BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 631
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Date of Hearing: June 15, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON UTILITIES AND COMMERCE
Anthony Rendon, Chair
SB
631 (Hueso) - As Introduced February 27, 2015
SENATE VOTE: 29-4
SUBJECT: Public Utilities Commission: fees.
SUMMARY: This bill specifies that the fee for filing a
certificate of public convenience and necessity (CPCN) with the
Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is an amount not to exceed
$500 and allows the CPUC to adjust this fee for inflation.
Specifically, this bill:
a)Caps the amount the CPUC can assess for a CPCN to no more than
$500 and allows the fee to continue to be adjusted based on
the Consumer Price Index.
b)Repeals a section of the statute which requires collected CPCN
application fees to be paid to the credit of the General Fund.
EXISTING LAW:
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1)Requires a utility, including telephone corporations, to
obtain a CPCN from the CPUC prior to construction or extension
of a line or service. (Public Utilities Code Section 1001)
2)Establishes a fee of $75 for the application of a CPCN.
(Public Utilities Code Section 1904)
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.
COMMENTS:
1)Background: A CPCN is a permit issued by the CPUC to a
utility that wants to provide service or construct or extend
facilities or telecommunications services. For example, a
CPCN is required for a natural gas utility that plans to
extend a transmission line. A fee on CPCN applications was
established in statute in 1969. The CPCN application process
involves the participation of an administrative law judge,
CPUC staff, and commissioners, and is a lengthy and in-depth
public process. It involves review of California
Environmental Quality Act documents, cost analysis, need
analysis, and extensive workshops and public hearings.
2)Purpose: According to the supporters of the bill, the costs
of processing a CPCN application are not well reflected in the
$75 fee established in law nearly half a century ago.
However, the CPUC does not have authority to revise the
application fee without a change in the statute. In 2013, the
CPUC adopted Decision (D.) 13-05-035 which acknowledged the
need to increase the CPCN fee with legislative approval. In
that decision, the CPUC stated that had the application fee
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been adjusted for inflation, the 2013 fee would have been
$432.
3)Prior Legislation:
SB 711 (Padilla) 2014: Proposed to authorize the CPUC to
increase the CPCN application fee to an amount that would
reasonably cover the costs of processing the fee with a cap of
$500. The bill also proposed to shift the revenues from the
application fee from the General Fund to the CPUC. The bill
was held in the Assembly Committee on Utilities and Commerce.
AB 1409 (Bradford) 2013: Proposed several changes to the
Public Utilities Code, including increasing the CPCN
application fee. The bill was vetoed by the Governor.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Public Utilities Commission
Opposition
SB 631
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None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Allegra Roth / U. & C. / (916)
319-2083