August 30, 2026 · Utilities And Energy · 1,581 words · 19 speakers · 69 segments
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you All right. Good evening. Good evening and welcome. I would like to convene this evening's hearing of the Assembly Committee on Utilities and Energy. Before we move to the agenda, I have a few housekeeping announcements. As is customary, I will maintain decorum throughout today's hearing. To hear as much as possible from the public within the limits of our time, we will not permit disruptions that impede the orderly conduct of legislative proceedings. Any disruptive individual may be removed from the room. Today we have three measures on the agenda with one on consent. Reminder, the testimony is limited to two witnesses in support, two witnesses in opposition, and each witness will get two minutes. For any additional witnesses on a measure, just state your name, position, and affiliation. All right, Madam Secretary, please call the roll. Petrie Norris?
Here. Petrie Norris here.
Patterson?
Patterson here.
Burner?
Here.
Burner here.
Calderon? Here.
Calderon here.
Chen? Here.
Chen here. Davies? Davies here. Gonzalez? Herbidion? Hart? Hart here. Irwin? Colra? Pappin? Pappin here. Rogers? Rogers here. Schiavo? Schultz? Schultz here. Ta? Ta here. Wallace? Wallace here. Zabir? Zabir here. Okay, we're going to start with file item number one, Assemblymember Berner, AB 353.
Thank you. Good evening, Madam Chair and members. AB 353 is about good governance, accountability, and transparency at the CPUC. AB 353 would recast the existing Office of Internal Audit Services at the CPUC and create the Inspector General position to oversee the office. This office is responsible for performing audits of key financial management and operational functions within the commission. Although the CPUC does have an existing internal audit office, which was established in 2017, those reports are not regularly made public. The Office of the Inspector General is modeled after independent inspector generals that exist in other state agencies like the Department of Transportation, Department of Corrections, and Rehabilitation. The CPUC has a massive impact on our constituents' lives. We should ensure that the legislature and the CPUC is well informed about the commission's strengths and deficiencies and to ensure that the office can recommend ways to ensure that there is no inefficiencies, waste, or area of improvements within the CPUC. Lastly, although this bill is technically a gut and amend, all of you supported a substantially similar bill last year that passed the committee on consent AB 705. I respectfully
ask for an aye vote. Thank you, Assemblymember. All right, witnesses in support. Anyone? Sorry, This is a Tasha B special. Okay. That is good. We love it. All right. Any witnesses here in opposition? Seeing none. Bringing it back to committee. Questions or comments? You've got a motion and a second. Assembly member, would you like to close?
Respectfully ask for your aye vote.
Okay. Madam Secretary, please call the roll. Item number one, AB 353. The motion is for the Senate amendments to be concurred in. Petrie Norris?
Aye.
Petrie Norris, aye.
Patterson?
Aye.
Patterson, aye.
Berner?
Aye.
Berner, aye.
Calderon?
Aye. Calderon, aye. Chen? Aye. Chen, aye. Davies? Aye. Davies, aye. Gonzalez? Herbidion? Hart? Aye. Hart, aye. Irwin? Calra? Pappin? Aye. Pappin, aye. Rogers? Aye. Rogers, aye. Chiabbo? Schultz? Aye. Schultz, aye. Ta? Aye. Ta, aye. Wallace? Aye. Wallace, aye. Zabir? Aye. Zabir, aye. 13-0. That bill is out and we'll leave the roll open for absent members to add on. Assemblymember Patterson, AB 2700. Okay. You have a motion and a second, Mr. Vice Chair.
Okay. Well, thank you, Madam Chair. I will therefore cut my presentation down by 90%. Thank you for picking up what committee members are putting down. AV 2700, a bill that would require the PUC to prepare a report recommending mechanisms to provide restitution for victims of utility-caused wildfires that occurred before July 12, 2019. As you know I took this bill from now James Gallagher who represented Paradise part of a devastating fire and a lot of those victims haven been compensated as well as other fires that were caused before then I was gonna invite Mr Abrams to testify in support And with that would conclude my presentation.
Welcome. Thanks very much, Chair and Committee members. I will keep my testimony very brief. I know it's late, but I just wanted to remind the committee that there are thousands of wildfire survivors who are really counting on this bill and are suffering. And they are here in spirit. And we had a larger delegation earlier in the day. But please understand that this is hugely important for them. This really is about justice, about getting victims fairly, fully and timely compensated. and there are just current suffering that's going on of victims. And that's what this bill is to address and to make sure that whatever remedies we identify are also there for Eden Fire survivors, future fire survivors. And again, just hugely important that we're directing this bill. And I ask for your aye vote. Thank you.
