Public Utilities Commission: membership: reports.

The California Constitution establishes the Public Utilities Commission consisting of 5 members appointed by the Governor and approved by the Senate. This bill would require that one member be an at-large member with expertise in nongovernmental public advocacy or public interest law and with a nongovernmental background, as specified. The bill would require the Governor, in selecting, and the Senate, in confirming, members of the commission to consider regional diversity in the membership of the commission. The bill would require the Governor, in appointing a candidate for membership in the commission, to consider using a candidate pool that comprises persons with permanent residences in certain regions of the state, as specified. Existing law requires the president of the commission to appear annually before the appropriate policy committees of the Senate and the Assembly to present certain information. Existing law authorizes the commission to fix the rates and charges for public utilities, and requires that those rates and charges be just and reasonable. This bill would require the president of the commission, at the annual appearance before those committees, to also present information related to rates affordability and ratesetting cases decided by, or pending before, the commission. Existing law requires the commission to report annually to the Legislature on the timeliness in resolving cases, including the number of orders issued extending the statutory deadline. This bill would specify that the above information includes the number of cases in which the commission failed to issue a decision within the statutory deadline. The bill would require the commission, within 15 days of adopting a final decision on a ratesetting case, to submit to the Legislature a report containing certain information regarding the ratesetting case.