Bill Text: CA SB605 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Public Utilities Commission: proceedings.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2020-06-29 - Referred to Com. on U. & E. [SB605 Detail]
Download: California-2019-SB605-Amended.html
|
Amended
IN
Senate
January 06, 2020 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION
Senate Bill
No. 605
| Introduced by Senator Hueso |
February 22, 2019 |
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 605, as amended, Hueso.
Public Utilities. Public Utilities Commission: proceedings.
The California Constitution establishes the Public Utilities Commission and authorizes the commission to exercise ratemaking and rulemaking authority over all public utilities, as defined, subject to control by the Legislature. The Public Utilities Act requires the commission to determine whether each proceeding is a quasi-legislative, an adjudication, a ratesetting, or a catastrophic wildfire proceeding. The act requires the commission, upon initiating an adjudication or ratesetting proceeding, to assign one or more commissioners to oversee the case, and requires the assigned commissioner to schedule a prehearing conference for the proceeding.
This bill would authorize, rather than require, the assigned commissioner to schedule a prehearing conference for the
proceeding. The bill would prohibit the assigned commissioner from waiving a prehearing conference when there is a disputed material issue of fact, law, or policy identified. If a prehearing conference is not scheduled, the bill would prohibit the commission from reducing or waiving the period for public review and comment on a proposed decision and would require the commission to allow an interested person to obtain party status within 10 days after the issuance of a proposed decision. The bill would require the commission to provide for remote participation in a prehearing conference when it is practicable.
Existing law authorizes the commission, during certain periods of a ratesetting case or catastrophic wildfire proceeding, to establish a “quiet period” during which no oral or written ex parte communications, as defined, are permitted and during which the commission is authorized to meet in closed session.
This bill
would recast those quiet period provisions and would make changes relating to the establishment of a quiet period and the scope of closed session commission meetings during ratesetting cases and catastrophic wildfire proceedings.
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 of the above provisions would be codified in the act and would require action by the commission, a violation of which 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.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations and gas corporations, and can establish its own procedures, subject to statutory limitations or directions and constitutional requirements of due process. Existing law requires the commission to designate a baseline quantity of electricity and gas necessary for a significant portion of the reasonable energy needs of the average residential customer, and to establish a higher energy allowance above the baseline for residential customers dependent on life-support equipment. Existing law requires the commission to develop policies, rules, or regulations with a goal of reducing, by January 1, 2024, the statewide level of gas and electric service disconnections for nonpayment by residential customers, as specified.
This
bill would make a nonsubstantive change to the provisions requiring the development of those service-disconnection reduction policies, rules, or regulation.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee:Bill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 1701.1 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:1701.1.
(a) The commission shall determine whether each proceeding is a quasi-legislative, an adjudication, a ratesetting, or a catastrophic wildfire proceeding. The commission’s decision as to the nature of the proceeding shall be subject to a request for rehearing within 10 days of the date of that decision or of any subsequent ruling that expands the scope of the proceeding. Only those parties who have requested a rehearing within that time period shall subsequently have standing for judicial review and that review shall only be available at the conclusion of the proceeding. The commission shall render its decision regarding the rehearing within 30 days. The commission shall establish rules regarding ex parte communication on case categorization issues.(b) (1) The commission, upon initiating an adjudication proceeding or ratesetting proceeding, shall assign one or more commissioners to oversee the case and an administrative law judge when appropriate. The assigned commissioner shall may schedule a prehearing conference and shall prepare and issue by order or ruling a scoping memo that describes the issues to be considered and the applicable timetable for resolution and that, consistent with due process, public policy, and statutory requirements, determines whether the proceeding requires a hearing.
(2) The assigned commissioner shall not waive a prehearing conference when one is requested by a pleading in which a party to the proceeding identifies a disputed material issue of fact, law, or policy. If a prehearing conference is not scheduled, the commission shall not reduce or waive the period for public review and comment on a proposed decision and shall allow an interested
person to obtain party status within 10 days after the issuance of a proposed decision.
