BILL NUMBER: SB 1163	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  MARCH 26, 2004

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Dunn

                        FEBRUARY 2, 2004

   An act to amend Section 798.38 of the Civil Code and Section 739.5
of the Public Utilities Code, relating to utilities.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1163, as amended, Dunn.  Utilities.
   (1) The existing Mobilehome Residency Law requires the management
of a mobilehome park, when the management provides master-meter and
submeter service of utilities to a homeowner, to separately state the
cost of the charges for the period along with the opening and
closing readings of the meter.
   This bill would require that the statements described above be
generally in accordance with the form and content of the bills that
the utility, which serves the master-meter of the park, provides to
its residential customers.  The bill would also require the
management to make specified disclosures if a  third-party
  3rd party  billing agent prepares utility billing
for the park.
   (2) Existing law requires that, when gas or electric service is
provided by a master-meter customer to users who are tenants of a
mobilehome park, apartment building, or similar residential complex,
the master-meter customer charge each user at the same rate which
would be applicable if the user were receiving gas or electricity
directly from the gas or electric company. Existing law creates
further requirements for master-meter customers and for the
corporations which provide service to them.
   This bill would require the Public Utilities Commission to accept
and respond to complaints concerning the requirements described above
through the  office of the public advisor  
consumer affairs branch  , in addition to any other staff that
the commission deems necessary to assist the complainant.
   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 798.38 of the Civil Code is amended to read:
   798.38.  (a) Where the management provides both master-meter and
submeter service of utilities to a homeowner, for each billing period
the cost of the charges for the period shall be separately stated
along with the opening and closing readings for his or her meter,
generally in accordance with the form and content of the bills that
the utility, which serves the master-meter of the park, provides to
its residential customers.  The management shall post in a
conspicuous place, the prevailing residential utilities rate schedule
as published by the serving utility.
   (b) If a third-party billing agent or company prepares utility
billing for the park, the management shall disclose on each resident'
s billing, the name, address, and telephone number of the billing
agent or company.
  SEC. 2.  Section 739.5 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
   739.5.  (a) The commission shall require that, whenever gas or
electric service, or both, is provided by a master-meter customer to
users who are tenants of a mobilehome park, apartment building, or
similar residential complex, the master-meter customer shall charge
each user of the service at the same rate which would be applicable
if the user were receiving gas or electricity, or both, directly from
the gas or electrical corporation.  The commission shall require the
corporation furnishing service to the master-meter customer to
establish uniform rates for master-meter service at a level which
will provide a sufficient differential to cover the reasonable
average costs to master-meter customers of providing submeter
service, except that these costs shall not exceed the average cost
that the corporation would have incurred in providing comparable
services directly to the users of the service.
   (b) Every master-meter customer of a gas or electrical corporation
subject to subdivision (a) who, on or after January 1, 1978,
receives any rebate from the corporation shall distribute to, or
credit to the account of, each current user served by the
master-meter customer that portion of the rebate which the amount of
gas or electricity, or both, consumed by the user during the last
billing period bears to the total amount furnished by the corporation
to the master-meter customer during that period.
   (c) An electrical or gas corporation furnishing service to a
master-meter customer shall furnish to each user of the service
within a submetered system every public safety customer service which
it provides beyond the meter to its other residential customers.
The corporation shall furnish a list of those services to the
master-meter customer who shall post the list in a conspicuous place
accessible to all users.  Every corporation shall provide these
public safety customer services to each user of electrical or gas
service under a submetered system without additional charge unless
the corporation has included the average cost of these services in
the rate differential provided to the master-meter customer on
January 1, 1984, in which case the commission shall deduct the
average cost of providing these public safety customer services when
approving rate differentials for master-meter customers.
   (d) Every master-meter customer is responsible for maintenance and
repair of its submeter facilities beyond the master-meter, and
nothing in this section requires an electrical or gas corporation to
make repairs to or perform maintenance on the submeter system.
   (e) Every master-meter customer shall provide an itemized billing
of charges for electricity or gas, or both, to each individual user
generally in accordance with the form and content of bills of the
corporation to its residential customers, including, but not limited
to, the opening and closing readings for the meter, and the
identification of all rates and quantities attributable to each block
in the applicable rate structure.  The master-meter customer shall
also post, in a conspicuous place, the applicable prevailing
residential gas or electrical rate schedule, as published by the
corporation.
   (f) The commission shall require that every electrical and gas
corporation shall notify each master-meter customer of its
responsibilities to its users under this section.
   (g) The commission shall accept and respond to complaints
concerning the requirements of this section through the 
office of the public advisor   consumer affairs branch
 , in addition to any other staff that the commission deems
necessary to assist the complainant.