The California Constitution vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities and authorizes the commission to establish its own procedures, subject to statutory limitations or directions and constitutional requirements of due process. Existing law requires that the commission's hearings, investigations, and proceedings be governed, in part, by the commission's rules of practice and procedure, as specified.
This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to that requirement and state the intent of the Legislature to adopt further revisions to those provisions.
Existing law requires the commission to determine whether each proceeding is a quasi-legislative, an adjudication, a ratesetting, or a catastrophic wildfire proceeding. Existing law requires the commission to resolve the issues raised in a ratesetting or quasi-legislative case scoping memo within 18 months of the date on which the scoping memo is issued, except in two specified circumstances. One of those exceptions is satisfied if the commission makes a written determination that the deadline cannot be met, including findings as to the reason, and issues an order extending the deadline.
This bill would eliminate that exception to the requirement that the commission resolve the issues raised in the scoping memo within 18 months.

Statutes affected:
AB 705: 1701 PUC, 1701.5 PUC
02/14/25 - Introduced: 1701 PUC, 1701.5 PUC