California Senate Bill SB1409 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: SB 1409AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 4, 2014 AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 21, 2014 AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 2, 2014 INTRODUCED BY Senator Hill FEBRUARY 21, 2014 An act to amend Section 321.6 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to the Public Utilities Commission. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 1409, as amended, Hill. Public Utilities Commission: safety investigations. The California Constitution establishes the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities and authorizes the commission to establish its own procedures, subject to statutory limitations or directions and constitutional requirements of due process. Existing law requires the commission to submit certain information about its activities to the Governor and the Legislature no later than February 1 of each year, including a workplan describing its scheduled ratemaking proceedings, an accounting of its transactions and proceedings, and a report on the number of cases where resolution of the case exceeded the time periods prescribed in scoping memos and on the number of days that commissioners presided in hearings. This bill, with respect to this annual submission of information, would also require the commission to provide a succinct description of each  open staff  safety investigation  pending before the commission or   and each staff safety investigation  concluded during the prior calendar  year by the commission,   year,  including  the date of the safety incident,  the reason for the investigation, the facility type involved, and the owner of the facility. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 321.6 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read: 321.6. (a) The commission shall do all of the following: (1) Develop, publish, and annually update an annual work plan that describes in clear detail the scheduled ratemaking proceedings and other decisions that may be considered by the commission during the calendar year. The plan shall include, but is not limited to, information on how members of the public and ratepayers can gain access to the commission's ratemaking process and information regarding the specific matters to be decided. The plan shall also include information on the operation of the office of the public adviser and identify the names and telephone numbers of those contact persons responsible for specific cases and matters to be decided. The plan shall also include a statement that specifies activities that the commission proposes to reduce the costs of, and rates for, energy, including electricity, and for improving the competitive opportunities for state agriculture and other rural energy consumers. The commission shall post the plan under the official documents area of its Internet Web site and shall develop a program to disseminate the information in the plan utilizing computer mailing lists to provide regular updates on the information to those members of the public and organizations which request that information. (2) Produce a complete accounting of its transactions and proceedings for the preceding year, together with other facts, suggestions, and recommendations that it deems of value to the people of the state and a statement that specifies the activities and achievements of the commission in reducing the costs of, and rates for, energy, including electricity, for state agriculture and other rural energy consumers. (3) Create a report on the number of cases where resolution exceeded the time periods prescribed in scoping memos and the days that commissioners presided in hearings. (4) Describe succinctly in a report each  open staff  safety investigation  pending before the commission or   and each staff safety investigation  concluded during the prior calendar  year by the commission.   year.  The  categories within the  description shall include  the date of the safety incident,  the reason for the investigation, the facility type involved, and the owner of the facility. (5) Submit annually the work plan, accounting, and reports required by paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) to the Governor and Legislature no later than February 1 of each year. (b) The president of the commission shall annually appear before the appropriate policy committees of the Senate and Assembly to report on the annual work plan access guide of the commission required pursuant to this section. (c) The president of the commission shall annually appear before the appropriate policy committees of the Senate and Assembly to report on the annual report of the commission on the number of cases where resolution exceeded the time periods prescribed in scoping memos and the days that commissioners presided in hearings, pursuant to Section 13 of Chapter 856 of the Statutes of 1996.