BILL ANALYSIS �
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 434|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 434
Author: Hill (D)
Amended: 8/11/14
Vote: 21
PRIOR SENATE VOTES NOT RELEVANT
SENATE FLOOR : 26-2, 1/21/14
AYES: Anderson, Beall, Berryhill, Block, Calderon, Cannella,
Corbett, De Le�n, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani, Hernandez, Hill,
Hueso, Huff, Jackson, Knight, Leno, Mitchell, Monning,
Padilla, Steinberg, Torres, Vidak, Walters, Yee
NOES: Hancock, Liu
NO VOTE RECORDED: Correa, DeSaulnier, Evans, Lara, Lieu,
Nielsen, Pavley, Roth, Wolk, Wright, Wyland, Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 79-0, 8/14/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Public Utilities Commission: removal of a
Commissioner
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill expands the prohibition of a sitting Public
Utilities Commission (PUC) Commissioner from acting as an owner,
director, or officer of a non-state entity of existing non-state
entities created before January 1, 2014 to those created by
future actions of the PUC.
Assembly Amendments are technical and clarifying.
CONTINUED
SB 434
Page
2
ANALYSIS : Existing law declares that a sitting PUC
Commissioner who acts as an owner, director, or officer of a
non-state entity created by the PUC before January 1, 2014, and
is negligent of his/her duty, as specified, may be removed from
office by a two-thirds vote of both houses of the Legislature.
This bill:
1. Provides that, beginning June 1, 2014, a Commissioner who
acts as an owner, director, or office of a non-state entity
that was established as a result of an order, decision,
motion, settlement, or other action by the PUC in which the
Commissioner participated, neglects his/her duty and may be
removed pursuant to the California Constitution, irrespective
of when the non-state entity was established.
2. Specifies a two-thirds vote of both houses of the Legislature
is needed to remove a Commissioner of the PUC, in the event
that a Commissioner violates specified prohibitions.
Background
SB 96 (Senate Budget and Fiscal Review, Chapter 358, Statues of
2013), the Resources Budget Trailer Bill for the Budget Act of
2013, contained reforms directed at the PUC regarding the
creation of non-profits and the reduction conflicts of interests
in contracting with and sitting on non-state entities.
SB 96 made the following prohibitions:
1.The PUC may not create non-profit entities, unless it does so
with shareholder funds, and that decision has received
scrutiny by the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.
2.The PUC may not contract with a non-state entity in which a
sitting commissioner acts as an owner, director, or officer.
If, after a contract is made to a non-state entity, a sitting
commissioner becomes an owner, director, or officer of that
non-state entity, the contract shall become void.
3.A sitting PUC Commissioner may not sit on a non-state entity
created by the PUC in a decision in which that Commissioner
participated. This only applies for non-state entities
CONTINUED
SB 434
Page
3
created before January 1, 2014.
Comments
According to the author's office, the third prohibition applies
only to non-state entities created before January 1, 2014. As
such, it only applies to one Commissioner, as there is only one
Commissioner currently sitting who has participated in a
decision to create a non-profit.
This prohibition should apply to all Commissioners current and
future, as non-state entities are not subject to oversight by
the Legislature or Department of Finance. The Legislature
should not create personal incentives for Commissioners to use
the broad powers granted to the PUC by the Legislature to move
money outside the state's purview.
This bill cleans up the PUC Commissioner conflict of interest
provision in last year's Resources Budget Trailer Bill by
prohibiting a current or future Commissioners from sitting on
the PUC-created non-state entity (if that Commissioner was
involved in creating the entity).
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/14/14)
Communications Workers of America
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 79-0, 8/14/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,
Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hern�ndez,
Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal,
Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi,
Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, John A.
P�rez, V. Manuel P�rez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon,
Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner,
Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Vacancy
CONTINUED
SB 434
Page
4
JG:d:n 8/14/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****
CONTINUED