₂ as a gas or supercritical state. While PHMSA has released proposed regulations at the end of the Biden Administration, those regulations have been “withdrawn” by the Trump Administration.

In California, the SFM maintains regulatory jurisdiction over hazardous liquid intrastate pipelines. The SFM regulates the safety of nearly 6,000 miles of intrastate hazardous liquid transportation pipelines through a PHMSA certified compliance and enforcement program. With this certification, the SFM may adopt additional safety standards for intrastate pipeline facilities provided such standards are compatible with federal regulation. Those safety standards may be more restrictive or stringent than federal regulation. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), as part of their jurisdiction, ensures that intrastate natural gas and liquid petroleum gas pipeline systems are designed, constructed, operated, and maintained according to safety standards set by the CPUC and the PHMSA. CPUC’s existing authority does not extend to intrastate CO₂ gas pipelines.

There is currently, no intrastate CO₂ pipeline in California. When such pipelines are developed, the SFM will exercise jurisdiction over intrastate CO₂ pipelines through the existing federal pipeline safety state program agreement. This agreement delegate’s authority for the SMF to regulate intrastate pipelines that carry CO₂ compressed to a supercritical state and composed of at least 90% CO₂. Pipelines transporting less than 90% CO₂, including CO₂ in a liquid or gas form, would likely fall outside the scope of existing regulations, leaving regulation of pipelines transporting CO₂ composed of less than 90% CO₂ or in a liquid gas form to local jurisdictions and those states who choose to adopt regulation.

At this time, significant regulatory uncertainty exists regarding the design, operation, siting, and maintenance of intrastate CO₂ pipelines, regardless of the state that CO₂ is transported. The SFM is currently limited to applying only federal safety standards to CO₂ pipelines; transport of supercritical CO₂ that is composed of at least 90% CO₂. Establishing separate standards in California that are in addition to federal regulation is only possible if changes are made in state law.

Draft of Federal Regulations. On January 10, 2025, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking under RIN 2138-AF60, aiming to enhance the minimum federal safety standards for the transportation of CO₂ by pipeline, as outlined in parts 190 to 199 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Ten days later, according to various reports, a federal pipeline safety official not authorized to speak publicly said the proposed rules were “withdrawn” in accordance with a January 20, 2025, executive order by President Trump that freezes all pending regulations and initiatives pending a review process by newly appointed agency leaders. Federal CO₂ transport through pipelines rules were put further in doubt with a February 19 executive order aimed at rooting out all regulations that are costly to “private parties” and impede economic development.

The previously proposed federal regulations sought to address the anticipated expansion of CO₂ pipeline infrastructure driven by increased CCS initiatives. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the current network of approximately 5,000 miles of CO₂ pipelines is projected to expand significantly to support these initiatives. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking introduced several key provisions including:

1. Comprehensive Safety Requirements. For the first time, PHMSA proposed specific regulations for pipelines transporting CO₂ in gaseous and liquid states, complementing existing standards for supercritical CO₂ pipelines. These proposed regulations would have encompass design, installation, operation, maintenance, and reporting protocols.
2. Conversion Standards. Operators seeking to repurpose existing pipelines for CO₂ transport would have been required to adhere to stringent guidelines, including conducting spike hydrostatic pressure tests and performing in-line inspections within specified timeframes to ensure structural integrity.
3. Emergency Preparedness. The proposal would have mandated enhanced training for emergency responders, provision of CO₂ detection equipment, and improved public communication strategies during emergencies to bolster safety measures.
4. Vapor Dispersion Analysis. Operators would have been required to perform detailed analyses to predict the spread of CO₂ in the event of a pipeline failure, thereby aiding in risk assessment and mitigation planning.

SB 905 (Caballero, Chapter 359, Statutes of 2022). In 2022, SB 905 was signed by Governor Newsom. Among other things, the bill prohibits the use of intrastate pipelines to transport CO₂ until the PHMSA completes its rulemaking process. SB 905 required the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) to “provide a proposal to the Legislature to establish a state framework and standards for the design, operation, siting, and maintenance of intrastate pipelines carrying CO₂ fluids of varying composition and phase to minimize the risk posed to public and environmental health and safety.”

The proposal was released in March 2023, and included various recommendations “aimed at informing additional legislation that would be necessary to create a robust regulatory framework governing CO₂ pipelines so as to protect public, health, safety, and the environment. These recommendations are made with the recognition that CCS and carbon removal projects, and CO₂ transport, represent a new set of technologies and infrastructure and accordingly, poses, new risks and potential adverse impact to human health, safety, and the environment should a pipeline failure occur.”

One of the recommendations included providing the SFM with clear regulatory authority over pipeline transportation of CO₂ in liquid, gas, and supercritical state to protect public safety. As part of this recommendation the CNRA stated that “clear authority to draft safety-related regulations governing intrastate CO₂ pipelines will avoid ambiguity about which state agency is charged with regulating liquid, gas, and supercritical CO₂ pipelines. It will also ensure a well-defined and understood regulatory process that includes robust public process and allows time to incorporate emerging information from new research and development studies.

Additionally the CNRA recommended the SFM with clear administrative and enforcement authority to order intrastate CO₂ pipeline shutdown immediately when safety regulations are violated.”

Related/Prior Legislation

AB 881 (Petrie-Norris, 2025) adds CO₂ to the substances included in the Elder Act and requires the SFM to adopt regulations governing the safe transportation of CO₂ by April 1, 2026, as specified, and lifts the statewide moratorium on pipelines transporting CO₂ to or from a carbon capture, removal, or sequestration project. (Pending in the Assembly Appropriations Committee)

AB 2623 (Arambula, 2024) would have expanded the regulation of intrastate pipelines under the Act to intrastate pipelines used for the transportation of CO₂. Additionally, the bill would have required the SFM to adopt safety-related regulations governing intrastate pipelines transporting CO₂, as provided. (Never heard in the Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee)

SB 905 (Caballero, Chapter 359, Statutes of 2022) requires the California Air Resources Board to establish a Carbon Capture, Removal, Utilization, and Storage Program and adopt regulations for a model unified permit program for the construction and operation of CCRUS projects. In addition, the bill prohibits the use of intrastate pipelines to transport of CO₂ until the PHMSA completes its rulemaking. Furthermore, the bill requires the California Natural Resources Agency to “provide a proposal to the Legislature to establish a state framework and standards for the design, operation, siting, and maintenance of intrastate pipelines carrying CO₂ fluids of varying composition and phase to minimize the risk posed to public and environmental health and safety.

AB 1676 (Luz Rivas, 2022) would have added CO_2, compressed to a supercritical state, to the substances included in the Elder California Pipeline Safety Act, giving the SFM exclusive jurisdiction to regulate intrastate pipeline transportation of CO₂ under the existing provisions of the Elder Act, which currently applies to petroleum and other hazardous liquids. (Never Heard in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee)

SB 295 (Jackson, Chapter 607, statutes of 2015) requires the SFM, to annually inspect all intrastate pipelines and operators of intrastate pipelines under the jurisdiction of the SFM and requires the SFM to adopt regulations implementing these provisions.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes

According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, “This bill creates significant new administrative, analytical and regulatory work for the Fire Marshal. Presumably, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), in which the Fire Marshal is located, will require additional resources to undertake this work.

When this committee considered AB 881 (Petrie Norris) this spring, CAL FIRE reported it is already working on carbon dioxide pipeline regulation pursuant to authority provided by existing law, so any costs to the Fire Marshal to implement AB 881 should be minor and absorbable.

The committed asked CAL FIRE about costs to implement this bill, and further asked CAL FIRE, if it asserted it could do so with existing resources, to explain, in detail, why it would not require additional resources to undertake the significant workload created by this bill. CAL FIRE did not provide an explanation by the time this analysis was prepared.

It is reasonable to assume, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, this bill entails significant new one-time costs for CAL FIRE, in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars, at least (General Fund).”

SUPPORT: (Verified 9/4/25)

Bloom Energy

California State Pipe Trades Council

Coalition for Sustainable

OPPOSITION: (Verified 9/4/25)

Asian Pacific Environmental Network

Biofuelwatch

California Environmental Justice Alliance

CA Youth vs. Big Oil

Center for Biological Diversity

Center on Race, Poverty, and Environment

Central California Environmental Justice Network

Climate Equity Policy Center

Climate Hawks Vote

Climate Health Now Action Fund

Climate Reality San Francisco Bay Area Chapter

Consumer Wathdog

El Pueblo Para el Aire y Agua Limpia de Kettleman City

Elder Climate Action, NorCal Chapter

Elders Climate Action

Extinction Rebellion San Francisco Bay Area

Food & Water Watch

Fossil Free California

Good Neighbor Steering Committee

Greenpeace USA

Interfaith Climate Action Network of Contra Costa County

Labor Rise Climate Jobs Action Group

Leadership Counsel Action

Little Manila Rising

Oil and Gas Action Network

Oil Change International

Physicians for Social Responsibility – Los Angeles

Physicians for Social Responsibility – San Francisco Bay

Planning and Conservation League

Progressive Democrats of Benicia

Protect Monterey County

San Diego 350

San Francisco Bay Area Physicians for Social Responsibility

San Francisco Baykeeper

Santa Cruz Climate Action Network

Sierra Club

Social Eco Education

Solano County Democratic Central Committee

Sunflower Alliance

UNIDOS Network Inc.

West Berkeley Alliance for Clean Air and Safe Jobs

350 Bay Area Action

350 Contra Costa Action

350 Humboldt County

350 Santa Barbara

1000 Grandmothers for Future Generations

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the California State Pipe Trades Council, “SB 614 directs the [SFM] to develop robust, safety-related regulations for CO₂ pipelines , ensuring that they are constructed, maintained, and operated in a manner that minimizes risks to public health and the environment. These regulations will be based on PHMSA’s extensive regulatory update that was initiated but not finalized under the Bided Administration, ensuring that California upholds the highest safety standards.”

ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: According to opponents of the bill, “[both] the federal government and California need to fill the dangerous gaps for CO₂ pipelines before CCS projects are allowed to proceed. Our groups fully support California regulating above and beyond what PHSMA sets as the federal floor. But ending California’s existing partial moratorium before PHSMA’s regulations are complete risks preemption and prevents the state and its residents from benefitting from the nationwide attention and expert input that the federal rulemaking will generate. Ending the moratorium prematurely will also accelerate the poor investment and false climate solution that is CSS. In short, there is no benefit to California jumping out early and changing the precautionary measure that is already in place.”

According to the Central California Environmental Justice Network, “SB 614’s attempt to allow pipelines to be operated before official state regulations are adopted is confusing and raises many concerns on enforceability. Allowing pipelines to be built before the SFM adopts more strict regulations would be a perverse incentive to the industry to drag out and delay state regulation development and quickly build pipelines before more stringent regulations are in place. It would also be more efficient for the SFM to go through the regulatory process once. In order to ensure that all CO₂ pipelines in California follow strong, enforceable safety standards, we ask that SB 614 be amended to clearly require the SFM to adopt regulations before CO₂ pipelines can be operated.”

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 74-0, 9/12/25

AYES: Aguiar-Curry, Ahrens, Alanis, Alvarez, Arambula, Ávila Farías, Bains, Bauer-Kahan, Bennett, Berman, Boerner, Bonta, Bryan, Calderon, Caloza, Carrillo, Castillo, Chen, Davies, DeMaio, Dixon, Elhawary, Ellis, Flora, Fong, Gabriel, Gallagher, Garcia, Gipson, Jeff Gonzalez, Mark González, Hadwick, Haney, Harabedian, Hoover, Irwin, Jackson, Johnson, Kalra, Krell, Lackey, Lowenthal, Macedo, McKinnor, Muratsuchi, Nguyen, Ortega, Pacheco, Papan, Patel, Patterson, Pellerin, Petrie-Norris, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Ransom, Celeste Rodriguez, Michelle Rodriguez, Rogers, Blanca Rubio, Sanchez, Schiavo, Schultz, Sharp-Collins, Solache, Soria, Stefani, Ta, Tangipa, Valencia, Wallis, Wicks, Wilson, Rivas

NO VOTE RECORDED: Addis, Connolly, Hart, Lee, Ward, Zbur

Prepared by: Brian Duke / G.O. / (916) 651-1530

10/19/26 13:49:07

**** END ****

 UNFINISHED BUSINESS  

Bill No: SB 614

Author: Stern (D), et al.

Amended: 9/5/25

Vote: 21

SENATE GOVERNMENTAL ORG. COMMITTEE: 11-2, 4/22/25

AYES: Padilla, Valladares, Archuleta, Ashby, Blakespear, Cervantes, Richardson, Rubio, Smallwood-Cuevas, Wahab, Weber Pierson

NOES: Dahle, Ochoa Bogh

NO VOTE RECORDED: Hurtado, Jones

SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 4/30/25

AYES: Blakespear, Valladares, Dahle, Gonzalez, Hurtado, Padilla, Pérez

NO VOTE RECORDED: Menjivar

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 6-0, 5/23/25

AYES: Caballero, Seyarto, Cabaldon, Grayson, Richardson, Wahab

NO VOTE RECORDED: Dahle

SENATE FLOOR: 38-0, 6/4/25

AYES: Allen, Alvarado-Gil, Archuleta, Arreguín, Ashby, Becker, Blakespear, Cabaldon, Caballero, Cervantes, Choi, Cortese, Dahle, Durazo, Gonzalez, Grayson, Grove, Hurtado, Jones, Laird, Limón, McGuire, McNerney, Niello, Ochoa Bogh, Padilla, Pérez, Richardson, Rubio, Seyarto, Smallwood-Cuevas, Stern, Strickland, Umberg, Valladares, Wahab, Weber Pierson, Wiener

NO VOTE RECORDED: Menjivar, Reyes

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 58-0 , 9/12/25 – Roll call vote not available.

