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California Public Utilities Commission
| California Public Utilities Commission | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Office Type: | Nonpartisan |
| Office website: | Official Link |
| Compensation: | $234,689 |
| 2025 FY Budget: | $3,667,948,000 |
| Total Seats: | 5 |
| Term limits: | None |
| Structure | |
| Length of term: | 6 years |
| Authority: | California Constitution, Article 12, Section 1 |
| Selection Method: | Appointed by governor |
| Current Officeholder(s) | |
| Matt Baker, Karen Douglas, Darcie Houck, Alice Reynolds, John Reynolds | |
| Other California Executive Offices | |
| Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Controller • Superintendent of Public Instruction • Agriculture Secretary • Insurance Commissioner • Natural Resources Secretary • Industrial Relations Director • Public Utilities Commission | |
The California Public Utilities Commission is a quasi-executive agency in the California state government. The commission regulates the state's privately owned electric, natural gas, telecommunications, water, railroad, rail transit, and passenger transportation companies.[1] The commission consists of five commissioners appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate. The administrative head of the commission is the executive director, who oversees day-to-day operations.
Current officeholders
The current officeholders are:
- Matt Baker (nonpartisan)
- Karen Douglas (nonpartisan)
- Darcie Houck (nonpartisan)
- John Reynolds (nonpartisan)
- Alice Reynolds (nonpartisan)
Authority
The commission's authority is established by the California Constitution.[2]
California Constitution, Article 12, Section 1
|
The Public Utilities Commission consists of 5 members appointed by the Governor and approved by the Senate, a majority of the membership concurring, for staggered 6-year terms. A vacancy is filled for the remainder of the term. The Legislature may remove a member for incompetence, neglect of duty, or corruption, two thirds of the membership of each house concurring. |
Qualifications
The only unique requirement of public utilities commissioners is that they not have a financial interest in or official relation to any utility.[3] However, commissioners must still satisfy the basic requirements for civil service employment in the state; he or she must be a resident of the state, at least 18 years of age, not a convicted felon, and not a member of the Communist Party or any other organization that advocates the overthrow of the U.S. government.[4]
Appointments
Commissioners are appointed by the governor to six-year terms with the approval of the state Senate. The legislature is permitted to remove commissioners for "incompetence, neglect of duty, or corruption," by a vote of two-thirds of both houses.[2]
California Constitution, Article 12, Section 1
|
The Public Utilities Commission consists of 5 members appointed by the Governor and approved by the Senate, a majority of the membership concurring, for staggered 6-year terms... The Legislature may remove a member for incompetence, neglect of duty, or corruption, two thirds of the membership of each house concurring. |
Term limits
There are no term limits associated with the office of public utilities commissioner.
Vacancies
Vacancies are filled by gubernatorial appointment until the end of the term.[2]
California Constitution, Article 12, Section 1
|
[...] A vacancy is filled for the remainder of the term. [...] |
Duties
The commission is responsible for making and enforcing regulation of the state's public utilities, which include electric, natural gas, telecommunications, water, railroad, rail transit and passenger transportation companies. The commission's role is quasi-executive in that it enforces regulations, quasi-legislative in that it makes them, and quasi-judicial in that it holds hearings and receives testimony on potential regulatory rulings.
The Public Utilities Commission must approve all rate changes, enforces consumer protection and safety laws, investigates complaints or issues concerning public utilities providers. The commission also employs a number of administrative law judges who rule on regulatory matters, facilitate alternative dispute resolution, and conduct hearings on the commission's rulings or policies.[5]
Divisions
As of January 12, 2021, divisions within the Public Utilities Commission included:[5]
- Administrative Services Division
- Administrative Law Judge Division
- Communications Division
- Consumer Protection and Enforcement Division
- Energy Division
- Executive Office
- HR Division
- IT Division
- Legal Division
- News and Outreach Office
- Office of the Commission
- Rail Safety Division
- Safety Policy Division
- Safety & Enforcement Division
State budget
- See also: California state budget and finances
The budget for the California Public Utilities Commission in the 2024-2025 Fiscal Year was $3,667,948,000.[6]
Compensation
The commissioners salaries, like that of all other non-elected executive department heads, are determined by Section 11550 of California's Government Code and are subject to annual increases.[7]
