(a) The department, with the assistance of the Office of Emergency Services, the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, and the Department of the California Highway Patrol shall, with respect to any fissile radioactive material coming within the definition of “fissile class II,” “fissile class III,” “large quantity radioactive materials,” or “low-level radioactive waste” provided by the regulations of the United States Department of Transportation (49 C.F.R. 173.389), do all of the following:

(1) Study the adequacy of current packaging requirements for radioactive materials.

(2) Study the effectiveness of special routing and timing of radioactive materials shipments for the protection of the public health.

(3) Study the advantages of establishing a tracking system for shipments of most hazardous radioactive materials.

(b) The department, with the assistance of the Office of Emergency Services, the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, and the Department of the California Highway Patrol, shall extend the nuclear emergency response plan to include radioactive materials in transit and provide training for law enforcement officers in dealing with those threats.

(c) Subject to Section 114765, the department, in cooperation with the Department of the California Highway Patrol, shall adopt, in accordance with Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, reasonable regulations that, in the judgment of the department, promote the safe transportation of radioactive materials. The regulations shall (1) prescribe the use of signs designating radioactive material cargo; shall designate, in accordance with the results of the studies done pursuant to subdivision (a), the manner in which the shipper shall give notice of the shipment to appropriate authorities; (2) prescribe the packing, marking, loading, and handling of radioactive materials, and the precautions necessary to determine whether the material when offered is in proper condition to transport, but shall not include the equipment and operation of the carrier vehicle; and (3) be reviewed and amended, as required, pursuant to Section 114765. The regulations shall be compatible with those established by the federal agency or agencies required or permitted by federal law to establish the regulations.

(d) Subject to Section 114765, the Department of the California Highway Patrol, after consulting with the department, shall adopt regulations specifying the time at which shipments may occur and the routes that are to be used in the transportation of cargoes of hazardous radioactive materials, as those materials are defined in regulations of the department.

(Amended by Stats. 2013, Ch. 352, Sec. 391. (AB 1317) Effective September 26, 2013. Operative July 1, 2013, by Sec. 543 of Ch. 352.)