This bill aims to prevent public utilities from recovering the costs associated with legal penalties through the rates charged to consumers. Specifically, it stipulates that the Board of Public Utilities is prohibited from approving any requests from public utilities to pass on these costs to ratepayers after the bill's effective date.

The bill defines "legal penalties" as any payments made by a public utility for legal wrongdoing or improper actions committed by the utility or its affiliates. By establishing this prohibition, the legislation seeks to ensure that consumers are not financially burdened by the legal missteps of public utilities. The act is set to take effect immediately upon passage.