BILL NUMBER: AB 2120 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 26, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Weber
FEBRUARY 17, 2016
An act to amend Section 1802 of the Public Utilities Code,
relating to public utilities.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2120, as amended, Weber. Public Utilities Commission:
proceedings: intervenor fees: customers.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has broad
regulatory authority pursuant to the California Constitution and the
Public Utilities Act over public utilities, as defined. Existing law
provides compensation for reasonable advocate's fees, reasonable
expert witness fees, and other reasonable costs to public utility
customers and representatives of customers for participation or
intervention in formal proceedings of the commission involving
electrical, gas, water, telegraph, and telephone public utilities,
but does not provide that compensation for local government agencies.
This bill would make legislative findings and declarations
relating to local educational agency involvement in commission
proceedings. The bill would authorize compensation for participation
or intervention in the proceedings described above for a county
office of education, on behalf of any of the local
educational agencies in whole or part within the county or on behalf
of itself, or for a community college district. or a
consortium of public school districts or agencies participating or
intervening on behalf of local K-12 educational agencies in a
commission proceeding relating to gas or electricity rates. The bill
would require that a representative of a consortium not have had a
direct financial interest in the resolution of the commission
proceeding within the 2 years preceding the filing of comments with
the commission and not have a direct financial interest in the
resolution until 2 years after that resolution.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Many local educational agencies, including school districts,
county offices of education, and community college districts
districts, have experienced rapid increases in
energy costs due to energy rate increases approved by the Public
Utilities Commission.
(b) Local educational agencies are disproportionately affected by
rapid increases in energy costs and differ from other public agencies
because they are strictly limited in their ability to raise local
tax revenues to cover operational cost increases. Local educational
agencies seeking to participate in Public Utilities Commission
proceedings must hire attorneys and experts at their own expense,
using the state and local dollars that were designated for
educational programs.
(c) The cost of intervening in Public Utilities Commission
proceedings is often prohibitive for local educational agencies;
therefore, the perspectives of local educational agencies are often
lost during proceedings to discuss rate changes.
(d) The Public Utilities Commission's Intervenor Compensation
Program is intended to ensure that individuals and groups that
represent residential or small commercial electric utility customers
have the financial resources to bring their concerns and interests to
the commission during formal proceedings.
(e) As a regional agency, a county office of education is the
appropriate intervenor in a proceeding affecting any local
educational agency in whole or part within the county.
SEC. 2. Section 1802 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
1802. As used in this article:
(a) "Compensation" means payment for all or part, as determined by
the commission, of reasonable advocate's fees, reasonable expert
witness fees, and other reasonable costs of preparation for and
participation in a proceeding, and includes the fees and costs of
obtaining an award under this article and of obtaining judicial
review, if any.
(b) (1) "Customer" means any of the following:
(A) A participant representing consumers, customers, or
subscribers of any electrical, gas, telephone, telegraph, or water
corporation that is subject to the jurisdiction of the commission.
(B) A representative who has been authorized by a customer.
(C) A representative of a group or organization authorized
pursuant to its articles of incorporation or bylaws to represent the
interests of residential customers, or to represent small commercial
customers who receive bundled electric service from an electrical
corporation.
(D) (i) Notwithstanding paragraph (2), a county office of
education or a community college district.
consortium of public school districts or agencies.
(ii) (I) A county office of
education may consortium of public school districts or
agencies shall only participate or intervene pursuant to this
article on behalf of any of the a local
K- 12 educational agencies in whole
or part within the county or on behalf of itself.
agency in a commission proceeding relating to gas or electricity
rates.
(II) A representative of a consortium of public school districts
or agencies participating or intervening pursuant to this article in
a commission proceeding shall not have had a direct financial
interest in the resolution of the commission proceeding within the
two years preceding the filing of comments with the commission, and
shall not have a direct financial interest in the resolution of the
proceeding sooner than two years after that resolution.
(2) "Customer" does not include any state, federal, or local
government agency, any publicly owned public utility, or any entity
that, in the commission's opinion, was established or formed by a
local government entity for the purpose of participating in a
commission proceeding.
(c) "Expert witness fees" means recorded or billed costs incurred
by a customer for an expert witness.
(d) "Other reasonable costs" means reasonable out-of-pocket
expenses directly incurred by a customer that are directly related to
the contentions or recommendations made by the customer that
resulted in a substantial contribution.
(e) "Party" means any interested party, respondent public utility,
or commission staff in a hearing or proceeding.
(f) "Proceeding" means an application, complaint, or
investigation, rulemaking, alternative dispute resolution procedures
in lieu of formal proceedings as may be sponsored or endorsed by the
commission, or other formal proceeding before the commission.
(g) "Significant financial hardship" means either that the
customer cannot afford, without undue hardship, to pay the costs of
effective participation, including advocate's fees, expert witness
fees, and other reasonable costs of participation, or that, in the
case of a group or organization, the economic interest of the
individual members of the group or organization is small in
comparison to the costs of effective participation in the proceeding.
(h) "Small commercial customer" means any
a nonresidential customer with a maximum peak demand of less
than 50 kilowatts. The commission may establish rules to modify or
change the definition of "small commercial customer," including use
of criteria other than a peak demand threshold, if the commission
determines that the modification or change will promote participation
in proceedings at the commission by organizations representing small
businesses, without incorporating large commercial and industrial
customers.
(i) "Substantial contribution" means that, in the judgment of the
commission, the customer's presentation has substantially assisted
the commission in the making of its order or decision because the
order or decision has adopted in whole or in part one or more factual
contentions, legal contentions, or specific policy or procedural
recommendations presented by the customer. Where
If the customer's participation has resulted in a
substantial contribution, even if the decision adopts that customer's
contention or recommendations only in part, the commission may award
the customer compensation for all reasonable advocate's fees,
reasonable expert fees, and other reasonable costs incurred by the
customer in preparing or presenting that contention or
recommendation.