(3) The commission shall provide for remote participation in a prehearing conference when it is practicable.
(2)
(4) The administrative law judge shall either preside over and conduct, or assist the assigned commissioner or commissioners in presiding over and conducting, any evidentiary or adjudication hearing that may be required.
(c) The commission, upon initiating a quasi-legislative proceeding, shall assign one or more commissioners to oversee the case and an administrative law judge, when appropriate, who may be assisted by a technical advisory staff member in conducting the proceeding. The assigned commissioner shall prepare and issue by order or ruling a scoping memo that describes the issues to be considered and the applicable timetable for
resolution and that, consistent with due process, public policy, and statutory requirements, determines whether the proceeding requires a hearing.
(d) (1) Quasi-legislative cases, for purposes of this article, are cases that establish policy, including, but not limited to, rulemakings and investigations that may establish rules affecting an entire industry.
(2) Adjudication cases, for purposes of this article, are enforcement cases and complaints except those challenging the reasonableness of any rates or charges as specified in Section 1702.
(3) Ratesetting cases, for purposes of this article, are cases in which rates are established for a specific company, including, but not limited to, general rate cases, performance-based ratemaking, and other ratesetting mechanisms.
(4) Catastrophic wildfire proceedings, for purposes of this article, are proceedings in which an electrical corporation files an application to recover costs and expenses pursuant to Section 451 or 451.1, as applicable, related to a covered wildfire, as defined in Section 1701.8.
(e) (1) (A) “Ex parte communication,” for purposes of this article, means any oral or written communication between a decisionmaker and an interested person concerning any matter before the commission that the commission has not specified in its Rules of Practice and Procedure as being a procedural matter and that does not occur in a public hearing, workshop, or other public proceeding, or on the official record of the proceeding on the matter. The commission shall specify in its Rules of Practice and Procedure, enacted by rulemaking, the types of issues considered
procedural matters under this article.
(B) “Interested person,” for purposes of this article, means any of the following:
(i) Any applicant, an agent or an employee of the applicant, or a person receiving consideration for representing the applicant, or a participant in the proceeding on any matter before the commission.
(ii) Any person with a financial interest, as described in Article 1 (commencing with Section 87100) of Chapter 7 of Title 9 of the Government Code, in a matter before the commission, an agent or employee of the person with a financial interest, or a person receiving consideration for representing the person with a financial interest. A person involved in issuing credit ratings or advising entities or persons who invest in the shares or operations of any party to a proceeding is a person with a
financial interest.
(iii) A representative acting on behalf of any civic, environmental, neighborhood, business, labor, trade, or similar organization who intends to influence the decision of a commission member on a matter before the commission.
(iv) Other categories of individuals deemed by the commission, by rule, to be an interested person.
(2) The commission shall by rule adopt and publish a definition of decisionmakers and interested persons for purposes of this article, along with any requirements for written reporting of ex parte communications and appropriate sanctions for noncompliance with any rule proscribing ex parte communications. The definition of decisionmakers shall include, but is not limited to: each commissioner; the personal staff of a commissioner if the staff is acting in a policy or legal
advisory capacity; the chief administrative law judge of the commission; and the administrative law judge assigned to the proceeding. The commission shall, by rule, explicitly ban both of the following:
(A) The practice of one-way ex parte communications from a decisionmaker to an interested person.
(B) Any communication between an interested person and a decisionmaker regarding which commissioner or administrative law judge may be assigned to a matter before the commission.
(3) For adjudication cases, the rules shall provide that ex parte communications shall be prohibited, as required by this article. The rules shall provide that if an ex parte communication occurs that is prohibited by this article, or if an ex parte communication occurs in a ratesetting case or catastrophic wildfire proceeding, whether initiated
by a decisionmaker or an interested person, all of the following shall be required:
(A) The interested person shall report the communication within three working days of the communication by filing a notice with the commission that includes all the following:
(i) The date, time, and location of the communication, whether the communication was oral or written, or a combination of both, and the communication medium used.