SUBJECT: Public resources: transportation of carbon dioxide

SOURCE: Author

DIGEST:

This bill requires the State Fire Marshall (SFM) to adopt regulations to regulate the transportation of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in a pipeline, including certain specified safety standards that, at a minimum, are as protective as the draft regulations proposed by the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).

Assembly Amendments

of 9/5/25 rewrote the contents of this bill to align with the provisions of AB 881 (Petrie-Norris).

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Provides, under the Elder Act, that the SFM exercises safety regulatory jurisdiction over intrastate pipelines used for the transportation of hazardous or highly volatile liquid substances. The Elder Act imposes various requirements in relation to the regulation of these intrastate pipelines. A person who willfully and knowingly violates the Act or a regulation adopted pursuant to the Elder Act is, upon conviction, subject to a fine, imprisonment, or both a fine and imprisonment, as provided.
2. Defines “pipeline” for the purposes of the Elder Act, as every intrastate pipeline used for the transportation of hazardous liquid substances or highly volatile liquid substance; and does not include an interstate pipeline subject to federal regulations, a pipeline that transports hazardous substances in a gaseous state, and other specified exclusions. (Government Code § 51010.5)
3. Requires the SFM to adopt hazardous liquid pipeline safety regulations in compliance with the federal law relating to hazardous liquid pipeline safety, including, but not limited to, compliance orders, penalties, and inspections and maintenance provisions. (Government Code § 51011)
4. Prohibits the use of pipelines to transport CO₂ to or from CO₂ capture, removal, or sequestration projects until the federal PHMSA has concluded a specified rulemaking regarding minimum federal safety standards for transportation of CO₂ by pipeline and the project operator demonstrates that the pipelines meet those standards.
5. Governs, under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA), the procedure for the adoption, amendment, or repeal of regulations by state agencies and for the review of those regulatory actions by the Office of Administrative Law (OAL). The APA defines a major regulation as any proposed regulation that the agency estimates will have an economic impact on California businesses and individuals of $50 million or more in any 12-month period. If an agency estimates that the proposed regulation is a “major regulation,” the agency is required to prepare a Standardized Regulatory Impact Analysis reviewed by the Department of Finance before the regulation can be adopted.
6. Grants, pursuant to federal law, the United States Secretary of Transportation the regulatory and enforcement authority over gas and hazardous liquid pipelines, including CO₂ pipelines. (49 United States Code § 60102)
7. Prohibits, pursuant to federal law, the United States Secretary of Transportation from prescribing or enforcing safety standards and practices for an intrastate pipeline or intrastate pipeline facility to the extent that the safety standards and practices are regulated by a state authority, except at provided. (49 United States Code § 60105)
8. Requires, through the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report (EIR) on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect.

This bill:

1. Requires, on or before July 1, 2026, the SFM to develop regulations to regulate the transportation of CO₂ in a pipeline that are, at a minimum, as protectives as standards proposed by the draft federal regulations set forth in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking publicly issued by the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration on January 10, 2025, pursuant to rulemaking (RIN 2137-AF60) regarding the minimum federal safety standards for transportation of carbon dioxide by pipeline (Parts 190 to 1999, inclusive, of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations).
2. Provides that regulations developed pursuant to this bill, or any amendment to those regulations, shall be adopted in accordance with the emergency rulemaking process in the APA.
3. Provides that regulation adopted pursuant to this bill shall not be considered major regulations under the APA.
4. Prohibits an operator from constructing a pipeline transporting CO₂ in a location where one or more sensitive receptors, as defined, are located within the emergency planning zone of the pipeline, which is defined as an area within two miles of either side of the pipeline, except as provided.
5. Provides that the SFM shall not be considered a lead agency for a project that includes the construction of a pipeline to transport CO₂ for purposes of CEQA.
6. Requires an operator to submit to the SFM and the public agency that is the lead agency an emergency planning zone inventory and map, as provided, and would require the SFM to review, at least one every three years, the inventory and map for completeness and accuracy.
7. Requires the operator to provide, at least every three years, a copy of the inventory and a map determined by the SFM to be complete and accurate and any updates to the inventory and map to local governments providing emergency response services to sensitive receptors within the emergency planning zone that encompasses the pipeline. The SFM is required, at least once every three years, the inventory and map for completeness and accuracy and shall notify the operator of any discrepancy.
8. Prohibits a pipeline from being approved to transport CO₂ if the pipeline is originally constructed to transport any other liquid or gas and prohibits the construction of those pipelines using previously used pipe or components.
9. Authorizes the SFM, for a pipeline transporting CO₂, to order a pipeline shutdown for violations of the provisions of this bill or if continued pipeline operations present an immediate danger to health, welfare, or the environment.
10. Requires, in the event of a pipeline rupture, the pipeline to remain nonoperational until an investigation into the pipeline rupture is completed and the origin and cause of the pipeline rupture is determined.
11. Lifts the moratorium on intrastate pipelines used for CO₂ transport for CO₂ capture, removals, or sequestration projects only after the SFM has adopted regulations pursuant to this bill and the pipeline operator demonstrates that the pipeline meets the standards and regulations adopted by the SFM.
12. Requires, for a project that includes the construction of a pipeline transporting CO₂ subject to requirements in CEQA, the lead agency to prepare an EIR, or equivalent documentation, as defined, and to certify or adopt those documents for the project.
13. Requires the lead agency, at least 30 days before the certification of the EIR to notify the SFM of the project.

Background

Author Statement. According to the author’s office, “recognizing its importance – billions of dollars are being invested in carbon capture by industry, the private sector, and governments. In 2022, the Department of Energy (DoE) committed $3.7 billion to finance projects to remove planet-warming carbon from the atmosphere to meet the nation’s goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. On January 10, 2025, the Biden Administration released draft federal regulations that would have lifted the SB 905 moratorium. Unfortunately, there was not enough time to formalize these regulations by adding them to the federal registry. Under the current administration, federal pipeline safety regulations will - at best – be delayed, or - at worst - non-existent and dangerous. California must act to establish robust pipeline safety regulations. By picking up where the Biden Administration left off, we can accelerate the safe deployment of carbon pipelines in California, leverage billions of dollars in federal support to meet our climate goals, and create thousands of high-road green jobs.”

Carbon Capture and Storage. Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and carbon removal is a process of separating CO₂ from a point source and putting it into long-term storage, usually by injecting CO₂ into a geological reservoir. This process is generally considered by experts to be a CO₂ reduction strategy, not a CO₂ removal strategy, since it is only reducing CO₂ from anthropogenic sources that would have otherwise entered the atmosphere, rather than removing what was already there. As of January 2025, there are approximately 13 of these projects in various stages of development in California, especially in the central valley.

Transportation is a key component of CCS and carbon removal projects because the location at which CO₂ is captured may be some distance from the point at which it will be geologically sequestered. Transportation can occur by marine tankers, trucks, rail, or pipelines. Experts generally agree that the most efficient way to transport CO₂, as well as the safest way for the volume of CO₂ they move is through pipelines. In many ways, pipelines are also the most cost-effective way to move CO₂.

CO₂ can be transported as a gas, liquid, or supercritical form. At standard temperature and pressure, CO₂ behaves as a gas, when it is cooled and highly compressed, CO₂ becomes a liquid. When both the temperature and pressure are increased above the standard temperature and pressure, CO₂ exists in a supercritical state, in this state CO₂ has some properties of a gas and some properties of liquid.

Transportation of CO₂ by Pipelines. The federal PHMSA develops and enforces the transportation of hazardous materials via pipelines to ensure the same, reliable and environmentally sound operation of the nation’s pipeline transportation system. The PHMSA maintains regulatory jurisdiction over interstate pipelines, which encompasses pipelines that travel between state and in federal waters. In the Areas of CCS and carbon removal projects, PHMSA has no regulatory jurisdiction over interstate or intrastate pipelines transporting CO₂ as a liquid. Federal statute provides PHMSA with regulatory authority over interstate and intrastate pipelines transporting CO₂ as a gas or supercritical state. While PHMSA has released proposed regulations at the end of the Biden Administration, those regulations have been “withdrawn” by the Trump Administration.

In California, the SFM maintains regulatory jurisdiction over hazardous liquid intrastate pipelines. The SFM regulates the safety of nearly 6,000 miles of intrastate hazardous liquid transportation pipelines through a PHMSA certified compliance and enforcement program. With this certification, the SFM may adopt additional safety standards for intrastate pipeline facilities provided such standards are compatible with federal regulation. Those safety standards may be more restrictive or stringent than federal regulation. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), as part of their jurisdiction, ensures that intrastate natural gas and liquid petroleum gas pipeline systems are designed, constructed, operated, and maintained according to safety standards set by the CPUC and the PHMSA. CPUC’s existing authority does not extend to intrastate CO₂ gas pipelines.

There is currently, no intrastate CO₂ pipeline in California. When such pipelines are developed, the SFM will exercise jurisdiction over intrastate CO₂ pipelines through the existing federal pipeline safety state program agreement. This agreement delegate’s authority for the SMF to regulate intrastate pipelines that carry CO₂ compressed to a supercritical state and composed of at least 90% CO₂. Pipelines transporting less than 90% CO₂, including CO₂ in a liquid or gas form, would likely fall outside the scope of existing regulations, leaving regulation of pipelines transporting CO₂ composed of less than 90% CO₂ or in a liquid gas form to local jurisdictions and those states who choose to adopt regulation.

At this time, significant regulatory uncertainty exists regarding the design, operation, siting, and maintenance of intrastate CO₂ pipelines, regardless of the state that CO₂ is transported. The SFM is currently limited to applying only federal safety standards to CO₂ pipelines; transport of supercritical CO₂ that is composed of at least 90% CO₂. Establishing separate standards in California that are in addition to federal regulation is only possible if changes are made in state law.

Draft of Federal Regulations. On January 10, 2025, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking under RIN 2138-AF60, aiming to enhance the minimum federal safety standards for the transportation of CO₂ by pipeline, as outlined in parts 190 to 199 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Ten days later, according to various reports, a federal pipeline safety official not authorized to speak publicly said the proposed rules were “withdrawn” in accordance with a January 20, 2025, executive order by President Trump that freezes all pending regulations and initiatives pending a review process by newly appointed agency leaders. Federal CO₂ transport through pipelines rules were put further in doubt with a February 19 executive order aimed at rooting out all regulations that are costly to “private parties” and impede economic development.

The previously proposed federal regulations sought to address the anticipated expansion of CO₂ pipeline infrastructure driven by increased CCS initiatives. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the current network of approximately 5,000 miles of CO₂ pipelines is projected to expand significantly to support these initiatives. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking introduced several key provisions including:

1. Comprehensive Safety Requirements. For the first time, PHMSA proposed specific regulations for pipelines transporting CO₂ in gaseous and liquid states, complementing existing standards for supercritical CO₂ pipelines. These proposed regulations would have encompass design, installation, operation, maintenance, and reporting protocols.
2. Conversion Standards. Operators seeking to repurpose existing pipelines for CO₂ transport would have been required to adhere to stringent guidelines, including conducting spike hydrostatic pressure tests and performing in-line inspections within specified timeframes to ensure structural integrity.
3. Emergency Preparedness. The proposal would have mandated enhanced training for emergency responders, provision of CO₂ detection equipment, and improved public communication strategies during emergencies to bolster safety measures.
4. Vapor Dispersion Analysis. Operators would have been required to perform detailed analyses to predict the spread of CO₂ in the event of a pipeline failure, thereby aiding in risk assessment and mitigation planning.

SB 905 (Caballero, Chapter 359, Statutes of 2022). In 2022, SB 905 was signed by Governor Newsom. Among other things, the bill prohibits the use of intrastate pipelines to transport CO₂ until the PHMSA completes its rulemaking process. SB 905 required the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) to “provide a proposal to the Legislature to establish a state framework and standards for the design, operation, siting, and maintenance of intrastate pipelines carrying CO₂ fluids of varying composition and phase to minimize the risk posed to public and environmental health and safety.”

The proposal was released in March 2023, and included various recommendations “aimed at informing additional legislation that would be necessary to create a robust regulatory framework governing CO₂ pipelines so as to protect public, health, safety, and the environment. These recommendations are made with the recognition that CCS and carbon removal projects, and CO₂ transport, represent a new set of technologies and infrastructure and accordingly, poses, new risks and potential adverse impact to human health, safety, and the environment should a pipeline failure occur.”

One of the recommendations included providing the SFM with clear regulatory authority over pipeline transportation of CO₂ in liquid, gas, and supercritical state to protect public safety. As part of this recommendation the CNRA stated that “clear authority to draft safety-related regulations governing intrastate CO₂ pipelines will avoid ambiguity about which state agency is charged with regulating liquid, gas, and supercritical CO₂ pipelines. It will also ensure a well-defined and understood regulatory process that includes robust public process and allows time to incorporate emerging information from new research and development studies.

Additionally the CNRA recommended the SFM with clear administrative and enforcement authority to order intrastate CO₂ pipeline shutdown immediately when safety regulations are violated.”

