BILL ANALYSIS Ó 1
SENATE ENERGY, UTILITIES AND COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE
ALEX PADILLA, CHAIR
SB 981 - Yee Hearing Date:
April 17, 2012 S
As Amended: March 14, 2012 FISCAL B
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DESCRIPTION
Current law establishes the tenure and qualifications of members
of the Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to consist of five
members appointed by the Governor and approved by the Senate for
staggered six-year terms.
Current law prohibits a CPUC commissioner from holding an
official relation to, or having a financial interest in, a
person or corporation subject to regulation by the commission.
If any commissioner acquires a financial interest in a
corporation or person subject to regulation by the commission
other than voluntarily, his or her office becomes vacant unless
they divest themselves of the interest.
Current law defines an executive officer of a public utility,
for purposes of the reporting of bonuses, as any person who
performs policy-making functions and is employed by the public
utility subject to the approval of the board of directors.
Executive officers specifically include the public utility
president, secretary, treasurer, and any vice president in
charge of a principal business unit, division, or function of
the public utility.
This bill prohibits the Governor from appointing any person to
the CPUC who, for the two years prior to the appointment, was an
executive officer of a public utility which would include
electric, gas, telephone and water corporations, and common
carriers.
Current law prohibits any officer and specified designated
employees of a state administrative agency, for a period of one
year after leaving office or employment, from making any formal
or informal appearance, or by making any oral or written
communication, before any state administrative agency for which
he or she worked or represented during the 12 months before
leaving office or employment.
This bill defines an executive employee of the CPUC as the
executive director and specified employees of commissioners and
the executive office.
This bill prohibits a CPUC commissioner, executive employee of
the commission, or the attorney, for a period of two years after
leaving office or employment, from appearing before or
communicating with the commission on behalf of a public utility
or other entity subject to regulation by the commission, for the
purpose of influencing commission action.
This bill prohibits the CPUC from hiring an executive employee
or an attorney, who, in the previous two years, was an executive
officer of a public utility.
This bill applies to officers and employees appointed or hired
after January 1, 2013.
BACKGROUND
Within the Political Reform Act is what is commonly referred to
as "revolving door" restrictions which are applicable when one
enters private employment after having left government service.
California generally prohibits, for one year, a former state
official or designated employee of an administrative agency from
attempting to influence an administrative action by appearing
before or communicating with any agency for which he or she
worked for the twelve months after to leaving state employment.
The five gubernatorial-appointed commissioners of the CPUC are
included in the Political Reform Act as well as its designated
staff. The Act applies to all state administrative officials
and includes "every member, officer, employee or consultant of a
state administrative agency who as part of his or her official
responsibilities engages in any judicial, quasi-judicial or
other proceeding in other than a purely clerical, secretarial or
ministerial capacity." The CPUC is required to apply this rule
to its employees and designate those covered positions which are
included in the commission's statutorily required Conflict of
Interest Code.
The employees designated by the CPUC which are required to file
statements of economic interests with the agency and are also
subject to the state's one-year "revolving door" restrictions
are listed in "Appendix A."
COMMENTS
1. Author's Intent . The author presents that:
SB 981 would stop the revolving door of employees between
the CPUC and the utility companies which they are tasked to
regulate. Specifically, SB 981 would prohibit an executive
level employee or an agent of a regulated utility from
serving on or working for the CPUC as an executive employee
for a period of two years. The bill would also prohibit
certain CPUC commissioners or executive employees from
appearing before the commission or lobbying its staff for a
period of two years after leaving the CPUC. This bill
will not be retroactive and will not affect current
staffing and personnel at the CPUC.
Since the San Bruno disaster, consumer advocates,
legislators, and others have questioned the cozy
relationship between many CPUC executives and the top brass
at many of the utility companies and whether or not the
CPUC was properly fulfilling their responsibility to
protect the public.
2. Inconsistent Treatment Between Agencies & CPUC . The
Political Reform Act applies to all state agencies.
Specified state officials (elected and appointed) and
agency employees are subject to a one-year restriction on
that person's advocacy after they leave the agency. This
bill expands that restriction to two years for all
commissioners and some CPUC employees. The magic of a
one-year vs. two-year restriction is not apparent but the
two-year restriction would single-out the CPUC.
Additionally, this bill only applies to a handful of
positions at the commission. The remaining CPUC employees,
as reflected in Appendix A, would be subject to the
one-year hiring restriction.
3. Where They Work or What They Do ? Existing law uses a
rule for determining those employees to which the
post-employment restrictions apply based on the
responsibilities of the employee, not the civil service
classification, their working title or supervisor. This
bill departs from that standard and calls out some
employees by titles that are not civil service
classifications but appear to be working titles of staff to
commissioners and in the executive office. The staff for
which the two-year restriction would be applicable under
this bill are a commissioner's chief of staff, executive
assistant, and other specified advisors as well as staff of
the executive director. Several of the positions listed
are not employee classifications currently used by the
commission appear to be functional titles. These
classifications are also just a fraction of the employees
of the commission that are currently subject to the
one-year post employment restriction which are listed in
"Appendix A."
4. Restrictions on Hiring . This bill also precludes the
CPUC from hiring individuals the bill lists as executive
employees whom for two years prior to their employment,
worked for a public utility subject to the jurisdiction of
the commission. The committee is not aware of any similar
hiring restrictions for state agencies in state law. The
bill also suffers from the same deficiency as identified in
comment 3 in that it lists positions which appear to be
working titles but are not official designations of the
commission and is not inclusive of those positions
designated by the commission for application of the
Political Reform Act by virtue of their decision-making
authority and other responsibilities.
