BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1386
Author: Bradford (D)
Amended: 6/13/11 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE ENERGY, UTILITIES & COMMUNIC. COMM. : 8-1, 7/5/11
AYES: Padilla, Corbett, De León, DeSaulnier, Pavley,
Rubio, Simitian, Wright
NOES: Berryhill
NO VOTE RECORDED: Fuller, Strickland
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 53-21, 5/19/11 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Women, minority, and disabled veteran business
enterprise
procurement
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill encourages cable television
corporations and direct broadcast satellite providers to
voluntarily adopt a plan for increasing women, minority,
and disabled veteran business enterprise procurement and to
voluntarily report activity in this area to the Legislature
on an annual basis. This bill requires the Public
Utilities Commission to make this annual report available
on its Internet Web site.
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ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Requires the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to
require each electrical, gas, water, and telephone
corporation, and each wireless telecommunications
service provider, with gross annual revenues exceeding
$25 million, and their PUC-regulated subsidiaries and
affiliates, to submit annually a detailed and verifiable
plan for increasing procurement with women, minority,
and disabled veteran business enterprises (WMDVBEs).
2. Requires each electrical, gas, water, and telephone
corporation, and each wireless telecommunications
service provider, with gross annual revenues exceeding
$25 million, to submit an annual report to the PUC
regarding implementation of its WMDVBE program.
3. Requires the PUC to annually report to the Legislature
on the progress of utilities in implementing their
WMDVBE programs.
Background
Beginning in 1986, the Legislature enacted a series of
statutes, and the PUC adopted General Order (GO) 156, to
encourage the award of a fair proportion of all utility
contracts for products and services to WMDVBEs.
Commission-regulated water utilities originally were not
required to participate in the program but were added in
2009. AB 1918 (Davis, 2010) expressly added wireless
telecommunications service providers, although, as
telephone corporations, they already were required to
participate. These entities are required to annually
submit a detailed and verifiable plan, with goals and
timetables, for increasing WMDVBE procurement in all
categories of procurement, including technology, equipment,
supplies, services, materials, and construction. A
separate annual report on progress made in meeting those
goals also is required. GO 156 specifies guidelines for
the utilities to follow in meeting WMDVBE requirements,
including the following procurement goals: five percent of
all procurement from woman-owned business enterprises; 15
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percent from minority-owned business enterprises, and 1.5
percent for disabled veteran-owned businesses enterprises.
There is no penalty for failure of a utility to meet its
goals. The PUC is required to make an annual report to the
Legislature on utility progress in meeting WMDVBE goals.
Cable television corporations and direct broadcast
satellite providers are not utilities generally subject to
the PUC's jurisdiction and, therefore, are not subject to
WMDVBE requirements.
On May 6, 2011, the PUC issued a decision (D.11-05-019)
reaffirming its support of the policy goals of GO 156,
particularly the economic benefits to ratepayers and
communities, and amended GO 156 to enhance transparency and
accountability of the program. The transparency changes
include requiring utilities to file GO 156 annual reports
electronically and requiring the PUC to post those reports
on its Web site.
Comments
According to the author's office, minority and women-owned
businesses historically have not been at the contracting
table within emerging technology industries. The state and
federal government have made broadband deployment a
priority and have made nearly a billion dollars available
in grants and loans to expand broadband nationwide.
Participation of minority and women-owned businesses in the
broadband industry will be critical to job recovery because
these businesses are more likely to hire diverse workers,
which represent more than half of California's population.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/16/11)
Santa Maria League of United Latin American Citizens,
Council #3187
The Greenlining Institute
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
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AYES: Achadjian, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Block,
Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan,
Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, Cedillo,
Chesbro, Cook, Davis, Dickinson, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher,
Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Galgiani, Gatto, Gordon, Hall,
Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman,
Lara, Bonnie Lowenthal, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Pan,
Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Skinner, Solorio,
Swanson, Torres, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A.
Pérez
NOES: Conway, Donnelly, Garrick, Grove, Hagman, Halderman,
Harkey, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Logue, Mansoor, Miller,
Morrell, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Silva, Smyth, Valadao,
Wagner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Alejo, Bill Berryhill, Beth Gaines,
Gorell, Ma, Nestande
RM:mw 8/17/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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