Bill Text: CA SB1480 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Low-Income Oversight Board: membership and duties.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-16 - May 16 hearing: Held in committee and under submission. [SB1480 Detail]

Download: California-2023-SB1480-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Senate  April 09, 2024

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 1480

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Introduced by Senator Allen

February 16, 2024

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An act to amend Sections Section 382.1 and 731 of of, and to add Section 382.2 to, the Public Utilities Code, relating to the Low-Income Oversight Board.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 1480, as amended, Allen. Low-Income Oversight Board: membership and duties.

Existing law establishes the Low-Income Oversight Board to advise the Public Utilities Commission on low-income electric, electricity, gas, and water customer issues and to serve as a liaison for the commission to low-income ratepayers and representatives. Existing law requires the board to carry out certain duties to advise the commission, including monitoring and evaluating implementation of all programs provided to low-income electricity, gas, and water customers. Existing law requires the commission, in conjunction with the board, among other things, to ensure that the energy burden of low-income electricity and gas customers is reduced. The board is comprised of 11 members, including 5 members selected by the commission who have expertise in the low-income community and who are not affiliated with any state agency or utility group, one member selected by the Governor, and one member selected by the Department of Community Services and Development.

This bill would expand the membership of the board to 15 members by adding one member selected by the State Department of Health Care Services, one member selected by the commission who is a representative of a low-income telecommunications provider, one member selected by the Speaker of the Assembly, and one member selected by the President pro Tempore of the Senate. The bill would expand the duties of the board to include establishing and monitoring participation goals in programs and advising the commission on telecommunications, working with the commission to establish a framework to facilitate the cross-system sharing of customer data, as provided, and facilitating eligibility verification in the enrollment and postenrollment process of programs for low-income customers. The bill would also make clarifying and conforming changes. 12 members by adding one member selected by the commission who is a representative of a low-income telecommunications provider. The bill would expand the duties of the board to include monitoring and evaluating implementation of all programs provided to low-income telecommunications customers. The bill would require the commission, in conjunction with the board, to ensure that the financial burden, rather than the energy burden, of low-income electricity, gas, water, and telecommunications customers is reduced. The bill would also require the commission, on or before January 1, 2026, to adopt a process by which a consumer enrolled in a commission-administered low-income utility program receives a notification at enrollment providing information about other utility assistance programs for which the consumer may be presumptively eligible, and information about how to apply for those programs. The bill would require the commission to work with the Low Income Oversight Board to develop an outreach strategy to improve enrollment of eligible households across low-income utility assistance programs.

Existing law requires, on or before June 30, 2024, the commission, in coordination and consultation with the Department of Community Services and Development and other relevant state agencies that provide low-income electric or gas utility customer assistance programs, to develop a process that, to the extent possible, enables customers to concurrently apply, or begin to apply, to multiple low-income customer assistance programs using data collected during the original application process. Existing law requires an electrical or gas corporation to receive consent from its low-income applicants to use already-obtained application information to begin the enrollment process for other low-income electric or gas utility customer assistance programs before sharing data. Under existing law, the Moore Universal Telephone Service Act, the commission has enacted a lifeline program, which provides for low-cost telephone and wireless services for low-income customers.

This bill would postpone that compliance date to June 30, 2025, and require the commission by that date to additionally coordinate and consult with the Low-Income Oversight Board, expand the scope of the concurrent application requirement to include water and telecommunications utility customer assistance programs, and specifically include among the programs to be included in the commission’s concurrent application effort the lifeline program and other programs specified by the commission. The bill would require the commission to work with the Low-Income Oversight Board to improve outreach, application, and enrollment for low-income programs. The bill would make the data-sharing consent provisions applicable to water corporations and telecommunications providers. The bill would require the commission to establish a concurrent enrollment evaluation process using consistent metrics and data collection to measure customer participation rates in energy, water, and telephone low-income customer assistance programs and the effectiveness of comarketing and coenrollment strategies. The bill would make other related changes.

