(1) Existing law establishes the membership of the Public Utilities Commission, and the qualifications and tenure of the members of the commission. Existing law requires commissioners to be civil executive officers and requires their salaries to be fixed by law and paid in the same manner as the salaries of other state officers.
This bill would require commissioners to attend no less than 25% of the hearings that are part of a ratesetting proceeding in order to receive their salaries, as specified. The bill would require the commission to adopt rules governing commissioner attendance at hearings and would require the Milton Marks "Little Hoover" Commission on California State Government Organization and Economy, on or before January 1, 2027, to publish a report with recommendations to the Legislature and the Governor for increasing commissioner attendance at commission hearings and improving commission timelines in resolving proceedings. The bill would require the report to evaluate whether a reorganization of the commission's work and jurisdiction not related to electrical or gas corporations would result in ratepayer cost savings, savings to the General Fund, increased commissioner attendance at hearings, or more timely disposition of proceedings.
This bill would require a commissioner to appear at a legislative hearing at the request of the chair of a Senate or Assembly committee with jurisdiction over budget or policy matters concerning the commission.
(2) Existing law establishes the Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program and requires the commission to administer a surcharge to collect revenues of up to $100,000,000 per year until January 1, 2025, subject to an annual appropriation of moneys by the Legislature, to allow providers of equipment and service pursuant to the Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program to recover their costs as they are incurred. Existing law establishes the Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program Administrative Committee Fund for the program described above.
This bill would extend the requirement on the commission to collect the surcharge described above until January 1, 2031.
(3) The Passenger Charter-party Carriers' Act provides for the regulation of charter-party carriers of passengers by the commission and includes specific requirements for liability insurance coverage, background checks, and other regulatory matters applicable to transportation network companies (TNCs) , which are certain organizations that, using an online-enabled application or platform, connect passengers with drivers using a personal vehicle. The act requires, until January 1, 2026, the commission, as part of its regulation of TNCs, to establish, in a new or existing proceeding, a program relating to accessibility for persons with disabilities. Among other program requirements, the act requires each TNC, by July 1, 2019, to pay on a quarterly basis to the commission an amount equivalent to, at a minimum, $0.05 for each TNC trip completed using the TNC's online-enabled application or platform that originates in certain geographic areas except if a TNC satisfies certain requirements for a partial or complete exemption from those charges, as specified. The act requires those charges collected by the commission to be deposited into the TNC Access for All Fund, and continuously appropriates moneys in the fund to the commission for purposes of the program, including for distribution on a competitive basis to access providers that establish on-demand transportation programs or partnerships to meet the needs of persons with disabilities in the geographic areas included in the program.
This bill would extend the requirement for the commission to establish that program until January 1, 2032, including extending the $0.05 charge for each completed TNC trip. By extending the operation of the TNC Access for All Fund, which is a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation.
(4) Under existing law, a violation of an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime.
Because a violation of a commission action implementing this bill's requirements would be a crime, 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.
(5) This bill would include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIIIA of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 23 of the membership of each house of the Legislature.

Statutes affected:
AB 1532: 304 PUC, 321.6 PUC, 2881 PUC, 5440.5 PUC
03/28/25 - Introduced: 304 PUC, 321.6 PUC, 2881 PUC, 5440.5 PUC