Bill Text: CA AB861 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Public Utilities Act: remedies for violation: gas and

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2012-09-23 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 464, Statutes of 2012. [AB861 Detail]

Download: California-2011-AB861-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 861	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 14, 2012
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 27, 2011

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly  Members   Hill
    and Nestande  
Member   Hill 

                        FEBRUARY 17, 2011

    An act to add a heading as Article 1 (commencing with
Section 104100) to, and to add Article 2 (commencing with Section
104141) to, Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 103 of, the Health and
Safety Code, relating to stroke.   An act to add Part 14
(commencing with Section 14640) to Division 3 of Title 1 of the
Corporations Code, and to amend Sections 2110 and 2111 of, and to add
Sections 451.6 and 451.7 to, the Public Utilities Code, relating to
public utilities. 



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 861, as amended, Hill.  California Stroke Registry.
  Public Utilities Act: remedies for violation: gas and
electrical corporation executive officer compensation incentives.
 
   (1) The California Constitution establishes the Public Utilities
Commission, with regulatory jurisdiction over all public utilities,
as defined. The Public Utilities Act provides that every public
utility and every officer, agent, or employee of a public utility,
who violates or fails to comply with, or who procures, aids, or abets
any violation by any public utility of any provision of the
California Constitution or of the act, or who fails to comply with
any part of any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or
requirement of the commission, or who procures, aids, or abets any
public utility in a violation or noncompliance, in a case in which a
penalty has not otherwise been provided, is guilty of a misdemeanor
and is punishable by a fine not exceeding $1,000, or by imprisonment
in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both fine and
imprisonment.  
   This bill would provide that the fine may not exceed $5,000. 

   (2) The act additionally provides that every corporation or
person, other than a public utility and its officers, agents, or
employees, knowingly violating or failing to comply with, or
procuring, aiding, or abetting any violation of the California
Constitution relating to public utilities or of the act, or that
fails to comply with any part of any order, decision, rule,
direction, demand, or requirement of the commission, or procuring,
aiding, or abetting any public utility in a violation or
noncompliance, in a case in which a penalty has not otherwise been
provided, is subject to a penalty of not less than $500, or more than
$20,000, for each offense.  
   This bill would increase the penalty to not less than $1,000 and
not more than $1,000,000 for each offense.  
   (3) Existing law authorizes the commission to fix the rates and
charges for every public utility, and requires that those rates and
charges be just and reasonable. Existing law requires that any
expense resulting from a bonus paid to an executive officer, as
defined, of a public utility that has ceased to pay its debts in the
ordinary course of business, be borne by the shareholders of the
public utility and prohibits any expense from being recovered in
rates.  
   This bill would require that any expense resulting from an
earnings- or stock price-based incentive program paid to an executive
officer of an electrical or gas corporation be borne by the
shareholders of the utility and would prohibit any expense from being
recovered in rates. Because this provision of the bill would be a
part of the act and because a violation of an order or decision of
the commission implementing this requirements would be a crime, the
bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating a new
crime.  
   (4) This bill would require the commission to require an energy
utility, as defined, to prohibit compensation, as defined, to utility
officers, as defined, if the energy utility does not implement a
policy that, in the event a fine or penalty is levied by the
commission, the energy utility would recover a proportional amount of
the incentive-based compensation, as defined, received by any
current or former officers of the energy utility during the 5-year
period preceding the date on which the fine or penalty was levied in
excess of what would have been paid to the officers in
incentive-based compensation had the fine or penalty been levied
during the period in which the violation that resulted in the fine or
penalty occurred.  
   (5) The General Corporation Law authorizes and regulates the
formation and governance of general corporations.  
   This bill would require a holding company of an investor-owned
energy utility, as defined, in the event a fine or penalty is levied
by the commission on the investor-owned energy utility, to recover a
proportional amount of the incentive-based compensation, as defined,
received by any current or former officers of the utility holding
company during the 5-year period preceding the date on which the fine
or penalty was levied in excess of what would have been paid to the
officers in incentive-based compensation had the fine or penalty been
levied during the period in which the violation that resulted in the
fine or penalty occurred.  
   (6) 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.  
   Existing law authorizes the State Department of Public Health to
perform studies, demonstrate innovative methods, and disseminate
information relating to the protection, preservation, and advancement
of public health.  
   This bill would establish the California Stroke Registry, to be
administered by the State Department of Public Health, as specified,
to serve as a centralized repository for stroke data to promote
quality improvement for acute stroke treatment. The bill would
require that the program be implemented only to the extent funds from
federal or private sources are made available for this purpose.

   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program:  no   yes  .


