Electrical and gas corporations: rate recovery: political activities and advertising.
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SB 938 — Electrical and gas corporations: rate recovery: political activities and advertising.
Last action — April 22 set for second hearing. Failed passage in committee. (Ayes 9. Noes 3. Page 3700.)
No card. One bill, free forever — alerts when it moves.
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✓Introduced
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2In Committee
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3Passed Senate
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4Passed Assembly
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5To Executive
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6Enacted
This bill died with 2023-2024 Regular Session. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there is no live prognosis. It would have to be reintroduced in the current session to move again.
Summary
Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory jurisdiction over public utilities, including electrical and gas corporations. Existing law authorizes the commission to fix the rates and charges for public utilities and requires those rates and charges to be just and reasonable. This bill would prohibit, except as provided, an electrical or gas corporation from recording various expenses associated with political influence activities, as defined, or with advertising, as defined, to accounts that contain expenses that the electrical or gas corporation recovers from ratepayers. The bill also would require an electrical or gas corporation, for each business unit of the corporation that performs work associated with political influence activities or advertising, to annually file with the commission a report containing specified information. The bill would require the commission to make the report publicly available. The bill would require the commission to assess a civil penalty against an electrical or gas corporation that violates the prohibition described above, or that fails or neglects to comply with any part or provision of any order, decision, decree, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission related to implementing the prohibition, as provided. The bill would require 34 of the moneys collected pursuant to any settlement or penalties collected by the commission for a violation of the prohibition to be deposited into the Zero-Emission Equity Fund, which the bill would establish in the State Treasury. The bill would authorize the moneys in the Zero-Emission Equity Fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be allocated for purposes of assisting low-income households in transitioning to zero-emission appliances to mitigate air quality and public health impacts of using combustion appliances. The bill would require the balance of the moneys collected, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be used by the commission to increase resources for enforcing the bill's requirements. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because the above provisions would be part of the act and 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.
Bill Text
- Amended 03/21/24 - Amended Senate Current pdf March 21, 2024
- Introduced 01/17/24 - Introduced pdf January 17, 2024
- SB938 View text html
Action History
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April 22 set for second hearing. Failed passage in committee. (Ayes 9. Noes 3. Page 3700.)
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Set for hearing April 22.
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April 16 set for first hearing. Failed passage in committee. (Ayes 8. Noes 4. Page 3631.) Reconsideration granted.
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Set for hearing April 16.
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From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on E., U. & C.
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Referred to Com. on E., U. & C.
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From printer. May be acted upon on or after February 17.
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Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.
Sponsors
- Min · Primary
- Henry I. Stern · Cosponsor
Sponsorship breakdown
Export CSV (upgrade) →1 sponsors · 1 co-sponsors · 120 not signed on · 3 voted No
Sponsors (1)
- Min
Co-sponsors (1)
- Stern, Henry I. Democratic
Not signed on (120)
120 members have not signed on to this bill.
Show all 120 →"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.
Votes
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unaffiliated | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Democratic | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Republican | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 9 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| % of votes cast | 50% | 17% | 0% | 33% |
How each member voted (18)
| Member | Party | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Skinner | — | Yea |
| Eggman | — | Yea |
| Min | — | Yea |
| Wilk | — | Nay |
| Bradford | — | Not Voting |
| Dodd | — | Not Voting |
| Newman | — | Not Voting |
| Ashby, Angelique V. | Democratic | Not Voting |
| Becker, Josh | Democratic | Yea |
| Caballero, Anna M. | Democratic | Yea |
| Durazo, Maria Elena | Democratic | Yea |
| Gonzalez, Lena A. | Democratic | Yea |
| Limón, Monique | Democratic | Yea |
| Rubio, Susan | Democratic | Not Voting |
| Wahab, Aisha | Democratic | Yea |
| Dahle, Megan | Republican | Nay |
| Grove, Shannon | Republican | Not Voting |
| Seyarto, Kelly | Republican | Nay |
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unaffiliated | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Democratic | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Republican | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 8 | 4 | 0 | 6 |
| % of votes cast | 44% | 22% | 0% | 33% |
How each member voted (18)
| Member | Party | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Skinner | — | Yea |
| Eggman | — | Yea |
| Min | — | Yea |
| Wilk | — | Nay |
| Bradford | — | Not Voting |
| Dodd | — | Not Voting |
| Newman | — | Not Voting |
| Ashby, Angelique V. | Democratic | Not Voting |
| Becker, Josh | Democratic | Yea |
| Caballero, Anna M. | Democratic | Not Voting |
| Durazo, Maria Elena | Democratic | Yea |
| Gonzalez, Lena A. | Democratic | Yea |
| Limón, Monique | Democratic | Yea |
| Rubio, Susan | Democratic | Not Voting |
| Stern, Henry I. | Democratic | Yea |
| Dahle, Megan | Republican | Nay |
| Grove, Shannon | Republican | Nay |
| Seyarto, Kelly | Republican | Nay |
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unaffiliated | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Republican | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| % of votes cast | 100% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
How each member voted (18)
| Member | Party | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Wilk | — | Yea |
| Skinner | — | Yea |
| Eggman | — | Yea |
| Bradford | — | Yea |
| Dodd | — | Yea |
| Newman | — | Yea |
| Min | — | Yea |
| Ashby, Angelique V. | Democratic | Yea |
| Becker, Josh | Democratic | Yea |
| Caballero, Anna M. | Democratic | Yea |
| Durazo, Maria Elena | Democratic | Yea |
| Gonzalez, Lena A. | Democratic | Yea |
| Limón, Monique | Democratic | Yea |
| Rubio, Susan | Democratic | Yea |
| Stern, Henry I. | Democratic | Yea |
| Dahle, Megan | Republican | Yea |
| Grove, Shannon | Republican | Yea |
| Seyarto, Kelly | Republican | Yea |
Subjects
Frequently asked questions
- What does SB 938 do?
- Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory jurisdiction over public utilities, including electrical and gas corporations. Existing law authorizes the commission to fix the rates and charges for public utilities and requires those rates and charges to be just and reasonable. This bill would prohibit, except as provided, an electrical or gas corporation from recording various expenses associated with political influence activities, as defined, or with advertising, as defined, to accounts that contain expenses that the electrical or gas corporation recovers from ratepayers. The bill also would require an electrical or gas corporation, for each business unit of the corporation that performs work associated with political influence activities or advertising, to annually file with the commission a report containing specified information. The bill would require the commission to make the report publicly available. The bill would require the commission to assess a civil penalty against an electrical or gas corporation that violates the prohibition described above, or that fails or neglects to comply with any part or provision of any order, decision, decree, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission related to implementing the prohibition, as provided. The bill would require 34 of the moneys collected pursuant to any settlement or penalties collected by the commission for a violation of the prohibition to be deposited into the Zero-Emission Equity Fund, which the bill would establish in the State Treasury. The bill would authorize the moneys in the Zero-Emission Equity Fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be allocated for purposes of assisting low-income households in transitioning to zero-emission appliances to mitigate air quality and public health impacts of using combustion appliances. The bill would require the balance of the moneys collected, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be used by the commission to increase resources for enforcing the bill's requirements. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because the above provisions would be part of the act and 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.
- Who sponsors SB 938?
- SB 938 is sponsored by Min and Stern, Henry I. (Democratic).
- What is the current status of SB 938?
- This bill died with 2023-2024 Regular Session. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
- Where can I track SB 938?
- Track SB 938 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.
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