Related/Prior Legislation

AB 881 (Petrie-Norris, 2025) adds CO₂ to the substances included in the Elder Act and requires the SFM to adopt regulations governing the safe transportation of CO₂ by April 1, 2026, as specified, and lifts the statewide moratorium on pipelines transporting CO₂ to or from a carbon capture, removal, or sequestration project. (Pending in the Assembly Appropriations Committee)

AB 2623 (Arambula, 2024) would have expanded the regulation of intrastate pipelines under the Act to intrastate pipelines used for the transportation of CO₂. Additionally, the bill would have required the SFM to adopt safety-related regulations governing intrastate pipelines transporting CO₂, as provided. (Never heard in the Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee)

SB 905 (Caballero, Chapter 359, Statutes of 2022) requires the California Air Resources Board to establish a Carbon Capture, Removal, Utilization, and Storage Program and adopt regulations for a model unified permit program for the construction and operation of CCRUS projects. In addition, the bill prohibits the use of intrastate pipelines to transport of CO₂ until the PHMSA completes its rulemaking. Furthermore, the bill requires the California Natural Resources Agency to “provide a proposal to the Legislature to establish a state framework and standards for the design, operation, siting, and maintenance of intrastate pipelines carrying CO₂ fluids of varying composition and phase to minimize the risk posed to public and environmental health and safety.

AB 1676 (Luz Rivas, 2022) would have added CO_2, compressed to a supercritical state, to the substances included in the Elder California Pipeline Safety Act, giving the SFM exclusive jurisdiction to regulate intrastate pipeline transportation of CO₂ under the existing provisions of the Elder Act, which currently applies to petroleum and other hazardous liquids. (Never Heard in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee)

SB 295 (Jackson, Chapter 607, statutes of 2015) requires the SFM, to annually inspect all intrastate pipelines and operators of intrastate pipelines under the jurisdiction of the SFM and requires the SFM to adopt regulations implementing these provisions.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes

According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, “This bill creates significant new administrative, analytical and regulatory work for the Fire Marshal. Presumably, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), in which the Fire Marshal is located, will require additional resources to undertake this work.

When this committee considered AB 881 (Petrie Norris) this spring, CAL FIRE reported it is already working on carbon dioxide pipeline regulation pursuant to authority provided by existing law, so any costs to the Fire Marshal to implement AB 881 should be minor and absorbable.

The committed asked CAL FIRE about costs to implement this bill, and further asked CAL FIRE, if it asserted it could do so with existing resources, to explain, in detail, why it would not require additional resources to undertake the significant workload created by this bill. CAL FIRE did not provide an explanation by the time this analysis was prepared.

It is reasonable to assume, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, this bill entails significant new one-time costs for CAL FIRE, in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars, at least (General Fund).”

SUPPORT: (Verified 9/4/25)

Bloom Energy

California State Pipe Trades Council

Coalition for Sustainable

OPPOSITION: (Verified 9/4/25)

Asian Pacific Environmental Network

Biofuelwatch

California Environmental Justice Alliance

CA Youth vs. Big Oil

Center for Biological Diversity

Center on Race, Poverty, and Environment

Central California Environmental Justice Network

Climate Equity Policy Center

Climate Hawks Vote

Climate Health Now Action Fund

Climate Reality San Francisco Bay Area Chapter

Consumer Wathdog

El Pueblo Para el Aire y Agua Limpia de Kettleman City

Elder Climate Action, NorCal Chapter

Elders Climate Action

Extinction Rebellion San Francisco Bay Area

Food & Water Watch

Fossil Free California

Good Neighbor Steering Committee

Greenpeace USA

Interfaith Climate Action Network of Contra Costa County

Labor Rise Climate Jobs Action Group

Leadership Counsel Action

Little Manila Rising

Oil and Gas Action Network

Oil Change International

Physicians for Social Responsibility – Los Angeles

Physicians for Social Responsibility – San Francisco Bay

Planning and Conservation League

Progressive Democrats of Benicia

Protect Monterey County

San Diego 350

San Francisco Bay Area Physicians for Social Responsibility

San Francisco Baykeeper

Santa Cruz Climate Action Network

Sierra Club

Social Eco Education

Solano County Democratic Central Committee

Sunflower Alliance

UNIDOS Network Inc.

West Berkeley Alliance for Clean Air and Safe Jobs

350 Bay Area Action

350 Contra Costa Action

350 Humboldt County

350 Santa Barbara

1000 Grandmothers for Future Generations

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the California State Pipe Trades Council, “SB 614 directs the [SFM] to develop robust, safety-related regulations for CO₂ pipelines , ensuring that they are constructed, maintained, and operated in a manner that minimizes risks to public health and the environment. These regulations will be based on PHMSA’s extensive regulatory update that was initiated but not finalized under the Bided Administration, ensuring that California upholds the highest safety standards.”

ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: According to opponents of the bill, “[both] the federal government and California need to fill the dangerous gaps for CO₂ pipelines before CCS projects are allowed to proceed. Our groups fully support California regulating above and beyond what PHSMA sets as the federal floor. But ending California’s existing partial moratorium before PHSMA’s regulations are complete risks preemption and prevents the state and its residents from benefitting from the nationwide attention and expert input that the federal rulemaking will generate. Ending the moratorium prematurely will also accelerate the poor investment and false climate solution that is CSS. In short, there is no benefit to California jumping out early and changing the precautionary measure that is already in place.”

According to the Central California Environmental Justice Network, “SB 614’s attempt to allow pipelines to be operated before official state regulations are adopted is confusing and raises many concerns on enforceability. Allowing pipelines to be built before the SFM adopts more strict regulations would be a perverse incentive to the industry to drag out and delay state regulation development and quickly build pipelines before more stringent regulations are in place. It would also be more efficient for the SFM to go through the regulatory process once. In order to ensure that all CO₂ pipelines in California follow strong, enforceable safety standards, we ask that SB 614 be amended to clearly require the SFM to adopt regulations before CO₂ pipelines can be operated.”

Click here to enter text.

Prepared by: Brian Duke / G.O. / (916) 651-1530, Felipe Lopez / G.O. / (916) 651-1530

9/12/25 14:52:42

**** END ****

SENATE THIRD READING

STR Bill Id:SB 614

Author:(Stern)

As Amended Ver:September 5, 2025

Majority vote

SUMMARY

Directs the Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) to adopt regulations governing the safe transportation of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in pipelines.

Major Provisions

1. Directs the OSFM, by July 1, 2026, to adopt regulations governing the safe transportation of CO₂ in pipelines that are at a minimum as protective as the draft federal regulations set forth in the unofficial version of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued by the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) on January 10, 2025, pursuant to rulemaking (RIN 2137-AF60) regarding the minimum federal safety standards for transportation of CO₂ by pipeline.
2. Allows a pipeline to be used to transport CO₂ to or from a CO₂ capture, removal or sequestration project only after the OSFM adopts regulations and the CO₂ capture, removal or sequestration project operator demonstrates that the pipeline meets the standards in those regulations.
3. Directs the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) to consider adoption of the initial regulations as an emergency, and necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety and general welfare to remain in effect until amended by the OSFM.
4. States the regulations shall apply to newly constructed CO₂ pipelines after the effective date of the regulations or amendments to them. Existing CO₂ pipelines prior to the effective date of the regulations shall comply within a timeframe specified by the OSFM. Prohibits a pipeline originally constructed to transport any other liquid or gas from being approved for CO₂ transport.
5. Authorizes the OSFM to amend the regulations to protect public health and welfare and the environment and directs the OSFM, at least once every five years, to assess the CO₂ pipeline safety standards.
6. Defines "sensitive receptor" and requires operators of CO₂ pipelines to submit to OSFM and the lead California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) agency for the pipeline project an emergency planning zone inventory and detailed map that includes a list of all sensitive receptors within the emergency planning zone that encompasses the pipeline, among other requirements.
7. Requires the inventory and maps to be shared with local emergency response entities at least once every three years, to the identified sensitive receptors annually, and published online once personally identifiable information is redacted.

Requires the lead agency, as part of the CEQA environmental impact report for construction of a CO₂ pipeline, to provide a notice to owners and operators of sensitive receptors within one-quarter mile of the proposed pipeline and to the OSFM, as specified.

COMMENTS

According to the California Air Resources Board's (CARB's) "2022 Scoping Plan for Achieving Carbon Neutrality," carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) will be a necessary tool to reduce GHG emissions and mitigate climate change while minimizing leakage and reducing emissions where no technological alternatives may exist.

State law requires CARB to establish a Carbon Capture, Removal, Utilization, and Storage Program for a unified permit application for the construction and operation of CO₂ capture, removal, or sequestration projects. However, state law prohibits a pipeline from being used to transport CO₂ to or from a CO₂ capture, removal, or sequestration project until PHMSA has concluded its rulemaking regarding minimum federal safety standards for transportation of CO₂ by pipeline and the CO₂ project operator demonstrates that the pipeline meets those standards.

Currently, PHMSA has only established safety standards regarding the transport of CO₂ in a supercritical state at a concentration of 90% or higher. The transport of CO₂ in concentrations of less than 90%, or in liquid or gas form is unregulated. PHMSA has noted this regulatory gap is due to the limited (supercritical-phase only) CO₂ pipelines in operation in 1991 during the creation of the original federal rules.

Following the rupture of a pipeline transporting CO₂ as part of an enhanced oil recovery operation in Satartia, Mississippi, in February 2022, which led to local evacuation and the hospitalization of 46 people, PHMSA began updating its CO₂ pipeline safety standards. On January 10, 2025, PHMSA issued draft regulations as part of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. These draft regulations included 18 proposals, including:

1. Redefining "carbon dioxide" to be a fluid of more than 50% CO₂ molecules in any combination of gas, liquid, or supercritical phases.
2. Establishment of procedures to convert steel pipelines for CO₂ or hazardous liquid transport.
3. Requiring all carbon dioxide pipeline operators to provide training to emergency responders that addresses threats specific to carbon dioxide releases and provide equipment to local first responders for use during an emergency on a carbon dioxide pipeline.
4. Requiring leak detection, fixed vapor detection, and alarm systems for CO₂ pipelines.
5. Requiring operators of all carbon dioxide pipelines to establish emergency planning zones extending two miles on either side of their pipelines that will inform operators' efforts in ensuring members of the public have adequate emergency response information.

This bill allows transport of CO₂ in a pipeline to or from a CO₂ capture, removal or sequestration project, not when PHMSA finishes its rulemaking, as is the case under existing state law; but when the OSFM, instead, adopts emergency regulations governing the safe transportation of CO₂ in pipelines.

According to the Author

According to the author, "Communities deserve safety and a robust public process whenever a project carrying hazardous materials will be traveling through their communities. While the permitting and building of carbon dioxide pipelines are an important part of the state's carbon capture and sequestration efforts, it cannot come at the expense of community safety. SB 614 aims to enshrine the Biden administration draft regulations in state law to ensure best-in-class safety practices. This bill sets a high standard for establishing when transportation of carbon dioxide by pipeline would be allowed, and would provide experts with the ability to increase safety standards and stringency."

Arguments in Support

The bill is supported by industry groups and the California State Pipe Trades Council, which writes the bill "will establish much-needed state safety regulations for the transportation of carbon dioxide (carbon dioxide) by pipeline, ensuring that California remains at the forefront of climate action while prioritizing public and environmental safety."

Arguments in Opposition

The bill is opposed by a long list of environmental, environmental justice and public health advocacy organizations, who generally oppose CCS (they liken it to "putting filters on a cigarette: it gives the appearance of a solution while allowing underlying harms to continue") and, more specifically, contend this bill is premature, noting: "Shortcutting the process set forth under SB 905 by ending the moratorium early not only presents the legal risk that California regulations will be preempted, but it prevents the state from benefitting from the groundswell of national input and expertise that the PHMSA rulemaking will generate."

FISCAL COMMENTS

According to the Assembly Committee on Appropriations, this bill creates significant new work for the OSFM. However CAL FIRE, the department in which OSFM is located, said costs should be minor and absorbable. CAL FIRE did not provide clarity to the Committee on how they could undertake this workload without more resources.

VOTES

SENATE FLOOR: 38-0-2

YES: Allen, Alvarado-Gil, Archuleta, Arreguín, Ashby, Becker, Blakespear, Cabaldon, Caballero, Cervantes, Choi, Cortese, Dahle, Durazo, Gonzalez, Grayson, Grove, Hurtado, Jones, Laird, Limón, McGuire, McNerney, Niello, Ochoa Bogh, Padilla, Pérez, Richardson, Rubio, Seyarto, Smallwood-Cuevas, Stern, Strickland, Umberg, Valladares, Wahab, Weber Pierson, Wiener

ABS, ABST OR NV: Menjivar, Reyes

ASM UTILITIES AND ENERGY: 17-0-1

YES: Petrie-Norris, Patterson, Boerner, Calderon, Chen, Davies, Mark González, Harabedian, Irwin, Kalra, Papan, Rogers, Schiavo, Schultz, Ta, Wallis, Zbur

ABS, ABST OR NV: Hart

ASM NATURAL RESOURCES: 12-0-2

YES: Bryan, Alanis, Ellis, Flora, Garcia, Haney, Hoover, Kalra, Muratsuchi, Pellerin, Schultz, Zbur

ABS, ABST OR NV: Connolly, Wicks

ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 11-0-4

YES: Wicks, Arambula, Calderon, Caloza, Elhawary, Fong, Mark González, Ahrens, Pacheco, Pellerin, Solache

ABS, ABST OR NV: Sanchez, Dixon, Ta, Tangipa

UPDATED

VERSION: September 5, 2025

CONSULTANT: Laura Shybut / U. & E. / (916) 319-2083 FN: 0001795

SENATE THIRD READING

STR Bill Id:SB 614

Author:(Stern)

As Amended Ver:September 3, 2025

Majority vote

SUMMARY

Directs the Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) to adopt regulations governing the safe transportation of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in pipelines.

