BILL ANALYSIS AB 1315 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 20, 2009 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Kevin De Leon, Chair AB 1315 (Ruskin) - As Amended: May 5, 2009 Policy Committee: UtilitiesVote:10-4 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: SUMMARY This bill: 1)Provides that the president of the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) shall be designated by the commission rather than by the governor. 2)Provides that the commission, rather than the president, directs the actions of the PUC executive director, attorney and staff. FISCAL EFFECT Negligible fiscal impact. COMMENTS 1)Background . Prior to 1999, the president of the PUC was elected by its members. The commissioners appointed the attorney and executive director, who performed at the direction of the commission. The PUC has historically been granted broad authority, and some viewed the PUC's independence as less of a virtue and more of a vice. Rather than being independent, the PUC had been seen to lack accountability. Supporters of this view cited a series of decisions made by the PUC over the prior 15 years that were contrary to the stated desires of a majority of the Legislature, and in some cases, in contradiction of the desires of the governor. SB 33 (Peace)/Chapter 509 of 1999, attempted to address the AB 1315 Page 2 perceived lack of accountability by the commissioners. It centralized the functioning of the PUC with its president by putting the PUC's executive director and general counsel directly under the control of the president. It also made the president more directly accountable to the governor by making the president an appointee of the governor. There is now concern that having the governor appointed the president instead of the other commissioners has resulted in a lack of collegiality and the unintended creation of a "super commissioner." The governor can re-appoint that same commissioner as president each term, and that president by statute directs the executive director, the attorney, and the over 1,000 staff. The remaining commissioners can become less significant, especially when the will of individual commissioners differs from that of the president. 2)Purpose . AB 1315 returns the selection of PUC president and the direction of staff to the pre-SB 33 status. The author believes this will assist the Legislature and the public with achieving greater independence and accountability from this crucial public agency. The author states that by having the executive director and the attorney report to the entire commission rather than just the president, this bill will reduce the politicization of internal staffing and procedural decisions, while promoting collegiality and cooperation among commissioners. Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081