Public Utilities Commission.

The California Constitution establishes the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) with jurisdiction over all public utilities, authorizes the PUC to establish its own procedures, subject to statutory limitations or directions and constitutional requirements of due process, and authorizes the PUC to fix the rates and establish rules for public utilities, subject to control by the Legislature. The Public Utilities Act provides that the office of the PUC shall be in the City and County of San Francisco, requires that the PUC hold its sessions at least once in each calendar month in the City and County of San Francisco, and authorizes the PUC to also meet at those other times and places as may be expedient and necessary for the proper performance of its duties. This bill would require that the PUC hold its sessions at least once in each calendar month in the City and County of San Francisco or the City of Sacramento. The Public Utilities Act authorizes the PUC to appoint an attorney for the PUC who holds that office at the pleasure of the PUC. The act requires the PUC's attorney to commence, prosecute, and expedite the final determination of all actions and proceedings directed or authorized by the president, except as otherwise directed or authorized by vote of the PUC, to advise the PUC and each commissioner in regard to all matters in connection with the powers and duties of the PUC or a commissioner, when requested, and generally to perform all duties and services as attorney to the PUC that the president, or vote of the PUC, may require of him or her. This bill would require the PUC to notify the Joint Legislative Budget Committee when it enters into a contract for outside legal counsel to represent the PUC in any criminal investigation at an expense exceeding $1,000,000 and to provide a copy of the contract to that committee within 10 days of it being approved by the Department of General Services. Existing law provides that upon request made in writing to a public entity, that public entity may, in its discretion, defend or indemnify or defend and indemnify any witness who has testified on behalf of the public entity in any criminal, civil, or administrative action, except as specified. This bill would prohibit the PUC from including in a contract for outside legal counsel terms providing for the representation in any criminal matter of individual employees except as provided in the above-described law. The bill would require the PUC to supply the Joint Legislative Budget Committee with a copy of the contract to represent an individual employee in a criminal investigation pursuant to the above-described law within 10 days of the date the contract is approved by the Department of General Services. The Public Utilities Act establishes an independent Office of Ratepayer Advocates within the PUC to represent the interests of public utility customers and subscribers, with the goal of obtaining the lowest possible rate for service consistent with reliable and safe service levels. Existing law requires the director of the office to develop a budget for the office that is submitted to the Department of Finance for final approval. Existing law authorizes the director of the office to appoint a lead attorney to represent the office and requires the lead attorney to obtain adequate legal personnel for the work to be conducted by the office from the PUC's attorney and requires the PUC's attorney to timely and appropriately fulfill all requests for legal personnel made by the lead attorney for the office, provided the office has sufficient moneys and positions in its budget for the services requested. Existing law requires the PUC to develop appropriate procedures to ensure that the existence of the office does not create a conflict of roles for any employee. This bill would delete the requirement that the lead attorney obtain adequate legal personnel for the work to be conducted by the office from the PUC's attorney and the requirement that the PUC's attorney timely and appropriately fulfill all requests for legal personnel made by the lead attorney for the office. The bill would require the PUC to coordinate with the office in developing appropriate procedures to ensure that the existence of the office does not create a conflict of roles for any employee. Existing law requires the PUC to submit to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee reports on all sources and amount of funding and actual and proposed expenditures for various activities. This bill would require the Department of Finance, on a semiannual basis, to provide the Joint Legislative Budget Commission a written notification of any redirection of funds and positions within the PUC, including any loaning of staff to other state agencies or departments. The bill would require the California Research Bureau to conduct a review of the organization of the PUC to ensure that the PUC is the best governmental entity to direct, regulate, and oversee specified public utility sectors. Existing decisions of the PUC establish the California Hub for Energy Efficiency Financing, or CHEEF, program, a 2-year pilot program administered by the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority and funded through charges collected by specified electrical corporations and gas corporations from their ratepayers. The bill would require the commission to report to the relevant policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature on the outcomes of the CHEEF program and would prohibit the PUC from approving any extension of the program sooner than 30 days after making its report. Existing law places various duties upon the PUC with respect to distributed generation and requires each electrical corporation, as defined, to submit to the PUC for its approval a distribution resources plan proposal to identify optimal locations for the deployment of distributed resources, as defined. Pursuant to existing law, the PUC has established operational and metering requirements for a generation facility to be interconnected to an electrical corporation's distribution grid. This bill would require the PUC, by April 1, 2016, to establish an expedited distribution grid interconnection dispute resolution process, as specified, with the goal of resolving disputes over interconnection applications within the jurisdiction of the PUC in no more than 60 days from the time the dispute is formally brought to the PUC. Decisions of the PUC adopted the California Solar Initiative administered by electrical corporations and subject to the PUC's supervision. Existing law requires the PUC and the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) to undertake certain steps in implementing the California Solar Initiative and requires the PUC to ensure that the total cost over the duration of the program does not exceed $3,550,800,000. Existing law specifies that the financial components of the California Solar Initiative include the New Solar Homes Partnership Program, which is administered by the Energy Commission. Existing law requires the program to be funded by charges in the amount of $400,000,000 collected from customers of the state's 3 largest electrical corporations. If moneys from the Renewable Resource Trust Fund for the program are exhausted, existing law authorizes the PUC, upon notification by the Energy Commission, to require those electrical corporations to continue the administration of the program pursuant to the guidelines established by the Energy Commission for the program until the $400,000,000 monetary limit is reached. Existing law authorizes the PUC to determine if a 3rd party, including the Energy Commission, should administer the electrical corporations' continuation of the program. Existing law makes the New Solar Homes Partnership Program inoperative on June 1, 2018, and requires any funding made available be encumbered no later than June 1, 2018, and disbursed no later than December 31, 2021. If the PUC determines that the Energy Commission should be the 3rd-party administrator for the New Solar Homes Partnership Program, this bill would require that any additional moneys made available to fund the New Solar Homes Partnership Program be deposited into the Emerging Renewable Resources Account of the Renewable Resource Trust Fund and used for this purpose. Existing law authorizes the Department of Finance to furnish services, or provide work for, any other state agency as requested by the Legislature and authorizes the department to charge an amount sufficient to recover the cost of furnishing services or the work performed. This bill would require the Office of State Audits and Evaluations within the Department of Finance to assess the degree to which each activity and position related to the energy responsibilities of the PUC supports the core mission of the PUC and to make recommendations as to how resources might be better allocated to achieve the core mission objectives of the PUC. The bill would require the office, by April 1, 2016, to submit a report to the Legislature on the assessment. The bill would require the PUC to reimburse the department for the costs incurred by the office upon request by the department. The bill would appropriate $5,000,000 to the PUC for the support of the PUC. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.