5. Other Influences . The restrictions in this bill apply
only to CPUC employees who have previously worked for a
regulated public utility or who go to work for a utility.
However, there are many stakeholders which participate in
actions of the commission which are not and were not public
utility employees. Anecdotally the committee is aware of a
steady migration of CPUC employees from the commission to
industries such renewable companies (e.g. wind, solar, gas)
which seek CPUC approval of very lucrative generation
contracts and companies that make products or have
consultants for energy efficiency services. Those
conflicts are not addressed by this bill. The bill also
does not apply to former and future employees of other
business entities regulated by the commission but which are
not designated as public utilities including moving
companies and limo services.
POSITIONS
Sponsor:
Author
Support:
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees,
AFL-CIO
California Common Cause
California Public Interest Research Group
Consumer Watchdog
San Mateo County Board of Supervisors
Sierra Club California
The Utility Reform Network
Oppose:
California Chamber of Commerce
California Public Utilities Commission
California Water Association, unless amended
The Greenlining Institute, unless amended
Kellie Smith
SB 981 Analysis
Hearing Date: April 17, 2012
Appendix A
Designated Employees (Non-Exempt)
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|Accounting Administrator I |Personnel Services Specialist II |
|(Supervisor) |Personnel Supervisor I |
|Administrative Assistant I |Principal PU Financial Examiner |
|Administrative Assistant II |Principal Transportation Division |
|Administrative Law Judge I |Printing Trades Supervisor I |
|Administrative Law Judge II |(General) |
|Assistant Chief ALJ |Program and Project Supervisor |
|Assistant Chief PU Counsel |Program Manager |
|Assistant Info Systems Analyst |Program Technician III |
|Associate Budget Analyst |Public Utilities Counsel I, PUC |
|Associate Governmental Program |Public Utilities Counsel II, PUC |
|Analyst |Public Utilities Counsel III, PUC |
|Associate Info Systems Analyst |Public Utilities Counsel IV, PUC |
|(Specialist) |Public Utilities Regulatory |
|Associate Info Systems Analyst |Analyst I A |
|(Supervisor) |Public Utilities Regulatory |
|Associate Management Analyst |Analyst I B |
|Associate Personnel Analyst |Public Utilities Regulatory |
|Associate Programmer Analyst |Analyst I C |
|(Specialist) |Public Utilities Regulatory |
|Associate Programmer Analyst |Analyst II |
|(Supervisor) |Public Utilities Regulatory |
|Associate Transportation |Analyst III |
|Representative |Public Utilities Regulatory |
|Business Services Officer I |Analyst IV |
|(Specialist) |Public Utilities Regulatory |
|Business Services Officer I |Analyst V |
|(Supervisor) |Public Utilities Financial |
|Business Service Officer II |Examiner II |
|(Supervisor) |Public Utilities Financial |
|CEA Level 1 |Examiner III |
|CEA Level 2 |Public Utilities Financial |
| |Examiner IV |
|CEA Level 3 |Senior Electrical Engineer |
|CEA Level 4 |Senior Information Systems Analyst |
|Chief Administrative Law Judge |(Supervisor) |
|Chief Hearing Reporter |Senior Programmer Analyst |
|Computer Operator |(Supervisor) |
|Computer Operator C |Senior Rapid Trans. Comp. Control |
|Consumer Affairs Representative |Syst. Spec |
|Consumer Services Manager |Senior Transportation Operations |
|Consumer Services Supervisor |Supervisor |
|Data Processing Manager I |Senior Transportation Rate Expert |
|Data Processing Manager II |Senior Transportation |
|Data Processing Manager III |Representative |
|Graduate Legal Assistant |Senior Utilities Engineer |
|Information Officer I (Specialist) |(Specialist) |
| |Senior Utilities Engineer |
|Information Officer I (Supervisor) |(Supervisor) |
|Information Officer II |Special Consultant |
|Information Officer III CEA |Staff Information Systems Analyst |
|Information Systems Technician C |(Specialist) |
|Information Systems Technician |Staff Information Systems Analyst |
|Supervisor I |(Supervisor) |
|Information Systems Technician |Staff Programmer Analyst |
|Supervisor II |(Specialist) |
|Labor Relations Specialist |Staff Programmer Analyst |
|Legal Counsel A |(Supervisor) |
|Legal Counsel B |Staff Services Analyst (General) |
|Management Services Technician B |A, B, C |
|Personnel Selection Consultant I |Staff Services Manager I |
|Personnel Specialist |Staff Services Manager II |
|Personnel Services Specialist I |(Managerial) |
| |Staff Services Manager II |
| |(Supervisor) |
| |Staff Services Manager III |
| |Supervising Transportation |
| |Engineer |
| |Supervising Transportation Rate |
| |Expert |
| |Supervising Transportation |
| |Representative |
| |Supervisor Operations & Safety |
| |Section, PUC |
| |Telecommunications Systems Analyst |
| |I |
| |Transportation Analyst B, C |
| |Utilities Engineer |
| | |
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Designated (Exempt) Employees
Administrative Analyst (Supervisor)
Administrative Analyst (Specialist)
Advisor, Policy and Planning, PUC
Advisor, Energy Efficiency and Renewables, PUC
Communications Director, PUC
Coordinator, Media and Public Relations
Director, Office of Ratepayer Advocates
Executive Director, PUC
Executive Coord for Media & Public Relations
General Counsel, PUC
Legal Advisor I
Legal Advisor II
Legislative Analyst, PUC
Legislative Director, PUC
Legislative Representative
Small Business Community Liaison, PUC
Special Advisor
Technical Advisor, PUC
Commission Consultants