California Passes Bill Curbing Utilities Use of Ratepayer Money for Political Spending
Source: Energy and Policy Institute | By Stephanie Chase
State lawmakers last week made California the seventh state to pass a bill limiting investor-owned utilities from using customer money to pay for political and lobbying costs. Assembly Bill 1167, the California Ratepayer Protection Act, authored by Assembly Member Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park), passed both chambers of the legislature and now awaits action by Governor Gavin Newsom. AB 1167 includes provisions prohibiting investor-owned utilities from using customer money to support utility political activities, promotional advertising, and dues for trade associations that conduct political activities.
AB 1167’s mandatory penalty should deter utilities from trying to include those expenses in the first place, the bill’s sponsors, including Earthjustice and The Utility Reform Network (TURN), have said.