Existing law requires, on or before June 30, 2023, the Low-Income Oversight Board to submit a report to the Legislature regarding the opportunity and process for expanding the third-party administrator contract used for the Universal Lifeline Telephone Service program, or establishing a similar new contract, to include water, gas, and electric utility service for purposes of facilitating enrollment between low-income assistance programs, minimizing privacy and data sharing concerns, and expediting eligibility verification processes. Existing law requires the report to include a recommendation for funding the expansion of the contract or establishment of a new contract.

This bill would require the commission, in consultation with the board, to implement the recommendations set forth in the report.

Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime.

Because certain provisions of this bill would be part of the Public Utilities Act and a violation of a commission action implementing certain provisions of the this bill would be a crime, 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.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

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Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

 (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares all both of the following:

(a)

(1) The Low-Income Oversight Board established pursuant to Section 382.1 of the Public Utilities Code is an invaluable asset to the Public Utilities Commission, the Legislature, and other agencies and serves as a conduit for low-income representation and participation.

(b)

(2) The Low-Income Oversight Board can better represent all low-income ratepayers throughout California by including within its purview telecommunications issues, and the ability to advise on telecommunications safety net programs, like the California Lifeline Program, which benefits low-income landline and wireless subscribers.

(c)Concurrently enrolling eligible individuals in all low-income programs administered by the commission will greatly reduce administrative costs as well as minimize barriers to enrollment.

(d)

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to improve all low-income program oversight and delivery at the commission and maximize coordination between programs and their functions, including outreach, enrollment, and eligibility verification.

SEC. 2.

 Section 382.1 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:

382.1.

 (a) There is hereby established a Low-Income Oversight Board that shall advise the commission on low-income electric, electricity, gas, and water customer issues and shall serve as a liaison for the commission to low-income ratepayers and representatives. The Low-Income Oversight Board shall do all of the following to advise the commission regarding the commission’s duties:

(1) Monitor and evaluate implementation of all programs provided to low-income electricity, gas, telecommunications, and water customers.

(2) Assist in the development and analysis of any assessments of low-income customer need.

(3)Establish and monitor participation goals in programs.

(4)

(3) Encourage collaboration between state and utility programs for low-income electricity and gas customers to maximize the leverage of state and federal energy efficiency funds to both lower the bills and increase the comfort of low-income customers.

(5)

(4) Provide reports to the Legislature, as requested, summarizing the assessment of need, audits, and analysis of program implementation.

(6)

(5) Assist in streamlining the application and enrollment process of programs for low-income electricity, telecommunications, water, electricity and gas customers with general low-income programs, including, but not limited to, the Universal Lifeline Telephone Service (ULTS) program and, including compliance with Section 739.1.

(7)Work with the commission to establish a framework to facilitate the cross-system sharing of electricity, gas, water, and telecommunications customer data between utility company administrators for purposes of providing streamlined program enrollment and improving program marketing, outreach, and evaluation.

(8)Facilitate eligibility verification in the enrollment and postenrollment processes of programs for low-income customers.

(9)

(6) Encourage the usage of the network of community service providers in accordance with Section 381.5.

(b) The Low-Income Oversight Board shall be comprised of 15 12 members to be selected as follows:

(1) Five members selected by the commission who have expertise in the low-income community and who are not affiliated with any state agency or utility group. These members shall be selected in a manner to ensure an equitable geographic distribution.

(2) One member selected by the Governor.

(3) One member selected by the commission who is a commissioner or commissioner designee.

(4) One member selected by the Department of Community Services and Development.

(5)One member selected by the State Department of Health Care Services.

(6)

(5) One member selected by the commission who is a representative of private weatherization contractors.

(7)

(6) One member selected by the commission who is a representative of an electrical or gas corporation.

(8)

(7) One member selected by the commission who is a representative of a water corporation.

(9)

(8) One member selected by the commission who is a representative of a low-income telecommunications provider.

(10)One member selected by the Speaker of the Assembly.

(11)One member selected by the President pro Tempore of the Senate.

(c) The Low-Income Oversight Board shall alternate meeting locations between northern, central, and southern California.

