Asm. Marc Berman

Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law authorizes the commission to adopt new, or expand existing, fixed charges, as defined, for the purpose of collecting a reasonable portion of the fixed costs of providing electrical service to residential customers. Under existing law, the commission may authorize fixed charges for any rate schedule applicable to a residential customer account. Existing law requires the commission, no later than July 1, 2024, to authorize a fixed charge for default residential rates. Existing law requires these fixed charges to be established on an income-graduated basis, with no fewer than 3 income thresholds, so that low-income ratepayers in each baseline territory would realize a lower average monthly bill without making any changes in usage. This bill would prohibit modifications to the amount of the income-graduated fixed charge from exceeding changes in inflation, as provided. The bill would make the provisions authorizing the income-graduated fixed charge inoperative on July 1, 2028. The bill, commencing July 1, 2028, would instead permit the commission to authorize fixed charges that, as of January 1, 2015, do not exceed $5 per residential customer account per month for low-income customers enrolled in the California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) program and that do not exceed $10 per residential customer account per month for customers not enrolled in the CARE program. The bill would authorize these maximum allowable fixed charges to be adjusted by no more than the annual percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for the prior calendar year, beginning January 1, 2016. The bill would require the commission to adopt any modification to an existing fixed charge for the collection of a reasonable portion of the fixed costs of providing electrical service to residential customers in a stand-alone proceeding. The bill would prohibit a fixed charge from resulting in an increase to an electrical corporation's revenue requirement. The bill would require the commission, on or before July 1, 2027, but no sooner than 2 years after the adoption of the income-graduated fixed charge, to submit a public report to the relevant policy committees of both houses of the Legislature on the electrical corporations' implementation of the income-graduated fixed charge and other cost-saving options, as specified. 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 the provisions of this bill would be a part of the act and therefore a violation of the bill's requirements or of a commission action implementing its requirements would be a crime, the 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.

Maddy summaryThis bill designates October 2024 as Menopause Awareness Month in California to highlight the health and societal impacts of menopause on women. It acknowledges that millions of women face symptoms that can affect their daily lives and work, noting that women of color are at higher risk for complications like premature menopause and heart disease. The resolution encourages the state to provide better health information and services to support women's well-being before, during, and after this transition. While the text outlines these goals, the bill itself is a formal recognition rather than a law that creates new funding or mandates specific programs.

Existing law requires the Secretary of State to adopt regulations requiring each county to design and implement programs intended to identify qualified electors who are not registered to vote and to register those persons to vote. This bill would require the Secretary of State to award grants from the Civic Learning, Outreach, and Engagement Fund to local elections officials for programs that integrate voter registration and preregistration with civic education and engagement, and to coordinate with school districts, county offices of education, or charter schools to implement these programs. The bill would require a local elections official applying for a grant to submit to the Secretary of State a plan for administration of the civic education and engagement program, as specified. The bill would require a local elections official receiving a grant to evaluate the program each year and report the results to the Secretary of State, as specified. The bill would require initial grants be awarded for a minimum of three years and would require the Secretary of State, when awarding grants, to prioritize counties with lower voter registration and participation rates. The bill would establish the Civic Learning, Outreach, and Engagement Fund in the General Fund and would make the moneys in the fund available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the grants and contracts provided for in the bill.

Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law requires every electric utility, defined to include electrical corporations, local publicly owned electric utilities, and electrical cooperatives, to develop a standard contract or tariff for net energy metering, as defined, for generation by a renewable electrical generation facility, as defined, and to make this contract or tariff available to eligible customer-generators, as defined, upon request on a first-come-first-served basis until the time that the total rated generating capacity used by eligible customer-generators exceeds 5% of the electric utility's aggregate customer peak demand. Existing law requires the commission to have developed a 2nd standard contract or tariff for each large electrical corporation, as defined, to provide net energy metering to additional eligible customer-generators in the electrical corporation's service territory and imposes no limitation on the number of new eligible customer-generators entitled to receive service pursuant to this 2nd standard contract or tariff. Existing law authorizes the commission to revise the 2nd standard contract or tariff as appropriate. Pursuant to that authorization, the commission has instituted rulemakings and issued decisions relating to the 2nd standard contract or tariff. This bill would require the commission to conduct an independent cost-of-service analysis evaluating the standard contract or tariff developed by the commission in a specified decision.

This measure would proclaim the week of April 14, 2024 to April 20, 2024, to be Cities Week, and would encourage all Californians to be involved in their communities and be civically engaged with their local government.

This measure would join Asian and Pacific Islander communities throughout the state, nation, and world in celebrating April 13, 2024, to April 15, 2024, as the Songkran New Year Festival.

Maddy summaryThis bill is a House Resolution that formally recognizes May 2024 as Asian and Pacific Islander American Heritage Month in California. It directly affects the state legislature and the broader public by establishing an official period to honor the history and contributions of Asian and Pacific Islander communities. The resolution highlights the diverse backgrounds of these populations, their significant roles in California's development, and their ongoing achievements in various fields. By adopting this measure, the Assembly commends these communities for their accomplishments and acknowledges the hardships they have faced throughout history.

This measure would proclaim the week of April 7 through April 13, 2024, as Adult Education Week, and would salute the teachers, administrators, classified staff, and students of adult education programs statewide, honoring their efforts, persistence, and accomplishments.