Bill Text: CA SB1479 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority: billing requirement.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-04-23 - April 25 set for first hearing canceled at the request of author. [SB1479 Detail]

Download: California-2017-SB1479-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Senate  April 02, 2018

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 1479

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Introduced by Senator Stern

February 16, 2018

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An act to amend Section 130051.12 of add Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8400) to Division 4.1 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to transportation. electricity.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 1479, as amended, Stern. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Authority: billing requirement.

Existing law creates the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority with certain powers and duties relative to transportation planning and programming, and the operation of transit service. Existing law provides that the authority is the successor agency to the Southern California Rapid Transit District and the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission. Existing law provides that the authority, at a minimum, reserves to itself exclusively specified powers and responsibilities, including, among other things, approval of labor contracts covering employees of the authority and organizational units of the authority and the approval of transportation zones.

Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, while local publicly owned electric utilities are under the direction of their governing boards. Existing law authorizes the commission to fix the rates and charges for every public utility and requires that those rates and charges be just and reasonable.

Existing law creates the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) District. Where the BART District purchases electricity at more than one location, at any voltage, from an electric utility under tariffs fixed by the commission, existing law requires that the utility bill the BART District for usage as though all the electricity purchased at transmission level voltages were metered by a single meter at one location and all the electricity purchased at subtransmission voltages were metered by a single meter at one location, provided that any billing for demand charges be based on the coincident demand of transmission and distribution metering.

This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to these provisions. adopt electricity billing requirements applicable to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority that are similar to the above-described requirements applicable to BART, but would also impose those requirements applicable to an electrical corporation in the BART statute on a local publicly owned electric utility. The bill would declare that, due to the special circumstances applicable only to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution, and the enactment of a special statute is therefore necessary.

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

Because a violation of an order or decision of the commission implementing the bill’s requirements with respect to an electrical corporation would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating a new crime.

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: NOYES   Local Program: NOYES  

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Bill Text

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

SECTION 1.

 Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8400) is added to Division 4.1 of the Public Utilities Code, to read:

CHAPTER  7.  Electricity For The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority

8400.

 For purposes of this chapter, the following terms have the following meanings:

(a) “Electric utility” includes an electrical corporation and a local publicly owned electric utility.

(b) “LACMTA” means the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

8401.

 Where the LACMTA purchases electricity at more than one location, at any voltage, from an electric utility, that electric utility shall bill the LACMTA for usage as though all the electricity purchased at transmission level voltages from that electric utility were metered by a single meter at one location and all the electricity purchased at subtransmission voltages from that electric utility were metered by a single meter at one location, provided that any billing for demand charges shall be based on the coincident demand of transmission and distribution metering by that electric utility.

SEC. 2.

 The Legislature finds and declares that a special statute is necessary and that a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution because of the unique circumstances applicable only to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

SEC. 3.

 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 130051.12 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:

130051.12.

(a)The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority shall, at a minimum, reserve to itself exclusively all of the following powers and responsibilities:

(1)Establishment of overall goals and objectives to achieve optimal transport service for the movement of goods and people on a countywide basis.

(2)Adoption of the aggregate budget for all organizational units of the authority.

(3)Designation of additional included municipal operators pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 99285.

(4)Approval of final rail corridor selections.

(5)Final approval of labor contracts covering employees of the authority and the organizational units of the authority.

(6)Establishment of the authority’s organizational structure.

(7)Conducting hearings and the setting of fares for the operating organizational unit established pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 130051.11.

(8)(A)Approval of transportation zones.

(B)In determining the cost-effectiveness of any proposed transportation zone, the authority shall not approve or disapprove a transportation zone based upon consideration of rates of wages and other forms of compensation or hours and working conditions of employees of the proposed transportation zone.

(C)Any determination of efficiencies that may be derived from the approval of a transportation zone shall include consideration of maintaining the prevailing rate of wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment contained in current collective bargaining agreements applicable to the authority as required under subdivision (d) of Section 130051.11.

(D)A proposed transportation zone is not required to demonstrate lower operating costs than those of the existing operator or operators of the service to be transferred to the zone, but shall demonstrate that the net cost will not be greater than the current service.

(9)Approval of the issuance of any debt instrument with a maturity date that exceeds the end of the fiscal year in which it is issued.

(10)Approval of benefit assessment districts and assessment rates.

(11)Approval of contracts for transit equipment acquisition that exceed five million dollars ($5,000,000), and making the findings required by subdivision (c) of Section 130238.

(b)The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority shall in conjunction with the municipal operators in the County of Los Angeles perform a security assessment once every five years to determine the safety and security measures required to protect the operation of their systems and their passengers.