Additional witnesses in support? Seeing none. Any witnesses here in opposition? to AB 2700. Seeing none, bringing it back to committee. All right, Assemblymember, would you
like to close? Yes, thank you. Thank you very much. Just want to acknowledge Will and also all the victims, especially who were here at my first presentation on the Senate side. I know that they've been through a lot. Really appreciate the time and effort they put at being here and respectfully ask for your aye vote. Thank you. Madam Secretary, please call the roll.
Item number three, the motion is for the Senate amendments to be concurred in on AB 2700. Petra Norris? Aye. Petra Norris, aye. Patterson? Aye. Patterson, aye. Burner? Aye. Burner, aye. Calderon? Aye. Calderon, aye. Chen? Aye. Chen, aye. Davies? Aye. Davies, aye. Gonzalez? Herbidion? Hart? Aye. Hart, aye. Irwin? Aye. Irwin, aye. Calra? Pappin? Aye. Papan aye. Rogers aye. Rogers aye. Chiavo aye. Chiavo aye. Schultz aye. Schultz aye. Ta aye. Ta aye. Wallace aye. Wallace aye. Zabir aye. Zabir aye. 15-0. That bill's out and we will leave the roll open for absent members to add on. Okay, so the last item is just to dispense with our consent calendar. Can we get a second? Thank you. All right, Madam Secretary, please call the roll. Item number two, AB 1301, for the Senate amendments to be concurred in. Recommended consent.
Petrie-Norris?
Aye.
Petrie-Norris, aye.
Patterson?
Aye.
Patterson, aye. Berner?
Aye.
Berner, aye. Calderon?
Aye.
Calderon, aye. Chen?
Aye.
Chen, aye. Davies?
Aye.
Davies, aye. Gonzalez? Carabidion? Hart? Hart, aye. Irwin?
Aye.
Irwin, aye. Calra? Pappan?
Aye.
Pappan, aye. Rogers?
Aye.
Rogers, aye. Schiavo?
Aye.
Schiavo, aye. Schultz?
Aye.
Schultz, aye. Ta?
Aye.
Ta, aye. Wallace?
Aye.
Wallace, aye. Zabir?
Aye.
Zabir, aye. 15-0. 15-0. The consent calendar is out. We'll leave the roll open for absent members to add on. And so that does conclude our business members. For members who are absent, we are going to leave the roll open for five more minutes. So we'll be adjourning the hearing at 1025. Thank you, members. And we'll see you tomorrow morning. I think if we can call, let's go ahead and open up the roll for file item one. Gonzalez, Herbidian, Irwin, Irwin, I, Colret, Chiavo, Chiavo, I. All right, 15-0, that bill is out. We will leave the roll open for absent members to add on. We'll be closing the rolls and adjourning at 1025.
in the world. Hi. Hi. You get a little bit. We have no money. Oh, and they don't have it. They don't have a way to get it. I thought we would have had it. Here. I was there when we were there. Yeah. Yeah, that's what I was doing now. Here, I'll give you the background. Yes. I don't know. I don't know. See, I stand by here. We're just looking down. I get bags from places. I might have brought it from home. I don't know. You know about me and feeding the bag ladies. So when I served in the kitchen I always called myself a pack I was very tall Anyway all the bags all the bags all the bags I just got used to carrying it like a normal bag and lots of bags because everybody had lots of bags. And I'm going camping after session, so any of them make fun of me. I show up with my mom bag and I leave for three. It was before this. You had multiple bags of bags. I always, listen, I bruised myself. I changed myself yesterday with my multiple bags. Thank you.
All right. Madam Secretary, let's reopen the roll on file item number one. AB 353, Harabitian?
Aye.
Harabitian, aye. Kalra?
Aye.
Kalra, aye. That's it. 17-0 and we'll leave the roll open for our absent member. Item number three AB 2700 Harabitian. Harabitian aye. Kalra. Kalra aye. 17-0 we'll leave the roll open. Item number two AB 1301 I'm going to go ahead and get it. 17-0 and that fills out. We'll leave the roll open. Thank you members. We shall see you tomorrow.
Thank you. Thank you.
All right, let's reopen the roll on file item one. 17-0, that measure is out. File item number three. 17-0, that measure is out. And the consent calendar. 17-0, that measure is out. That concludes this evening's business of the Assembly Committee on Utilities and Energy. We are adjourned.
Thank you. Thank you.