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1.    Part 14 (commencing with Section 14640)
is added to Division 3 of Title 1 of the   Corporations
Code   , to read:  

      PART 14.  PUBLIC UTILITY HOLDING COMPANIES


   14640.  For purposes of this part, the following terms have the
following meanings:
   (a) "Commission" means the Public Utilities Commission.
   (b) "Holding company" means an entity with ownership of 80 percent
or more of an investor-owned energy utility.
   (c) "Incentive-based compensation" means, including, but not
limited to, short-term incentives, long-term incentives, stock
options awarded as compensation, and special recognition awards.
   (d) "Investor-owned energy utility" means a gas corporation, as
defined in Section 222, an electrical corporation, as defined in
Section 218, of the Public Utilities Code, or one that is both a gas
corporation and an electrical corporation.
   (e) "Officer" means a person required to file under Section 16 of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. Sec. 78a et seq.) with
respect to an investor-owned energy utility or a utility holding
company of an investor-owned energy utility.
   14641.  In the event a fine or penalty is levied by the commission
on an investor-owned energy utility, the holding company shall
recover a proportional amount of the incentive-based compensation
received by any current or former officers of the holding company
during the five-year period preceding the date on which the fine or
penalty was levied in excess of what would have been paid to the
officers in incentive-based compensation had the fine or penalty been
levied during the period in which the violation that resulted in the
fine or penalty occurred. 
   SEC. 2.    Section 451.6 is added to the  
Public Utilities Code   , to read:  
   451.6.  (a) Any expense resulting from an earnings- or stock
price-based incentive program paid to an executive officer of an
electrical corporation or a gas corporation shall not be recoverable
either directly or indirectly in rates and shall be borne exclusively
by the shareholders of the public utility.
   (b) For purposes of this section, "executive officer" means any
person who performs policymaking functions and is employed by the
electrical corporation or gas corporation subject to the approval of
the board of directors, and includes the president, secretary,
treasurer, and any vice president in charge of a principal business
unit, division, or function of the utility. 
   SEC. 3.    Section 451.7 is added to the  
Public Utilities Code   , to read:  
   451.7.  (a) For purposes of this section, the following terms have
the following meanings:
   (1) "Compensation" means, but is not limited to, base pay, health
and welfare benefits, retirement benefits, and other benefit
programs.
   (2) "Energy utility" means a gas corporation, an electrical
corporation, or that is both a gas corporation and an electrical
corporation.
   (3) "Incentive-based compensation" means, but is not limited to,
short-term incentives, long-term incentives, stock options awarded as
compensation, and special recognition awards.
   (4) "Officer" means a person required to file under Section 16 of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. Sec. 78a et seq.) with
respect to an energy utility.
   (b) The commission shall require an energy utility to prohibit
compensation to utility officers if the energy utility does not
implement a policy that, in the event a fine or penalty is levied by
the commission, the energy utility shall recover a proportional
amount of the incentive-based compensation received by any current or
former officers of the energy utility during the five-year period
preceding the date on which the fine or penalty was levied in excess
of what would have been paid to the officers in incentive-based
compensation had the fine or penalty been levied during the period in
which the violation that resulted in the fine or penalty occurred.

   SEC. 4.    Section 2110 of the   Public
Utilities Code   is amended to read: 
   2110.  Every public utility and every officer, agent, or employee
of any public utility, who violates or fails to comply with, or who
procures, aids, or abets any violation by any public utility of any
provision of the  Constitution of this state  
California Constitution  or of this part, or who fails to comply
with any part of any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or
requirement of the commission, or who procures, aids, or abets any
public utility in  such   the  violation or
noncompliance in a case in which a penalty has not otherwise been
provided, is guilty of a misdemeanor and is punishable by a fine not
exceeding  one   five  thousand dollars
 ($1,000)   ($5,000)  , or by imprisonment
in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both  such
 fine and imprisonment.
   SEC. 5.    Section 2111 of the   Public
Utilities Code   is amended to read: 
   2111.  Every corporation or person, other than a public utility
and its officers, agents, or employees, which or who knowingly
violates or fails to comply with, or procures, aids or abets any
violation of any provision of the  Constitution of this state
  California Constitution  relating to public
utilities or of this part, or fails to comply with any part of any
order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the
commission, or who procures, aids, or abets any public utility in
 such   the  violation or noncompliance, in
a case in which a penalty has not otherwise been provided for
 such   the  corporation or person, is
subject to a penalty of not less than  five hundred 
 one thousand  dollars  ($500)  
($1,000)  , nor more than  twenty thousand dollars
($20,000)   one million dollars ($1,000,000)  for
each offense.
   SEC. 6.    No reimbursement is required by this act
pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local
agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a
new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or
changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of
Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a
crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the
California Constitution.  
  SECTION 1.    The Legislature finds and declares
all of the following:
   (a) Stroke, also known as cerebrovascular accident or brain
attack, is the third leading cause of death and the leading cause of
severe, long-term disability and death in California.
   (b) Stroke kills approximately 15,585 Californians each year and
accounts for almost 200,000 hospitalizations.
   (c) The rapid identification, diagnosis, and treatment of stroke
can save the lives of stroke patients and in some cases can reverse
neurological damage, such as paralysis and speech and language
impairments, leaving stroke patients with few or no neurological
deficits.  
  SEC. 2.    The heading of Article 1 (commencing
with Section 104100) is added to Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 103
of the Health and Safety Code, to read:

      Article 1.  High Blood Pressure

 
  SEC. 3.    Article 2 (commencing with Section
104141) is added to Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 103 of the Health
and Safety Code, to read:

