California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. and top California legislative leaders recently announced a sweeping package of reforms to bolster governance, accountability, transparency and oversight of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), the agency that oversees the state’s ride-hail industry.

 "These reforms will change how this commission does business," said Governor Brown. "Public access to meetings and records will be expanded, new safety and oversight positions will be created and ex parte communication rules will be strengthened."

"These reforms mark a new beginning for the CPUC. The commission will become transparent and accountable to Californians and focused on the safety of our communities," said Assembly member Mike Gatto, chair of the Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee. "I want to thank my colleagues in the Legislature and Governor Brown for their support of these key reforms."

A key component of the proposal is the transfer of oversight of the car for-hire industry to the California State Transportation Agency, which includes the California Department of Motor Vehicles and the California Highway Patrol.

Experts said that proposed division makes sense. “The move takes advantage of each agency’s existing infrastructure and goals,” said Susan Shaheen, co-director of the Transportation Sustainability Research Center at UC Berkeley.

CPUC President Michael Picker, who in March told lawmakers the agency is overburdened and he finds himself “underwater on a daily basis,” said that overseeing ride services is burdensome and suggested the DMV and CHP as alternatives.

The transfer would affect the following industries:

• Carriers subject to CPUC registration requirements (for-hire vessel carriers, commercial air operators, private carriers of passengers and interstate carriers)
• Passenger Stage Corporations
• Charter-Party Carriers (including Transportation Network Companies)
• Household Goods Carriers

"It's been a long road, and we still have much work to do if we are to build the CPUC that the state deserves," said Senator Jerry Hill. "Today we take a strong step forward with principles that underscore our shared commitment to an organization that will better serve Californians, ensure their safety and merit their trust. I think all of the regulatory aspects can go and should go to the other agencies. They can do a better job of it, because they’re focused on transportation.”

"The principles are a blueprint for a CPUC that is focused, efficient, working in the public interest, and most notably, transparent and accountable," said Hill.

"The changes agreed to by the Commission and the Governor in SB 215 apply enhanced ex parte communication rules targeting the abuses of the past and ensure independent prosecution and stiff penalties for those who would violate the public trust,” he added.

The Governor's Office will work closely with the Legislature and impacted entities in the administration to move forward with these reforms in the months ahead.

Some details of the reform package are listed below:

Governance – Increasing the CPUC's focus and expertise by relocating responsibilities and making logistical changes that improve the commission's ability to function.

• Assess State Telecommunications governance by January 1, 2018.

• Establish cross-agency coordination protocols (for example, with the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources, California Air Resources Board, etc.) to foster coordinated actions and exchange of information and facilitate cultural change.

• Work with state colleges and universities to develop and offer curricula specific to the regulation and oversight of utilities.

• Authorize the CPUC to hire and locate employees in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Sacramento.

• Require CPUC voting meetings to be held in various regions of the state.

• Provide statutory authority to consider outside reports from state, federal and academic sources.

• Allow a commissioner to issue an Alternate Proposed Decision (APD) at any time before the Commission votes (current law requires issuance of the APD simultaneous to the issuance of the Presiding Administrative Law Judges issuance of their Proposed Decision).