Bill Text: CA SB512 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Public Utilities Commission.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2016-09-29 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 808, Statutes of 2016. [SB512 Detail]
Download: California-2015-SB512-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 512 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 808
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 29, 2016
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 29, 2016
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 31, 2016
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 29, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 19, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 17, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 3, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 1, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 20, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE JANUARY 4, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 6, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Senator Hill
FEBRUARY 26, 2015
An act to amend Sections 306, 311.5, 910.1, 1701, 1801.3, 1802,
1804, and 1808 of, to add Sections 1711, 1802.4, and 1803.1 to, and
to repeal and add Section 910 of, the Public Utilities Code, relating
to the Public Utilities Commission.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 512, Hill. Public Utilities Commission.
(1) The California Constitution establishes the Public Utilities
Commission, with jurisdiction over all public utilities. The Public
Utilities Act provides that the office of the commission shall be in
the City and County of San Francisco, that the office always be open,
except on legal holidays and nonjudicial days, and that the
commission hold its sessions at least once in each calendar month in
the City and County of San Francisco.
This bill would require that the commission hold its sessions at
least once in each calendar month, without specifying the location.
(2) The California Constitution authorizes the commission to
establish its own procedures, subject to statutory limitations or
directions and constitutional requirements of due process. Existing
law requires the commission to determine whether a proceeding
requires a hearing and, if so, to determine whether the matter
requires a quasi-legislative, an adjudication, or a ratesetting
hearing. For these purposes, quasi-legislative cases are cases that
establish policy, including rulemakings and investigations which may
establish rules affecting an entire industry; adjudication cases are
enforcement cases and complaints except those challenging the
reasonableness of any rates or charges; and ratesetting cases are
cases in which rates are established for a specific company. Existing
law requires the commission to publish and maintain certain
documents on the Internet, including a docket card that lists all
documents filed and all decisions or rulings issued in those
proceedings, as provided.
This bill would make the Administrative Adjudication Code of
Ethics applicable to administrative law judges of the commission.
Except in adjudication cases, the bill would require the commission,
before determining the scope of the proceeding, where feasible and
appropriate, to seek the participation of those who are likely to be
affected by a decision in the proceeding. The bill would, until
January 1, 2020, require the Policy and Planning Division of the
commission to undertake one or more studies of outreach efforts
undertaken by other state and federal utility regulatory bodies and
to make recommendations to the commission to promote effective
outreach, including metrics for use in evaluating success. The bill
would require the commission to include a docket card that lists the
public versions of all prepared oral and written testimony and advice
letter filings, protests, and responses on its Internet Web site.
The bill would require the commission to make additional information
available on the Internet, including information on how members of
the public and ratepayers can gain access to the commission's
ratemaking process.
(3) The Public Utilities Act requires the commission to develop,
publish, and annually update an annual workplan that does all of the
following: (A) describes in clear detail the scheduled ratemaking
proceedings and other decisions that may be considered by the
commission during the calendar year, (B) includes information on how
members of the public and ratepayers can gain access to the
commission's ratemaking process and information regarding the
specific matters to be decided, (C) includes information on the
operation of the office of the public advisor and identifies the
names and telephone numbers of those contact persons responsible for
specific cases and matters to be decided, and (D) includes a
statement that specifies activities that the commission proposes to
reduce the costs of, and rates for, energy, including electricity,
and for improving the competitive opportunities for state agriculture
and other rural energy consumers. The act requires the commission to
submit the workplan to the Governor and Legislature by February 1 of
each year.
This bill would require the commission to develop, publish, and
annually update a report that contains certain specified information,
as provided, and would expand the requirement that the workplan, as
part of that report, describe in clear detail the scheduled
proceedings that may be considered by the commission during the
calendar year to include all proceedings and not just ratemaking
proceedings. The bill would additionally require that the report
include performance criteria for the commission and executive
director and evaluate the performance of the executive director
during the previous year based on the criteria established in the
prior year's workplan. The bill would require the report to include a
list of the public meetings held outside San Francisco in the
previous year and a schedule of meetings anticipated to be held
outside San Francisco during the upcoming year. The bill would
require the commission to post the report in a conspicuous area of
its Internet Web site and disseminate the information in the report,
as provided.
(4) The Public Utilities Act requires the commission to submit an
annual report to the Legislature on the number of cases where
resolution exceeded the time periods prescribed in scoping memos and
the days that commissioners presided in hearings.
