Bill Text: CA SB1177 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Public utilities: women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT business enterprises.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2024-09-27 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 784, Statutes of 2024. [SB1177 Detail]
Download: California-2023-SB1177-Introduced.html
free entry into business, and creative and innovative opportunities for the expression and growth of personal initiative and individual judgment be ensured. The preservation and expansion of that competition are basic to the economic well-being of this state and that well-being cannot be realized unless
the actual and potential capacity of women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT business enterprises is encouraged and developed. Therefore, it is the declared policy of the state to aid the interests of women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT business enterprises in order to preserve reasonable and just prices and a free competitive enterprise, to ensure that a fair proportion of the total purchases and contracts or subcontracts for commodities, supplies, technology, property, and services for regulated public utilities, including, but not limited to, renewable energy, wireless telecommunications, broadband, smart grid, and rail projects, are awarded to women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT business enterprises, and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy of the state.
Bill Title: Public utilities: women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT business enterprises.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2024-09-27 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 784, Statutes of 2024. [SB1177 Detail]
Download: California-2023-SB1177-Introduced.html
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION
Senate Bill
No. 1177
| Introduced by Senator Bradford |
February 14, 2024 |
An act to amend Section 8281 of, to add Sections 8283.5 and 8284.5 to, and to add Article 6 (commencing with Section 8290) to Chapter 7 of Division 4 of, the Public Utilities Code, relating to public utilities.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1177, as introduced, Bradford.
Public utilities: women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT business enterprises.
Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission to require every electrical corporation, gas corporation, water corporation, wireless telecommunications service provider, electric service provider, and telephone corporation with annual gross California revenues exceeding $25,000,000, and their regulated subsidiaries and affiliates, to annually submit a detailed and verifiable plan for increasing procurement from women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT business enterprises, as specified. Existing law requires the commission, by rule or order to, adopt criteria for verifying and determining the eligibility of women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT business enterprises for procurement contracts. Pursuant to this requirement, the commission adopted General Order 156 providing for the verification and certification of those business enterprises, as specified.
This bill would require the above-described utilities with annual gross California revenues exceeding $25,000,000, as a part of their annual report, to include a list of all of their contractors and subcontractors for the prior reporting year and the values of each contract and subcontract entered into, and would require contractors and subcontractors of the above-described utilities with annual gross California revenues exceeding $15,000,000 to submit annual reports on expenditures and whether the work was performed in California. The bill would specify that certification of a business enterprise pursuant to General Order 156 as a women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT business enterprise does not expire if that business enterprise is acquired by a business enterprise that does not qualify for certification under General Order 156.
This bill would require the above-described utilities with annual gross California
revenues exceeding $25,000,000, and their commission-regulated subsidiaries and affiliates, to submit annually a diversity, equity, and inclusion employment plan, as defined, that includes short- and long-term goals and timetables to promote the employment of women, minorities, disabled veterans, and LGBT individuals at all levels of employment within their organizations, and would require those entities to file an annual report regarding the implementation of the programs to promote the employment of those individuals.
Under existing law, a violation of an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime.
Because 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.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YESBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 8281 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:8281.
(a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the essence of the American economic system of private enterprise is free, open, and transparent competition. Only through free, open, and transparent competition can free markets, reasonable and just prices,(b) (1) The Legislature finds all of the following:
(A) The opportunity
for full participation in our free enterprise system by women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT business enterprises is essential if this state is to attain social and economic equality for those businesses and improve the functioning of the state economy. By providing more transparency on who is performing the work in the state, the state will see a broader and deeper economic impact.
(B) Public agencies and some regulated utilities that have established short- and long-range women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT business enterprise goals are awarding 30 percent or more of their contracts to these business enterprises.
(C) Women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT business enterprises have traditionally received less than a proportionate share of regulated
public utility procurement contracts, especially in renewable energy, wireless telecommunications, broadband, smart grid, and rail projects.
(D) It is in the state’s interest to expeditiously improve the economically disadvantaged position of women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT business enterprises. It is also in the state’s interest to see the number of women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT business enterprises increase by unbundling the work with prime contractors and enabling subcontractors of the prime contractor to report their subcontracting spend with women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT enterprises to further enhance the opportunities for women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT business enterprises.
(E) The position of these businesses can be
substantially improved by providing long-range substantial goals for procurement by regulated public utilities of technology, equipment, supplies, services, materials, and construction work, especially in renewable energy, wireless telecommunications, broadband, smart grid, and rail projects, from women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT businesses.
