Gatto Plans Post-Term CPUC Reform Revival
His term is ending, but California Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D) said others may resurrect his California Public Utilities Commission overhaul proposals. In a statement Friday, Gatto said he has “been approached by like-minded reformers with resources to place a more…
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comprehensive set of reforms on the ballot.” State legislators failed to pass Gatto’s CPUC reform bill (AB-2903) before the legislative deadline, punting on a review of how the state regulates telecom among other proposals (see 1609010058). The bill was part of a four-bill compromise package negotiated by Gatto, two state senators and Gov. Jerry Brown (D), but only two of the bills survived the deadline. “My office continues to hear scuttlebutt as to who banded together to kill the landmark CPUC reforms,” Gatto said. “The breach of the reform agreement and the manner in which it was thwarted has only re-confirmed the need for genuine regulatory reform in California.” A Gatto spokesman clarified that the “like-minded reformers” are legislators and nonelected officials. The measures could be moved without legislative action, he said, because under the state’s rules, “one can bypass the legislature by placing an initiative on the ballot.”