SB 1210: New housing construction: electrical, gas, sewer, and water service: service connection information.

Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, gas corporations, sewer system corporations, and water corporations, while local publicly owned utilities, including municipal utility districts, public utility districts, and irrigation districts, are under the direction of their governing boards.

This bill would, for new housing construction, require the above-described utilities, on or before January 1, 2026, to publicly post on their internet websites (1) the schedule of estimated fees for typical service connections for each housing development type, including, but not limited to, accessory dwelling unit, mixed-use, multifamily, and single-family developments, except as specified, and (2) the estimated timeframes for completing typical service connections needed for each housing development type, as specified. The bill would exempt from its provisions a utility with fewer than 4,000 service connections that does not establish or maintain an internet website due to a hardship, and would authorize the utility to establish that a hardship exists by annually adopting a resolution that includes detailed findings, as provided. To the extent that this bill would impose new requirements on certain local agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.