SACRAMENTO, CA — The Legislature passed Assembly Bill 1167, the California Ratepayer Protection Act, authored by Assemblymember Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park). Responding to Californian’s frustration with skyrocketing utility prices, AB 1167 establishes commonsense guardrails for how investor-owned utilities (IOUs) spend customer money, and prevents the use of ratepayer funds for political lobbying and shareholder-related expenses.
“Californians are fed up with sky high utility bills. When Californians are paying for their utilities, they should only be paying for safe and reliable service, not funding the political and promotional activities of IOUs like PG&E,” said Assemblymember Marc Berman. “At a time when Californians are suffering from unprecedented hikes in their utility bills, I am proud of our work to provide relief for hardworking Californians by taking politics and public relations out of their utility bills.”
Recent investigations into monopoly utilities like SoCalGas and PG&E have revealed that these corporations are forcing customers to cover millions of dollars in inappropriate expenses. IOUs have been inflating ratepayer utility bills, and using these funds on political lobbying efforts and promotional advertisement. All the while, Californians continue to struggle with the state’s high cost of living, made worse by the nation’s second-highest utility rates.
AB 1167 would put an end to the use of ratepayer funds for political lobbying and strengthen enforcement against IOUs that illegally use ratepayer funds.
If signed by the Governor, this legislation would follow in the footsteps of other states like Connecticut, Colorado, and Maine, which saved residents money in their utility bills after passing measures similar to the California Ratepayer Protection Act.
AB 1167 would work in tandem with Senate Bill 24 by Senator McNerney (D-Pleasanton), which would explicitly ban the use of ratepayer funds on lobbying or other political activities against efforts by cities and counties to create their own municipal utilities.
# # #
Contact: BermanPress@asm.ca.gov