Major Provisions

1. Directs the OSFM, by July 1, 2026, to adopt regulations governing the safe transportation of CO₂ in pipelines that are at a minimum as protective as the draft federal regulations set forth in the unofficial version of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued by the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) on January 10, 2025, pursuant to rulemaking (RIN 2137-AF60) regarding the minimum federal safety standards for transportation of CO₂ by pipeline.
2. Allows a pipeline to be used to transport CO₂ to or from a CO₂ capture, removal or sequestration project only after the OSFM adopts regulations and the CO₂ capture, removal or sequestration project operator demonstrates that the pipeline meets the standards in those regulations.
3. Directs the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) to consider adoption of the initial regulations as an emergency, and necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety and general welfare to remain in effect until amended by the OSFM.
4. States the regulations shall apply to newly constructed CO₂ pipelines after the effective date of the regulations or amendments to them. Existing CO₂ pipelines prior to the effective date of the regulations shall comply within a timeframe specified by the OSFM. Prohibits a pipeline originally constructed to transport any other liquid or gas from being approved for CO₂ transport.
5. Authorizes the OSFM to amend the regulations to protect public health and welfare and the environment and directs the OSFM, at least once every five years, to assess the CO₂ pipeline safety standards.
6. Defines "sensitive receptor" and requires operators of CO₂ pipelines to submit to OSFM and the lead California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) agency for the pipeline project an emergency planning zone inventory and detailed map that includes a list of all sensitive receptors within the emergency planning zone that encompasses the pipeline, among other requirements.
7. Requires the inventory and maps to be shared with local emergency response entities at least once every three years, to the identified sensitive receptors annually, and published online once personally identifiable information is redacted.
8. Requires the lead agency, as part of the CEQA environmental impact report for construction of a CO₂ pipeline, to provide a notice to owners and operators of sensitive receptors within one-quarter mile of the proposed pipeline and to the OSFM, as specified.

COMMENTS

According to the California Air Resources Board's (CARB's) "2022 Scoping Plan for Achieving Carbon Neutrality," carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) will be a necessary tool to reduce GHG emissions and mitigate climate change while minimizing leakage and reducing emissions where no technological alternatives may exist.

State law requires CARB to establish a Carbon Capture, Removal, Utilization, and Storage Program for a unified permit application for the construction and operation of CO₂ capture, removal, or sequestration projects. However, state law prohibits a pipeline from being used to transport CO₂ to or from a CO₂ capture, removal, or sequestration project until PHMSA has concluded its rulemaking regarding minimum federal safety standards for transportation of CO₂ by pipeline and the CO₂ project operator demonstrates that the pipeline meets those standards.

Currently, PHMSA has only established safety standards regarding the transport of CO₂ in a supercritical state at a concentration of 90% or higher. The transport of CO₂ in concentrations of less than 90%, or in liquid or gas form is unregulated. PHMSA has noted this regulatory gap is due to the limited (supercritical-phase only) CO₂ pipelines in operation in 1991 during the creation of the original federal rules.

Following the rupture of a pipeline transporting CO₂ as part of an enhanced oil recovery operation in Satartia, Mississippi, in February 2022, which led to local evacuation and the hospitalization of 46 people, PHMSA began updating its CO₂ pipeline safety standards. On January 10, 2025, PHMSA issued draft regulations as part of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. These draft regulations included 18 proposals, including:

1. Redefining "carbon dioxide" to be a fluid of more than 50% CO₂ molecules in any combination of gas, liquid, or supercritical phases.
2. Establishment of procedures to convert steel pipelines for CO₂ or hazardous liquid transport.
3. Requiring all carbon dioxide pipeline operators to provide training to emergency responders that addresses threats specific to carbon dioxide releases and provide equipment to local first responders for use during an emergency on a carbon dioxide pipeline.
4. Requiring leak detection, fixed vapor detection, and alarm systems for CO₂ pipelines.
5. Requiring operators of all carbon dioxide pipelines to establish emergency planning zones extending two miles on either side of their pipelines that will inform operators' efforts in ensuring members of the public have adequate emergency response information.

This bill allows transport of CO₂ in a pipeline to or from a CO₂ capture, removal or sequestration project, not when PHMSA finishes its rulemaking, as is the case under existing state law; but when the OSFM, instead, adopts emergency regulations governing the safe transportation of CO₂ in pipelines.

According to the Author

According to the author, "Communities deserve safety and a robust public process whenever a project carrying hazardous materials will be traveling through their communities. While the permitting and building of carbon dioxide pipelines are an important part of the state's carbon capture and sequestration efforts, it cannot come at the expense of community safety. SB 614 aims to enshrine the Biden administration draft regulations in state law to ensure best-in-class safety practices. This bill sets a high standard for establishing when transportation of carbon dioxide by pipeline would be allowed, and would provide experts with the ability to increase safety standards and stringency."

Arguments in Support

The bill is supported by industry groups and the California State Pipe Trades Council, which writes the bill "will establish much-needed state safety regulations for the transportation of carbon dioxide (carbon dioxide) by pipeline, ensuring that California remains at the forefront of climate action while prioritizing public and environmental safety."

Arguments in Opposition

The bill is opposed by a long list of environmental, environmental justice and public health advocacy organizations, who generally oppose CCS (they liken it to "putting filters on a cigarette: it gives the appearance of a solution while allowing underlying harms to continue") and, more specifically, contend this bill is premature, noting: "Shortcutting the process set forth under SB 905 by ending the moratorium early not only presents the legal risk that California regulations will be preempted, but it prevents the state from benefitting from the groundswell of national input and expertise that the PHMSA rulemaking will generate."

FISCAL COMMENTS

According to the Assembly Committee on Appropriations, this bill creates significant new work for the OSFM. However CAL FIRE, the department in which OSFM is located, said costs should be minor and absorbable. CAL FIRE did not provide clarity to the Committee on how they could undertake this workload without more resources.

VOTES

SENATE FLOOR: 38-0-2

YES: Allen, Alvarado-Gil, Archuleta, Arreguín, Ashby, Becker, Blakespear, Cabaldon, Caballero, Cervantes, Choi, Cortese, Dahle, Durazo, Gonzalez, Grayson, Grove, Hurtado, Jones, Laird, Limón, McGuire, McNerney, Niello, Ochoa Bogh, Padilla, Pérez, Richardson, Rubio, Seyarto, Smallwood-Cuevas, Stern, Strickland, Umberg, Valladares, Wahab, Weber Pierson, Wiener

ABS, ABST OR NV: Menjivar, Reyes

ASM UTILITIES AND ENERGY: 17-0-1

YES: Petrie-Norris, Patterson, Boerner, Calderon, Chen, Davies, Mark González, Harabedian, Irwin, Kalra, Papan, Rogers, Schiavo, Schultz, Ta, Wallis, Zbur

ABS, ABST OR NV: Hart

ASM NATURAL RESOURCES: 12-0-2

YES: Bryan, Alanis, Ellis, Flora, Garcia, Haney, Hoover, Kalra, Muratsuchi, Pellerin, Schultz, Zbur

ABS, ABST OR NV: Connolly, Wicks

ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 11-0-4

YES: Wicks, Arambula, Calderon, Caloza, Elhawary, Fong, Mark González, Ahrens, Pacheco, Pellerin, Solache

ABS, ABST OR NV: Sanchez, Dixon, Ta, Tangipa

UPDATED

VERSION: September 3, 2025

CONSULTANT: Laura Shybut / U. & E. / (916) 319-2083 FN: 0001479

SENATE THIRD READING

STR Bill Id:SB 614

Author:(Stern)

As Amended Ver:July 10, 2025

Majority vote

SUMMARY

Directs the Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) to adopt regulations governing the safe transportation of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in pipelines.

Major Provisions

1. Directs the OSFM, by July 1, 2026, to adopt regulations governing the safe transportation of CO₂ in pipelines that are at a minimum as protective as the draft federal regulations set forth in the unofficial version of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued by the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) on January 10, 2025, pursuant to rulemaking (RIN 2137-AF60) regarding the minimum federal safety standards for transportation of CO₂ by pipeline.
2. Allows a pipeline to be used to transport CO₂ to or from a CO₂ capture, removal or sequestration project only after the OSFM adopts regulations and the CO₂ capture, removal or sequestration project operator demonstrates that the pipeline meets the standards in those regulations.
3. Directs the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) to consider adoption of the initial regulations as an emergency, and necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety and general welfare to remain in effect until amended by the OSFM.
4. States the regulations shall apply to newly constructed CO₂ pipelines after the effective date of the regulations or amendments to them. Existing CO₂ pipelines prior to the effective date of the regulations shall comply within a timeframe specified by the OSFM. Prohibits a pipeline originally constructed to transport any other liquid or gas from being approved for CO₂ transport.
5. Authorizes the OSFM to amend the regulations to protect public health and welfare and the environment and directs the OSFM, at least once every five years, to assess the CO₂ pipeline safety standards.
6. Defines "sensitive receptor" and requires operators of CO₂ pipelines to submit to OSFM and the lead California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) agency for the pipeline project an emergency planning zone inventory and detailed map that includes a list of all sensitive receptors within the emergency planning zone that encompasses the pipeline, among other requirements.
7. Requires the inventory and maps to be shared with local emergency response entities at least once every three years, to the identified sensitive receptors annually, and published online once personally identifiable information is redacted.
8. Requires the lead agency, as part of the CEQA environmental impact report for construction of a CO₂ pipeline, to provide a notice to owners and operators of sensitive receptors within one-quarter mile of the proposed pipeline and to the OSFM, as specified.

COMMENTS

According to the California Air Resources Board's (CARB's) "2022 Scoping Plan for Achieving Carbon Neutrality," carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) will be a necessary tool to reduce GHG emissions and mitigate climate change while minimizing leakage and reducing emissions where no technological alternatives may exist.

State law requires CARB to establish a Carbon Capture, Removal, Utilization, and Storage Program for a unified permit application for the construction and operation of CO₂ capture, removal, or sequestration projects. However, state law prohibits a pipeline from being used to transport CO₂ to or from a CO₂ capture, removal, or sequestration project until PHMSA has concluded its rulemaking regarding minimum federal safety standards for transportation of CO₂ by pipeline and the CO₂ project operator demonstrates that the pipeline meets those standards.

Currently, PHMSA has only established safety standards regarding the transport of CO₂ in a supercritical state at a concentration of 90% or higher. The transport of CO₂ in concentrations of less than 90%, or in liquid or gas form is unregulated. PHMSA has noted this regulatory gap is due to the limited (supercritical-phase only) CO₂ pipelines in operation in 1991 during the creation of the original federal rules.

Following the rupture of a pipeline transporting CO₂ as part of an enhanced oil recovery operation in Satartia, Mississippi, in February 2022, which led to local evacuation and the hospitalization of 46 people, PHMSA began updating its CO₂ pipeline safety standards. On January 10, 2025, PHMSA issued draft regulations as part of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. These draft regulations included 18 proposals, including:

1. Redefining "carbon dioxide" to be a fluid of more than 50% CO₂ molecules in any combination of gas, liquid, or supercritical phases.
2. Establishment of procedures to convert steel pipelines for CO₂ or hazardous liquid transport.
3. Requiring all carbon dioxide pipeline operators to provide training to emergency responders that addresses threats specific to carbon dioxide releases and provide equipment to local first responders for use during an emergency on a carbon dioxide pipeline.
4. Requiring leak detection, fixed vapor detection, and alarm systems for CO₂ pipelines.
5. Requiring operators of all carbon dioxide pipelines to establish emergency planning zones extending two miles on either side of their pipelines that will inform operators' efforts in ensuring members of the public have adequate emergency response information.

This bill allows transport of CO₂ in a pipeline to or from a CO₂ capture, removal or sequestration project, not when PHMSA finishes its rulemaking, as is the case under existing state law; but when the OSFM, instead, adopts emergency regulations governing the safe transportation of CO₂ in pipelines.

According to the Author

According to the author, "Communities deserve safety and a robust public process whenever a project carrying hazardous materials will be traveling through their communities. While the permitting and building of carbon dioxide pipelines are an important part of the state's carbon capture and sequestration efforts, it cannot come at the expense of community safety. SB 614 aims to enshrine the Biden administration draft regulations in state law to ensure best-in-class safety practices. This bill sets a high standard for establishing when transportation of carbon dioxide by pipeline would be allowed, and would provide experts with the ability to increase safety standards and stringency."

Arguments in Support

The bill is supported by industry groups and the California State Pipe Trades Council, which writes the bill "will establish much-needed state safety regulations for the transportation of carbon dioxide (carbon dioxide) by pipeline, ensuring that California remains at the forefront of climate action while prioritizing public and environmental safety."

Arguments in Opposition

The bill is opposed by a long list of environmental, environmental justice and public health advocacy organizations, who generally oppose CCS (they liken it to "putting filters on a cigarette: it gives the appearance of a solution while allowing underlying harms to continue") and, more specifically, contend this bill is premature, noting: "Shortcutting the process set forth under SB 905 by ending the moratorium early not only presents the legal risk that California regulations will be preempted, but it prevents the state from benefitting from the groundswell of national input and expertise that the PHMSA rulemaking will generate."

FISCAL COMMENTS

According to the Assembly Committee on Appropriations, this bill creates significant new work for the OSFM. However CAL FIRE, the department in which OSFM is located, said costs should be minor and absorbable. CAL FIRE did not provide clarity to the Committee on how they could undertake this workload without more resources.

