BILL NUMBER: AB 1918 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 5, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Davis
FEBRUARY 16, 2010
An act to amend Sections 8281, 8283, 8284, and 8285 of the
Public Utilities Code, relating to telecommunications.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1918, as amended, Davis. Public utilities: procurement:
minority-, women-, disabled veteran-owned business enterprises.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory
authority over public utilities, including electrical, gas, water,
and telephone corporations. Existing law authorizes the commission to
establish rules for all public utilities, subject to control by the
Legislature.
Existing law directs the commission to require every electrical,
gas, water, and telephone corporation with annual gross revenues
exceeding $25,000,000, and their regulated subsidiaries and
affiliates, to implement a program developed by the commission to
encourage, recruit, and utilize minority-, women-, and disabled
veteran-owned business enterprises, as defined, in the procurement of
contracts from those corporations or from their regulated
subsidiaries and affiliates, and to require the reporting of certain
information. The commission, by rulemaking, has adopted General Order
156, applicable to certain electrical, gas, and telephone
corporations, to effectuate these requirements.
This bill would extend the minority-, women-, and disabled
veteran-owned business enterprises procurement requirements to
wireless telecommunications service providers with gross annual
revenues of more than $25,000,000 and would encourage each
electrical, gas, water, wireless telecommunications service provider,
and telephone corporation that is not required to submit a plan to
voluntarily adopt a plan for increasing women, minority, and disabled
veteran business enterprise procurement in all categories.
Under existing law, a violation of any rules or orders of the
commission is a crime. In addition, any person or corporation who
falsely represents a business as a woman, minority, or disabled
veteran business enterprise for the purposes of the programs
discussed above is subject to criminal penalties.
Because a violation of the requirements of the bill would be a
crime under those provisions, this bill would impose a state-mandated
local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Existing law directs the Public Utilities Commission to require
every electrical, gas, water, and telephone corporation with gross
annual revenues exceeding $25,000,000, and their regulated
subsidiaries and affiliates, to implement a program developed by the
commission to inform, recruit, and utilize minority-, women-, and
disabled veteran-owned business enterprises, as defined, in the
procurement of contracts from those corporations or from their
regulated subsidiaries and affiliates, and to require the reporting
of certain information. The commission, by rulemaking, has adopted
General Order 156, applicable to certain electrical, gas, and
telephone corporations, to effectuate these requirements.
This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation to amend specified statutory provisions relating to that
program to require cable television and wireless telecommunications
service providers to comply with that general order.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no
yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 8281 of the Public
Utilities Code is amended to read:
8281. (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the
essence of the American economic system of private enterprise is free
competition. Only through full and free competition can free
markets, reasonable and just prices, free entry into business, and
opportunities for the expression and growth of personal initiative
and individual judgment be assured. The preservation and expansion of
that competition is basic to the economic well-being of this state
and that well-being cannot be realized unless the actual and
potential capacity of women, minority, and disabled veteran business
enterprises is encouraged and developed. Therefore, it is the
declared policy of the state to aid the interests of women, minority,
and disabled veteran business enterprises in order to preserve
reasonable and just prices and a free competitive enterprise, to
ensure that a fair proportion of the total purchases and contracts or
subcontracts for commodities, supplies, technology, property, and
services for regulated public utilities are awarded to women,
minority, and disabled veteran business enterprises, and to maintain
and strengthen the overall economy of the state.
(b) (1) The Legislature finds all of the following:
(A) The opportunity for full participation in our free enterprise
system by women, minority, and disabled veteran business enterprises
is essential if this state is to attain social and economic equality
for those businesses and improve the functioning of the state
economy.
(B) Public agencies which have established short- and long-range
women, minority, and disabled veteran business enterprise goals are
awarding 30 percent or more of their contracts to these business
enterprises.
(C) Women, minority, and disabled veteran business enterprises
have traditionally received less than a proportionate share of
regulated public utility procurement contracts.
(D) It is in the state's interest to expeditiously improve the
economically disadvantaged position of women, minority, and disabled
veteran business enterprises.
(E) The position of these businesses can be improved by providing
long-range substantial goals for procurement by regulated public
utilities of technology, equipment, supplies, services, materials,
and construction work from women, minority, and disabled veteran
businesses.
(F) That procurement also benefits the regulated public utilities
and consumers of the state by encouraging the expansion of the number
of suppliers for procurements, thereby encouraging competition among
the suppliers and promoting economic efficiency in the process.