      Article 2.  California Stroke Registry


   104141.  (a) The State Department of Public Health shall establish
a statewide California Stroke Registry. The purpose of this registry
is to serve as a centralized repository for stroke data to promote
quality improvement for acute stroke treatment. The registry shall
align with the stroke consensus metrics developed by national health
organizations such as the federal Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, The Joint Commission, the American Heart Association, and
the American Stroke Association. The acquisition of data for the
registry shall be by voluntary reports and encompass all areas of the
state for which stroke data are available.
   (b) The registry shall be under the direction of the director and
housed within the California Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention
Program. The cardiovascular disease program may accept, on behalf of
the state, grants of public or private funds.
   (c) The department may contract with an agency, including, but not
limited to, a health systems agency, single county health
department, or multicounty health department groupings, representing
a designated reporting region for the purposes of collecting and
collating acute stroke data.
   (d) The department may contract, or provide grant awards, to
implement public health activities to fulfill required funding award
objectives.
   (e) In establishing the registry, the director shall:
   (1) Maintain a statewide stroke database that compiles information
and statistics voluntarily reported on stroke care. To the extent
possible, the department shall coordinate with the organizations
specified in subdivision (a) to avoid duplication and redundancy in
data collection.
   (2) Recommend that hospitals and emergency medical services
agencies report case-specific data that is voluntarily reported on
the treatment of individuals with suspected acute stroke to the
representative of the department authorized to compile the stroke
data, or any individual, agency, or organization designated to
cooperate with that representative.
   (3) Encourage sharing of information and data among health care
providers to improve the quality of care for stroke.
   (4) Facilitate the communication and analysis of health
information and data among the health care professionals providing
care for individuals with stroke.
   (5) Consult with the Stroke Advisory Committee regarding ways in
which to improve the quality of stroke care and delivery in
California.
   (f) All information collected pursuant to this section shall be
confidential. For purposes of this section, this information shall be
referred to as "confidential information."
   104141.5.  (a) Persons with a valid scientific interest who are
engaged in demographic, epidemiological, or other similar studies
related to health, and who meet qualifications determined by the
department, and who agree, in writing, to maintain confidentiality,
may be authorized to access confidential information for research
purposes. An entity that receives confidential information from the
department shall ensure the confidentiality of the information. The
department shall provide only information that does not identify
individual cases or institutional or individual sources of
information. Before confidential information is disclosed for study,
researchers shall do both of the following:
   (1) Obtain approval of their committee for the protection of human
subjects established in accordance with Part 46 (commencing with
Section 46.101) of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
   (2) Provide documentation to the department that demonstrates to
the department's satisfaction that the entity has established the
procedures and ability to maintain the confidentiality of the
information.
   (b) Notwithstanding any other law, any disclosure authorized by
this section shall include only the information necessary for the
stated purpose of the requested disclosure, used for the approved
purpose, and not be further disclosed.
   (c) The furnishing of confidential information to the department
or its authorized representative in accordance with this section
shall not expose any person, agency, or entity furnishing information
to liability, and shall not be considered a waiver of any privilege
or a violation of a confidential relationship.
   (d) The department shall maintain an accurate record of all
persons who are given access to confidential information. The record
shall include the name of the person authorizing access; name, title,
address, and organizational affiliation of persons given access;
dates of access; and the specific purpose for which information is to
be used. The record of access shall be open to public inspection
during normal operating hours of the department.
   (e) Notwithstanding any other law, no part of the confidential
information shall be available for subpoena, nor shall it be
disclosed, discoverable, or compelled to be produced in any civil,
criminal, administrative, or other proceeding, nor shall this
information be deemed admissible as evidence in any civil, criminal,
administrative, or other tribunal or court for any reason.
   (f) This section shall not prohibit the publication of reports and
statistical compilations that do not in any way identify individual
cases or institutional or individual sources of information.
   (g) Notwithstanding the restrictions in this section, the
individual to whom the information pertains shall have access to his
or her own information in accordance with Chapter 1 (commencing with
Section 1798) of Title 1.8 of the Civil Code.
   104142.  For the purpose of this article, stroke means either of
the following:
   (a) Ischemic stroke, defined as an occlusion of a blood vessel
that blocks blood flow to the brain, depriving the brain of oxygen,
and resulting in brain tissue death. This definition includes
transient ischemic attacks, defined as stroke-like symptoms for less
than 24 hours.
   (b) Hemorrhagic stroke, defined as a rupture of a blood vessel,
resulting in bleeding into or around the brain.
   104142.5.  Nothing in this article shall preempt the authority of
facilities or individuals providing diagnostic or treatment services
to patients with stroke to maintain their own facility-based stroke
registries.
   104143.  This article shall not be construed as a medical practice
guideline and shall not be used to restrict the authority of a
hospital to provide services for which it has received a license
under state law.
   104143.5.  This article shall be implemented only to the extent
funds from federal or private sources are made available for this
purpose.
   104144.  All contracts with, and the utilization of, the program's
fiscal intermediary shall not be subject to Part 2 (commencing with
Section 10100) of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code.