Bill Text: CA AB2758 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Amended
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Public Utilities Commission: regulated corporations:
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2010-09-29 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 475, Statutes of 2010. [AB2758 Detail]
Download: California-2009-AB2758-Amended.html
Bill Title: Public Utilities Commission: regulated corporations:
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2010-09-29 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 475, Statutes of 2010. [AB2758 Detail]
Download: California-2009-AB2758-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 2758 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 12, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Bradford
FEBRUARY 19, 2010
An act to add Section 249 to the Public Utilities Code,
relating to energy. An act to amend the heading of
Article 5 (commencing with Section 8281) of Chapter 7 of Division 4
of, and to amend Sections 8281, 8282, 8283, 8284, 8285,
and 8286 of, the Public Utilities Code, relating to Public Utilities
Commission regulated corporations.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2758, as amended, Bradford. Public Utilities
Commission: energy goals. Public utilities and cable
television corporations: procurement: veterans .
(1) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has
regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical,
gas, water, and telephone corporations, and cable television
corporations, as provided. 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, adopted
General Order 156, applicable to certain electrical, gas, and
telephone corporations, to effectuate these requirements.
This bill would make cable television corporations with annual
gross revenues exceeding $25,000,000 subject to these requirements
and would require the corporations subject to these requirements to
expand the above programs to include veteran business enterprises, as
defined. The bill would also require the corporations subject to
these requirements to provide information to the commission about
which procurements are made with women, minority, veteran, and
disabled veteran business enterprises with at least a majority of the
enterprise's workforce in California.
Under existing law, a violation of any provision of the Public
Utilities Act or 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.
(2) 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.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory
authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations,
as defined.
This bill would require the commission to develop a framework that
encourages developers to utilize appliances and structures in their
developments that further the energy efficiency and renewable energy
goals of the state.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The heading of Article 5 (commencing
with Section 8281) of Chapter 7 of Division 4 of the
Public Utilities Code is amended to read:
Article 5. Women and , Minority
, Veteran, and Disabled Veteran Business Enterprises
SEC. 2. 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
, open, and transparent competition. Only through
full and free , open, and transparent
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,
veteran, 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, veteran,
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 , including, but not
limited to, renewable energy, wireless telecommunications, broadband,
smart grid, and rail projects, are awarded to women, minority,
veteran, 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, veteran, 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 and some regulated utilities 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, veteran, and disabled veteran
business enterprises have traditionally received less than a
proportionate share of regulated public utility procurement contracts
, especially in renewable energy, wireless telecommunications,
broadband, smart grid, and rail projects .
(D) It is in the state's interest to expeditiously improve the
economically disadvantaged position of women, minority, veteran,
and disabled veteran business enterprises.
(E) The position of these businesses can be substantially
improved by providing long-range substantial goals for
procurement by regulated public utilities of technology, equipment,
supplies, services, materials, and construction work ,
especially in renewable energy, wireless telecommunications,
broadband, smart grid, and rail projects, from women, minority,
veteran, 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.
(G) That the long-term economic viability of this state depends
substantially upon the ability of renewable energy, wireless
telecommunications, broadband, smart grid, and rail projects to
incorporate women, minority, veteran, and disabled veteran businesses
into those projects.
(2) It is the purpose of this article to do all of the following:
(A) Encourage greater economic opportunity for women, minority,
veteran, 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, cable television, 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,
veteran, and disabled veteran business enterprises.
SEC. 3. Section 8282 of the Public
Utilities Code is amended to read:
8282. For the purposes of this article, the following definitions
apply:
(a) "Women business enterprise" means a business enterprise that
is at least 51 percent owned by a woman or women; or, in the case of
any publicly owned business, at least 51 percent of the stock of
which is owned by one or more women ; ,
and whose management and daily business operations are controlled by
one or more of those individuals.
(b) "Minority business enterprise" means a business enterprise
that is at least 51 percent owned by a minority group or groups; or,
in the case of any publicly owned business, at least 51 percent of
the stock of which is owned by one or more minority groups, and whose
management and daily business operations are controlled by one or
more of those individuals. The contracting utility shall presume that
minority includes Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native
Americans, and Asian Pacific Americans.
(c) "Disabled veteran business enterprise" has the same meaning as
defined in subdivision (g) of Section 999 of the
Military and Veterans Code.
(d) "Control" means exercising the power to make policy decisions.
(e) "Operate" means being actively involved in the day-to-day
management and not merely officers or directors.
(f) "Veteran business enterprise" means a business enterprise that
meets the requirements of a "disabled veteran business enterprise"
except that the requirement that the veterans qualifying the business
under this article need not be disabled.
SEC. 4. Section 8283 of the Public
Utilities Code is amended to read:
8283. (a) The commission shall require each electrical, gas,
water, cable television, 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 procurement from women, minority, veteran,
and disabled veteran business enterprise procurement
enterprises in all categories , including,
but not limited to, renewable energy, wireless telecommunications,
broadband, smart grid, and rail projects .
(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, veteran, and disabled veteran business
enterprises in subcontracts in all categories which provide
subcontracting opportunities , including, but not limited to,
renewable energy, wireless telecommunications, broadband, smart grid,
and rail projects .
(c) The commission shall establish guidelines for all electrical,
gas, water, cable television, 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, cable television, 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. These corporations shall also provide information to
the commission about which procurements are made with women,
minority, veteran, and disabled veteran business enterprises with at
least a majority of the enterprise's workforce in California.
(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, cable television, 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, veteran and
disabled veterans business enterprise development programs. The
report shall include information about which procurements are made
with women, minority, veteran, and disabled veteran business
enterprises with at least a majority of the enterprise's workforce in
California . 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,
cable television, 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,
veteran, and disabled veteran business enterprise procurement
in all categories.
SEC. 5. Section 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,
veteran, and disabled veteran business enterprises for
procurement contracts.
(b) The commission shall develop, and require every electrical,
gas, water, cable television, 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, veteran, and disabled veteran business
enterprises to apply for procurement contracts under this article.
SEC. 6. 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,
veteran, or disabled veteran business enterprise in the
procurement of, or attempt to procure, contracts from an electrical,
gas, water, cable television, 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. 7. Section 8286 of the Public
Utilities Code is amended to read:
8286. In order to facilitate the participation of women-owned
businesses, minority-owned businesses, veteran-owned businesses,
disabled veteran-owned businesses, and small businesses in
contract procurement, any corporation subject to this article may
consider the following measures to include those businesses in all
phases of their contracting:
(a) Timely or progressive payments to those businesses.
(b) An amendment of the performance bond requirements
when past performance within a specified area of business justifies
that consideration so that bond requirements of
electrical, gas, cable television, and telephone corporations do not
prohibitively burden those businesses from procuring the corporation'
s business .
(c) The provision of assistance to those businesses by securing
contract payments to those businesses with letters of credit,
negotiable securities, or other financing arrangements or measures.
SEC. 8. 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. Section 249 is added to the Public
Utilities Code, to read:
249. The commission shall develop a framework that encourages
developers to utilize appliances and structures in their developments
that further the energy efficiency and renewable energy goals of the
state, including, where appropriate, the creation of ownership
interests in credits for those measures.
