BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1651
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
1651 (Obernolte)
As Amended March 17, 2016
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Utilities |15-0 |Gatto, Patterson, | |
| | |Burke, Chávez, Dahle, | |
| | |Eggman, Cristina | |
| | |Garcia, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Eduardo Garcia, | |
| | |Hadley, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Roger Hernández, | |
| | |Obernolte, Quirk, | |
| | |Santiago, Ting, | |
| | |Williams | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |20-0 |Gonzalez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bloom, Bonilla, | |
| | |Bonta, Calderon, | |
| | |Chang, Daly, Eggman, | |
AB 1651
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| | |Gallagher, Eduardo | |
| | |Garcia, Roger | |
| | |Hernández, Holden, | |
| | |Jones, Obernolte, | |
| | |Quirk, Santiago, | |
| | |Wagner, Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Requires the California Public Utilities Commission
(CPUC) to post information related to contracts and audits on
its Internet Web site. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the CPUC, no less frequently than once a month, to
post the following documents and information on its Internet
Web site:
a) A copy of each contract that the CPUC enters into;
b) The names, addresses, and points of contact of parties
to the contract;
c) The goods and services requested, as applicable;
d) The contract value; and
e) Applies these provisions, beginning July 1, 2017, to
contracts entered into at the direction of the CPUC,
whether or not the CPUC is a party to the contract.
AB 1651
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2)Requires the CPUC to post on its Internet Web site, audits
conducted by the Department of General Services (DGS) of the
CPUC's contracting practices.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, this bill would have increased administrative and
equipment costs in the $150,000 range.
COMMENTS:
1)Author's Statement: "One of the CPUC's core functions is to
foster a fair contracting process that ensures public
utilities are providing ratepayers with reliable service at
reasonable rates. Given the concerns that have been raised,
my hope is that AB 1651 will shine a light on these
contracting practices and provide the public with the tools
needed to keep the CPUC accountable."
2)Background: DGS has the statutory authority for the
competitive and non-competitive procurement of information
technology goods and services for the state. Principally,
state agencies rely on the State Contracting Manual when
soliciting and/or entering into a contract to provide
services. Under current law, DGS has the authority to
delegate authority to any state agency to acquire certain
types of acquisitions. DGS has delegated authority to the
CPUC to approve its own justification of contracts awarded
without competitive bidding if the amount of the contract does
not exceed $25,000 for information and non-information
technology goods.
3)2000 State Auditor's Report: In 2000, the State Auditor
published a report on the CPUC's contracting process and found
that the CPUC did not adequately develop and manage its
contracts. In response to the issues raised in the report,
the CPUC stated that it would require contract mangers to use
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competitive bid process for contracts and will use the State's
contracting process for all contracts it develops or manages,
including contracts for consumer education programs. However,
since then, it is still unclear whether or not the CPUC is
consistently using the state contracting process for the
awarding of contracts.
This bill requires the CPUC to post a copy of each contract
that the CPUC enters into, including the names, address, and
points of contact of parties to the contract, the goods and
services requested by the contract and the contract value, on
its web site at least once a month. Beginning July 1, 2017,
this bill requires the CPUC to also post contracts entered
into at its direction, regardless if the CPUC is a party of
the contract. This bill also requires the CPUC to post any
audits conducted by DGS on the CPUC's contracting practices.
Analysis Prepared by:
Edmond Cheung / U. & C. / (916) 319-2083 FN:
0003225