SACRAMENTO (BCN) — Gov. Jerry Brown signed a suite of reforms to the California Public Utilities Commission into law on Thursday that set new disclosure rules for the regulatory agency but fell short of the package proposed in June, the governor’s office said.
The reforms include changes to rules regarding ex parte communications with stricter rules for disclosure of communications with interested parties in rate setting proceedings.
Ex parte communications in particular became controversial for the commission when it was revealed that PG&E executives had been communicating with two utility commissioners and one staff member and “judge shopping” in a rate case.
Three PG&E executives were fired in the wake of the revelations.
State Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, who helped author the legislation, said that current CPUC rules would permit such communications and don’t require commissioners to report them.
“The reforms approved by the governor Thursday will ensure commissioners disclose their private meetings with utility executives and will result in heavy penalties for those who violate the rules,” Leno said in a statement.
Brown said in a signing message that there was still more reform necessary and called on the CPUC to take these reforms on itself.
They include appointing an ethics ombudsman, establishing a web portal to receive public complaints, and creating a more streamlined process for releasing information to the public.
“These important reforms cannot wait another year. To that end, I am calling on the Commission to use its existing authority to take immediate action,” Brown said in a statement.