This bill would delete the requirement that the report include the
number of cases where resolution exceeded the time periods
prescribed in scoping memos and instead would require the commission
to annually submit a report to the Legislature on the commission's
timeliness in resolving cases and include information on the
disposition of applications for rehearings. The bill would require
that the report include the number of scoping memos issued in each
proceeding and the number of orders issued extending the statutory
deadlines for all adjudication, ratesetting, and quasi-legislative
cases.
(5) The Public Utilities Act provides intervenor compensation for
reasonable advocate's fees, reasonable expert witness fees, and other
reasonable costs to public utility customers or their
representatives for participation or intervention in any proceeding
of the commission based, in part, upon whether the intervenor would
experience significant financial hardship and makes a substantial
contribution to the adoption, in whole or in part, of the commission'
s order or decision. Existing law precludes a local government entity
from receiving intervenor compensation by excluding them from the
definition of a "customer" for purposes of the intervenor
compensation provisions.
This bill would state the intent of the Legislature that
intervenors be compensated for making a substantial contribution to
proceedings of the commission, regardless of whether a settlement
agreement is reached. The bill would permit intervenor compensation
to be paid to cities, counties, and cities and counties that
intervene or participate in commission proceedings to the extent that
their involvement was for the purpose of protecting health and
safety, under specified circumstances. The bill would make conforming
changes.
Existing law requires a public utility that is the subject of the
hearing, investigation, or proceeding in which intervenor fees are
awarded to pay those intervenor fees within 30 days and makes the
failure to do so a crime.
By expanding the obligation of a public utility to pay intervenor
fees to an eligible local government entity, the bill would impose a
state-mandated local program by expanding the application of an
existing 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.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 306 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
306. (a) The office of the commission shall be in the City and
County of San Francisco. The office shall always be open, legal
holidays and nonjudicial days excepted. The commission shall hold its
sessions at least once in each calendar month. The commission may
also meet at such other times and in such places as may be expedient
and necessary for the proper performance of its duties, and for that
purpose may rent quarters or offices.
(b) The meetings of the commission shall be open and public in
accordance with the provisions of Article 9 (commencing with Section
11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the
Government Code.
In addition to the requirements of Section 11125 of the Government
Code, the commission shall include in its notice of meetings the
agenda of business to be transacted, and no item of business shall be
added to the agenda subsequent to the notice in the absence of an
unforeseen emergency situation. A rate increase shall not constitute
an unforeseen emergency situation. As used in this subdivision,
"meeting" shall include all investigations, proceedings, and showings
required by law to be open and public.
(c) The commission shall have a seal, bearing the inscription
"Public Utilities Commission State of California." The seal shall be
affixed to all writs and authentications of copies of records and to
such other instruments as the commission shall direct.
(d) The commission may procure all necessary books, maps, charts,
stationery, instruments, office furniture, apparatus, and appliances.
SEC. 2. Section 311.5 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
311.5. (a) (1) Prior to commencement of any meeting at which
commissioners vote on items on the public agenda, the commission
shall make available to the public copies of the agenda, and upon
request, any agenda item documents that are proposed to be considered
by the commission for action or decision at a commission meeting.
(2) In addition, the commission shall publish the agenda, agenda
item documents, and adopted decisions in a manner that makes copies
of them easily available to the public, including publishing those
documents on the Internet. Publication of the agenda and agenda item
documents shall occur on the Internet at the same time as the written
agenda and agenda item documents are made available to the public.
(b) The commission shall publish and maintain the following
documents on the Internet:
(1) Each of the commission's proposed and alternate proposed
decisions and resolutions, until the decision or resolution is
adopted and published.
(2) Each of the commission's adopted decisions and resolutions.
The publication shall occur within 10 days of the adoption of each
decision or resolution by the commission.
(3) The then-current version of the commission's general orders
and Rules of Practice and Procedure.
(4) Each of the commission's rulings. The commission shall
maintain those rulings on its Internet Web site until final
disposition, including disposition of any judicial appeals, of the
respective proceedings in which the rulings were issued.
(5) A docket card that lists, by title and date of filing or
issuance, all documents filed and all decisions or rulings issued in
those proceedings, including the public versions of all prepared oral
and written testimony and advice letter filings, protests, and
responses. The commission shall maintain the docket card until final
disposition, including disposition of any judicial appeals, of the
corresponding proceedings.
(c) The commission shall make the following information available
on the Internet:
(1) Information on how members of the public and ratepayers can
gain access to the commission's ratemaking process and information
regarding the specific matters to be decided.