(d) The Low-Income Oversight Board may establish a technical advisory committee consisting of low-income service providers, utility representatives, consumer organizations, and commission staff, to assist the board and may request utility representatives and commission staff to assist the technical advisory committee.

(e) The commission shall do all of the following in conjunction with the board:

(1) Work with the board, interested parties, and community-based organizations to increase participation in programs for low-income customers.

(2) Provide technical support to the board.

(3) Ensure that the financial burden of low-income electricity, gas, water, and telecommunications customers is reduced.

(4) Provide formal notice of board meetings in the commission’s daily calendar.

(f) (1) Members of the board and members of the technical advisory committee shall be eligible for compensation in accordance with state guidelines for necessary travel.

(2) Members of the board and members of the technical advisory committee who are not salaried state service employees shall be eligible for reasonable compensation for attendance at board meetings.

(3) All reasonable costs incurred by the board in carrying out its duties pursuant to subdivision (a), including staffing, travel, and administrative costs, shall be reimbursed through the public utilities reimbursement account and shall be part of the budget of the commission and the commission shall consult with the board in the preparation of that portion of the commission’s annual proposed budget.

SEC. 3.Section 731 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:

731.

(a)(1)On or before June 30, 2025, the commission, in coordination and consultation with the Low Income Oversight Board, the Department of Community Services and Development, and other relevant state agencies that provide low-income electric, gas, water, or telecommunications utility customer assistance programs, shall develop a process that, to the extent possible, enables customers to concurrently apply, or begin to apply, to multiple low-income customer assistance programs using data collected during the original application process, including, but not limited to, all of the following programs:

(A)The California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) program described in Section 739.1.

(B)The Family Electric Rate Assistance program described in Section 739.12.

(C)The Energy Savings Assistance program described in Section 2790.

(D)The lifeline program described in the Moore Universal Telephone Service Act (Article 8 (commencing with Section 871) of Chapter 4).

(E)Other programs as specified by the commission.

(2)The process developed pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be known as the concurrent application process.

(b)The commission shall work with state agencies, electrical corporations, gas corporations, water corporations, and telecommunications providers to notify, to the extent possible, eligible individuals that they have been successfully enrolled or are in the process of being enrolled into other programs.

(c)The concurrent application process shall complement, rather than replace, other application processes.

(d)Before sharing data, an electrical corporation, a gas corporation, a water corporation, or a telecommunications provider shall receive consent from its low-income applicants to use already-obtained application information to begin the enrollment process for other low-income electric or gas utility customer assistance programs.

(e)The commission shall work with the Low-Income Oversight Board to improve outreach, application, and enrollment for low-income programs, including doing all of the following:

(1)Maximizing data sharing.

(2)Facilitating enrollment opportunities.

(3)Streamlining enrollment and postenrollment eligibility verification.

(f)The commission shall establish categorical eligibility across all programs in subdivision (a) through an appropriate procedural mechanism, and in accordance with applicable federal rules and guidelines.

(g)The commission shall establish a concurrent enrollment evaluation process using consistent metrics and data collection to measure customer participation rates in electricity, gas, water, and telecommunications low-income customer assistance programs and the effectiveness of comarketing and coenrollment strategies for those programs.

(h)The commission shall use the eligibility verification and enrollment process for the lifeline program in use on June 1, 2022, as a model for the collecting and sharing of third-party information and maintaining secure data.

(i)The commission, in consultation with the board, shall implement the recommendations set forth in the report prepared pursuant to Section 910.8.

SEC. 3.

 Section 382.2 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:

382.2.

 (a) On or before January 1, 2026, the commission shall adopt a process by which a consumer enrolled in a commission-administered low-income utility program receives a notification at enrollment providing information about other utility assistance programs for which the consumer may be presumptively eligible and information about how to apply for those programs.

(b) The commission shall work with the Low-Income Oversight Board to develop an outreach strategy to improve enrollment of eligible households across low-income utility assistance programs.

SEC. 4.

 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.