BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1830|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1830
Author: V. Manuel Pérez (D)
Amended: 8/21/12 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE ENERGY, UTIL. & COMMUNIC. COMM.ITTEE : 9-0, 7/3/12
AYES: Padilla, Fuller, Corbett, DeSaulnier, Kehoe, Pavley,
Rubio, Strickland, Wright
NO VOTE RECORDED: Berryhill, De León, Emmerson, Simitian
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 8/16/12
AYES: Kehoe, Walters, Alquist, Dutton, Lieu, Price,
Steinberg
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-1, 5/30/12 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Water service: mobilehome parks
SOURCE : California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
DIGEST : This bill authorizes the Public Utilities
Commission (PUC), if it finds after an investigation, that
a mobile home park has charged an unjust or unreasonable
rate, to order the mobile home park to reimburse current
and former tenants affected by the rate.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
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1. Authorizes the PUC to regulate utilities, including
water corporations, determine whether rates charged are
just and reasonable and service is adequate, and award
customers restitution for past overcharges on rates
deemed not just and reasonable.
2. Provides that a mobilehome park that provides water
service to its tenants from its own water supplies and
facilities that are not otherwise dedicated to public
service is not a water corporation, but authorizes the
PUC, if a tenant complains about rates or service, to
investigate and determine whether rates are just and
reasonable and service is adequate.
3. Authorizes the PUC, after investigation of mobilehome
park water service, to award "rate relief" or order the
park owner to improve its water supply, facilities, and
services. The PUC concluded in a decision that this law
does not authorize the PUC to award restitution for past
overcharges.
This bill:
1. Authorizes the PUC to investigate rates and adequacy of
water service if a complaint is filed by tenants of the
mobilehome park that represent 10 percent or more of the
park's water service connections during any 12-month
period, claiming that the water rates charged by the
park are not just and reasonable or that the service is
inadequate.
2. Requires the PUC, if it determines that a mobilehome
park has charged an unjust or unreasonable rate, to
order the mobilehome park to reimburse overcharges to
current and former tenants affected by the rate, if no
discrimination will result from the reimbursement.
3. Requires a mobilehome park to provide tenants, at the
time of establishing residence and each time it changes
rates or service, written notice of their right to, and
how to, file with the PUC a complaint about water rates
and service.
4. Requires that the notice to tenants be in English,
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Spanish and some Asian dialects, and be made available
on its Internet Web site. Requires a mobilehome park
use the then-current language made available by the PUC.
5. Makes a failure to provide notice subject to a penalty
of not less than $500 or more than $20,000 per offense.
Background
Mobilehome parks, like apartments, frequently provide water
to tenants through a master meter whereby the park receives
water from a utility and then installs separate meters to
bill tenants individually. Some mobilehome parks provide
tenants' water with their own water, such as well water,
and use separate meters to bill tenants individually.
In response to concern about water service in mobilehome
parks, the Legislature enacted AB 290 (Clute, 1991) and SB
585 (Craven, 1995), which provided that, although
mobilehome parks providing tenants water service with their
own water supply were not utilities, the PUC can
investigate complaints from tenants and award "rate
relief."
In 2009, residents of Sunbird mobilehome park located in
the unincorporated community of Thermal, filed a complaint
with the PUC because residents' water bills were sometimes
in excess of $500. The park is an 87-space unit occupied
by low-income families, many of them farm workers. In
2006, the park had instituted a rate structure with four
tiers with a flat rate of $7.36 monthly service charge.
One resident complained of receiving a monthly water bill
of more than $1,000. After investigation, the PUC found
that the tier 3 and 4 rates at Sunbird reflected an
increase of 2,781.3% and 5,754.9%, respectively, over tier
1 rates. In addition to the exorbitant water charges, the
water sold was contaminated with arsenic, which was found
to exceed the safe drinking water standard.
The PUC found that the Sunbird water rates were not just
and reasonable and residents qualified for "rate relief"
under current law. The PUC suspended tier 3 and 4 rates
but determined that it lacked authority to reimburse the
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residents for past overcharges even though residents had
been overpaying for water for three years.
Comments
According to the author's office, this bill ensures that
residents of mobilehome parks are afforded the same rights
and protections as customers of water corporations. Many
of California's poorest families and individuals reside in
mobilehome parks, making them disproportionately
susceptible to the possibility that they will not be
eligible for reimbursement if overcharged for water. This
bill also ensures that mobilehome park owners don't
unjustly profit off of low-income residents.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, $95,000
in 2012-13 and $189,000 annually from the Utilities
Reimbursement Account to review and analyze just and
reasonable expenses and the capital needs of a mobilehome
park's water system and the rate charged. Estimated
workload is for one utility engineer and one consumer
affairs representative to perform the above noted duties.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/21/12)
California Rural legal Assistance Foundation (source)
Clean Water Action
Comite Civico Del Valle
Community Water Center
Consumer Federation of California
Environmental Justice Coalition for Water
Division of Ratepayer Advocates
Golden State Manufactured-home Owners League, Inc.
PolicyLink
Promotores Comunitarios del Desierto
The Utility Reform Network
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
Western Center on Law and Poverty
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/21/12)
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Western Manufactured Housing Communities Association
(unless amended)
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The Division of Ratepayers
Advocates supports this bill, which requires mobilehome
parks that provide water service to reimburse current and
former tenants when the PUC finds water service quality and
rates charged are unreasonable.
California deserves affordable, safe, and reliable water
service. Customers pay their monthly bill with this
expectation. If unjust and unreasonable service is
provided at unfair monthly service rates the situation
needs to be immediately addressed and customers deserve
full restitution. This bill helps better protect
mobilehome parks water customers by (1) requiring that they
be advised of their right to file a complaint with the PUC
about rates or services in writing and (2) requiring the
PUC, after complaints are filed and an investigation is
conducted, to require mobilehome parks to provide its
current and former tenants with a refund for the inadequate
service dating back to when the inadequate service began,
with interest.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : Western Manufactured Housing
Communities Association (WMA) suggest that the bill be
amended to include a safe harbor provision such that an
operator would not have to go through an entire
investigation of rates if the PUC determines that the
operator is charging rates in line with the local water
provider. A safe harbor provision could save a
well-meaning operator over a $100,000 in fees for a rate
study, to only find out they are not charging enough.
WMA also has some concerns about reimbursing prior tenants
after a complaint proceeding especially if they were not a
party to the complaint to the PUC. Reimbursement
compensation should not extend prior to the initial
complaint and we don't believe interest should be charged.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-1, 5/30/12
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
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Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson,
Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth Gaines,
Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Gorell, Grove, Hagman,
Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, Huber,
Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lara, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell,
Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan,
Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Skinner, Smyth,
Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams,
Yamada, John A. Pérez
NOES: Donnelly
NO VOTE RECORDED: Fletcher, Halderman, Logue, Silva,
Valadao
RM:d 8/21/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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