AB 1082 Assembly Bill

BILL NUMBER: AB 1082	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE   JUNE 6, 2000
	AMENDED IN SENATE   APRIL 13, 2000
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   MAY 12, 1999
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   MAY 6, 1999

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly  Member Calderon  
Members Calderon and Maddox 

                        FEBRUARY 25, 1999

   An act to amend Section 829 of the Public Utilities Code, relating
to public utilities.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1082, as amended, Calderon.  Public utilities:  stocks and
security transactions.
   The Public Utilities Act generally exempts from certain provisions
of the act governing stocks and security transactions any person or
corporation that transacts no business subject to regulation under
the act, except performing services or delivering commodities for or
to public utilities or municipal or other public corporations
primarily for resale or use in serving the public or any portion
thereof.  Notwithstanding that general exemption, those provisions of
the act governing stocks and security transactions apply to any
public utility if the Public Utilities Commission finds that the
application of those provisions is required by the public interest.
The act authorizes the commission to exempt any public utility or
class of public utility from those stock and security transaction
provisions if it finds that their application is not necessary in the
public interest.
   This bill  , except as specified,  would  remove
the public interest exception from the general exemption described
above.  The bill would  exempt from those stock and security
transaction provisions a telephone corporation that is regulated
under  an incentive-based pricing mechanism   a
price-cap regulatory structure, as defined  , unless the
corporation secures the financing by pledging a plant or assets.  The
bill would make  a related  statement of 
legislative  findings and declarations   intent
 .
   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) The requirement for commission approval of a utility's
financing, as specified in Article 5 (commencing with Section 816) of
Chapter 4 of Part 1 of Division 1 of the Public Utilities Code, may
limit the ability of a utility whose rates are price-capped to obtain
favorable financing.  Such approval could cause a price-cap
regulated utility to miss favorable financing opportunities,
adversely affecting its ability to compete in California markets with
competitors having no similar regulatory or statutory requirements.
This is costly to the utility, the regulator, the ratepayer, and the
taxpayer.
   (b) It is the intent of the Legislature that Article 5 (commencing
with Section 816) of Chapter 4 of Part 1 of Division 1 of the Public
Utilities Code, not hinder the  
  SECTION 1.  It is the intent of the Legislature that the amendments
to Section 829 of the Public Utilities Code made by this act not
hinder the  commission's existing authority to disallow
imprudent  expenses of the utilities under its jurisdiction.
  expenses or capital expenditures of the utilities
under its jurisdiction, or the commission's authority to impute a
capital structure or cost of capital for utilities under its
jurisdiction. 
  SEC. 2.  Section 829 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
   829.  (a) This article does not apply to a person or corporation
that transacts no business subject to regulation under this part,
except performing services or delivering commodities for or to public
utilities or municipal or other public corporations primarily for
resale or use in serving the public or any portion thereof  but
shall, nevertheless, apply to any public utility if the commission
finds, in a proceeding to which the public utility is or may become a
party, that the application of this article is required by the
public interest  .
   (b) (1) The requirements in this article for commission approval
of utility financing  for utility purposes  do not
apply to a telephone corporation that is  regulated under an
incentive-based pricing mechanism and that   regulated
under a price-cap regulatory structure if the corporation  does
not pledge a plant or assets to secure the financing.   The term
"price-cap regulatory structure," as used in this paragraph, is a
system under which rates are not set by means of a rate base or
rate-of-return form of regulation, but, instead, are limited by a
maximum amount that may be charged for a specific service, or are not
limited. 
   (2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), these utilities  shall
remain subject to Sections 817, 824, and 830.   shall
remain subject to Section 817, that provision of Section 820
regarding contracts, Section 824, and those provisions of Section 826
and subdivision (a) of Section 827 that impose penalties for
disobeying statutory and constitutional requirements.
   (3) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the commission may reimpose any
or all of the requirements of this article for commission approval
of utility financing if the commission finds, in a proceeding to
which the public utility is or may become a party, that the
application of any or all of those requirements is required by the
public interest. 
   (c) The commission may from time to time by order or rule, and
subject to those terms and conditions that may be prescribed in the
order or rule, exempt any public utility or class of public utility
from this article  , or any portion of this article,  if it
finds that the application of this article to  that 
 a  public utility or class of public utility is not
necessary in the public interest.