VOTES

SENATE FLOOR: 38-0-2

YES: Allen, Alvarado-Gil, Archuleta, Arreguín, Ashby, Becker, Blakespear, Cabaldon, Caballero, Cervantes, Choi, Cortese, Dahle, Durazo, Gonzalez, Grayson, Grove, Hurtado, Jones, Laird, Limón, McGuire, McNerney, Niello, Ochoa Bogh, Padilla, Pérez, Richardson, Rubio, Seyarto, Smallwood-Cuevas, Stern, Strickland, Umberg, Valladares, Wahab, Weber Pierson, Wiener

ABS, ABST OR NV: Menjivar, Reyes

ASM UTILITIES AND ENERGY: 17-0-1

YES: Petrie-Norris, Patterson, Boerner, Calderon, Chen, Davies, Mark González, Harabedian, Irwin, Kalra, Papan, Rogers, Schiavo, Schultz, Ta, Wallis, Zbur

ABS, ABST OR NV: Hart

ASM NATURAL RESOURCES: 12-0-2

YES: Bryan, Alanis, Ellis, Flora, Garcia, Haney, Hoover, Kalra, Muratsuchi, Pellerin, Schultz, Zbur

ABS, ABST OR NV: Connolly, Wicks

ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 11-0-4

YES: Wicks, Arambula, Calderon, Caloza, Elhawary, Fong, Mark González, Ahrens, Pacheco, Pellerin, Solache

ABS, ABST OR NV: Sanchez, Dixon, Ta, Tangipa

UPDATED

VERSION: July 10, 2025

CONSULTANT: Laura Shybut / U. & E. / (916) 319-2083 FN: 0001479

Date of Hearing: August 20, 2025

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Buffy Wicks, Chair

SBPCA Bill Id:SB 614

Author:(Stern) – As Amended Ver:July 10, 2025

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY:

This bill directs the State Fire Marshal to adopt regulations governing the safe transportation of carbon dioxide in pipelines.

Specifically, this bill, among other things:

1. Allows a pipeline to be used to transport carbon dioxide to or from a carbon dioxide capture, removal or sequestration project only after the Fire Marshal adopts regulations and the carbon dioxide capture, removal or sequestration project operator demonstrates that the pipeline meets the standards in those regulations.
2. Directs the Fire Marshal, by April 1, 2026, to adopt regulations governing the safe transportation of carbon dioxide in pipelines that are equivalent to the draft federal regulations set forth in the unofficial version of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued by the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) on January 10, 2025, pursuant to rulemaking (RIN 2137-AF60) regarding the minimum federal safety standards for transportation of carbon dioxide by pipeline.
3. Directs the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) to consider adoption of the initial regulations as an emergency, and necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety and general welfare to remain in effect until amended by the Fire Marshal.
4. States the regulations are to require all pipelines permitted to transport carbon dioxide be newly constructed.
5. Authorizes the Fire Marshal to amend the regulations to protect public health and welfare and the environment and directs the Fire Marshal, at least once every five years, to assess the carbon dioxide pipeline safety standards.

FISCAL EFFECT:

This bill creates significant new administrative, analytical and regulatory work for the Fire Marshal. Presumably, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), in which the Fire Marshal is located, will require additional resources to undertake this work.

When this committee considered AB 881 (Petrie Norris) this spring, CAL FIRE reported it is already working on carbon dioxide pipeline regulation pursuant to authority provided by existing law, so any costs to the Fire Marshal to implement AB 881 should be minor and absorbable.

The committed asked CAL FIRE about costs to implement this bill, and further asked CAL FIRE, if it asserted it could do so with existing resources, to explain, in detail, why it would not require additional resources to undertake the significant workload created by this bill. CAL FIRE did not provide an explanation by the time this analysis was prepared.

It is reasonable to assume, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, this bill entails significant new one-time costs for CAL FIRE, in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars, at least (General Fund).

COMMENTS:

1. Purpose. The author intends this bill to allow the safe use of pipelines to move carbon dioxide. The author notes that “the permitting and building of carbon dioxide pipelines are an important part of the state’s carbon capture and sequestration efforts,” but asserts the use of such pipelines “cannot come at the expense of community safety.” The author intends this bill to “enshrine the Biden administration draft regulations in state law to ensure best-in-class safety practices.”
2. Background. According to the Air Resources Board’s (ARB’s) “2022 Scoping Plan for Achieving Carbon Neutrality,” carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) will be a necessary tool to reduce greenhouse emissions and mitigate climate change while minimizing leakage and minimizing emissions where no technological alternatives may exist.

State law requires ARB to establish a Carbon Capture, Removal, Utilization, and Storage Program and adopt regulations to create a unified permit application for the construction and operation of carbon dioxide capture, removal or sequestration projects to expedite the issuance of permits or other authorizations for the construction and operation of those projects. However, state law prohibits a pipeline from being used to transport carbon dioxide to or from a carbon dioxide capture, removal, or sequestration project until the federal PHMSA has concluded its rulemaking regarding minimum federal safety standards for transportation of carbon dioxide by pipeline and the carbon dioxide project operator demonstrates that the pipeline meets those standards.

Following the rupture of a pipeline transporting carbon dioxide as part of an enhanced oil recovery operation in Satartia, Mississippi, in February 2022, which led to local evacuation and the hospitalization of 46 people, PHMSA began updating its carbon dioxide pipeline safety standards and issued draft regulations on January 10, 2025. However, it is unclear if or when PHMSA, under the Trump administration, will finish the rulemaking.

This bill allows transport of carbon dioxide in a pipeline to or from a carbon dioxide capture, removal or sequestration project, not when PHMSA finishes its rulemaking, but when the State Fire Marshall, instead, adopts emergency regulations governing the safe transportation of carbon dioxide in pipelines.

This bill is very similar to AB 881 (Petrie Norris) when it was heard and approved by this committee earlier this year. AB 881 is pending hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

1. Support and Opposition. The bill is supported by industry groups and the California State Pipe Trades Council, which writes the bill “will establish much-needed state safety regulations for the transportation of carbon dioxide (carbon dioxide) by pipeline, ensuring that California remains at the forefront of climate action while prioritizing public and environmental safety.”

The bill is jointly opposed by the Center for Biological Diversity and a long list of advocacy organizations, who together write:

Both the federal government and California need to fill the dangerous regulatory gaps for carbon dioxide pipelines before CCS projects are allowed to proceed. Our groups fully support California regulating above and beyond what PHSMA sets as the federal floor. But ending California’s existing partial moratorium before PHMSA’s regulations are complete risks preemption and prevents the state and its residents from benefitting from the nationwide attention and expert input that the federal rulemaking will generate. Ending the moratorium prematurely will also accelerate the poor investment and false climate solution that is CCS.

In short, there is no benefit to California jumping out early and changing the precautionary measure that is already in place.

Analysis Prepared by: Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: July 14, 2025

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES

Isaac G. Bryan, Chair

SBPCA Bill Id:SB 614

Author:(Stern) – As Amended Ver:July 10, 2025

SENATE VOTE: 38-0

SUBJECT: Carbon dioxide transport

SUMMARY: Adds carbon dioxide (CO₂) to the substances included in the Elder California Pipeline Safety Act of 1981 (Elder Act), which currently applies to petroleum and other hazardous liquids. Requires the Office of the State Fire Marshall (OSFM) to adopt regulations governing the safe transportation of CO₂ by April 1, 2026, as specified, and lifts the statewide moratorium on pipelines transporting CO₂ to or from a carbon capture, removal, or sequestration project.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Requires the Air Resources Board (ARB), pursuant to the California Global Warming Solutions Act, to adopt a statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions limit equivalent to 1990 levels by 2020 and to adopt rules and regulations to achieve maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective GHG emission reductions. (Health and Safety Code (HSC) 38500 et seq.)
2. Requires ARB to ensure that statewide GHG emissions are reduced to at least 40% below the 1990 level by 2030. (HSC 38566)
3. Establishes, pursuant to the California Climate Crisis Act, the policy of the state to achieve net zero GHG emissions by 2045, maintain net negative GHG emissions thereafter, and ensure that by 2045, statewide anthropogenic GHG emissions are reduced to at least 85% below the statewide GHG emissions limit. (HSC 38562.2)
4. Requires ARB to prepare and approve a scoping plan, at least once every five years, for achieving the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective reductions in GHG emissions from sources or categories of sources of GHG emissions. (HSC 38561)
5. Requires any direct GHG regulation or market-based compliance mechanism adopted by ARB to achieve GHG emissions reductions that are real, permanent, quantifiable, verifiable, and enforceable by ARB. (HSC 38562 (d))
6. Requires ARB to establish a Carbon Capture, Removal, Utilization, and Storage Program. (HSC 39741 et seq.)
7. Provides that pipelines shall only be utilized to transport CO₂ to or from a CO₂ capture, removal, or sequestration project once the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has concluded its pending rulemaking regarding minimum federal safety standards for transportation of CO₂ by pipeline and the CO₂ project operator demonstrates that the pipeline meets those standards. This provision does not apply to carbon captured at a permitted facility and transported within that facility or property. (Public Resources Code (PRC) 71465(a))
8. Requires the Natural Resources Agency, in consultation with the Public Utilities Commission, to provide a proposal to the Legislature to establish a state framework and standards for the design, operation, siting, and maintenance of intrastate pipelines carrying CO₂ fluids. (PRC 71465(b))
9. Pursuant to the Elder Act:
   1. Grants the OSFM exclusive safety, regulatory, and enforcement authority over intrastate hazardous liquid pipelines. (Government Code (GC) 51010)
   2. Defines “pipeline” for the purposes of the Elder Act as every intrastate pipeline used for the transportation of hazardous liquid substances or highly volatile liquid substances; and does not include an interstate pipeline subject to federal regulations, a pipeline that transports hazardous substances in a gaseous state, and other specified exclusions. (GC 51010.5)
   3. Requires OSFM to adopt hazardous liquid pipeline safety regulations in compliance with the federal law relating to hazardous liquid pipeline safety, including, but not limited to, compliance orders, penalties, and inspection and maintenance provisions. (GC 51011)
   4. Requires every newly constructed pipeline, existing pipeline, or part of a pipeline system that has been relocated or replaced, and every pipeline that transports a hazardous liquid substance or highly volatile liquid substance, to be tested in accordance with federal regulations and every pipeline more than 10 years of age and not provided with effective cathodic protection to be hydrostatically tested every three years, except for those on the OSFM's list of higher risk pipelines, which shall be hydrostatically tested annually. (GC 51013.5)
   5. Requires every operator of an intrastate pipeline to maintain each valve and check valve necessary for safe pipeline operations, and requires OSFM to promulgate regulations for maintaining, testing, and inspecting these valves. (GC 51015.4)
   6. Authorizes OSFM to assess and collect from every pipeline operator an annual administrative fee. (GC 51019)
10. Pursuant to federal law:
    1. Grants the United States Secretary of Transportation the regulatory and enforcement authority over gas and hazardous liquid pipelines, including CO₂ pipelines. (49 United States Code 60102)
    2. Prohibits the Secretary of Transportation from prescribing or enforcing safety standards and practices for an intrastate pipeline or intrastate pipeline facility to the extent that the safety standards and practices are regulated by a state authority, except as provided. (49 United States Code 60105)
    3. Defines “carbon dioxide,” for the purposes of the PHMSA regulations, as a fluid consisting of more than 90% carbon dioxide molecules compressed to a supercritical state. (49 Code of Federal Regulations195.2)

THIS BILL:

1. Requires the OSFM, by April 1, 2026, to adopt regulations governing the safe transportation of CO₂ in pipelines that are “equivalent” to draft regulations issued by PHMSA on January 10, 2025. Provides that these regulations may be initially adopted as emergency regulations under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA).
2. Requires OSFM to consider the use of odorants, and require odorants if OSFM finds them feasible, safe and effective.
3. Requires OSFM’s regulations to require all CO₂ pipelines to be newly constructed, and not converted from existing pipelines.
4. Permits the OSFM to amend the regulations, as it deems necessary after adoption, to provide standards for various issues, including pipeline design, materials, odorants, leak detection, and emergency response, among other issues.
5. Allows the OSFM to order a CO₂ pipeline to shut down for violations of state or federal law, or if continued operations present immediate danger.
6. Requires CO₂ transported by pipeline to meet or exceed standards adopted by OSFM to be recognized by ARB for a requirement adopted pursuant to the Global Warming Solutions Act.
7. Lifts the moratorium on intrastate pipelines used for CO₂ transport for CO₂ capture, removal, or sequestration projects once the OSFM has adopted regulations, and the pipeline operator demonstrates that the pipelines meets the standards in the regulations.
8. Establishes related findings.

FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, unknown initial costs for the OSFM to develop regulations regarding the transport of carbon dioxide in a pipeline (California Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Fund). Actual fiscal impact to the OSFM will depend on the extent the OSFM may absorb this workload through its existing oversight responsibilities for pipelines transporting hazardous liquid substances. The OSFM’s ongoing regulatory costs may be offset to some extent by pipeline operator annual fees.

COMMENTS:

1. Background. There are a number of CO₂ sources. An abundant source is from underground reservoirs where CO₂ under pressure occurs naturally. It can also be produced commercially in natural gas plants, ammonia plants, and recovered from power plant stack gas with carbon capture technology.

At normal temperatures and atmospheric pressure, CO₂ is an odorless and colorless gas, not flammable, and denser than air. It will not combust, but it can be fatal to humans if enclosed due to the potential for suffocation. CO₂ may exist either as a solid or gas depending on temperature and pressure. Dry ice for refrigeration is a common use of CO₂ in solid form. When pressurized to extremely high pressures (1,200 pounds per square inch gauge (psig)), CO₂ enters a supercritical state. Supercritical CO₂ is a fluid state where CO₂ is held at or above its critical temperature and critical pressure, where its properties are midway between a gas and a liquid.

PHMSA regulations define CO₂ as a fluid consisting of more than 90% CO₂ molecules compressed to a supercritical state. The remaining 10% may be comprised of gases such as water, nitrogen, oxygen, methane, or other impurities. Federal standards set CO₂ impurity limits for transportation pipelines.

