Amended in Assembly April 1, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 366

Introduced by Assembly Member Holden

February 14, 2013

An act to amend Section 8282 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to women, minority, and disabled veteran business enterprises.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 366, as amended, Holden. Women, minority, and disabled veteran business enterprises.

Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical, gas, water, and telephone corporations. Existing law authorizes the commission to establish rules for all public utilities, subject to control by the Legislature.

Existing law directs the commission to require every electrical, gas, water, wireless telecommunications service provider, and telephone corporation with annual gross revenues exceeding $25,000,000, and their regulated subsidiaries and affiliates, to implement a program developed by the commission to encourage, recruit, and utilize minority-, women-, and disabled veteran-owned business enterprises, as defined, in the procurement of contracts from those corporations or from their regulated subsidiaries and affiliates, and to require the reporting of certain information. Existing law requires the commission, by rule or order, to adopt criteria for verifying and determining eligibility of women, minority, and disabled veteran business enterprises for procurement contracts. The commission, by its rulemaking authority, has adopted General Order 156, applicable to certain electrical, gas, and telephone corporations, to effectuate these requirements. For the purposes of these provisions, existing law defines a minority business enterprise begin delete as a business enterprise that is at least 51% owned by a minority group or groups; or, in the case of any publicly owned business, at least 51% of the stock of which is owned by one or more minority groups, and whose management and daily business operations are controlled by one or more of those individuals. end delete begin insert , women business enterprise, and disabled veteran business enterprise. end insert

begin delete

This bill would revise the definition of a minority business enterprise by providing that a minority business enterprise means that at least 51% of the business enterprise, or at least 51% of the stock in the case of a publicly owned company, is owned by one or more minority groups, or that the management and daily operations of the business are controlled by one or more members of a minority group.

end delete begin insert

This bill would revise and recast these definitions.

end insert

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 8282 of the Public Utilities Code is
amended to read:

8282.  

For the purposes of this article, the following definitions
apply:

(a) “Women business enterprise” means a business enterprise
begin delete that end delete begin insert whose management and daily business operations are
controlled by one or more women and end insert is begin insert either end insert at least 51 percent
owned by a woman or women; or, in the case of any publicly
owned business, begin insert has a board of directors whose membership
includes end insert at least 51 percent begin delete of the stock of which is owned by one
or more women; and whose management and daily business
operations are controlled by one or more of those individuals. end delete
begin insert women, and did so for at least five years prior to the certification
of the publicly owned business as a women business enterprise. end insert

(b) “Minority business enterprise” means a business enterprise
begin delete that end delete begin insert whose management and daily business operations are
controlled by one or more members of a minority group and end insert is
begin insert either end insert at least 51 percent owned by a minority group or groups;
or, in the case of any publicly owned business, begin insert has a board of
directors whose membership includes end insert at least 51 percent of begin delete the
stock of which is owned by end delete one or more minority groups begin delete , or whose
management and daily business operations are controlled by one
or more members of a minority group. end delete begin insert and did so for at least five
years prior to the certification of the publicly owned business as
a minority business enterprise. end insert The contracting utility shall
presume that minority includes begin insert Asian Pacific Americans, end insert Black
Americans, Hispanic Americans, begin insert and end insert Native Americans begin delete , and Asian
Pacific Americans end delete .

(c) “Disabled veteran business enterprise” has the same meaning
as defined in begin insert paragraph (7) of end insert subdivision begin delete (g) end delete begin insert (b) end insert of Section 999
of the Military and Veterans Code begin insert , except that in the case of any
publicly owned business the board of directors membership shall
include at least 51 percent disabled veterans, and the executive
management and daily business operations shall be controlled by
one or more disabled veterans. The membership of the board of
directors must consist of at least 51 percent disabled veterans for
at least five years prior to the certification of a publicly owned
business as a disabled veteran business enterprise end insert .

(d) “Control” means exercising the power to make policy
decisions.

(e)  “Operate” means being actively involved in the day-to-day
management and not merely officers or directors.