(ii) The identity of the decisionmaker, the identity of the person initiating the communication, and the identities of any other persons present.
(iii) The topic of the communication, including applicable proceeding numbers.
(iv) A substantive description of the interested
person’s communication and its content.
(v) A copy of any written material or text used during the communication.
(B) Any decisionmaker who participated in the communication shall promptly log the ex parte communication by filing a notice that includes all the following:
(i) The date, time, and location of the communication, whether the communication was oral or written, or a combination of both, and the communication medium used.
(ii) The identity of the interested person, the identity of the person initiating the communication, and the identities of any other persons present.
(iii) The topic of the communication, including any applicable proceeding numbers.
(iv) A brief description of the communication.
(C) If the interested person who participated in the communication has not timely submitted the notice required by subparagraph (A), the decisionmaker shall refer the matter to the attorney for the commission, and an assigned commissioner, by ruling, shall order the interested person to submit the required notice. The interested person shall be subject to any applicable penalties for the initial violation and, if the interested person does not submit the required notice within the time period specified in the assigned commissioner’s ruling, the interested person shall be subject to continuing violations pursuant to Section 2108.
(4) The requirements of paragraph (3) shall not apply to any oral ex parte communication occurring at a meeting if all parties are invited to
participate and given not less than three working days’ notice.
(5) The commission shall not take any vote on a matter in which a notice of a prohibited ex parte communication has been filed pursuant to subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (3) until all parties to the proceeding have been provided a reasonable opportunity to respond to the communication.
(6) If an ex parte communication is not disclosed as required by this subdivision until after the commission has issued a decision on the matter to which the communication pertained, a party not participating in the communication may file a petition to rescind or modify the decision. The party may seek a finding that the ex parte communication significantly influenced the decision’s process or outcome as part of any petition to rescind or modify the decision. The commission shall process the petition in accordance with the
commission’s procedures for petitions for modification and shall issue a decision on the petition no later than 180 days after the filing of the petition.
(7) (A) Ex parte communications that occur at conferences and that are within the scope of an adjudication, ratesetting, or catastrophic wildfire proceeding shall be subject to the requirements of this article.
(B) Ex parte communications that occur at conferences and that are within the scope of a quasi-legislative proceeding shall be governed by the ex parte communication disclosure requirements developed by the commission.
(C) For purposes of this section, “ex parte communications that occur at conferences” includes, but is not limited to, communications in a private setting or during meals, entertainment events, and tours, and informal
discussions among conference attendees.
(8) The commission shall render its decisions based on the law and on the evidence in the record. Ex parte communications shall not be a part of the evidentiary record of the proceedings.
(f) The commission may meet in a closed session to discuss administrative matters so long as no collective consensus is reached or vote taken on any matter requiring a vote of the commissioners. The commission shall, by rule, adopt and publish a definition of “administrative matters” for purposes of this section.
(g) The commission shall permit written comments received from the public to be included in the record of its proceedings, but the comments shall not be treated as evidence. The commission shall provide parties to the proceeding a reasonable opportunity to respond to any public
comments included in the record of proceedings.
(h) It is the intent of the Legislature that the commission, and any entity or person seeking to influence actions taken by the commission, shall be subject to all applicable ethical standards, including any applicable obligations under the Political Reform Act of 1974 (Title 9 (commencing with Section 81000) of the Government Code), including, but not limited to, any applicable lobbying obligations.
SEC. 2.
Section 1701.3 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:1701.3.
(a) Except as specified in subdivision (h), this section shall apply only to ratesetting cases, except, if the commissioner assigned pursuant to Section 1701.1 has determined that a ratesetting case does not require a hearing, the procedures prescribed by subdivisions (b), (d), (f), and (i) shall not apply.(b) The assigned commissioner shall determine prior to before the first hearing whether the commissioner or the assigned administrative law judge shall be designated as the principal hearing officer. The principal hearing officer shall be present for more than one-half of the hearing days. The decision of the principal hearing officer shall be the proposed decision.
