Bill Text: CA AB2758 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 2758 (Prior Session Legislation)

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 NUMBER: AB 2758	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 2, 2010
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JULY 15, 2010
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 1, 2010
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 27, 2010
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 12, 2010

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Bradford

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2010

   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,
8283, 8284, and 8286 of, the Public Utilities Code, relating to
public utilities.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2758, as amended, Bradford. Public Utilities Commission:
regulated corporations: procurement.
   (1) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has
regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical,
gas, water, and telephone corporations. 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.  The
commission is   required to report to the Legislature on the
implementation of these requirements. 
   This bill would  also  require the 
corporations subject to these requirements to provide information to
the  commission  to include in this report information
 about which procurements are made with women, minority, and
disabled veteran business enterprises with at least a majority of the
enterprise's workforce in California  , to the extent that
information is readily accessible  .
   (2) Existing law requires the commission to recommend a program
and legislation for carrying out the policy of aiding the interests
of women, minority, and disabled veteran business enterprises in
order to preserve specified objectives.
   This bill would require the commission, in regard to disabled
veteran business enterprises, to ensure that those recommended
programs and legislation are consistent with the disabled veteran
business enterprise certification eligibility requirements imposed by
the Department of General Services and that the recommendations
include only those disabled veteran business enterprises certified by
the Department of General Services.
   (3) Existing law requires the commission, by rule or order, to
adopt criteria for verifying and determining eligibility of women,
minority, and disabled veteran business enterprises for procurement
contracts.
   This bill would require the commission to adopt the Department of
General Services' disabled veteran business enterprise certification
eligibility requirements for verifying and determining eligibility of
disabled veteran business enterprises for procurement contracts and
would prohibit the commission from deeming eligible those disabled
veteran business enterprises that are not certified by the Department
of General Services.
   (4) 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.
   (5) 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.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: 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, Minority, 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 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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,
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, 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, and
disabled veteran business enterprises.
  SEC. 3.  Section 8283 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
   8283.  (a) The commission shall require each electrical, gas,
water, 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, and disabled veteran business 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, 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, 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, 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, and disabled
veteran business enterprises with at least a majority of the
enterprise's workforce in California. 
   (e) (1) 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, 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,
and disabled veterans business enterprise development programs. The
report shall include information about which procurements are made
with women, minority, and disabled veteran business enterprises with
at least a majority of the enterprise's workforce in California 
, to the extent that information is readily accessible  . 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.
   (2) In regard to disabled veteran business enterprises, the
commission shall ensure that the programs and legislation recommended
pursuant to paragraph (1) are consistent with the disabled veteran
business enterprise certification eligibility requirements imposed by
the Department of General Services and that the recommendations
include only those disabled veteran business enterprises certified by
the Department of General Services.
   (f) The Legislature declares that each electrical, gas, water, 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, and disabled veteran business enterprise
procurement in all categories.
  SEC. 4.  Section 8284 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
   8284.  (a) (1) The commission shall, by rule or order, adopt
criteria for verifying and determining the eligibility of women and
minority business enterprises for procurement contracts.
   (2) The commission shall adopt the Department of General Services'
disabled veteran business enterprise certification eligibility
requirements for verifying and determining the eligibility of
disabled veteran business enterprises for procurement contracts, and
shall not deem eligible those disabled veteran business enterprises
that are not certified by the Department of General Services.
   (b) The commission shall develop, and require every electrical,
gas, water, 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, and disabled
veteran business enterprises to apply for procurement contracts under
this article.
  SEC. 5.  Section 8286 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
   8286.   (a)    In order to facilitate the
participation of women-owned businesses, minority-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) 
    (1)  Timely or progressive payments to those businesses.

   (b) 
    (2)  An amendment of the performance bond requirements
so that bond requirements of electrical, gas, and telephone
corporations do not prohibitively burden those businesses from
procuring the corporation's business. 
   (c) 
    (3)  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. 
   (b) This section does not restrict a corporation's ability to
require a bond. 
  SEC. 6.  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.