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The Assembly passed legislation to dissolve the industrial city of Vernon April 28. AB 46 by Speaker of the Assembly John Pérez (D-Los Angeles) passed on a 57-8 floor vote. It is to be taken up next by the Senate. If AB 46 is enacted, the Vernon area that is home to less than 100 people would likely come under the jurisdiction of Los Angeles County. The bill is in response to a series of corruption charges. Vernon went more than 20 years without holding an election. When it did hold one in 2006, Perez said former officials wound up being found guilty of election fraud after manipulating the results. Pérez’s bill establishes a disincorporation process for cities with 150 residents or less. According to the bill analysis the author said “cities with very small populations may face political instability because there are too few residents to support the government, and this may contribute to public corruption, voter fraud, and stalled growth.” Vernon operates its own municipal power and gas utilities to supply some 1,800 businesses within its borders that employ 50,000 workers. Some oppose the bill because of fears of utility job losses and increased rates (Current, March 4, 2011). Since the late 1800s, seventeen cities have been dissolved in California. The most recent disincorporations occurred in the towns of Cabazon in Riverside County, and Hornitos in Mariposa County. Cabazon was dissolved in 1973 because of “years of city government turmoil,” according to the bill analysis. Hornitos was disincorporated in 1972 after the population dropped below 100. Earlier in the week, legislation to expand the size of industrial and municipal alternative energy units eligible for a California Public Utilities Commission subsidy passed the Assembly Utilities & Communications Committee. AB 864 by Assemblymember Jared Huffman (D-Marin) allows wind, solar, fuel cell, and other non-fossil units built to feed an onsite facility sized up to 10 MW to reap the incentive covering half the cost of the renewable power system. However, the 50 percent subsidy under the Self Generation Incentive Program can cover no more than 5 MW, up from the current 3 MW. The bill, passed 13-0 on April 25, was sponsored by the Coalition of Large Energy Consumers Association. “Investing in on-site clean energy technologies like wind power is one of the best ways we can cut our greenhouse gas emissions while also saving on our energy bills,” said Barbara Barkovich, CLECA lobbyist. AB 864 heads to the Assembly Appropriations Committee. Under another approved measure, the CPUC is to evaluate the state’s mobile home parks’ gas and electric metered systems, many of which are substandard. AB 724 by Assemblymember Stephen Bradford (D-Los Angeles) directs regulators to initiate a proceeding focused on 1,500 park master metered systems and assess which ones should be transferred to utilities in a report to the Legislature due July 2013. Bradford, committee chair, questioned the safety of aging electric and gas meters at some parks. The issue is, he said, “Do privately-owned systems prevent significant risk?” The bill, passed 12-0, follows on the heels of a CPUC proceeding launched in late February to investigate how to allocate costs of having utilities takeover and upgrade the distribution systems owned by mobile home park operators. Many of the power systems at mobile home parks are four decades old, or older, and their internal distribution systems shoddy, according to utilities. Utilities have taken over few of these systems because of unresolved disagreements on the price of upgrades and transfers. At the same time, park owners are not covered by CPUC regulations. The bill is set for an Assembly Appropriations Committee hearing. The one controversial utility bill before the panel attempts to limit the amount public utilities could charge telecommunication companies for pole attachments. AB 1027, by Assemblymember Jean Buchanan (D-San Ramon), was hotly contested. Public utilities argued that including broadband--in particular provisions regarding underground cable connection costs--would force muni ratepayers to subsidize private businesses. AB 1027 passed on a 13-0 vote and heads to the Assembly Local Government Committee.

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