SB 697: Public Utilities Commission Accountability Act of 2015: reports: audits: electrical restructuring: charter-party carriers of passengers.

The California Constitution establishes the Public Utilities Commission and authorizes the commission to exercise ratemaking and rulemaking authority over all public utilities, as defined, subject to control by the Legislature. Existing law requires the commission to report various information to the Legislature.

This bill would adopt the Public Utilities Commission Accountability Act of 2015. The bill would recast certain of the commissions reporting requirements to an article within the Public Utilities Act pertaining to reports by the commission to the Legislature and make other conforming changes. The bill would require the commission to report specified information on a quarterly basis relative to implementation of the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program.

Existing law relative to restructuring of the electrical industry authorizes an electrical corporation to apply to the commission for a determination that certain transition costs, as defined, may be recovered through fixed transition amounts, which would constitute transition property, as defined, and provides, until December 31, 2015, for the issuance of financing orders and provides for the issuance of rate reduction bonds to be paid out of rates.

This bill would extend the authorization for the issuance of financing orders from December 31, 2015, to December 31, 2016.

The Passenger Charter-party Carriers Act places charter-party carriers of passengers, as defined, under the jurisdiction of the Public Utilities Commission. Under existing law, no charter-party carrier of passengers may operate a motor vehicle on a public highway unless there is displayed on the vehicle a distinctive identifying symbol, in the form prescribed by the commission, showing the classification to which the carrier belongs. For motor vehicles designed to carry not more than 8 passengers, the commission is required to issue a suitable decal with an identifying symbol and of a specified size for that purpose.

This bill would repeal that provision requiring the issuance of the decal.

This bill would incorporate additional changes in Section 281 of the Public Utilities Code proposed by AB 1262, to be operative only if AB 1262 and this bill are both chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2016, and this bill is chaptered last. This bill would incorporate additional changes in Section 5387 of the Public Utilities Code proposed by SB 541, to be operative only if SB 541 and this bill are both chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2016, and this bill is chaptered last.