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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1983-02-01; City Council; 7285; Request for Legislation('t) 0) 01 r-1 .. 0) [ i ~ ~ ~ ~ .s J § I \ ~ ~ Q) ti ('t) 0) ..!i I N 0 LI.I > 0 . ct! a. a. <C z 0 § < ,.J a z ::, 0 0 AB# 7.lPJ- MTG. 2/1/83 DEPT.,_c_c __ IlII..E; RECOMMENDED ACTION: REQUEST FOR LEGISLATION DEPT. HD . .9W CITY ATTY ¥JI;_ :;;,,~ CITY MGR. __ No specific action is reconunended, but a Resolution is attached should Council desire to take action on the request. ITEM EXPLANATION: The City of San Marcos adopted a resolution requesting State Legislato~s to enact legislation which would require the election of members of the State of California Public Utilities Commission. It also requests that the State be broken down into districts and would require that a nember from each district be elected to serve on the Commission. The City of San ttarcos is requesting all other cities within the jurisdiction of San Diego Gas and Electric to adopt a similar resolution. A resolution has been prepared which is patterned after the resolution adopted by the City of. San Marcos. It is presented for Council consideration. EXHIBITS: 1. Letter dated January 17, 1983, from the City of San Marcos and attached resolution. -2. Resolution No. 7 1..3~ . ADDITIONAL EXHIBITS: 3. Memorandum dated February 4, 1983 from ACM/Administration and copy of lette::- dated January 26, 1983 from Assemblyman Peter Chacon. 4. Copy of Channel 39 Editorial entitled "Elect the PUC?". , I CITY COUNCIL Lionel G. Burton, Mayor James D. Sl.nmons, Vice Mayor Pia Harris Lee B. ,Thibadeau F.H. Smith AD Ml NIST RATION 714•744·4020 ~--!_~~~ She11a A.~'ife"<l',, ..... rcM~ Richard 0. Ring, ,City Attorney 105 W. RICHMAR AVENUE • SAN MARCOS, CALIFORNIA 92069 January 17r 1983 TO MAYORS AND COUNCILMEMBERS OF ALL CITIES AND COMMUNITIES IN THE JORISDICT:ON OF SAN DIEGO GAS AND ELECTtIC COMPANY: Enclosed is a certified copy of Resolution No. 83-1737 wherein the City of San Marcos is re- questing State Legislators to enact legislation . requiring the election of members of the State of California Public Utilities Commission. It also requests that the State be broken down into districts, with a member from each district serving on the Commission. The San Marcos City Council is encouraging all other cities and communities within the jurisdiction of San Diego Gas and Electric to adopt a similar resolution, and to notify their representatives in Sacramento to initiate the enactment of such legislation. Should you feel it necessary, a City representative will be able to attend meetings or be available to answer any questions you might have. 2lease feel free to contact me for further information. 1 yours, a ✓ ' ;ct ~;,t,.-J~-4 -~ SHEILA A. KENNEDY City Clerk SAK:liz RESOLUTION NO. 83-1737 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN }!ARCOS REQUESTING STATE LEGISLATURE ENACT LEGISU1.TION REQUIRING THE ELECTION OF MEMBERS OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA PUBLIC UTILITIES CO!-I:1ISSION. WHEREAS, the members of the California Public Utilities Com~ission, hereinafter called "Commission" are appointed by the Governor; and WHEREAS, the Commission is responsible for the regula'i:ion of intra- state rates and services of privately owned gas, electric, and various other utilities; and the Commission further has the power to fix rates. of the aforementioned utilities; and there have been repeated approvals of rate increases requested by said utilities establishing a precedent. for further rate increase approvals; and recent rate increases approved by the Commission will further contribute to the exho~bitant rates already in effe~t; and WHEREAS, there is a demonstrated need for public confid~nce and understanding wit~ regard to the extremely high cost of energy distributed for these utilities; and justification thereof; and WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of San Marcos feels that by establishing elected positions for the Public Utilities Commission members, the issue of "rate structure" will be placed in the public forum; 1 I thus their-actions will be in the interest of the voters of California and not of an appointing authority; nor the interests of the utilities. NOW, THCREFORE, due to the aforementioned, the City Council of the City of San Marcos hereby requests that the Legislature enact legislation to require the members of the Public Utilities Commission to be elected by the voters of the State of California; and, further, that the State of California be broken down into districts with .representative1...from each district on the Public Utilities Commission. FURTHER, that copies of this Resolution be forwarded tc all San Diego County cities and State legislators. PASSED, ADOPTED AND APPROVED by the City Council of the City of San Marcos at its regular meeting held on the 11th day of January, 1983, by the following roll call vote: AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: NOES : COUNCII11ENBERS : ABSEUT: COUNCILMEMBERS: ATTEST: THIBADEAU, !JINMONS, SMI'l.'H, HARRIS, BURTON NONE NONE /) '~/1~~-f ~~~/4 LIONEL G. BURTON, NAYOR OF THE CITY OF SAN MARCOS .3 : I '\ i FEBRUARY 4, 1983 TO: FROM: AB 45 CITY MANAGER Assistant City Manager/ Administration According to Luke Breit of Assemblyman Chacon's office, this bill would accomplish the following: l. Establish a private nonprofit corporation to advocate consumer interest before public rate-making bodies in the state. The PUC i.s the body that is the tar,1et of this bill. However, there is nothing in the bill that would prevent the corporation from advocacy before local agencies. 2, The CUB would be supported by members and not by governmental funds. 3. The main targets of the bill are electric, gas, and telephone utilities. However, the bill does not limit the type of rate proceedings in which the CUB could intervene. 