(c) An alternate decision may be issued by the assigned commissioner or the assigned administrative law judge who is not the principal hearing officer. Any alternate decision may be filed with the commission and served upon all parties to the proceeding any time prior to before the issuance of a final decision by the commission, consistent with the requirements of Section 311.
(d) The commission shall establish a procedure for any party to request the presence of a commissioner at a hearing. The assigned commissioner shall be present at any closing arguments in the case.
(e) The principal hearing officer shall present the proposed decision to the full commission in a public meeting. The alternate decision, if any, shall also be presented to the full commission at that public meeting.
(f) The presentation to the full commission shall contain a record of the number of days of the hearing, the number of days that each
commissioner was present, and whether the decision was completed on time.
(g) The commission shall provide by rule for peremptory challenges and challenges for cause of the administrative law judge. Challenges for cause shall include, but not be limited to, financial interests and prejudice. All parties shall be entitled to unlimited peremptory challenges in any case in which the administrative law judge has within the previous 12 months served in any capacity in an advocacy position at the commission, been employed by a regulated public utility, or has represented a party or has been an interested person in the case.
(h) (1) Ex parte communications in ratesetting cases and catastrophic wildfire proceedings are subject to the disclosure requirements of this article. The commission, by order or ruling, may prohibit ex parte communications in a ratesetting case
or catastrophic wildfire proceeding.
(2) Oral communications may be permitted by a decisionmaker if all parties are given not less than three working days’ notice. No individual ex parte meetings shall be held during the three business days before the commission’s scheduled vote on the decision.
(3) (A) If an ex parte communication meeting is granted to any party, all other parties, upon request, shall also be granted individual ex parte meetings of a substantially equal period of time and shall be sent a notice of that opportunity at the time the request is granted.
(B) Subparagraph (A) shall not apply if the decisionmaker participating in the ex parte communication meeting is a member of the personal staff of a commissioner acting in a policy or legal advisory capacity and no other
decisionmaker to whom subparagraph (A) applies is a participant.
(4) Written ex parte communications by any interested person may be permitted if copies of the communication are transmitted to all parties on the same day as the original communication.
(5) Written and oral ex parte communications shall not be part of the evidentiary record of the proceeding.
(6)(A)The commission may establish a “quiet period” during which no oral or written ex parte communications may be permitted and the commission may meet in closed session during that period.
(B)A quiet period may be established only during the following periods:
(i)After a proposed decision or order is issued and is scheduled for a vote.
(ii)After a proposed decision is scheduled for a vote, but is then held and rescheduled for a vote.
(C)The commission shall establish a quiet period during the three business days before the commission’s scheduled vote on a decision.
(D)Notwithstanding subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), the commission may meet in closed session on any proposed decision in a catastrophic wildfire proceeding and may establish a quiet period during the three business days before the commission’s scheduled vote on the decision, during which time no written or oral ex parte communications may be permitted.
(E)(i)Any meeting of the commission during a quiet period shall require a minimum of three days’ advance public notice.
(ii)The requirement specified in subparagraph (F) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 11123 of the Government Code shall not apply to a meeting of the commission during a quiet period that is held by teleconference.
(i) Any party has the right to present a final oral argument of its case before the commission. Upon request to present a final oral argument before the commission, the argument shall be scheduled in a timely manner. A quorum of the commission shall be present for the final oral arguments.
(j) The commission may, in issuing its decision, adopt, modify, or set aside the proposed decision or any part of the decision based on evidence in the record. The final decision of the commission shall be issued not later than 60 days after the issuance of the proposed decision. Under extraordinary circumstances the commission may extend this date for a reasonable period. The 60-day period shall be extended for 30 days if any alternate decision is proposed pursuant to Section 311.
SEC. 3.
Section 1701.8 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:1701.8.
(a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:(1) “Covered wildfire” means any wildfire ignited on or after July 12, 2019, caused by an electrical corporation as determined by the governmental agency responsible for determining causation.
