BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 106 Page 1 Date of Hearing: September 10, 2015 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUDGET Shirley Weber, Chair SB 106 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review) - As Amended September 10, 2015 SENATE VOTE: 23-13 SUBJECT: Public Utilities Commission SUMMARY: This is the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Reform Trailer Bill for 2015-16. It contains necessary changes related to the Budget Act of 2015. This bill makes various statutory changes to implement the 2015-16 budget. Specifically, this bill: 1)Requires the California Research Bureau to conduct a programmatic review of the CPUC to ensure that the commission is the best governmental entity to direct, regulate, and oversee specified public utility sectors. 2)Specifies that the Department of Finance's Office of State Audits and Evaluations (OSAE) assess each activity and position related to the energy responsibilities of the CPUC, as identified in the commission's zero-based budget, supports the core mission of the commission. Requires the OSAE, by SB 106 Page 2 April 1, 2016, to submit a report to the Legislature on the assessment. 3)Provides that the Office of Ratepayer Advocates (ORA), the independent consumer advocate within the CPUC, has control over its legal resources by clarifying that attorneys funded by ORA administratively report to ORA instead of the CPUC. 4)Requires the CPUC to report to the Legislature on the outcomes of the California Hub for Energy Efficiency Financing program and prohibits the commission from approving any extension of the program sooner than 30 days after making its report. 5)Requires the Department of Finance to report to the Legislature, on a semiannual basis, any CPUC actions to redirect personnel from authorized positions, including loaning staff to other state agencies or departments. 6)Provides for an appropriation of $5 million to the base budget of the CPUC. A like amount was reduced in the 2015-16 Budget Act. 7)Requires that any additional moneys made available to fund the New Solar Homes Partnership Program be deposited into the SB 106 Page 3 Emerging Renewable Resources Account of the Renewable Resource Trust Fund if the California Energy Commission is designated the 3rd -party administer for the Program. SB 106 Page 4 8)Requires the CPUC to establish, by April 1, 2016, an expedited grid interconnection dispute resolution process to resolve disputes over interconnection applications that are within the jurisdiction of the CPUC in no more than 60 days from the time the dispute is formally brought to the Commission. 9)Expands the locations the CPUC may hold its monthly meetings to include Sacramento. 10)Requires the CPUC to notify the Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC) when it enters into a contract for outside legal counsel to represent the Commission in any criminal investigation at an expense exceeding one million dollars and provide a copy of the contract to JLBC within 10 days of it being approved by the Department of General Services. Prohibits the Commission from retaining outside legal counsel for representation of individual employees in any criminal investigation, unless that individual has testified on behalf of the public entity in any criminal, civil, or administrative action, as specified in law. COMMENTS: None REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION: SB 106 Page 5 Support None on File Opposition None on File Analysis Prepared by:Gabrielle Meindl / BUDGET /916-319-2099