4. If the bill passes, the CUB would be activated in 1984 if enough members join. Assemblyman Chacon's offiGe is sending a copy of the bill. FNM:cle i ' ,i ': i '' ~ ~~-,;:-t~ ~1()(1 fl.OEIIAL 8LVO SUITE 207 SAN DltGO CAUrORN!A 92!0~ 17141263 2!48 SACRAMENTO $TAT£ CAPITOi. g~01• 4AS 761'> ~1latmbly Qtalifnrniu iilegislaturt January 26, 1983 Honorable Mary Casler Mayor of Carlsbad City Hall 1200 Elm Avenue PETER R. CHACON ASSEMBLYMAN SEVEN1Y•NINTH DISTRICT Carlsbad, California 92008 Dear Mayor Casler: COMM1Tf££S A(.IN(; (V.CC CHAIRMAN) CONSUMER l'ROTECT>O'< ANO TOXIC MATE~!Al <, PUOUC EMJ'\.0\1:CS ANO RETIRCMEO<T WAVS•NDMEANS ..IOIIOT COMMlf'TEC O'i 1-.tSTATESECONOMV CO~MISSION or 'ft~£ CAUfORNIAS MtMOFR EOV4 QProRruN,nts COMMISSION I am writing to ask that your City Council consider supporting ~y Assembly Bill 45, which would create a Consumers Utility Board to represent consumers at all utility company hearings before public agencies. As you may know, similar legislation failed Senate passage last year, but it gained statewide support from literally hundreds of consumer organizations, environme11tal groups, senior citizen associations, and many others. The need for a Consumers Utility Board, or CUB, is clear: rate-making proceedings by the Public Utilities Commission are long and highly legalistic, making public participation in the rate-making procedure almost impossible. In addition, the PUC staff has the thankless task of having to represent both the ratepayers' best interest and the need to keep the utility company in question economically viable, two roleti th~t can be and are often highly antithetical. A CUB, with expert staff and thorough knowledge of rate-making prccedures, voluntarily tinanced through contributions from any ratepayer who wished to be a member of the CUB corporation, could be a powerful tool to help reduce the upward pressure on utility rates. Although last session the CUB concept focused mostly on its potential impact on gas and electric rates, it should be 'i '' ,, Page 2 January 26, 1983 noted that a major new utility expense on the horizon is that of the basic telephone service. The CUB would be working to extract the best possible terms for ratepayers in that area as well. Even though it is my feeling that support for the CUB concept has grown in both houses of the Legislature since last se,ssion, l believe that it will take much help from consumer groups, se'.1ior citizen associations and local government support to mall:e CUB a reality. Please feel free to contact my Legislative Assistant, Luke Breit, in my Sacramento office if you have any questions about the legislation. I look forward to hearing from you regardinq your council's position on AB 45. Sincerely, ~ ~-~ PETER R. CHACON PRC:bvo Channel 39 Editorial ELECT THE PUC? The Public Utilities Commission is responsible for the regulation of utilities in California. The PUC makes the final decisions on rate hikes requested by SDG&E and other companies. Because of the rate increases of the recent past, the PUC has come under fire from dtizens and consumer groups arounc! the stat<!. The City Council of San Marcos recently approved a resolution to change the makeup of the PUC, The resolution asks that the six colllllissioners of the PUC be elected hy the voters instead of appointed by the Governor. This is a dramatic proposal and it might placate consumers in the short run, but it would change v~ry little. The commissioners, whether elected or appointed, muRt still follow certain regulations regarding most rate increases. Electing PUC commissioners would simply be a cosmetic change. 39 Alive o~poses any proposal to elect PUC commissioners as a short-sighted solution to a long-range problem. I am Bill Fox. We welcome your views. Broadc&st over KCS TV by Bill Fox, Gen. Mgr. Friday Jan, 28th at ll :00 PM Sat. Jan. 29 at 6:30 and Mon. Jan. 31 at 5:00PM q l ·2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ll 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 RESOLUTION NO. _fil.2.,_ A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA, REQUESTING STATE LEGISLATURE ENACT LEGISLATION REQUIRING THE ELECTION OF MEMBERS OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION. WHEREAS, the members of the California Public Utilities Commission, hereinafter called "Commission" are appointed by the Governor; and ~TdEREAS, the Commission is responsible for the regulation of intrastate rates and services of privately owned gas, electric, and various other utilities; and the Commission further has the power to £ix rates of the aforementioned utilities; and there have been repeated approvals of rate .increases requested by said utilities establishing a precedent for further rate increase approvals; and recent rate increases approved by the Commission will further contribute to the exorbitant rates already in effect; and tfflEREAS, there is a demonstrated need for public confidence and understanding with regard to the extremely high cost of energy distributed fa:.. these utilities; and justification thereof; and ~mEREAS, the City Council of the City of Carlsbad feels that by establishing elected positions for the Public Utilities Commission members, the issue of "rate structure" will be placed in the public forum; thus their actions will be in the interest of the voters of California and not of an appointing authority; nor this interests of tha utilities. NOW, THEREFORE, due to the aforementioned, the City Council of the City of Carlsbad hereby requests that the Legislature enact legislation to require members of the Public Utilities l - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Commission to be elected by the voters of the State of California; and further, that the State of California be broken down into districts with representative from each district on the Public utilities Commission. FURTHER, that copies of this Resolution be forwarded to all San Diego County cities and State legislators. PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the . adjourned . City of Carlsbad at its /regular meeting held on the 8th day I 9 of ----'F~e~b_r~u~a~r=v._ __ , 1983, by the following vote, to wit: 10 ll 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 ATTEST: (SEAL) AYES Council Members Casler, Lewis, Kulchin and Prescott NOES: Council Member Chick ABSENT: None i ' ,: ,i \