20250SB__138499INT INTRODUCED 2026-02-20 SB INT Introduced by Senator Jones LEAD_AUTHOR SENATE Jones

An act to amend

Section of the Public Utilities Code, relating to public utilities. public utilities Certificates of public convenience and necessity. Existing law prohibits gas corporations, electrical corporations, telegraph corporations, telephone corporations, water corporations, sewer system corporations, and certain railroad corporations from beginning construction of a street railroad, line, plant, or system without having first obtained from the Public Utilities Commission a certificate that the present or future public convenience and necessity requires or will require the construction, as specified.

This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to that provision. MAJORITY NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read: 1001. (

a) A railroad corporation whose railroad is operated primarily by electricity, street railroad corporation, gas corporation, electrical corporation, telegraph corporation, telephone corporation, water corporation, or sewer system corporation shall not begin the construction of a street railroad, of a line, plant, or system, or of any extension thereof, without having first obtained from the commission a certificate that the present or future public convenience and necessity require or will require its construction. (

b) The extension, expansion, upgrade, or other modification of an existing electrical transmission facility, including transmission lines and substations, does not require a certificate that the present or future public convenience and necessity requires or will require its construction. (

c) This

article does not require those corporations to secure that certificate for an extension within any city or city and county within which it has lawfully commenced operations, for an extension into territory either within or without a city or city and county contiguous to its street railroad, line, plant, or system, and not served by a public utility of like character, or for an extension within or to territory already served by it, necessary in the ordinary course of its business.

If any public utility, in constructing or extending its line, plant, or system, interferes or is about to interfere with the operation of the line, plant, or system of any other public utility or of the water system of a public agency, already constructed, the commission, on complaint of the public utility or public agency claiming to be injuriously affected, may, after hearing, make an order and prescribe terms and conditions for the location of the lines, plants, or systems affected as to the commission may seem just and reasonable.