CPUC Act
This bill amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA) to add a new standard focused on transparency of meetings. Specifically, it requires state regulatory authorities (such as public utility commissions) to consider requiring public disclosure on their websites of each meeting between a regulator (employee or board member) and a lobbyist or representative of an electric utility. The standard is to be considered—and a determination made—under PURPA procedures, with a one-year deadline after enactment to decide whether to implement it. The provision is designed to increase public access to and oversight of interactions between regulators and electric utilities, potentially affecting how lobbying influence is perceived and monitored at the state level. In short, the bill would push states to publicly disclose meetings between regulators and electric utility interests, but the decision to adopt the requirement would be left to each state and must be made within one year of enactment.
Key Points
- 1New standard added to PURPA: A requirement for states to consider public disclosure on their regulatory authority website of meetings between regulators (employees or board members) and electric utility lobbyists or representatives.
- 2State-focused action: Each state regulatory authority must consider and determine whether to implement the standard, following PURPA’s existing decision-making processes.
- 3Procedural carve-outs: The new requirement overrides certain prior actions for the purposes of consideration, meaning states must evaluate the standard without regard to proceedings begun before enactment.
- 4Timeframe for action: States must determine whether it is appropriate to implement the standard not later than one year after enactment.
- 5Scope of disclosure: The public disclosure would cover meetings between regulator personnel and lobbyists/executives/representatives of electric utilities and would be published on the state regulatory authority’s website.