Governor signs PUC reform measures

In a long-delayed aftershock of the 2010 San Bruno pipeline explosion, Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a package of bills designed to curb backroom deals between California regulators and the utility companies they oversee.

“The public’s trust in government is a precious commodity that must be enhanced and protected,” said Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, co-author of one of the bills.

The bills signed into law Thursday are designed to improve transparency and public participation in hearings at the California Public Utilities Commission, the powerful state agency that regulates electrical utilities, telecommunications companies and some transportation services.

The deadly explosion of a Pacific Gas and Electric Co. natural gas pipeline beneath San Bruno on Sept. 9, 2010, revealed a culture of back-channel communications between the commission and the companies it regulates, prompting calls for reform.

The newly signed legislation requires the commission, which is based in San Francisco, to hold more public meetings in other parts of the state, improve public access to hearing transcripts and other documents, and establish a safety advocate’s office.

It also includes several measures to ensure that the public learns about the commissioners’ ex parte communications — private meetings with utility executives and others who have business before the commission. The new legislation authorizes the state attorney general to take legal action against any commissioner or commission employee who violates ex parte rules.

Even as he signed the bills, however, Brown called for more extensive reforms, some of which were included in bills that did not pass the Legislature by the end of its most recent session.

Brown asked the commission to establish an ethics ombudsman and create a Web portal for public complaints. He also wants to explore shifting the commission’s authority over transportation services to the California State Transportation Agency.

“These important reforms cannot wait another year,” Brown wrote in a signing message. “To that end, I am calling upon the commission to use its existing authority to take immediate action.”

One of the bills signed Thursday requires commissioners to report all of their ex parte communications. Utilities participating in ex parte meetings with commissioners will be required to report the contents of those meeting.

The same legislation, SB215, also bars judge shopping, the practice of utilities trying to influence which of the commission’s administrative law judges works on a particular regulatory issue. It also sets standards for disqualifying commissioners and judges from proceedings in which they have demonstrated bias, which the legislation defines as “any commitment to provide relief to a party.”

Concerns about the commission’s relationship with utility companies have lingered long after the San Bruno explosion. Last week, the California State Auditor released a report recommending reforms at the commission, including requiring members to report the contents of any private communications they have regarding official Public Utilities Commission proceedings.