Public Utilities Commission: reports: programs: studies: ex parte communications.

(1) 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. Existing law requires the commission to report various information to the Legislature. This bill would move certain of the commission's reporting requirements within the Public Utilities Act to an article pertaining to reports by the commission to the Legislature and make other conforming changes. (2) Existing law requires the commission to submit to the Legislature by January 1, 1993, and on each January 1 thereafter, a detailed budget for expenditure of railroad corporation fees for the ensuing budget year. This bill would move that provision to the article within the Public Utilities Act pertaining to reports by the commission to the Legislature. (3) Existing law requires the commission to report annually on its efforts to identify ratepayer-funded energy efficiency programs that are similar to programs administered by the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, the State Air Resources Board, and the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority. This bill would instead require the commission to, on or before December 31, 2018, and biennially thereafter, as part of a specified report, identify and report to the Legislature on electrical and gas corporation ratepayer-funded energy efficiency programs that are similar to programs administered by those state agencies. (4) The Public Utilities Act requires the commission to determine whether a proceeding requires a hearing and, if so, to determine whether the matter requires a quasi-legislative, adjudication, or ratesetting hearing. Existing law regulates communications in matters before the commission and defines an "ex parte communication" as any oral or written communication between a decisionmaker and an interested person concerning any matter before the commission that the commission has not specified 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 act provides that ex parte communications are prohibited in adjudication cases, and that ex parte communications are subject to specified disclosure requirements in ratesetting cases. The act provides that ex parte communications in quasi-legislative cases are permitted and not subject to those specified disclosure requirements, except when the commission determines otherwise. This bill would revise various laws relating to ex parte communications in regard to commission proceedings. (5) Under existing law, when the coordinator for California area code relief determines the need to establish a new area code, he or she is required to provide written notice to the commission regarding the need to establish the new area code. Existing law requires the coordinator and commission staff to conduct at least one meeting for representatives of local jurisdictions, and at least 3 public meetings in the affected geographical area, for specified purposes relating to transitioning phone service to a new area code. This bill would require the coordinator and commission staff to notify representatives of local jurisdictions and the public in affected areas, and instead of requiring them would authorize them, at the discretion of the commission, to conduct one or more meetings both for representatives of local jurisdictions and for members of the public in affected geographic areas for those same purposes. (6) This bill would repeal obsolete auditing, reporting, and other similar requirements on the commission. (7) 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 some of the provisions of this bill would be a part of the act and because a violation of an order or decision of the commission implementing its requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program by expanding the application of a 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.