(F) That procurement also benefits the regulated public utilities and consumers of the state by encouraging the expansion of the number of suppliers for procurements, thereby encouraging competition among the suppliers and promoting economic efficiency in the process.
(G) That the long-term economic viability of this state depends substantially upon on
the ability of renewable energy, wireless telecommunications, broadband, smart grid, and rail projects to incorporate women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT businesses into those projects.
(H) Employment within the state benefits local communities on many different levels including, but not limited to, the state receiving more revenue from employee taxes, more consumable expenditures, and more wealth within the state. Monitoring employment beyond women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT entrepreneurs expands the economic reach to all suppliers and utilities operating in the state.
(I) Growth for women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT enterprises and individual wealth for the entrepreneur can be dramatically increased by fostering a path to growth for the enterprise and for enabling them
to retain their diverse business status in the event of an acquisition that changes the overall ownership.
(2) It is the purpose of this article to do all of the following:
(A) Encourage greater economic opportunity for women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT business enterprises.
(B) Promote competition among regulated public utility suppliers in order to enhance economic efficiency in the procurement of electrical, gas, water, wireless telecommunications service provider, and telephone corporation contracts and contracts of their commission-regulated subsidiaries and affiliates.
(C) Clarify and expand the program for the procurement by regulated public utilities of technology, equipment, supplies, services, materials, and
construction work from women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT business enterprises.
SEC. 2.
Section 8283.5 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:8283.5.
(a) Each utility with gross annual California revenues exceeding twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000), as part of its annual report required pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 8283, shall list all of its contractors and subcontracts for the prior reporting year and the values of each contract and subcontractors entered into.(b) At a time designated by the commission, each contractor and subcontractor of a utility described in subdivision (d) or (f) of Section 8283 shall submit to the commission an annual report on all of the following:
(1) Expenditures made pursuant to, or a subcontract of, a contract with the utility, including the recipients of the expenditures.
(2) Whether the work performed under the contract or subcontract is performed in the state.
(3) Data on the diversity of the workforce of the contractor or subcontractor.
SEC. 3.
Section 8284.5 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:8284.5.
The certification of a business enterprise pursuant to commission’s General Order 156 as a women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT business enterprises shall not expire if that business enterprise is acquired by a business enterprise that does not qualify for a certification under General Order 156, but shall expire at the expiration date of the certification.SEC. 4.
Article 6 (commencing with Section 8290) is added to Chapter 7 of Division 4 of the Public Utilities Code, to read:Article 6. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Employment Plan
8290.
(a) In addition to Section 8281, the Legislature finds and declares both of the following:(1) Public agencies and some regulated utilities should establish short- and long-term plans to advance diversity and equity, and include doing so in their employment practices.
(2) Encouraging utility work to be performed locally and with a reasonably proportionate number of employees from women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT communities, the state is better serving and financially impacting the communities they serve.
(b) It is the declared policy of the state to aid the interests of women, minority, disabled veteran,
and LGBT individuals by providing access to local jobs for women, minorities, disabled veterans, and LGBT individuals through strong diversity, equity, and inclusion plans.
(c) The purpose of this article is to promote and enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion employment plans for utilities in the state.
8290.1.
For purposes of this article, “diversity, equity, and inclusion employment plan” means an intentional employment plan prepared by a utility to ensure it is embracing diversity for all levels of employment within its company.8290.2.
(a) The commission shall require each electrical corporation, gas corporation, water corporation, wireless telecommunications service provider, electric service provider, and telephone corporation with gross annual California revenues exceeding twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000), and their commission-regulated subsidiaries and affiliates, to submit annually a diversity, equity, and inclusion employment plan that includes short- and long-term goals and timetables to promote the employment of women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT individuals at all levels of employment within its organization.(b) The commission shall establish guidelines for entities specified in subdivision (a) to be used in establishing programs pursuant to this
article.
(c) Every entity specified in subdivision (a) shall furnish an annual report to the commission regarding the implementation of the programs established pursuant to this article in a form that the commission requires and at the time that the commission annually designates.
(d) (1) The Legislature declares that each electrical corporation, gas corporation, water corporation, mobile telephony service provider, electric service provider, and telephone corporation that is not required to submit a plan pursuant to subdivision (a) is encouraged to voluntarily adopt a plan for increasing women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT employment at all levels of employment in those entities.
(2) The Legislature declares that each cable television corporation, direct broadcast satellite provider,
exempt wholesale generator contracting to sell electricity to a retail seller, distributed energy resource contractor, and energy storage system company is encouraged to voluntarily adopt a plan for increasing women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT employment at all levels of employment in those entities.
