IT’S THE CAPITOL: CPUC Reform Legislation Revived

Two major bills to increase the accountability of the California Public Utilities Commission and make it more ratepayer-friendly, which are very similar to ones vetoed by Gov. Jerry Brown last year, were approved Jan. 13 by the Senate Energy Utilities & Communications Committee.

“It’s clear that the regulatory process is need of reform in terms of public safety and rates,” said Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco). “The Commission has an unalterably closed mind,” he added.

Leno’s SB 215, approved on an 8-0 vote, is similar to his 2015 bill, SB 660, but the former has fewer mandates. He said he was working with the governor’s office to address his concerns.

“It’s a little unfortunate that we went through a year-long process and the governor’s comments came in a little too late,” said Sen. Ben Hueso, committee chair. Hueso also is coauthor of SB 215.

The legislation does the following: Allows the Attorney General to bring a civil action in Superior Court for closed-door communication violations; Expands the reach of the CPUC’s ex parte communication rules; Forbids off the record communications in rate setting proceedings; Gives the commission the discretion to hold all party hearings; Allows any party to a proceeding to challenge its categorization within 10 days, be it rate setting or quasi legislative; Directs the commission to expand its stakeholder outreach; and Requires the commission to specify its procedure for disqualifying a commissioner for conflict of interest or bias in rate setting and adjudicatory hearings. The other CPUC reform bill approved by the committee was Sen. Jerry Hill’s SB 512.

The San Mateo Democrat’s measure reiterates many of the provisions of his SB 48, also rejected by the governor last fall. The provisions in the reincarnated measure include requiring the commission to do the following: Hold at least six CPUC business meetings in Sacramento annually, to allow for increased legislative oversight; Provide more information to the public on how to participate in agency ratemaking proceedings; and Report on the timeliness of its cases and disposition of applications for rehearings. Both bills are to be heard next by the Senate Appropriations Committee. — Elizabeth McCarthy