Pipeline transportation of CO₂ in the supercritical state is more practical than transportation in the gaseous state. As a dense vapor in the supercritical state, CO₂ can be transported more economically and efficiently using smaller pipelines and pumps because greater volumes of fluid may be transported. Most CO₂ is transported in the supercritical state in steel pipelines kept at 2,200 psig.

CO₂ has been used for many years to aid in the production of crude oil. Because of its high degree of solubility in crude oil and abundance, CO₂ is a popular extraction tool in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) projects. In EOR, the CO₂ mixes with crude oil making the oil more mobile and easier to extract. Supercritical CO₂ has also grown in popularity as a solvent in the chemical industry, where it can replace more toxic, volatile organic compounds.

PHMSA has exclusive federal authority over interstate pipeline facilities. An interstate pipeline is defined as a pipeline that is used in the transportation of hazardous liquid or CO₂ in interstate or foreign commerce. Typically, these lines cross state borders or begin in federal waters.

OSFM regulates intrastate hazardous liquid pipelines pursuant to the Elder Act, while the PUC regulates intrastate gas pipelines (both natural gas and liquid petroleum gas, or propane). An intrastate pipeline is defined as a pipeline that is located entirely within state borders, including offshore state waters.

OSFM may regulate portions of interstate hazardous liquid pipelines located within the state, if there is an agreement between PHMSA and OSFM. OSFM is only allowed to enter into an agreement with PHMSA if it is given all regulatory and enforcement authority of the pipelines subject to the agreement. The vast majority of hazardous liquid pipelines in California carry petroleum.

The Elder Act was written in the 1980s to address petroleum pipelines. It has been updated over the years in the wake of petroleum pipeline accidents to add safety requirements based on issues unique to petroleum pipelines, most recently following the 2015 Refugio spill in Santa Barbara County. However, the original Act, as well as the updates, are geared towards petroleum infrastructure and characteristics, as well as lessons learned from petroleum pipeline accidents.

CO₂ is not currently defined as a hazardous substance under PHMSA regulations. As noted above, the most dangerous hazard of CO₂ is asphyxiation. Because CO₂ is denser than air, it may pool in enclosed spaces or fail to disburse when released in areas without strong air circulation. The most deadly incident involving CO₂ occurred in 1986 in Lake Nyos, Cameroon which is one of only three lakes in the world known to be naturally saturated with CO_2. An eruption of dissolved CO₂ in the lake suddenly released an estimated 1.6 million tons of CO₂ into the air, killing 1,700 people and 3,500 livestock. However, industrial CO₂ accidents may also occur, such as a 2008 leak at a fire extinguishing installation in Germany, which led to the hospitalization of 19 people. More recently, a CO₂ pipeline accident occurred in Satartia, Mississippi in February 2020, when a pipeline that was part of a network used for EOR ruptured, causing the evacuation of local residents and the hospitalization of 46 people.

According to a 2023 California Natural Resources Agency report to the Legislature, PHMSA has delegated regulatory authority for intrastate pipelines to OSFM. However, OSFM’s jurisdiction under this delegation is limited to enforcing the federal standards, rather than establishing state standards. Currently, PHMSA has only established safety standards regarding the transport of CO₂ in a supercritical state at a concentration of 90% or higher. The transport of CO₂ in concentrations of less than 90%, or in liquid or gas form is unregulated. PHMSA has noted this regulatory gap is due to the limited (supercritical-phase only) CO₂ pipelines in operation in 1991 during the creation of the original federal rules.

PHMSA initiated an update to its CO₂ pipeline safety standards after the Satartia accident, and on January 10, 2025, issued draft regulations. These draft regulations included 18 proposals, including:

• Redefining “carbon dioxide” to be a fluid of more than 50% CO₂ molecules in any combination of gas, liquid, or supercritical phases.
• Establishing procedures to convert steel pipelines for CO₂ or hazardous liquid transport.
• Requiring all CO₂ pipeline operators to provide training to emergency responders that addresses threats specific to CO₂ releases and provide equipment to local first responders for use during a CO₂ pipeline emergency.
• Requiring leak detection, fixed vapor detection, and alarm systems for CO₂ pipelines.
• Requiring operators of all CO₂ pipelines to establish emergency planning zones extending two miles on either side of their pipelines that will inform operators’ efforts in ensuring members of the public have adequate emergency response information.

1. Author’s statement:

Communities deserve safety whenever a project carrying hazardous materials will be traveling through their communities. While the permitting and building of carbon dioxide pipelines are an important part of the state’s carbon capture and sequestration efforts, it cannot come at the expense of community safety. SB 614 aims to enshrine the Biden administration draft regulations in state law to ensure best-in-class safety practices. This bill directs the Office of State Fire Marshal to ensure high standards for establishing when transportation of carbon dioxide by pipeline would be allowed, and would provide experts with the ability to increase safety standards and stringency

1. Related legislation. This bill is substantially similar to AB 881 (Petrie-Norris), which passed this committee April 28 and is set for hearing in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee July 16.
2. Double referral. This bill was heard in the Utilities and Energy Committee on July 9 and passed by a vote of 17-0.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support (prior version)

Bloom Energy
California State Pipe Trades Council

Opposition (prior version)

1000 Grandmothers for Future Generations Bay Area
350 Bay Area Action
350 Contra Costa Action
350 Humboldt
350 Santa Barbara
Asian Pacific Environmental Network
Biofuelwatch
CA Youth vs. Big Oil
California Environmental Justice Alliance (CEJA) Action
Center for Biological Diversity
Central California Asthma Collaborative
Climate Equity Policy Center
Climate Hawks Vote
Climate Health Now Action Fund
Climate Reality San Francisco Bay Area Chapter
Consumer Watchdog
El Pueblo Para El Aire y Agua Limpia de Kettleman City
Elders Climate Action
Elders Climate Action NorCal Chapter
Extinction Rebellion San Francisco Bay Area
Food & Water Watch
Food Empowerment Project
Fossil Free California
Good Neighbor Steering Committee of Benicia
Greenpeace USA
Interfaith Climate Action Network of Contra Costa County
Labor Rise Climate Jobs Action Group
Little Manila Rising
Oil and Gas Action Network
Oil Change International
Physicians for Social Responsibility - Los Angeles
Planning and Conservation League
Progressive Democrats of Benicia
Protect Monterey County
San Francisco Bay Physicians for Social Responsibility
San Francisco Baykeeper
Sandiego350
Santa Cruz Climate Action Network
Science and Environmental Health Network
See (Social Eco Education)
Sierra Club California
Solano County Democratic Central Committee
Sunflower Alliance
Unidos Network
West Berkeley Alliance for Clean Air and Safe Jobs

Analysis Prepared by: Lawrence Lingbloom / NAT. RES. /

Date of Hearing: July 9, 2025

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON UTILITIES AND ENERGY

Cottie Petrie-Norris, Chair

SBPCA Bill Id:SB 614

Author:(Stern) – As Amended Ver:May 5, 2025

SENATE VOTE: 38-0

SUBJECT: Carbon dioxide transport

SUMMARY: Adds carbon dioxide (CO₂) to the substances included in the Elder California Pipeline Safety Act of 1981 (Elder Act), which currently applies to petroleum and other hazardous liquids. Requires the Office of the State Fire Marshall (OSFM) to adopt regulations governing the safe transportation of CO₂ by April 1, 2026, as specified, and lifts the statewide moratorium on pipelines transporting CO₂ to or from a carbon capture, removal, or sequestration project. Specifically, this bill:

1. Modifies provisions of the Elder Act to include CO₂ throughout.
2. Requires the OSFM to develop regulations by April 1, 2026, that at minimum meet the standards proposed by the draft regulations issued by the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) on January 10, 2025, and requires OSFM to post those federal draft regulations on its website by January 15, 2026.
3. Requires the OSFM to coordinate with relevant agencies to ensure the regulations require a project applicant to demonstrate that the transportation of CO₂ in a pipeline complies with all of the following:
   1. The California Endangered Species Act.
   2. The Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act.
   3. The California Environmental Quality Act.
   4. Other Applicable state laws and regulations.
   5. Applicable local land use and zoning regulations.
4. Requires all pipelines permitted to transport CO₂ to be newly constructed and not converted from existing pipelines.
5. Authorizes the OSFM to protect the public health and welfare and the environment to require additional safety standards, including, but not limited to:
   1. Pipeline design.
   2. Fracture mechanics.
   3. Pipeline materials.
   4. Valve materials.
   5. Conversion of existing pipeline.
   6. Pipeline location.
   7. Potential impact areas of a release.
   8. Land movement.
   9. Operation.
   10. Odorant requirements.
   11. Leak detection.
   12. Emergency response.
   13. Monitoring and detection of contaminants entering the pipeline.
   14. Maintenance.
   15. Other factors deemed appropriate by the SFM.
6. Requires the OSFM, at least once every five years, to assess the safety standards and shall amend the regulations to increase safety standards, including adopting those safety standards that are technically feasible and commercially available for use in future pipelines.
7. Requires, until January 1, 2036, the OSFM to establish the Carbon Dioxide Pipeline Safety Advisory Committee (Committee) for both of the following purposes:
   1. Making recommendations, as necessary, to the SFM regarding additional safety standards as described above.
   2. Informing local agencies and every pipeline operator transporting CO₂ of changes in applicable laws and regulations affecting the operations of pipelines and reviews proposed CO₂ pipeline safety regulations as described above.
8. Authorizes the OSFM, for a pipeline transporting CO₂, to order a pipeline shutdown for violations of the provisions of this bill or if continued pipeline operations present an immediate danger to health, welfare, or the environment.
9. Authorizes assessed civil penalties to be used to provide fire responder training for hazardous gas suppression training to local fire departments. Existing law assesses a civil penalty for a violation of the Act or regulations pursuant to the Act and requires these penalties, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be available to provide hazardous liquid fire suppression training to local fire departments.
10. Lifts the moratorium on intrastate CO₂ pipelines used in CO₂ capture, removal, or sequestration projects only if the pipelines are regulated by the OSFM under the above regulations, and the project operator demonstrates that the pipeline meets those regulations.
11. Establishes findings related to CO₂ pipelines, largely focused on carbon capture being part of the state’s climate strategy and the intent that CO₂ pipelines operate in a manner that minimizes risks.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Provides that pipelines shall only be utilized to transport CO₂ to or from a CO₂ capture, removal, or sequestration (CCS) project once the federal PHMSA has concluded its pending rulemaking regarding minimum federal safety standards for transportation of CO₂ by pipeline and the CO₂ project operator demonstrates that the pipeline meets those standards. This provision does not apply to carbon captured at a permitted facility and transported within that facility or property. (Public Resources Code § 71465(a))
2. Requires the Natural Resources Agency, in consultation with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), to provide a proposal to the Legislature to establish a state framework and standards for the design, operation, siting, and maintenance of intrastate pipelines carrying CO₂ fluids. (Public Resources Code § 71465(b))
3. Pursuant to the Elder Act:
   1. Grants the OSFM exclusive safety, regulatory, and enforcement authority over intrastate hazardous liquid pipelines. (Government Code § 51010)
   2. Defines “pipeline” for the purposes of the Elder Act as every intrastate pipeline used for the transportation of hazardous liquid substances or highly volatile liquid substances; and does not include an interstate pipeline subject to federal regulations, a pipeline that transports hazardous substances in a gaseous state, and other specified exclusions. (Government Code § 51010.5)
   3. Requires OSFM to adopt hazardous liquid pipeline safety regulations in compliance with the federal law relating to hazardous liquid pipeline safety, including, but not limited to, compliance orders, penalties, and inspection and maintenance provisions. (Government Code § 51011)
   4. Requires each pipeline operator to file with OSFM an inspection, maintenance, improvement, or replacement assessment for older pipelines. This includes pipelines built before January 1, 1960 and any pipeline installed on or after January 1, 1960, for which regular internal inspections cannot be conducted, or which shows diminished integrity due to corrosion or inadequate cathodic protection. (Government Code § 51012.4)
   5. Requires every newly constructed pipeline, existing pipeline, or part of a pipeline system that has been relocated or replaced, and every pipeline that transports a hazardous liquid substance or highly volatile liquid substance, to be tested in accordance with federal regulations. It also requires that every pipeline more than 10 years of age and not provided with effective cathodic protection to be hydrostatically tested every three years, except for those on the OSFM's list of higher risk pipelines, which shall be hydrostatically tested annually. (Government Code § 51013.5)
   6. Defines “hydrostatic testing” as the application of internal pressure above the normal or maximum operating pressure to a segment of pipeline, under no-flow conditions for a fixed period of time, utilizing a liquid test medium. (Government Code § 51010.5 (c))
   7. Requires every operator of an intrastate pipeline to maintain each valve and check valve necessary for safe pipeline operations, and requires OSFM to promulgate regulations for maintaining, testing, and inspecting these valves. (Government Code § 51015.4)
   8. Authorizes OSFM to assess and collect from every pipeline operator an annual administrative fee. (Government Code § 51019)
4. Pursuant to federal law:
   1. Grants the United States Secretary of Transportation the regulatory and enforcement authority over gas and hazardous liquid pipelines, including CO₂ pipelines. (49 United States Code § 60102)
   2. Prohibits the Secretary of Transportation from prescribing or enforcing safety standards and practices for an intrastate pipeline or intrastate pipeline facility to the extent that the safety standards and practices are regulated by a state authority, except as provided. (49 United States Code § 60105)
   3. Defines “carbon dioxide,” for the purposes of the United States Department of Transportation PHMSA regulations, as a fluid consisting of more than 90% carbon dioxide molecules compressed to a supercritical state. (49 Code of Federal Regulations § 195.2)
   4. Defines “hazardous liquid” as petroleum, petroleum products, anhydrous ammonia, and ethanol or other non-petroleum fuel, including biofuel, which is flammable, toxic, or would be harmful to the environment if released in significant quantities. (49 Code of Federal Regulations § 195.2)

FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Committee on Appropriations, this bill will result in unknown, potentially absorbable costs to the OSFM. The committee notes the actual fiscal impact will depend on the extent OSFM may absorb this bill’s workload into existing responsibilities and whether costs may be offset by pipeline operator annual fees.

