BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 106
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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
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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
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Emerging Renewable Resources Account of the Renewable Resource
Trust Fund if the California Energy Commission is designated
the 3rd -party administer for the Program.
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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:
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Support
None on File
Opposition
None on File
Analysis Prepared by:Gabrielle Meindl / BUDGET
/916-319-2099