(2) Information on the operation of the office of the public
advisor established in Section 321 and how the public advisor can
connect members of the public to persons responsible for specific
cases and matters to be decided.
SEC. 3. Section 910 of the Public Utilities Code is repealed.
SEC. 4. Section 910 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
910. (a) The commission shall develop, publish, and annually
update a report that contains all of the following information:
(1) A workplan that describes in clear detail the scheduled
proceedings and other decisions that may be considered by the
commission during the calendar year.
(2) Performance criteria for the commission and the executive
director, and an evaluation of the performance of the executive
director during the previous year based on criteria established in
the prior year's workplan.
(3) An accounting of the commission's transactions and proceedings
from the prior year, together with other facts, suggestions, and
recommendations that the commission deems of value to the people of
the state. The accounting shall include the activities that the
commission has taken, and plans to take, to reduce the costs of, and
the rates for, water and energy, including electricity, to improve
the competitiveness of the state's industries, including agriculture,
and, to the extent possible, shall include suggestions and
recommendations for the reduction of those costs and rates.
(4) A description of activities taken and processes instituted to
both solicit the input of customers from diverse regions of the state
in ratesetting and quasi-legislative proceedings and to process that
input in a way that makes it usable in commission decisionmaking.
The report shall describe the successes and challenges of these
processes, the effect of resource constraints, and efforts to be made
during the calendar year to further the goal of increased public
participation.
(5) A list of the public meetings held outside San Francisco in
the previous year, and a schedule of meetings anticipated to be held
outside San Francisco during the coming year.
(b) (1) The commission shall submit the report required pursuant
to subdivision (a) to the Governor and the Legislature, in compliance
with Section 9795 of the Government Code, no later than February 1
of each year.
(2) The commission shall post the report in a conspicuous area of
its Internet Web site and shall have a program to disseminate the
information in the report using computer mailing lists to provide
regular updates on the information to those members of the public and
organizations that request that information.
SEC. 5. Section 910.1 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
910.1. The commission shall annually submit a report to the
Legislature on the commission's timeliness in resolving cases,
information on the disposition of applications for rehearings, and
the days that commissioners presided in hearings. The report shall
include the number of scoping memos issued in each proceeding and the
number of orders issued extending the statutory deadlines pursuant
to subdivision (e) of Section 1701.2, for all adjudication cases, and
pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 1701.5, for all ratesetting
or quasi-legislative cases.
SEC. 6. Section 1701 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
1701. (a) All hearings, investigations, and proceedings shall be
governed by this part and by rules of practice and procedure adopted
by the commission, and in the conduct thereof the technical rules of
evidence need not be applied. No informality in any hearing,
investigation, or proceeding or in the manner of taking testimony
shall invalidate any order, decision, or rule made, approved, or
confirmed by the commission.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 11425.10 of the Government Code,
Articles 1 to 15, inclusive, of Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section
11400) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code do
not apply to a hearing by the commission under this code. The
Administrative Adjudication Code of Ethics (Article 16 (commencing
with Section 11475) of Chapter 4.5 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2
of the Government Code) shall apply to administrative law judges of
the commission.
SEC. 7. Section 1711 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
1711. (a) Where feasible and appropriate, except for adjudication
cases, before determining the scope of the proceeding, the
commission shall seek the participation of those who are likely to be
affected, including those who are likely to benefit from, and those
who are potentially subject to, a decision in that proceeding. The
commission shall demonstrate its efforts to comply with this section
in the text of the initial scoping memo of the proceeding.
(b) (1) The Policy and Planning Division of the commission shall
undertake one or more studies of outreach efforts undertaken by other
state and federal utility regulatory bodies and make recommendations
to the commission to promote effective outreach, including metrics
for use in evaluating success.
(2) This subdivision shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2020, and shall have no force or effect on or after that date, unless
a later enacted statute that is chaptered before January 1, 2020,
deletes or extends that date.
SEC. 8. Section 1801.3 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
1801.3. It is the intent of the Legislature that:
(a) The provisions of this article shall apply to all formal
proceedings of the commission involving electrical, gas, water, and
telephone utilities.
(b) The provisions of this article shall be administered in a
manner that encourages the effective and efficient participation of
all groups that have a stake in the public utility regulation
process.
(c) The process for finding eligibility for intervenor
compensation be streamlined, by simplifying the preliminary showing
by an intervenor of issues, budget, and costs.
