BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1163|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1163
Author: Dunn (D)
Amended: 3/26/04
Vote: 21
SENATE HOUSING & COMM. DEV. COMMITTEE : 6-2, 3/22/04
AYES: Ducheny, Alarcon, Cedillo, Dunn, Florez, Torlakson
NOES: Hollingsworth, Ackerman
NO VOTE RECORDED: Vacancy
SENATE ENERGY, UTILITIES & COM. COMMITTEE : 5-1, 4/13/04
AYES: Bowen, Alarcon, Dunn, Murray, Sher
NOES: McClintock
NO VOTE RECORDED: Morrow, Battin, Vasconcellos
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-5, 4/26/04
AYES: Alpert, Bowen, Burton, Karnette, Machado, Murray,
Speier
NOES: Battin, Aanestad, Ashburn, Johnson, Poochigian
NO VOTE RECORDED: Escutia
SUBJECT : Utilities
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires the State Public Utilities
Commission to accept and investigate, as necessary,
complaints made by sub-metered mobilehome park or apartment
complex customers alleging violations of master-meter
responsibilities, and makes related changes.
CONTINUED
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ANALYSIS : Current law requires master-meter customers to
separately state the opening and closing readings for
sub-metered mobilehome park customers when rendering a
bill, and to post the prevailing residential utilities rate
schedule of the serving utility.
This bill requires that when the master-meter customer
renders such a bill, it shall be generally in the form and
with the content of the bills the utility serving the
master-meter customer renders to its residential customers.
This bill requires mobilehome parks to disclose the name,
address and telephone number of the billing agent or
company on each resident's billing if a third-party billing
agent or company prepares utility bills for the park.
Current law establishes requirements about the rates
charged by a master-meter customer to its sub-metered
tenants, specifies the general form and content of the
bills rendered by the master-meter customer, and makes it a
duty of master-meter customers to maintain and repair the
facilities between the master-meter and the sub-metered
tenant.
This bill requires the State Public Utilities Commission
(PUC), through its consumer affairs branch, to accept and
respond to complaints concerning these requirements.
Comments
Typically, a master-meter customer is a multi-unit
dwelling, such as a mobilehome park or an apartment
complex, where the park or complex is the customer of the
utility and pays the utility bill. The park or complex is
responsible for the electric, gas, or water system within
the park or complex, and separately meters and bills the
tenants for their individual utility usage.
There are approximately 4,850 mobilehome parks and
manufactured housing communities in California with over
375,000 spaces housing more than 600,000 people. Each
mobilehome space consists of a utility pedestal for
electric and gas as well as sewer and water hook-ups. In
most parks, utility service is provided by the park owner
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to individual mobilehome spaces through a "master-meter"
system.
The Senate Select Committee on Mobile and Manufactured
Homes has received a number of complaints from mobilehome
park residents about master-meter relationships with park
owners. In 2001, the committee held a hearing on this
issue and heard complaints regarding metering inaccuracies,
billing mistakes, an inability to contact the billing
company, failure to pass through utility rebates, and the
imposition of meter-reading fees.
The first part of this bill requires the PUC to accept and
respond to complaints concerning master-meter customers.
While this appears unnecessary because the PUC is the
enforcement authority for the Public Utilities Code, the
author's office notes the PUC has been unwilling or unable
to perform this function. This part of the bill eliminates
any ambiguity by making it clear the PUC is responsible for
handling complaints filed by sub-metered customers.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
PUC staff estimate increased costs of $300,000 annually.
The Public Utilities Reimbursement Account revenues are
derived from an annual fee imposed on public utilities.
Therefore, any increased costs should be offset by
increased fee revenues.
SUPPORT : (Verified 4/28/04)
California Mobilehome Resource and Action Association
Golden State Manufactured-Home Owners League, Inc.
OPPOSITION : (Verified 4/28/04)
California Mobilehome Parkowners Alliance
Western Manufactured Housing Communities Association
NC:cm 4/28/04 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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