Amended in Senate April 21, 2014

Amended in Senate April 2, 2014

Senate Bill No. 1409

Introduced by Senator Hill

February 21, 2014

An act to amend Section begin delete 311.5 end delete begin insert 321.6 end insert of begin delete , and to add Section 731 to, end delete the Public Utilities Code, relating to the Public Utilities Commission.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1409, as amended, Hill. Public Utilities Commission: begin delete publicly available information: fixing of rates. end delete begin insert safety investigations. end insert

The California Constitution establishes the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities and authorizes the commission to establish its own procedures, subject to statutory limitations or directions and constitutional requirements of due process. begin delete The Public Utilities Act requires the commission to publish and maintain certain documents and information and make specified materials available on the commission’s Internet Web site. end delete begin insert Existing law requires the commission to submit certain information about its activities to the Governor and the Legislature no later than February 1 of each year, including a workplan describing its scheduled ratemaking proceedings, an accounting of its transactions and proceedings, and a report on the number of cases where resolution of the case exceeded the time periods prescribed in scoping memos and on the number of days that commissioners presided in hearings. end insert

This bill begin insert , with respect to this annual submission of information, end insert would begin insert also end insert require the commission to begin delete publish and maintain on its Internet Web site end delete begin insert provide end insert a succinct description of each safety investigation pending before the commission or concluded during the prior calendar year by the begin delete commission and require that the description include end delete begin insert commission, including end insert the reason for the investigation, the facility type involved, and the owner of the facility.

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The California Constitution authorizes the commission to fix the rates and charges for every public utility, while the Public Utilities Act requires that those rates and charges be just and reasonable and, 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.

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The Public Utilities Act requires the commission to investigate the cause of all accidents occurring upon the property of any public utility or directly or indirectly arising from or connected with its maintenance or operation, resulting in loss of life or injury to person or property and requiring, in the judgment of the commission, investigation by it, and authorizes the commission to make any order or recommendation with respect to the investigation that it determines to be just and reasonable.

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If the commission opens an investigation into the cause of an accident resulting in loss of life or injury to person or property, this bill would require that the commission not recognize as being just and reasonable any expenditure by a public utility related to any final judgment, arbitration award, compromise, or other settlement related to the event under investigation before the commission completes its investigation.

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

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

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

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begin insert Section 321.6 of the end insert begin insert Public Utilities Code end insert begin insert is
amended to read: end insert

321.6.  

(a) The commission shall do all of the following:

(1) Develop, publish, and annually update an annual workplan
that describes in clear detail the scheduled ratemaking proceedings
and other decisions that may be considered by the commission
during the calendar year. The plan shall include, but is not limited
to, information on how members of the public and ratepayers can
gain access to the commission’s ratemaking process and
information regarding the specific matters to be decided. The plan
shall also include information on the operation of the office of the
public adviser and identify the names and telephone numbers of
those contact persons responsible for specific cases and matters
to be decided. The plan shall also include a statement that specifies
activities that the commission proposes to reduce the costs of, and
rates for, energy, including electricity, and for improving the
competitive opportunities for state agriculture and other rural
energy consumers. The commission shall post the plan under the
Official Documents area of its Internet Web site and shall develop
a program to disseminate the information in the plan utilizing
computer mailing lists to provide regular updates on the
information to those members of the public and organizations
which request that information.

(2) Produce a complete accounting of its transactions and
proceedings for the preceding year, together with other facts,
suggestions, and recommendations that it deems of value to the
people of the state and a statement that specifies the activities and
achievements of the commission in reducing the costs of, and rates
for, energy, including electricity, for state agriculture and other
rural energy consumers.

(3) Create a report on the number of cases where resolution
exceeded the time periods prescribed in scoping memos and the
days that commissioners presided in hearings.

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(4) Describe succinctly in a report each safety investigation
pending before the commission or concluded during the prior
calendar year by the commission. The description shall include
the reason for the investigation, the facility type involved, and the
owner of the facility.

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(4)

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begin insert (5) end insert  Submit annually the begin delete plan end delete begin insert workplan end insert , accounting, and begin delete report end delete
begin insert reports end insert required by paragraphs (1), (2), begin delete and end delete (3) begin insert , and (4) end insert to the
Governor and Legislature no later than February 1 of each year.

(b) The president of the commission shall annually appear before
the appropriate policy committees of the Senate and Assembly to
report on the annual workplan access guide of the commission
required pursuant to this section.

(c) The president of the commission shall annually appear before
the appropriate policy committees of the Senate and Assembly to
report on the annual report of the commission on the number of
cases where resolution exceeded the time periods prescribed in
scoping memos and the days that commissioners presided in
hearings, pursuant to Section 13 of Chapter 856 of the Statutes of
1996.

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SECTION 1.  

Section 311.5 of the Public Utilities Code is
amended to read:

311.5.  

(a) (1) Prior to commencement of any meeting at which
commissioners vote on items on the public agenda the commission
shall make available to the public copies of the agenda, and upon
request, any agenda item documents that are proposed to be
considered by the commission for action or decision at a
commission meeting.

(2) In addition, the commission shall publish the agenda, agenda
item documents, and adopted decisions in a manner that makes
copies of them easily available to the public, including publishing
those documents on the Internet. Publication of the agenda and
agenda item documents shall occur on the Internet at the same
time as the written agenda and agenda item documents are made
available to the public.

(b) The commission shall publish and maintain the following
documents on the Internet:

(1) Each of the commission’s proposed and alternate proposed
decisions and resolutions, until the decision or resolution is adopted
and published.

(2) Each of the commission’s adopted decisions and resolutions.
The publication shall occur within 10 days of the adoption of each
decision or resolution by the commission.

(3) The then-current version of the commission’s general orders
and Rules of Practice and Procedure.

(4) A succinct description of each safety investigation pending
before the commission or concluded during the prior calendar year
by the commission. The description shall include the reason for
the investigation, the facility type involved, and the owner of the
facility.

(5) Each of the commission’s rulings. The commission shall
maintain those rulings on its Internet Web site until final
disposition, including disposition of any judicial appeals, of the
respective proceedings in which the rulings were issued.

(6) A docket card that lists, by title and date of filing or issuance,
all documents filed and all decisions or rulings issued in those
proceedings. The commission shall maintain the docket card until
final disposition, including disposition of any judicial appeals, of
the corresponding proceedings.

SEC. 2.  

Section 731 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:

731.  

If the commission opens an investigation pursuant to
Section 315, the commission shall not recognize as being just and
reasonable any expenditure by a public utility related to any final
judgment, arbitration award, compromise, or other settlement
related to the event under investigation before the completion of
the investigation by the commission.

end delete