(2) “Wildfire Fund” means the Wildfire Fund created pursuant to Section 3284.
(b) The following procedures and standards apply to a catastrophic wildfire proceeding:
(1) (A) An electrical corporation may file an application pursuant to Section 451 or 451.1, as applicable, at any time after it
has paid, or entered into binding commitments to pay, all or, if authorized by the commission for good cause, substantially all third-party damage claims, including payments made pursuant to judgments or settlement agreements related to a covered wildfire. Except as authorized by the commission for good cause, before filing the application, the electrical corporation shall exhaust all rights to indemnification or other claims, contractual or otherwise, against any third parties, including collecting insurance proceeds, related to the covered wildfire.
(B) If an electrical corporation has received payments from the Wildfire Fund for a third-party damage claim for the covered wildfire, the electrical corporation shall file an application to recover the costs pursuant to subparagraph (A) no later than the earlier of the following:
(i) The date when it has resolved all third-party
damage claims and exhausted all right to indemnification or other claims, contractual or otherwise, against any third parties, including collecting insurance proceeds, related to the covered wildfire.
(ii) The date that is 45 days after the date the administrator requests the electrical corporation to make such an application.
(2) The president of the commission, upon the initiation of a catastrophic wildfire proceeding by the filing of an application pursuant to paragraph (1), shall assign a commissioner to act as the presiding officer in the proceeding and an administrative law judge to assist in conducting the proceeding.
(3) Within 15 days of the filing date of the application, the commission shall notice a prehearing conference, which shall be held within 25 days of the filing date.
(4) (A) Within 30 days of the filing date of the application, the assigned commissioner shall prepare and issue, by order or ruling, a scoping memorandum that states that the scope of the proceeding shall be whether the electrical corporation’s costs and expenses for the covered wildfire are just and reasonable pursuant to Section 451 or 451.1, as applicable.
(B) The scoping memorandum shall establish a schedule for the proceeding, including the date of issuance of a proposed decision that is no later than 12 months after the filing date of the application.
(C) The assigned commissioner may extend the time established in the scoping memorandum for the date of issuance of a proposed decision by up to six months upon a showing of good cause.
(5)Notwithstanding any other law, the commission may meet in closed session at any point during the pendency of the catastrophic wildfire proceeding with a three-day notice to the public if the commission establishes a quiet period pursuant to paragraph (6) of subdivision (h) of Section 1701.3.
SEC. 4.
Section 1701.9 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:1701.9.
The following provisions apply during the pendency of a commission proceeding, except these provisions do not apply during an adjudicatory or quasi-legislative proceeding:(a) The commission may meet in closed session to deliberate on a proposed decision, order, or resolution after providing three-day advance notice to the public.
(b) The commission shall establish a quiet period during the three business days before the commission’s scheduled vote on a decision, during which oral and written ex parte communications shall not be permitted.
(c) The requirement specified in subparagraph (F) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section
11123 of the Government Code shall not apply to a meeting of the commission during a quiet period that is held by teleconference.
SEC. 5.
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.(a)The commission shall develop policies, rules, or regulations with a goal of reducing, by January 1, 2024, the statewide level of gas and electric service disconnections for nonpayment by residential customers, including policies, rules, or regulations specific to the four gas and electrical corporations that have the greatest number of customers. The commission shall convene stakeholders, including, but not limited to, public health officials, consumer advocates, and organizations representing low-income communities, to assist with the development of the policies, rules, or regulations.
(b)(1)In each gas and electrical corporation general rate case, the commission shall do both of the following:
(A)Designate the impact of any proposed increase in rates on disconnections for nonpayment as an issue in the scope of the proceeding.
(B)Conduct an assessment of and properly identify the impact of any proposed increase in rates on disconnections for nonpayment, which shall be included in the record of the proceeding.
(2)The commission shall adopt residential utility disconnections for nonpayment as a metric. The commission shall incorporate the metric into each gas and electrical corporation general rate case.