CONSUMER COST IMPACTS: Unknown.

BACKGROUND:

CO₂ – There are a number of CO₂ sources. An abundant source is from underground reservoirs where CO₂ under pressure occurs naturally. It can also be produced commercially in natural gas plants, ammonia plants, and recovered from power plant stack gas with carbon capture technology.

At normal temperatures and atmospheric pressure, CO₂ is an odorless and colorless gas, not flammable, and denser than air. It will not combust, but it can be fatal to humans due to the potential for suffocation. CO₂ may exist either as a solid or gas depending on temperature and pressure. Dry ice for refrigeration is a common use of CO₂ in solid form. When pressurized to extremely high pressures (1,200 pounds per square inch gauge (psig)), CO₂ enters a supercritical state. Supercritical CO₂ is a fluid state where CO₂ is held at or above its critical temperature and critical pressure, where its properties are midway between a gas and a liquid.

PHMSA regulations define CO₂ as a fluid consisting of more than 90% CO₂ molecules compressed to a supercritical state. The remaining 10% may be comprised of gases such as water, nitrogen, oxygen, methane, or other impurities. Federal standards set CO₂ impurity limits for transportation pipelines.

Pipeline transportation of CO₂ in the supercritical state is more practical than transportation in the gaseous state. As a dense vapor in the supercritical state, CO₂ can be transported more economically and efficiently using smaller pipelines and pumps because greater volumes of fluid may be transported. Most CO₂ is transported in the supercritical state in steel pipelines kept at 2,200 psig.

As of May 2023, there were just over 5,000 miles of CO₂ pipelines in the United States, compared to 229,287 miles of hazardous liquid transmission pipelines carrying products such as crude oil, gasoline, jet fuel, and other liquid commodities.^[1] The majority of CO₂ pipelines are currently used for enhanced oil recovery (EOR), where supercritical CO₂ is pumped into existing oil wells to extract more product. Most of the CO₂ being transported through these existing pipelines comes from high pressure, higher purity natural underground sources.^[2]

What are the commercial applications of CO₂? – Unsurprisingly, the beverage market is the largest segment of CO₂ use; however, the beverage market requires food grade CO₂ with a much higher purity rating than required in industrial or pipeline applications. CO₂ has been used for many years to aid in the production of crude oil. Because of its high degree of solubility in crude oil and its abundance, CO₂ is a popular extraction tool in EOR projects. In EOR, the CO₂ mixes with crude oil, making the oil more mobile and easier to extract.^[3] There is currently a statutory moratorium on CO₂ in EOR in the state.^[4] Supercritical CO₂ has also grown in popularity as a solvent in the chemical industry, where it can replace more toxic, volatile organic compounds.^[5]

Carbon Neutrality – Reaching carbon neutrality means that all CO₂ emissions are either completely eliminated or balanced out by removing an equal amount from the atmosphere. This is necessary to limit global temperature rise above historic levels. While the term “carbon neutrality” is often used in the same way as “net zero GHG emissions,” the latter is inclusive of all greenhouse gases – not just CO₂ – such as nitrous oxide, as defined by AB 32 (Nunez, Chapter 488, Statutes of 2006).

California set a target to reach carbon neutrality by 2045 under Governor Brown’s Executive Order B-55-18. This target became law in 2022 through AB 1279, authored by Assemblymember Muratsuchi. The law requires that at least 85% of emissions be directly reduced, and no more than 15% can be offset through technologies that remove emissions from the atmosphere.

Interstate vs. Intrastate Jurisdictions – PHMSA has exclusive federal authority over interstate pipeline facilities.^[6] An interstate pipeline is one used in the transportation of hazardous liquid or carbon dioxide in interstate or foreign commerce. Typically, these lines cross state borders or begin in federal waters. As of 2015, there were 1,188 miles of interstate pipeline in California.^[7] State agencies may regulate portions of interstate pipelines located within the state if there is an agreement between PHMSA and the agency. For hazardous liquid pipelines, that agreement is with OSFM; for gas pipelines, it is the CPUC. These agencies are only allowed to enter into an agreement with PHMSA if given all regulatory and enforcement authority of the pipelines subject to the agreement. PHMSA maintains these agreements as certifications through the Office of Pipeline Safety, which are updated annually.^[8]

OSFM and the CPUC share the regulation over intrastate pipeline facilities. OSFM regulates intrastate hazardous liquid pipelines pursuant to the Elder California Pipeline Safety Act of 1981.^[9] Whereas the CPUC regulates intrastate gas pipelines (both natural gas and liquid petroleum gas). An intrastate pipeline is defined as a pipeline that is located entirely within state borders, including offshore state waters. As of 2015, there were 4,500 miles of intrastate pipeline in California, although that number was predicted to grow.^[10] The vast majority of pipelines in California carry petroleum based hazardous liquids.^[11]

According to a 2023 California Natural Resources Agency report to the Legislature, PHMSA has delegated regulatory authority for intrastate CO₂ pipelines to OSFM.^[12] However, OSFM’s jurisdiction under this delegation is limited to enforcing the federal standards, rather than establishing state standards.^[13] Currently, PHMSA has only established safety standards regarding the transport of CO₂ in a supercritical state at a concentration of 90% or higher.^[14] The transport of CO₂ in concentrations of less than 90%, or in liquid or gas form is unregulated.^[15] PHMSA has noted this regulatory gap is due to the limited (supercritical-phase only) CO₂ pipelines in operation in 1991 during the creation of the original federal rules.^[16]

PHMSA was in the process of updating their safety standards for CO₂ pipelines,^[17] and on January 10, 2025, issued draft regulations as part of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.^[18] These draft regulations included 18 proposals, including:

• Redefining “carbon dioxide” to be a fluid of more than 50% CO₂ molecules in any combination of gas, liquid, or supercritical phases.
• Establishment of procedures to convert steel pipelines for CO₂ or hazardous liquid transport.
• Requiring all carbon dioxide pipeline operators to provide training to emergency responders that addresses threats specific to carbon dioxide releases and provide equipment to local first responders for use during an emergency on a carbon dioxide pipeline.
• Requiring leak detection, fixed vapor detection, and alarm systems for CO₂ pipelines.
• Requiring operators of all carbon dioxide pipelines to establish emergency planning zones extending two miles on either side of their pipelines that will inform operators’ efforts in ensuring members of the public have adequate emergency response information.^[19]

There are still many steps to go before the PHMSA rules become finalized. First, the Office of the Federal Register needs to publish the official NPRM, which has yet to occur. PHMSA then undergoes an extensive public process with advisory committee meetings, as well as receiving public comments from the Federal Register posting. PHMSA incorporates that public process in its final rule.

However, in compliance with a January 20, 2025, memorandum issued by President Trump,^[20] PHMSA withdrew the NPRM from Federal Register publication, rendering it not open for public comment. How PHMSA will proceed with its NPRM is uncertain, although the agency may separately consider other regulatory changes related to CO₂ pipeline safety. On June 4, 2025, following a series of executive orders issued by President Trump, PHMSA published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking soliciting "stakeholder feedback on whether to repeal or amend" any of its pipeline safety requirements.^[21]

Safety Considerations of CO₂ – CO₂ is not currently defined as a hazardous substance under PHMSA regulations. As noted above, the most dangerous hazard of CO₂ is asphyxiation. Because CO₂ is denser than air, it may pool in enclosed spaces or fail to disburse when released in areas without strong air circulation. The most deadly incident involving CO₂ occurred in 1986 in Lake Nyos, Cameroon which is one of only three lakes in the world known to be naturally saturated with CO_2. An eruption of dissolved CO₂ in the lake suddenly released an estimated 1.6 million tons of CO₂ into the air, killing 1,700 people and 3,500 livestock. However, industrial CO₂ accidents may also occur, such as a 2008 leak at a fire extinguishing installation in Germany, which led to the hospitalization of 19 people.^[22] More recently, a CO₂ pipeline accident occurred in Satartia, Mississippi in February 2020, when a pipeline that was part of a network used for EOR ruptured, causing the evacuation of local residents and the hospitalization of 46 people. Emergency responders were not notified by the company that owned the pipeline about the leak and did not know what type of leak they were responding to.^[23] The subsequent investigation by PHMSA found the operator’s actions and omissions contributed to the accident and its severity.^[24]

COMMENTS:

1. Author’s Statement. According to the author, “Communities deserve safety and a robust public process whenever a project carrying hazardous materials will be traveling through their communities. While the permitting and building of carbon dioxide pipelines are an important part of the state’s carbon capture and sequestration efforts, it cannot come at the expense of community safety. SB 614 aims to enshrine the Biden administration draft regulations in state law to ensure best-in-class safety practices. This bill sets a high standard for establishing when transportation of carbon dioxide by pipeline would be allowed, and would provide experts with the ability to increase safety standards and stringency."
2. Purpose of Bill. Implementing SB 905’s CO₂ Framework. In 2022, SB 905 (Caballero, Chapter 359, Statutes of 2022) was signed by Governor Newsom. The bill prohibits the use of intrastate pipelines to transport CO₂ until PHMSA completes its rulemaking process. SB 905 required the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) to “provide a proposal to the Legislature to establish a state framework and standards for the design, operation, siting, and maintenance of intrastate pipelines carrying CO₂ fluids of varying composition and phase to minimize the risk posed to public and environmental health and safety.”^[25]

The proposal was released in March 2023, and included various recommendations “aimed at informing additional legislation that would be necessary to create a robust regulatory framework governing CO₂ pipelines so as to protect public, health, safety, and the environment. These recommendations are made with the recognition that CCS and carbon removal projects, and CO₂ transport, represent a new set of technologies and infrastructure and accordingly, poses, new risks and potential adverse impact to human health, safety, and the environment should a pipeline failure occur.”^[26]

One of the recommendations included providing the OSFM with clear regulatory authority over pipeline transportation of CO₂ in liquid, gas, and supercritical state to protect public safety. As part of this recommendation the CNRA stated that “clear authority to draft safety-related regulations governing intrastate CO₂ pipelines will avoid ambiguity about which state agency is charged with regulating liquid, gas, and supercritical CO₂ pipelines. It will also ensure a well-defined and understood regulatory process that includes robust public process and allows time to incorporate emerging information from new research and development studies.”^[27] Additionally, CNRA recommended OSFM be designated clear administrative and enforcement authority to order intrastate CO₂ pipelines shutdown immediately when safety regulations are violated.^[28]

This bill is an effort to implement many of these recommendations.

1. CTRL V. The Elder Act was written in the 1980s to address petroleum pipelines. It has been updated over the years in the wake of petroleum pipeline accidents to add safety requirements, most recently following the 2015 Refugio spill in Santa Barbara County. However, the original Act, as well as the updates, are geared towards petroleum infrastructure and characteristics, as well as lessons learned from petroleum pipeline accidents.

This bill inserts “carbon dioxide” wherever the Elder Act refers to hazardous liquid. In some cases, this may be inappropriate. For example, the bill exempts offshore CO₂ pipelines in federal waters and flow lines. These existing exemptions are based on petroleum production infrastructure and may not make sense for CO₂. The bill also exempts CO₂ pipelines on onshore production, refining, and manufacturing facilities, which again is based on petroleum infrastructure and may be inappropriate given the characteristics of CO₂ and likelihood that a pipeline rupture may have impacts well beyond the boundaries of the production, refining, or manufacturing facility where the pipeline is located.

CO₂ safety regulations may need to be tailored to the unique characteristics of CO₂ and may need to be more stringent than petroleum pipelines, at least while the industry builds knowledge and experience. The bill acknowledges this distinction by highlighting potential amendments to regulations of CO₂ pipelines to address other issues not addressed in the Elder Act, such as standards for impurities and added odorants. Given this, the committee recommends striking the provisions of this bill in the Elder Act that exempt certain types of CO₂ transport that are unique to petroleum pipelines, specifically in GOV § 51010.5 (a)(4)-(7) and (b).

1. Timing and Overlap. As mentioned above, PHMSA is currently undergoing a rulemaking to update their safety standards around CO₂ pipelines, and issued a draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in January 2025.^[29] It is unclear how long this process may take, or what level of priority this rulemaking has under the new federal administration.

The statewide moratorium on CO₂ pipeline transport for CCS projects, adopted in 2022 under SB 905 (Caballero, Chapter 359, Statutes of 2022), lifts once PHMSA concludes this rulemaking, and pipeline operators demonstrate their pipelines meet the new federal standards. Given the uncertainty with the federal rules, this bill lifts the moratorium before the federal action and introduces new safety regulation development at the state level through the OSFM.