(2) It is the purpose of this article to do all of the following:
(A) Encourage greater economic opportunity for women, minority,
and disabled veteran business enterprises.
(B) Promote competition among regulated public utility suppliers
in order to enhance economic efficiency in the procurement of
electrical, gas, water, wireless telecommunications
service provider , and telephone corporation
contracts and contracts of their commission-regulated subsidiaries
and affiliates.
(C) Clarify and expand the program for the procurement by
regulated public utilities of technology, equipment, supplies,
services, materials, and construction work from women, minority, and
disabled veteran business enterprises.
SEC. 2. Section 8283 of the Public
Utilities Code is amended to read:
8283. (a) The commission shall require each electrical, gas,
water, wireless telecommunications service provider
, and telephone corporation with gross annual
revenues exceeding twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000) and
their commission-regulated subsidiaries and affiliates, to submit
annually, a detailed and verifiable plan for increasing women,
minority, and disabled veteran business enterprise procurement in all
categories.
(b) These annual plans shall include short- and long-term goals
and timetables, but not quotas, and shall include methods for
encouraging both prime contractors and grantees to engage women,
minority, and disabled veteran business enterprises in subcontracts
in all categories which provide subcontracting opportunities.
(c) The commission shall establish guidelines for all electrical,
gas, water, wireless telecommunications service provider,
and telephone corporations with gross annual revenues exceeding
twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000) and their
commission-regulated subsidiaries and affiliates, to be utilized in
establishing programs pursuant to this article.
(d) Every electrical, gas, water, wireless telecommunications
service provider, and telephone corporation with gross annual
revenues exceeding twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000) shall
furnish an annual report to the commission regarding the
implementation of programs established pursuant to this article in a
form that the commission shall require, and at the time that the
commission shall annually designate.
(e) The commission shall provide a report to the Legislature on
September 1 of each year, on the progress of activities undertaken by
each electrical, gas, water, wireless telecommunications
service provider, and telephone corporation with gross annual
revenues exceeding twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000) pursuant
to this article in the implementation of women, minority, and
disabled veterans business enterprise development programs. The
commission shall recommend a program for carrying out the policy
declared in this article, together with recommendations for
legislation that it deems necessary or desirable to further that
policy.
(f) The Legislature declares that each electrical, gas, water,
wireless telecommunications service provider, and
telephone corporation that is not required to submit a plan pursuant
to subdivision (a) is encouraged to voluntarily adopt a plan for
increasing women, minority, and disabled veteran business enterprise
procurement in all categories.
SEC. 3. Sectio n 8284 of the
Public Utilities Code is amended to read:
8284. (a) The commission shall, by rule or order, adopt criteria
for verifying and determining the eligibility of women, minority, and
disabled veteran business enterprises for procurement contracts.
(b) The commission shall develop, and require every electrical,
gas, water, wireless telecommunications service provider,
and telephone corporation with gross annual revenues exceeding
twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000) and their
commission-regulated subsidiaries and affiliates to implement, an
outreach program to inform and recruit women, minority, and disabled
veteran business enterprises to apply for procurement contracts under
this article.
SEC. 4. Section 8285 of the Public
Utilities Code is amended to read:
8285. Any person or corporation, through its directors, officers,
or agents, which falsely represents a business as a women, minority,
or disabled veteran business enterprise in the procurement of, or
attempt to procure, contracts from an electrical, gas, water,
wireless telecommunications service provider, or telephone
corporation with gross annual revenues exceeding twenty-five million
dollars ($25,000,000), or a commission-regulated subsidiary or
affiliate subject to this article, shall be punished by a fine of not
more than five thousand dollars ($5,000), by imprisonment in a
county jail for not more than one year or in the state prison, or by
both that fine and imprisonment. In the case of a corporation, the
fine or imprisonment, or both, shall be imposed on every director,
officer, or agent responsible for the false statements.
SEC. 5. No reimbursement is required by this act
pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local
agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a
new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or
changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of
Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a
crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the
California Constitution.
SECTION 1. It is the intent of the Legislature
to enact legislation to amend Sections 8281, 8283, 8284, and 8285 of
the Public Utilities Code, relating to a program for increasing
utility procurement from minority-, women-, and disabled
veteran-owned business enterprises, to require cable television and
wireless telecommunications service providers to comply with General
Order 156 of the Public Utilities Commission.