BILL NUMBER: SB 580 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 662
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 7, 2005
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 7, 2005
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 8, 2005
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 8, 2005
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 7, 2005
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 1, 2005
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 26, 2005
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 31, 2005
INTRODUCED BY Senator Escutia
(Principal coauthor: Senator Alarcon)
FEBRUARY 18, 2005
An act to add Section 12803.4 to the Government Code, and to amend
Sections 382.1 and 739.1 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to
low-income utility assistance programs.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 580, Escutia Public Utilities Commission: Low-Income Oversight
Board and California Alternate Rates for Energy program.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory
authority over public utilities and can establish its own
procedures, subject to statutory limitations or directions and
constitutional requirements of due process. Existing law establishes
a Low-Income Oversight Board to advise the commission on low-income
electric and gas customer issues and to serve as a liaison for the
commission to low-income ratepayers and representatives. Existing law
specifies the membership of the board.
This bill would expand the duties of the board to include advising
the commission on low-income water customer issues and to serve as a
liaison for the commission to those low-income ratepayers and
representatives. The bill would increase the membership of the board
by 2 persons selected by the commission, the first with expertise in
the low-income community and who is not affiliated with any state
agency or utility group, and the second who is a representative of a
water corporation.
Existing law requires the commission to establish a program of
assistance to low-income electric and gas customers, referred to as
the California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) program. Existing
law requires that each local publicly owned electric utility, as
defined, ensure that low-income families within the utility's service
territory have access to affordable electricity, that the current
level of assistance reflects the level of need, that the utility
consider increasing the level of discount or raising the eligibility
level for any existing rate assistance program to be reflective of
customer need, and that the utility streamline enrollment for
low-income programs by collaborating with other electric or gas
providers within the same service territory.
This bill would expand the duties of the Low-Income Oversight
Board to include assisting the commission in complying with certain
requirements of the CARE program. The bill would require the
Secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency to
evaluate, on or before April 1, 2006, how the use of programs and
databases, as specified, may be optimized to facilitate the automatic
enrollment of eligible customers into the CARE program.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares both of the
following:
(a) It is in the public interest to ensure that all persons
eligible for gas and electric service under tariffs established for
the California Alternate Rates for Energy or CARE program are
enrolled in the program.
(b) It is in the public interest to achieve automatic enrollment
of persons eligible for the CARE program through interagency
cooperation among the California Health and Human Services Agency,
including the State Department of Health Services and the State
Department of Social Services, the Public Utilities Commission,
electrical corporations, and gas corporations.
SEC. 2. Section 12803.4 is added to the Government Code, to read:
12803.4. The Secretary of the California Health and Human
Services Agency shall evaluate, on or before April 1, 2006, how the
use of established state and federal programs and databases may be
optimized in order to facilitate the automatic enrollment of eligible
customers into the California Alternate Rates for Energy or CARE
program established pursuant to Section 739.1 of the Public Utilities
Code, while complying with state and federal privacy laws.
SEC. 3. Section 382.1 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
382.1. (a) There is hereby established a Low-Income Oversight
Board that shall advise the commission on low-income electric, gas,
and water customer issues and shall serve as a liaison for the
commission to low-income ratepayers and representatives. The
Low-Income Oversight Board shall replace the Low-Income Advisory
Board in existence on January 1, 2000. The Low-Income Oversight Board
shall do all of the following to advise the commission regarding the
commission's duties:
(1) Monitor and evaluate implementation of all programs provided
to low-income electricity, gas, and water customers.
(2) Assist in the development and analysis of any assessments of
low-income customer need.
(3) Encourage collaboration between state and utility programs for
low-income electricity and gas customers to maximize the leverage of
state and federal energy efficiency funds to both lower the bills
and increase the comfort of low-income customers.
(4) Provide reports to the Legislature, as requested, summarizing
the assessment of need, audits, and analysis of program
implementation.
(5) Assist in streamlining the application and enrollment process
of programs for low-income electricity and gas customers with general
low-income programs, including, but not limited to, the Universal
Lifeline Telephone Service (ULTS) program and, including compliance
with Section 739.1.
(6) Encourage the usage of the network of community service
providers in accordance with Section 381.5.
(b) The Low-Income Oversight Board shall be comprised of 11
members to be selected as follows:
(1) Five members selected by the commission who have expertise in
the low-income community and who are not affiliated with any state
agency or utility group. These members shall be selected in a manner
to ensure an equitable geographic distribution.
(2) One member selected by the Governor.