The bill requires the OSFM to adopt state rules under a very ambitious timeline – 3 months – by April 1, 2026. This quick timeline seems to be motivated, in part, by millions of dollars in federal tax credits that these projects are currently eligible to receive.^[30] The recent federal tax bill, H.R.1, kept the 45Q tax credits for carbon capture but at a much less generous level.^[31]

Moreover, the bill requires OSFM to ensure the regulations not only meet the standards of the NPRM, but also that OSFM consult with various agencies to ensure the regulations require applicants to demonstrate compliance with specified California laws. The bill further requires OSFM to establish a Carbon Dioxide Pipeline Safety Advisory Committee to make recommendations for these safety standards, and provides 15 additional considerations for potential inclusion. The bill does not provide any exemption to the Administrative Procedures Act (APA), which governs the development of administrative regulations to ensure they are comprehensible, authorized by statute, consistent with other laws, and undertaken in a process that is accessible and transparent to the public. While fair and transparent, the APA process can take time. It is unclear how such an effort, with many new requirements on regulatory development and consultations, may occur within 3 months.

The author has asserted the federal draft NPRM are largely comprehensive and “establish a workable framework for California.” However, the bill currently offers a structure for regulatory development that is highly ambitious and potentially infeasible. As a result, the committee recommends a number of changes to the structure of OSFM regulatory development, to make completion under the statutory timeline more likely:

1. Clarify that the regulations shall be “adopted” by April 1, 2026, not just “developed.”
2. Require the initial regulations to be adopted in 3 months be “equivalent to” the draft federal regulations, and that any additional requirements for OSFM to incorporate in regulation – except for consideration of odorants and the requirement that the permitted pipelines be newly constructed, which shall both be included in the initial regulations – shall be as amendments to these initial regulations.
3. Provide that the initial regulations be considered emergency regulations, which still provide for a public comment period, but any subsequent amendment must go through the full APA process.
4. Strike the establishment of the Carbon Dioxide Pipeline Safety Advisory Committee.
5. Clarify that the five-year review of the safety standards in GOV § 51011.5 (c) “may” lead to amendments of the regulations, to align with the existing OSFM directive to “may require” these additional standards.
6. Inter and Intra Moratoria. The author has indicated the intent of this bill is for the CCS moratorium to be lifted only upon the OSFM adopting the PHMSA regulations. However, the bill is unclear in this timing, and seems to apply the moratorium removal to both inter- and intrastate pipelines. A coalition of environmental organizations raise concern around this point, writing in opposition to the bill: “SB 614 would prematurely and unnecessarily end California’s partial pause on CO₂ pipelines.” Particularly when the future is unclear at the federal level with PHMSA withdrawing the NPRM, it is not clear how secure the leadership taken under this bill will be. Given the author’s stated intent, the committee recommends amendments to clarify the statewide CO₂ pipeline moratorium is only lifted upon OSFM adopting regulations for intrastate pipelines under OSFM jurisdiction, and retaining the moratorium for interstate pipelines until PHMSA concludes its rulemaking.
7. Additional Amendments. This bill requires additional clarification or clean-up, such as applying the OSFM authority to order a pipeline to shutdown to any violation of state or federal law, not just the proposed GOV § 51011.5; or striking “conversion of existing pipelines” in the list of additional considerations for OSFM in GOV § 51011.5 (b), as its inclusion is contrary to the requirement in the bill that all CO₂ pipelines “be newly constructed and not converted from existing pipelines.” The committee recommends adopting these changes.
8. Related Legislation.

AB 881 (Petrie-Norris), largely similar to this measure, requires OSFM to adopt regulations for the transportation of CO₂ in a pipeline, including certain specified safety standards that, at a minimum, meet those proposed by the PHMSA. Status: set for hearing on July 16, 2025, in the Senate Committee on Environmental Quality, after passage in the Senate Committee on Governmental Organization 14-0-1.

1. Prior Legislation.

AB 2623 (Arambula, 2024) added CO₂, compressed to a supercritical state, to the substances included in the Elder Act, giving the OSFM exclusive jurisdiction to regulate intrastate pipeline transportation of CO_2. Also required the OSFM to adopt safety-related regulations governing intrastate CO₂ pipelines that include design, operation, and maintenance requirements on the pipelines themselves, public safety requirements, and reporting requirements, among other requirements as specified; and expanded the statutory moratorium on CO₂ pipeline usage from being until the federal safety standards are adopted, to being until both the federal and state safety regulations are adopted. Status: Died – Assembly Committee on Utilities and Energy.

AB 1676 (Grayson, 2022) added CO₂, compressed to a supercritical state, to the substances included in the Elder Act, giving the OSFM exclusive jurisdiction to regulate intrastate pipeline transportation of CO₂ under the existing provisions of the Elder Act, which currently applies to petroleum and other hazardous liquids. Status: Died – Assembly Committee on Natural Resources.

SB 905 (Caballero) requires CARB to establish a Carbon Capture, Removal, Utilization, and Storage (CCRUS) Program and adopt regulations for a model unified permit program for the construction and operation of CCRUS projects. Established a statewide moratorium against utilizing pipelines for transporting CO₂ until the federal standards are promulgated. Status: Chapter 359, Statutes of 2022.

AB 1531 (O’Donnell, 2021) expanded the regulatory oversight of the OSFM to include intrastate pipelines transporting supercritical CO₂, and defines "carbon dioxide" as a fluid consisting of more than 90% carbon dioxide molecules compressed to a supercritical state, mirroring the federal definition. Status: Died – Senate Appropriations

1. Double Referral. This bill is double referred. Upon passage in this committee, it will be referred to the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources for its review.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

Bloom Energy
California State Pipe Trades Council

Opposition

1000 Grandmothers for Future Generations Bay Area
350 Bay Area Action
350 Contra Costa Action
350 Humboldt
350 Santa Barbara
Asian Pacific Environmental Network
Biofuelwatch
CA Youth Vs. Big Oil
California Environmental Justice Alliance (CEJA) Action
Center for Biological Diversity
Central California Asthma Collaborative
Climate Equity Policy Center
Climate Hawks Vote
Climate Health Now Action Fund
Climate Reality San Francisco Bay Area Chapter
Consumer Watchdog
El Pueblo Para El Aire Y Agua Limpia De Kettleman City
Elders Climate Action
Elders Climate Action Norcal Chapter
Extinction Rebellion San Francisco Bay Area
Food & Water Watch
Food Empowerment Project
Fossil Free California
Good Neighbor Steering Committee of Benicia
Greenpeace USA
Interfaith Climate Action Network of Contra Costa County
Labor Rise Climate Jobs Action Group
Little Manila Rising
Oil and Gas Action Network
Oil Change International
Physicians for Social Responsibility - Los Angeles
Physicians for Social Responsibility Los Angeles
Planning and Conservation League
Progressive Democrats of Benicia
Protect Monterey County
San Francisco Bay Physicians for Social Responsibility
San Francisco Baykeeper
Sandiego350
Santa Cruz Climate Action Network
Science and Environmental Health Network
See (social Eco Education)
Sierra Club California
Solano County Democratic Central Committee
Sunflower Alliance
Unidos Network INC
West Berkeley Alliance for Clean Air and Safe Jobs

Analysis Prepared by: Laura Shybut / U. & E. / (916) 319-2083

1. Pipeline Safety Trust; “Carbon Dioxide Pipeline Safety;” Summary for Policymakers; May 2023. ↑

2. Pipeline Safety Trust, May 2023; Ibid. ↑

3. Federal Register, Vol. 56, No. 113; June 12, 1991; 49 C.F.R. Part 195 “Transportation of Carbon Dioxide by Pipeline.” ↑

4. Public Resources Code § 3132, added by SB 1314 (Limon, Chapter 336, Statutes of 2022) ↑

5. Chemical Engineering; “Supercritical CO2: A Green Solvent;” February 1, 2010; https://www.chemengonline.com/supercritical-co2-a-green-solvent/?printmode=1 ↑

6. 49 USC § 60101, et seq. ↑

7. Cal FIRE-OSFM Pipeline Safety Division “Information Sheet”; October 21, 2015; https://antr.assembly.ca.gov/sites/antr.assembly.ca.gov/files/Pipeline%20Hearing%20%2810%2021%2015%29_CALFIRE%20FactSheet%20.pdf ↑

8. U.S. Department of Transportation, PHMSA website; “Regulatory Fact Sheet: California;” https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/comm/FactSheets/States/CA_State_PL_Safety_Regulatory_Fact_Sheet.htm?nocache=1716; accessed April 16, 2025. ↑

9. Gov. Code, § 51010, et seq. ↑

10. Cal FIRE-OSFM Pipeline Safety Division “Information Sheet”; October 21, 2015; https://antr.assembly.ca.gov/sites/antr.assembly.ca.gov/files/Pipeline%20Hearing%20%2810%2021%2015%29_CALFIRE%20FactSheet%20.pdf ↑

11. According to a 2015 background paper prepared by the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources for “Joint Informational Hearing: Oil Pipeline Safety: Testing Methods and Frequency;” Santa Barbara, CA; October 21, 2015. ↑

12. CNRA, Proposal to the Legislature for Establishing a State Framework and Standards for Intrastate Pipelines Transporting Carbon Dioxide, March 2023, https://resources.ca.gov/-/media/CNRA-Website/Files/Initiatives/Transitioning-to-Clean-Energy/SB-905--CO2-Pipeline-Regulatory-Framework--Stds-March-2023.pdf. ↑

13. Id. at 6. ↑

14. Richard B. Kuprewicz, Accufacts Inc., Accufacts’ Perspectives on the State of Federal Carbon Dioxide Transmission Pipeline Safety Regulations as it Relates to Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Sequestration within the U.S. 1 (2022), https://pstrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/3-23-22-Final-Accufacts-CO2-Pipeline-Report2.pdf.. ↑

15. Ibid ↑

16. Pg. 8, PHMSA, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking; “Pipeline Safety: Safety of Carbon Dioxide and Hazardous Liquid Pipelines;” Docket PHMSA-2022-0125; RIN 2137-AF60; https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/2025-01/PHMSA%20Notice%20of%20Proposed%20Rulemaking%20for%20CO2%20Pipelines%20-%202137-AF60.pdf ↑

17. pg 1. Paul W. Parfomak, Congressional Research Service, Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Pipeline Development: Federal Initiatives 1 (2023), https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IN/IN12169. ↑

18. Dept. of Transportation, PHMSA; “Pipeline Safety: Safety of Carbon Dioxide and Hazardous Liquid Pipelines:” PHMSA-2022-0125; https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/2025-01/PHMSA%20Notice%20of%20Proposed%20Rulemaking%20for%20CO2%20Pipelines%20-%202137-AF60.pdf ↑

19. PHMSA, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking; “Pipeline Safety: Safety of Carbon Dioxide and Hazardous Liquid Pipelines;” Docket PHMSA-2022-0125; RIN 2137-AF60; https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/2025-01/PHMSA%20Notice%20of%20Proposed%20Rulemaking%20for%20CO2%20Pipelines%20-%202137-AF60.pdf ↑

20. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/regulatory-freeze-pending-review/ ↑

21. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/06/04/2025-10090/pipeline-safety-mandatory-regulatory-reviews-to-unleash-american-energy-and-improve-government ↑

22. P. 4; Harper, P., et al.; “Assessment of the Major Hazard Potential of Carbon Dioxide;” Health and Safety Executive; June 2011. ↑

23. U.S. Department of Transportation, Failure Investigation Report - Denbury Gulf Coast Pipelines, LLC - Pipeline Rupture/Natural Force Damage (2022), https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/2022-05/Failure%20Investigation%20Report%20-%20Denbury%20Gulf%20Coast%20Pipeline.pdf. ↑

24. DOT, Failure Investigation Report; Ibid. ↑

25. PRC § 71465 (b) ↑

26. Pg. 8, CNRA, Proposal to the Legislature for Establishing a State Framework and Standards for Intrastate Pipelines Transporting Carbon Dioxide; March 2023; https://resources.ca.gov/-/media/CNRA-Website/Files/Initiatives/Transitioning-to-Clean-Energy/SB-905--CO2-Pipeline-Regulatory-Framework--Stds-March-2023.pdf ↑

27. Pg. 8-9, CNRA March 2023 Proposal, Ibid. ↑

28. Recommendation #3, pg. 9, CNRA March 2023 Proposal, Ibid. ↑

29. PHMSA, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking; “Pipeline Safety: Safety of Carbon Dioxide and Hazardous Liquid Pipelines;” Docket PHMSA-2022-0125; RIN 2137-AF60; https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/2025-01/PHMSA%20Notice%20of%20Proposed%20Rulemaking%20for%20CO2%20Pipelines%20-%202137-AF60.pdf ↑

30. Section 45Q of the Internal Revenue Code; https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/01/15/2021-00302/credit-for-carbon-oxide-sequestration ↑

31. Base credit is now $17/ton of CO2 for industrial facilities (previously $85/ton). Direct air capture is at $36/ton; previously $180/ton. https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1 ↑

 THIRD READING  

Bill No: SB 614

Author: Stern (D), et al.

Amended: 5/5/25

Vote: 21

SENATE GOVERNMENTAL ORG. COMMITTEE: 11-2, 4/22/25

AYES: Padilla, Valladares, Archuleta, Ashby, Blakespear, Cervantes, Richardson, Rubio, Smallwood-Cuevas, Wahab, Weber Pierson

NOES: Dahle, Ochoa Bogh

NO VOTE RECORDED: Hurtado, Jones

SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 4/30/25

AYES: Blakespear, Valladares, Dahle, Gonzalez, Hurtado, Padilla, Pérez

NO VOTE RECORDED: Menjivar

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 6-0, 5/23/25

AYES: Caballero, Seyarto, Cabaldon, Grayson, Richardson, Wahab

NO VOTE RECORDED: Dahle

SUBJECT: Carbon dioxide transport

SOURCE: Author

DIGEST: This bill requires the State Fire Marshall (SFM) to adopt regulations to regulate the transportation of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in a pipeline, including certain specified safety standards that, at a minimum, meet those proposed by the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).

ANALYSIS: