BILL NUMBER: AB 825	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Rendon

                        FEBRUARY 26, 2015

   An act to amend Sections 314.5, 583, and 1759 of, to amend,
renumber, and add Section 309.1 of, and to add Sections 309.2, 468,
and 717 to, the Public Utilities Code, relating to the Public
Utilities Commission.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 825, as introduced, Rendon. Public Utilities Commission
   (1) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has
regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical
corporations, gas corporations, heat corporations, telegraph
corporations, telephone corporations, and water corporations.
Existing law requires the Governor to designate the president of the
commission from among its members and requires the president to
direct the executive director, the attorney, and other staff of the
commission, except for the Division of Ratepayer Advocates. Existing
law requires the commission to appoint an executive director who is
responsible for the commission's executive and administrative duties
and to organize, coordinate, supervise, and direct the operations and
affairs of the commission and expedite all matters within the
commission's jurisdiction. Existing law authorizes the executive
director to employ those officers, administrative law judges,
experts, engineers, statisticians, accountants, inspectors, clerks,
and employees as the executive director deems necessary to carry out
the provisions of the Public Utilities Act or to perform the duties
and exercise the powers conferred upon the commission by law.
   This bill would prohibit the commission from reassigning any staff
member from a duty or activity authorized by statute to another duty
or activity unless the Legislature has authorized personnel for that
duty or activity. The bill would require the commission's internal
auditor to report directly to the president, executive director, and
the attorney to the commission.
   (2) The California Constitution authorizes the commission to
establish rules, examine records, and prescribe a uniform system of
accounts for all public utilities. The Public Utilities Act requires
the commission to inspect and audit the books and records of
electrical corporations, gas corporations, heat corporations,
telegraph corporations, telephone corporations, and water
corporations for regulatory and tax purposes. An inspection and audit
is required to be done at least every 3 years if the utility has
over 1,000 customers and at least every 5 years if the utility has
1,000 or fewer customers. The act requires that reports of the
inspections and audit and other pertinent information be furnished to
the State Board of Equalization for use in the assessment of the
public utilities.
   This bill would delete the requirement that the reports of the
inspections and audit and other pertinent information be furnished to
the State Board of Equalization for use in the assessment of the
public utilities and instead require that the inspections and audit
and other pertinent information be posted on the commission's
Internet Web site.
   (3) Existing law authorizes the commission to fix the rates and
charges for every public utility and requires that those rates and
charges be just and reasonable. Existing law, with certain
exceptions, prohibits a public utility from changing any rate, except
upon a showing before the commission and a finding by the commission
that the new rate is justified. With certain exceptions, whenever
any electrical, gas, heat, telephone, water, or sewer system
corporation files an application to change any rate for the services
or commodities furnished by it, existing law requires that the
corporation furnish its customers notice of its application to the
commission for approval of the new rate. This notice requirement does
not apply to any rate change proposed by a corporation pursuant to
an advice letter submitted to the commission filed pursuant to
commission-established procedures for advice letters.
   This bill would require each public utility that submits an
application to change its rates to include in its application a
summary of the application that can be understood by the utility's
ratepayers. The bill would require that this summary be posted on the
commission's Internet Web site and, if the utility has an Internet
Web site, to be posted on the utility's Internet Web site. Each
public utility that maintains an Internet Web site would additionally
be required to include on that site contact information for a
utility official who can discuss the nature of the rate application.
   (4) Every public utility is required by existing law, to furnish
such reports as the commission may require. No information furnished
to the commission by a public utility, except those matters
specifically required to be open to public inspection, are open to
public inspection or made public except by order of the commission or
a commissioner in the course of a hearing or proceeding. Any present
or former officer or employee of the commission who divulges any
information in violation of these provisions is guilty of a
misdemeanor.
   This bill would provide that if in a proceeding before the
commission, a public utility, or subsidiary, affiliate, or holding
company, seeks to file a pleading, report, or other document with the
commission that preserves the confidentiality of information
contained therein, it would be required to file a public version of
the pleading, report, or other document that contains sufficient
information for any other party to the proceeding to understand the
nature of its contents. The bill would authorize any party to the
proceeding to file a motion to make public a pleading, report, or
other document filed under a claim of confidentiality. The bill would
require an administrative law judge assigned to the proceeding or
the assigned commissioner to hold a hearing on the motion and
determine whether the pleading, report, or other document should be
made public.
   (5) Existing law requires the commission to publish and maintain
certain documents and information, including making available on the
commission's Internet Web site, the commission's annual work plan,
general orders, and Rules of Practice and Procedure, the proposed and
alternate proposed decisions and resolutions, the agenda, agenda
item documents, rulings of the commission, and adopted decisions and
resolutions of the commission.
   This bill would require the commission to post on its Internet Web
site a summary, as specified, of all electricity procurement
contracts entered into by an electrical corporation during the
previous 3 years, the expenses of which the commission has approved
as being just and reasonable, and a list of all public utilities with
ratesetting cases then pending before the commission with
information, in summary form, as to the amount of any rate increase
being sought, both in cumulative amount and by unit or other means
billed to ratepayers.
   (6) The California Constitution provides that the Legislature has
plenary power to establish the manner and scope of review of
commission action in a court of record. Existing law provides that
only the Supreme Court and the court of appeal have jurisdiction to
review, reverse, correct, or annul any order or decision of the
commission or to suspend or delay the execution or operation thereof,
or to enjoin, restrain, or interfere with the commission in the
performance of its official duties.
   This bill would authorize an action to enforce the requirements of
the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act or the California Public Records
Act to be brought against the commission in the superior court.
   (7) Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or
any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the
commission is a crime.
   Because certain provisions of this bill would be a part of the act
and because a violation of an order or decision of the commission
implementing its requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose
a state-mandated local program by creating a new crime.
   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.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 309.1 of the Public Utilities Code is amended
and renumbered to read:
    309.1.   305.5.   The Governor may
appoint one adviser for each member of the commission upon the
request of the commission member. Each adviser shall receive a salary
fixed by the commission with the approval of the Department of Human
Resources. The total number of advisers exempt from civil service
 may   shall  not exceed five.
  SEC. 2.  Section 309.1 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
   309.1.  The commission shall not reassign any staff member from a
duty or activity authorized by statute to another duty or activity
unless the Legislature has authorized personnel for that duty or
activity.
  SEC. 3.  Section 309.2 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
   309.2.  The commission's internal auditor shall report directly to
the president, executive director, and the attorney to the
commission.
  SEC. 4.  Section 314.5 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
   314.5.  The commission shall inspect and audit the books and
records for regulatory and tax purposes (a) at least once in every
three years in the case of every electrical, gas, heat, telegraph,
telephone, and water corporation serving over 1,000 customers, and
(b) at least once in every five years in the case of every
electrical, gas, heat, telegraph, telephone, and water corporation
serving 1,000 or fewer customers. An audit conducted in connection
with a rate proceeding shall be deemed to fulfill the requirements of
this section. Reports of  such   the 
inspections and audits and other pertinent information shall be
 furnished to the State Board of Equalization for use in the
assessment of public utilities.   posted on the
commission's Internet Web site   . 
  SEC. 5.  Section 468 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
   468.  (a) Each public utility that submits an application to
change its rates shall include in its application a summary of the
application that can be understood by the utility's ratepayers. This
summary shall be posted on the commission's Internet Web site and, if
the utility has an Internet Web site, shall be posted on the utility'
s Internet Web site.
   (b) Each public utility that maintains an Internet Web site shall
include on that site contact information for a utility official who
can discuss the nature of the rate application. If the rate
application includes different rates depending upon the utility's
service territory, the contact information shall identify a utility
official who can discuss the nature of the rate application for each
separate service territory. The utility official shall also be
qualified to discuss, in general terms, the operation of the utility
in each service territory.
  SEC. 6.  Section 583 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
   583.   (a)  No information furnished to the commission by
a public utility, or any business  which   that
 is a subsidiary or affiliate of a public utility, or a
corporation  which   that  holds a
controlling interest in a public utility, except those matters
specifically required to be open to public inspection by this part,
shall be open to public inspection or made public except on order of
the commission, or by the commission or a commissioner in the course
of a hearing or proceeding. Any present or former officer or employee
of the commission who divulges  any such   that
 information is guilty of a misdemeanor. 
   (b) If in a proceeding before the commission, a public utility, or
any business that is a subsidiary or affiliate of a public utility,
or a corporation that holds a controlling interest in a public
utility, seeks to file a pleading, report, or other document with the
commission that preserves the confidentiality of information
contained therein, it shall file a public version of the pleading,
report, or other document that contains sufficient information for
any other party to the proceeding to understand the nature of its
contents. An administrative law judge assigned to the proceeding, the
assigned commissioner, or the commission may determine the
sufficiency of the information contained in the public version of the
pleading, report, or other document.  
   (c) Any party to a proceeding before the commission may file a
motion to make public a pleading, report, or other document filed by
a public utility, or any business that is a subsidiary or affiliate
of a public utility, or a corporation that holds a controlling
interest in a public utility, under a claim of confidentiality. An
administrative law judge assigned to the proceeding or the assigned
commissioner shall hold a hearing on the motion and determine whether
the pleading, report, or other document should be made public. In
determining the motion, the administrative law judge or assigned
commissioner shall make written findings and conclusions.  
   (d) At any public hearing, an assigned administrative law judge
may provide direction to the parties in a proceeding as to what types
of information may be filed with the commission under a claim of
confidentiality. 
  SEC. 7.  Section 717 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
   717.  The commission shall make available to the public on its
Internet Web site the following information:
   (a) A summary of all electricity procurement contracts entered
into by an electrical corporation during the previous three years,
the expenses of which the commission has approved as being just and
reasonable. The summary shall include information as to the name of
the generating facility, its location, the electricity or electricity
products procured, the fuel or energy source used to generate the
electricity, the estimated total expense that the electrical
corporation will incur pursuant to the contract, the estimated cost
by unit of energy that the electrical corporation will incur pursuant
to the contract, when the contract was approved by the commission,
and if applicable, the decision or resolution approving the contract.
Information on costs of the contract shall not be posted until the
electrical corporation has completed the legal transactions required
to acquire the electricity or electricity products.
   (b) A list of all public utilities with ratesetting cases then
pending before the commission with information, in summary form, as
to the amount of any rate increase being sought, both in cumulative
amount and by unit or other means billed to ratepayers.
  SEC. 8.  Section 1759 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
   1759.  (a) No court of this state, except the Supreme Court and
the court of appeal, to the extent specified in this article, shall
have jurisdiction to review, reverse, correct, or annul any order or
decision of the commission or to suspend or delay the execution or
operation thereof, or to enjoin, restrain, or interfere with the
commission in the performance of its official duties, as provided by
law and the rules of court.
   (b) The writ of mandamus shall lie from the Supreme Court and from
the court of appeal to the commission in all proper cases as
prescribed in Section 1085 of the Code of Civil Procedure. 
   (c) This section does not apply to an action brought against the
commission to enforce the requirements of the Bagley-Keene Open
Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1
of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code) or the
California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section
6250) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code), which action
may be brought in the superior court. 
  SEC. 9.  No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.