AB 1601, as introduced, Stone. Public utilities: information: confidentiality.
The Public Utilities Act prohibits the commission or an officer or employee of the commission from disclosing any information furnished to the commission by a public utility, a subsidiary, an affiliate, or a corporation holding a controlling interest in a public utility, unless the information is specifically required to be open to public inspection under the act, except on order of the commission or a commissioner in the course of a hearing or proceeding.
This bill would instead require the information to be open to public inspection unless federal or state law or an order of the commission requires the information to be closed to inspection, or the withholding of that information is specified by the commission, a commissioner, or an administrative law judge in the course of a hearing or proceeding. The bill would authorize a public utility, a subsidiary or affiliate of the public utility, or a corporation holding a controlling interest in a public utility providing information to request the commission to withhold from public disclosure all or a portion of the information provided. The bill would require the commission, a commissioner, or the assigned administrative law judge to issue an order on the request within 45 days of the request. The bill would provide that the information be deemed a public record subject to public inspection if the commission, a commissioner, or the assigned administrative law judge fails to issue an order within 45 days of the request.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 583 of the Public Utilities Code is
2amended to read:
begin deleteNo end deletebegin insert(a)end insertbegin insert end insertbegin insertAll end insertinformation furnished to the commission by
4a public utility, orbegin delete anyend deletebegin insert aend insert businessbegin delete whichend deletebegin insert thatend insert is a subsidiary or
5affiliate of a public utility, or a corporationbegin delete whichend deletebegin insert
thatend insert holds a
6controlling interest in a public utility, except those matters
7specifically required to bebegin delete openend deletebegin insert closedend insert to public inspection bybegin delete this begin insert federal or state law, including the provisions of the Evidence
8part,end delete
9Code relating to privilege,end insert shall be open to public inspectionbegin delete or begin insert and shall not be withheld from public inspectionend insert
10made publicend delete
11 except on order of the commission, or by thebegin delete commission orend delete
12begin insert
commission,end insert abegin delete commissionerend deletebegin insert commissioner, orend insertbegin insert an administrative
13law judgeend insert in the course of a hearing or proceeding.begin delete Anyend delete
14(b) The commission may, by order, designate specific categories
15of information as confidential, if it finds that the public interest
16served by not disclosing the information clearly outweighs the
17public interest served by disclosing the information.
18(c) This section does not authorize the disclosure of information
19that is exempt from public disclosure under the California Public
20Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of
21Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code).
22(d) (1) A public utility, a subsidiary or an affiliate of the public
23utility, or a corporation holding a controlling interest in a public
24utility providing information to the commission may request the
25commission to withhold from public disclosure all or a portion of
26the information provided. The request shall specify provisions of
27federal or state law, including the Evidence Code or the California
28Public Records Act, and, if applicable, an order issued pursuant
29to subdivision (b) that exempts the public disclosure of the
30information.
31(2) The commission, a
commissioner, or the assigned
32administrative law judge shall grant the request upon an adequate
P3 1showing by the requester that the claimed information is exempt
2from public disclosure pursuant to the specified provision of federal
3or state law, or commission order.
4(3) Within 45 days of the filing of the request, the commission,
5a commissioner, or the assigned administrative law judge shall
6issue an order on the request.
7(4) If the commission, a commissioner, or the assigned
8administrative law judge fails to issue an order on the request
9within 45 days of the request, the information is deemed to be a
10public record within the California Public Records Act and subject
11to public inspection.
12(5) The information
that is the subject of the request shall be
13provisionally withheld from public disclosure for 45 days after the
14filing of the request or 10 days after the issuance of the ruling on
15the request, whichever comes first, and until all administrative
16and judicial review, if any, have been exhausted.
17begin insert(e)end insertbegin insert end insertbegin insertAnyend insert present or former officer or employee of the commission
18who divulges anybegin delete suchend delete informationbegin insert
that is exempt from public
19disclosure under this sectionend insert is guilty of a misdemeanor.
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