Public Utilities Commission: commissioner compensation.

The California Constitution establishes the Public Utilities Commission and prescribes its membership. The Public Utilities Act requires the commissioners to be civil executive officers and their salaries to be fixed and paid in the same manner as those of other state officers. Existing law prescribes the annual salary of the commissioners and a method by which the annual salary may be increased. This bill would prohibit the annual salary and any other compensation, as defined, paid to each commissioner from being funded with revenues collected from a fee or charge imposed on ratepayers. The bill would express the Legislature's intent that funds used to compensate each commissioner are appropriated from the General Fund or another source of funding not collected from ratepayers. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because the above provision would be part of the act and 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.