(d) Intervenors be compensated for making a substantial
contribution to proceedings of the commission, as determined by the
commission in its orders and decisions, regardless of whether a
settlement agreement is reached.
(e) Intervenor compensation be awarded to eligible intervenors in
a timely manner, within a reasonable period after the intervenor has
made the substantial contribution to a proceeding that is the basis
for the compensation award.
(f) This article shall be administered in a manner that avoids
unproductive or unnecessary participation that duplicates the
participation of similar interests otherwise adequately represented
or participation that is not necessary for a fair determination of
the proceeding.
SEC. 9. Section 1802 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
1802. As used in this article:
(a) "Compensation" means payment for all or part, as determined by
the commission, of reasonable advocate's fees, reasonable expert
witness fees, and other reasonable costs of preparation for and
participation in a proceeding, and includes the fees and costs of
obtaining an award under this article and of obtaining judicial
review, if any.
(b) (1) "Customer" means any of the following:
(A) A participant representing consumers, customers, or
subscribers of any electrical, gas, telephone, telegraph, or water
corporation that is subject to the jurisdiction of the commission.
(B) A representative who has been authorized by a customer.
(C) A representative of a group or organization authorized
pursuant to its articles of incorporation or bylaws to represent the
interests of residential customers, or to represent small commercial
customers who receive bundled electric service from an electrical
corporation.
(2) "Customer" does not include any state, federal, or local
government agency, any publicly owned public utility, or any entity
that, in the commission's opinion, was established or formed by a
local government entity for the purpose of participating in a
commission proceeding.
(c) "Expert witness fees" means recorded or billed costs incurred
by a customer for an expert witness.
(d) "Eligible local government entity" means a city, county, or
city and county that is not a publicly owned public utility that
intervenes or participates in a commission proceeding for the purpose
of protecting the health and safety of the residents within the
entity's jurisdiction following a catastrophic material loss suffered
by its residents either in significant damage to infrastructure or
loss of life and property, or both, as a direct result of public
utility infrastructure.
(e) "Other reasonable costs" means reasonable out-of-pocket
expenses directly incurred by a customer that are directly related to
the contentions or recommendations made by the customer that
resulted in a substantial contribution.
(f) "Party" means any interested party, respondent public utility,
or commission staff in a hearing or proceeding.
(g) "Proceeding" means an application, complaint, or
investigation, rulemaking, alternative dispute resolution procedures
in lieu of formal proceedings as may be sponsored or endorsed by the
commission, or other formal proceeding before the commission.
(h) "Significant financial hardship" means either that the
customer cannot afford, without undue hardship, to pay the costs of
effective participation, including advocate's fees, expert witness
fees, and other reasonable costs of participation, or that, in the
case of a group or organization, the economic interest of the
individual members of the group or organization is small in
comparison to the costs of effective participation in the proceeding.
(i) "Small commercial customer" means any nonresidential customer
with a maximum peak demand of less than 50 kilowatts. The commission
may establish rules to modify or change the definition of "small
commercial customer," including use of criteria other than a peak
demand threshold, if the commission determines that the modification
or change will promote participation in proceedings at the commission
by organizations representing small businesses, without
incorporating large commercial and industrial customers.
(j) "Substantial contribution" means that, in the judgment of the
commission, the customer's presentation has substantially assisted
the commission in the making of its order or decision because the
order or decision has adopted in whole or in part one or more factual
contentions, legal contentions, or specific policy or procedural
recommendations presented by the customer. Where the customer's
participation has resulted in a substantial contribution, even if the
decision adopts that customer's contention or recommendations only
in part, the commission may award the customer compensation for all
reasonable advocate's fees, reasonable expert fees, and other
reasonable costs incurred by the customer in preparing or presenting
that contention or recommendation.
SEC. 10. Section 1802.4 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
1802.4. An eligible local government entity is eligible for an
award of compensation pursuant to this article for its involvement to
the extent that the involvement was for the purpose of protecting
health and safety within the entity's jurisdiction and to the extent
that the involvement was germane to the material loss suffered by its
residents.
SEC. 11. Section 1803.1 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
1803.1. The commission shall adopt a policy to allow reasonable
advocate's fees, reasonable expert witness fees, and other reasonable
costs of preparation for and participation in a hearing or
proceeding to an eligible local government entity that complies with
Section 1804 and satisfies all of the following requirements:
(a) The entity's presentation makes a substantial contribution to
the adoption, in whole or in part, of the commission's order or
decision.
