BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 201|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 201
Author: Speier (D)
Amended: 7/19/01
Vote: 21
SENATE ENERGY, U.&C. COMMITTEE : 5-1, 4/24/01
AYES: Bowen, Alarcon, Murray, Speier, Vincent
NOES: Morrow
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/31/01
AYES: Alpert, Bowen, Escutia, Karnette, Murray, Perata,
Speier
SENATE FLOOR : 27-10, 6/6/01
AYES: Alarcon, Alpert, Battin, Bowen, Burton, Chesbro,
Costa, Dunn, Escutia, Figueroa, Karnette, Kuehl, Machado,
Murray, O'Connell, Ortiz, Peace, Perata, Polanco, Romero,
Scott, Sher, Soto, Speier, Torlakson, Vasconcellos,
Vincent
NOES: Ackerman, Brulte, Haynes, Knight, Margett,
McClintock, Monteith, Morrow, Oller, Poochigian
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 45-29, 9/4/01 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Public Utilities Commission: Office of
Ratepayer Advocate
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill clarifies the existing role of the
Office of Ratepayer Advocate (ORA) within the California
CONTINUED
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Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), and repeals the sunset
of the statute providing the ORA's charter.
Assembly Amendments :
1.Delete the requirement that the ORA director be paid a
salary equal of 90 percent of that received by the CPUC
commissioners.
2.Delete the appropriation of $1.85 million which was to be
transferred from the CPUC Utilities Reimbursement
Account.
3.Clarify legislative intent regarding the scope of ORA's
discovery rights.
4.Clarify that the bill is not intended to expand the
representation and responsibilities of ORA.
ANALYSIS : Current law establishes a division within the
California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to represent
the interests of public utility customers in CPUC
proceedings. The director of the division, known as the
Office of Ratepayer Advocate (ORA), serves at the pleasure
of the Governor and is subject to confirmation by the
Senate. The Governor's ability to appoint the ORA director
and the specific Ratepayer Advocate Account in the State
General Fund are scheduled to sunset on January 1, 2002.
Current law provides that should the sunset take place, the
law would return to the way it read prior to 1997, whereby
the CPUC appointed and funded the ORA to represent the
interests of utility customers and subscribers in CPUC
proceedings.
This bill removes the sunset and deletes the replacement
section of law that would take effect should the sunset
actually take place.
The bill provides that the ORA shall represent the
interests of public utility customers and subscribers
"within the jurisdiction of the commission," but no longer
limits that representation to commission proceedings.
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The bill provides additional conditions upon ORA in
discovery matters by requiring that any discovery dispute
be decided by the president of CPUC or an assigned
commissioner in writing, and requiring that the division
agree to meet and confer with a regulated entity prior to
filing a complaint at CPUC.
Background
ORA is the state-sanctioned representative of consumers at
the CPUC and it's required to participate in all
significant electric, telecommunications, natural gas, and
water cases. In the smallest cases, ORA may provide the
only financial analysis of the case, but in larger cases,
ORA frequently presents the only comprehensive alternative
analysis to the one put forth by the utility.
In 1996, concurrent with the electric restructuring effort,
the existing ORA was modified to make its director a
Governor's appointment and to provide a separate line item
within the CPUC budget. The purpose of this change was to
ensure ORA accountability. Without this bill, those
provisions will sunset, meaning ORA will be returned to its
former status and make its director an appointee of the
CPUC.
Many other consumer groups are represented at the CPUC. In
order to encourage participation, state law provides for
compensation of costs if that group makes a substantial
contribution to the case and participation by that group
couldn't occur without significant financial hardship, as
determined by the CPUC.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 9/5/01)
California State Employees Association
Office of Ratepayer Advocate
The Utility Reform Network
Utility Consumer Action Network
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ASSEMBLY FLOOR
AYES: Alquist, Aroner, Calderon, Canciamilla, Cardenas,
Cedillo, Chan, Chu, Cohn, Corbett, Correa, Diaz, Dutra,
Firebaugh, Frommer, Goldberg, Havice, Horton, Jackson,
Keeley, Kehoe, Koretz, Liu, Longville, Lowenthal,
Matthews, Migden, Nakano, Nation, Negrete McLeod,
Oropeza, Pavley, Salinas, Shelley, Simitian, Steinberg,
Strom-Martin, Thomson, Vargas, Washington, Wayne, Wesson,
Wiggins, Wright, Hertzberg
NOES: Aanestad, Ashburn, Bates, Bogh, Briggs, Bill
Campbell, John Campbell, Cogdill, Cox, Daucher,
Dickerson, Harman, Hollingsworth, La Suer, Leach,
Leonard, Leslie, Maddox, Maldonado, Mountjoy, Robert
Pacheco, Rod Pacheco, Pescetti, Richman, Runner,
Strickland, Wyland, Wyman, Zettel
NC:kb 9/5/01 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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