BILL NUMBER: AB 1389 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 2, 2003
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 5, 2003
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 22, 2003
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Ridley-Thomas
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Bermudez and Longville)
FEBRUARY 21, 2003
An act to add Section 12123 to the Public Contract Code,
and Sections 7911 and 7912 to the Public Utilities Code,
relating to public utilities.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1389, as amended, Ridley-Thomas. Public utilities:
rights and obligations: Utilities Commission:
reports: hiring: purchases of goods and services
capital investment .
(1) Under
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has
regulatory authority over public utilities. The Public
Utilities Act establishes the rights and obligations of public
utilities under the jurisdiction of the commission. Existing law
establishes the rights and obligations of utility corporations and
their employees, and requires each electrical, gas, and telephone
corporation with specified gross annual revenues, to submit annually
to the commission, a detailed and verifiable plan for increasing
women, minority, and disabled veteran business enterprise
procurement, requires the commission to establish guidelines to be
used to establish programs to achieve established goals in those
plans, and requires the commission to annually report to the
Legislature on progress under these programs.
This bill would provide that it is the policy of
California, consistent with constitutional requirements, that the
state, when exercising its proprietary role as a purchaser of goods
and services from public utilities, act to promote the employment of
California residents. The bill would require the
commission to annually report certain information on each public
utility to the Assembly Committee on Utilities and Commerce and the
Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities and Communications, or
successor committees, and to make the information available to the
public on its Internet Web site.
(2) Existing law provides for acquisition of telecommunications
goods and services by the state under the supervision of, the
Department of General Services, which has sole responsibility for the
establishment of tactical policy and procedures for
telecommunications and data-processing acquisitions consistent with
statewide strategic policy as established by the Department of
Finance.
This bill would provide that it is the policy of the state,
consistent with constitutional requirements, when purchasing
telecommunications goods and services, to act to promote the
employment of California residents.
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. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Public utilities serve a vital function, providing basic
infrastructure essential to the efficient conduct of commerce and
societal interaction.
(b) In exchange for the state's granting of public
utility monopolies or near-monopolies, the a
certificate of public convenience and necessity, public
utilities bear a heightened responsibility for contributing to the
public interest.
(c) The public interest has been interpreted to include providing
an adequate level of public utility service at a just and reasonable
rate. This interpretation has not explicitly included a
consideration of A more complete interpretation of the
public interest would also give consideration to the benefits
of public utility employment to the state and its residents.
A more complete interpretation of the public interest would
give this consideration some weight.
(d) Given the difficult economic climate and the increasing
unemployment rate within the State of California, it is necessary and
proper state policy to encourage the employment of Californians by
California's public utilities.
(e) The state, when exercising its proprietary function
of purchasing goods and services, should make purchases that promote
the employment of California residents and not do business with
utility corporations that shift jobs outside of California.
(f) The Public Utilities Commission should monitor and
annually report to the Legislature, information showing the
level levels of employment of California
residents and capital investment in California by public
utilities, so that the state can make knowledgeable
proprietary decisions when purchasing utility goods and services
ensure greater oversight of public utilities and more
comprehensive, informed policymaking .
SEC. 2. Section 12123 is added to the Public Contract Code, to
read:
12123. It is the policy of the State of California, consistent
with the federal and state constitutions, that the state, when
exercising its proprietary role as a purchaser of telecommunications
goods and services, act to promote the employment of California
residents.
SEC. 3. Section 7911 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
7911. It is the policy of the State of California, consistent
with the federal and state constitutions, that the state, when
exercising its proprietary role as a purchaser of goods and services
from public utilities, act to promote the employment of California
residents.
SEC. 4.
SEC. 2. Section 7912 is added to the Public Utilities Code,
to read:
7912. The commission shall annually report to the Assembly
Committee on Utilities and Commerce and the Senate Committee on
Energy, Utilities and Communications, or successor committees, and,
within a reasonable time thereafter, make available to the public on
its Internet Web site, information for each public utility, showing
all of the following:
(a) The number of customers served in California by the public
utility.
(b) The percentage of the public utilities' total domestic
customer base that resides in California.
(c) The number of California residents employed by the public
utility, calculated on a full-time or full-time equivalent basis.
(d) The percentage of the public utilities' total domestic
workforce, calculated on a full-time or full-time equivalent basis,
that resides in California.
(e) The capital investments made by the public utility
investment in the public utility's tangible and
intangible plant which ordinarily have a service life of more than
one year, including plant used by the company or others in providing
public utility services, in California during the yearly
reporting period.