(b) Participation or intervention without an award of fees or
costs imposes a significant financial hardship.
(c) The subject of the hearing or proceeding is the result of a
triggering event, as determined by the commission, that significantly
impacted the residents of the local government entity.
SEC. 12. Section 1804 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
1804. (a) (1) A customer who, or eligible local government entity
that, intends to seek an award under this article shall, within 30
days after the prehearing conference is held, file and serve on all
parties to the proceeding a notice of intent to claim compensation.
In cases where no prehearing conference is scheduled or where the
commission anticipates that the proceeding will take less than 30
days, the commission may determine the procedure to be used in filing
these requests. In cases where the schedule would not reasonably
allow parties to identify issues within the timeframe set forth
above, or where new issues emerge subsequent to the time set for
filing, the commission may determine an appropriate procedure for
accepting new or revised notices of intent.
(2) (A) The notice of intent to claim compensation shall include
both of the following:
(i) A statement of the nature and extent of the customer's or
eligible local government entity's planned participation in the
proceeding as far as it is possible to set it out when the notice of
intent is filed.
(ii) An itemized estimate of the compensation that the customer or
eligible local government entity expects to request, given the
likely duration of the proceeding as it appears at the time.
(B) The notice of intent may also include a showing by the
customer or eligible local government entity that participation in
the hearing or proceeding would pose a significant financial
hardship. Alternatively, such a showing shall be included in the
request submitted pursuant to subdivision (c).
(C) Within 15 days after service of the notice of intent to claim
compensation, the administrative law judge may direct the staff, and
may permit any other interested party, to file a statement responding
to the notice.
(b) (1) If the customer's or eligible local government entity's
showing of significant financial hardship was included in the notice
filed pursuant to subdivision (a), the administrative law judge, in
consultation with the assigned commissioner, shall issue within 30
days thereafter a preliminary ruling addressing whether the customer
or eligible local government entity will be eligible for an award of
compensation. The ruling shall address whether a showing of
significant financial hardship has been made. A finding of
significant financial hardship shall create a rebuttable presumption
of eligibility for compensation in other commission proceedings
commencing within one year of the date of that finding.
(2) The administrative law judge may, in any event, issue a ruling
addressing issues raised by the notice of intent to claim
compensation. The ruling may point out similar positions, areas of
potential duplication in showings, unrealistic expectation for
compensation, and any other matter that may affect the customer's or
eligible local government entity's ultimate claim for compensation.
Failure of the ruling to point out similar positions or potential
duplication or any other potential impact on the ultimate claim for
compensation shall not imply approval of any claim for compensation.
A finding of significant financial hardship in no way ensures
compensation. Similarly, the failure of the customer or eligible
local government entity to identify a specific issue in the notice of
intent or to precisely estimate potential compensation shall not
preclude an award of reasonable compensation if a substantial
contribution is made.
(c) Following issuance of a final order or decision by the
commission in the hearing or proceeding, a customer who, or eligible
local government entity that, has been found, pursuant to subdivision
(b), to be eligible for an award of compensation may file within 60
days a request for an award. The request shall include at a minimum a
detailed description of services and expenditures and a description
of the customer's or eligible local government entity's substantial
contribution to the hearing or proceeding. Within 30 days after
service of the request, the commission staff may file, and any other
party may file, a response to the request.
(d) The commission may audit the records and books of the customer
or eligible local government entity to the extent necessary to
verify the basis for the award. The commission shall preserve the
confidentiality of the customer's or eligible local government entity'
s records in making its audit. Within 20 days after completion of the
audit, if any, the commission shall direct that an audit report
shall be prepared and filed. Any other party may file a response to
the audit report within 20 days thereafter.
(e) Within 75 days after the filing of a request for compensation
pursuant to subdivision (c), or within 50 days after the filing of an
audit report, whichever occurs later, the commission shall issue a
decision that determines whether or not the customer or eligible
local government entity has made a substantial contribution to the
final order or decision in the hearing or proceeding. If the
commission finds that the customer or eligible local government
entity requesting compensation has made a substantial contribution,
the commission shall describe this substantial contribution and shall
determine the amount of compensation to be paid pursuant to Section
1806.
SEC. 13. Section 1808 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
1808. The commission shall deny any award to any customer or
eligible local government entity that attempts to delay or obstruct
the orderly and timely fulfillment of the commission's
responsibilities.
SEC. 14. 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.