(3) One member selected by the commission who is a commissioner or
commissioner designee.
(4) One member selected by the Department of Community Services
and Development.
(5) One member selected by the commission who is a representative
of private weatherization contractors.
(6) One member selected by the commission who is a representative
of an electrical or gas corporation.
(7) One member selected by the commission who is a representative
of a water corporation.
(c) The Low-Income Oversight Board shall alternate meeting
locations between northern, central, and southern California.
(d) The Low-Income Oversight Board may establish a technical
advisory committee consisting of low-income service providers,
utility representatives, consumer organizations, and commission
staff, to assist the board and may request utility representatives
and commission staff to assist the technical advisory committee.
(e) The commission shall do all of the following in conjunction
with the board:
(1) Work with the board, interested parties, and community-based
organizations to increase participation in programs for low-income
customers.
(2) Provide technical support to the board.
(3) Ensure that the energy burden of low-income electricity and
gas customers is reduced.
(4) Provide formal notice of board meetings in the commission's
daily calendar.
(f) (1) Members of the board and members of the technical advisory
committee shall be eligible for compensation in accordance with
state guidelines for necessary travel.
(2) Members of the board and members of the technical advisory
committee who are not salaried state service employees shall be
eligible for reasonable compensation for attendance at board
meetings.
(3) All reasonable costs incurred by the board in carrying out its
duties pursuant to subdivision (a), including staffing, travel, and
administrative costs, shall be reimbursed through the public
utilities reimbursement account and shall be part of the budget of
the commission and the commission shall consult with the board in the
preparation of that portion of the commission's annual proposed
budget.
SEC. 4. Section 739.1 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
739.1. (a) The commission shall establish a program of assistance
to low-income electric and gas customers, the cost of which shall
not be borne solely by any single class of customer. The program
shall be referred to as the California Alternate Rates for Energy or
CARE program. The commission shall ensure that the level of discount
for low-income electric and gas customers correctly reflects the
level of need.
(b) The commission shall work with the public utility electrical
and gas corporations to establish penetration goals. The commission
shall authorize recovery of all administrative costs associated with
the implementation of the CARE program that the commission determines
to be reasonable, through a balancing account mechanism.
Administrative costs shall include, but are not limited to, outreach,
marketing, regulatory compliance, certification and verification,
billing, measurement and evaluation, and capital improvements and
upgrades to communications and processing equipment.
(c) The commission shall examine methods to improve CARE
enrollment and participation. This examination shall include, but
need not be limited to, comparing information from CARE and the
Universal Lifeline Telephone Service (ULTS) to determine the most
effective means of utilizing that information to increase CARE
enrollment, automatic enrollment of ULTS customers who are eligible
for the CARE program, customer privacy issues, and alternative
mechanisms for outreach to potential enrollees. The commission shall
ensure that a customer consents prior to enrollment. The commission
shall consult with interested parties, including ULTS providers, to
develop the best methods of informing ULTS customers about other
available low-income programs, as well as the best mechanism for
telephone providers to recover reasonable costs incurred pursuant to
this section.
(d) The commission shall improve the CARE application process by
cooperating with other entities and representatives of California
government, including the California Health and Human Services Agency
and the Secretary of California Health and Human Services, to ensure
that all gas and electric customers eligible for public assistance
programs in California that reside within the service territory of an
electrical corporation or gas corporation, are enrolled in the CARE
program. To the extent practicable, the commission shall develop a
CARE application process using the existing ULTS application process
as a model. The commission shall work with public utility electrical
and gas corporations and the Low-Income Oversight Board established
in Section 382.1 to meet the low-income objectives in this section.
(e) The commission's program of assistance to low-income electric
and gas customers shall, as soon as practicable, include nonprofit
group living facilities specified by the commission, if the
commission finds that the residents in these facilities substantially
meet the commission's low-income eligibility requirements and there
is a feasible process for certifying that the assistance shall be
used for the direct benefit, such as improved quality of care or
improved food service, of the low-income residents in the facilities.
The commission shall authorize utilities to offer discounts to
eligible facilities licensed or permitted by appropriate state or
local agencies, and to facilities, including women's shelters,
hospices, and homeless shelters, that may not have a license or
permit but provide other proof satisfactory to the utility that they
are eligible to participate in the program.
(f) It is the intent of the Legislature that the commission ensure
CARE program participants are afforded the lowest possible electric
and gas rates and, to the extent possible, are exempt from additional
surcharges attributable to the current energy crisis.