2023
In 2023, each commissioner received a salary of $234,689, according to the Council of State Governments.[8]
2022
In 2022, each commissioner received a salary of $228,965, according to the Council of State Governments.[9]
2021
In 2021, each commissioner received a salary of $219,000, according to the Council of State Governments.[10]
2020
In 2020, each commissioner received a salary of $219,000 according to the Council of State Governments.[11]
2019
In 2019, each commissioner received a salary of $158,573 according to the Council of State Governments.[12]
2018
In 2018, each commissioner received a salary of $152,474 according to the Council of State Governments.[13]
2017
In 2017, each commissioner received a salary of $146,609 according to the Council of State Governments.[14]
2016
In 2016, each commissioner received a salary of $142,411 according to the Council of State Governments.[15]
2015
In 2015, each commissioner received a salary of $138,324 according to the Council of State Governments.[16]
2014
In 2014, the commissioners received a salary of $138,528 according to the Council of State Governments.[17]
2013
In 2013, the commissioners received a salary of $138,528 according to the Council of State Governments.[18]
2010
In 2010, the commissioners received a salary of $137,100 according to the Council of State Governments.[19]
Historical officeholders
There have been 98 California public utilities commissioners since 1911.[20]
| List of officeholders from 1911-Present | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Name | Tenure | |||
| 1 | John Eshleman | 1911-1915 | |||
| 2 | Alex Gordon | 1911-1919 | |||
| 3 | H. D. Loveland | 1911-1922 | |||
| 4 | Max Thelen | 1912-1918 | |||
| 5 | O. Edgerton | 1912-1921 | |||
| 6 | Frank Devlin | 1915-1921 | |||
| 7 | Irving Martin | 1919-1925 | |||
| 8 | C.H. Rowell | 1921-1923 | |||
| 9 | H S. Benedict | 1921-1923 | |||
| 10 | E. Shore | 1923-1925 | |||
| 11 | T. Whittlesey | 1923-1925 | |||
| 12 | H. W. Brundige | 1923-1927 | |||
| 13 | Clyde L. Seavey | 1923-1934 | |||
| 14 | G. D. Squires | 1925-1926 | |||
| 15 | Ezra W. Decoto | 1925-1931 | |||
| 16 | Leon Whitsell | 1925-1939 | |||
| 17 | Thomas Louttit | 1926-1931 | |||
| 18 | William J. Carr | 1927-1937 | |||
| 19 | M. B. Harris | 1931-1937 | |||
| 20 | Wallace L. Ware | 1933-1938 | |||
| 21 | Frank R. Devlin | 1934-1941 | |||
| 22 | Ray C. Wakefield | 1937-1941 | |||
| 23 | Ray L. Riley | 1937-1943 | |||
| 24 | C. C. Baker | 1938-1944 | |||
| 25 | Justus F. Craemer | 1939-1956 | |||
| 26 | Franck Havenner | 1941-1945 | |||
| 27 | R. Sachse | 1941-1945 | |||
| 28 | Fred W. Clark | 1943-1947 | |||
| 29 | Ira H. Rowell | 1944-1951 | |||
| 30 | L. H. Anderson | 1945-1946 | |||
| 31 | Harold P. Huis | 1945-1953 | |||
| 32 | R. E. Mittelstaedt | 1946-1954 | |||
| 33 | Kenneth Potter | 1947-1955 | |||
| 34 | Peter E. Mitchell | 1951-1968 | |||
| 35 | Ray Untereiner | 1954-1959 | |||
| 36 | Rex Hardy | 1955-1958 | |||
| 37 | Matthew Dooley | 1955-1961 | |||
| 38 | C. Lyn Fox | 1956-1963 | |||
| 39 | Theodore Jenner | 1958-1961 | |||
| 40 | Everett McKeage | 1959-1965 | |||
| 41 | Frederick B. Holoboff | 1961-1967 | |||
| 42 | George Grover | 1961-1967 | |||
| 43 | William M. Bennett | 1963-1969 | |||
| 44 | W. Gatov | 1965-1971 | |||
| 45 | Fred P. Morrissey | 1967-1969 | |||
| 46 | William Symons, Jr. | 1967-1979 | |||
| 47 | John Vukasin, Jr. | 1969-1974 | |||
| 48 | Thomas Moran | 1969-1975 | |||
| 49 | Vernon Sturgeon | 1969-1981 | |||
| 50 | David W. Holmes | 1971-1977 | |||
| 51 | Robert McDavid | 1974-1975 | |||
| 52 | Leonard Ross | 1975-1977 | |||
| 53 | Robert Batinovich | 1975-1979 | |||
| 54 | Claire Dedrick | 1977-1981 | |||
| 55 | Richard Gravelle | 1977-1982 | |||
| 56 | John E. Bryson | 1979-1982 | |||
| 57 | Leonard Grimes Jr. | 1979-1984 | |||
| 58 | Priscilla Grew | 1981-1986 | |||
| 59 | Victor Calvo | 1981-1987 | |||
| 60 | Donald Vial | 1982-1989 | |||
| 61 | William Bagley | 1983-1986 | |||
| 62 | Frederick Duda | 1984-1991 | |||
| 63 | Stanley Hulett | 1986-1988 | |||
| 64 | G. Mitchell Wilk | 1986-1991 | |||
| 65 | John B. Ohanian | 1987-1993 | |||
| 66 | Patricia Eckert | 1989-1995 | |||
| 67 | Norman Shumway | 1991-1995 | |||
| 68 | Daniel Fessler | 1991-1997 | |||
| 69 | Jessie J. Knight, Jr. | 1993-1999 | |||
| 70 | P. Gregory Conlon | 1993-1999 | |||
| 71 | Josiah L. Neeper | 1995-2001 | |||
| 72 | Henry M. Duque | 1995-2003 | |||
| 73 | Richard A. Bilas | 1997-2002 | |||
| 74 | Joel Hyatt | 1999 | |||
| 75 | Carl Wood | 1999-2005 | |||
| 76 | Loretta Lynch | 2000-2005 | |||
| 77 | Geoffrey Brown | 2001-2007 | |||
| 78 | Michael R. Peevey | 2002-2014 | |||
| 79 | Susan Kennedy | 2003-2005 | |||
| 80 | Dian Grueneich | 2005-2011 | |||
| 81 | John Bohn | 2005-2011 | |||
| 82 | Rachelle Chong | 2006-2010 | |||
| 83 | Timothy Alan Simon | 2007-2012 | |||
| 84 | Nancy Ryan | 2010-2011 | |||
| 85 | Catherine J.K. Sandoval | 2011-2017 | |||
| 86 | Michel Peter Florio | 2011-2017 | |||
| 87 | Mark J. Ferron | 2011-2014 | |||
| 88 | Carla J. Peterman | 2012-2018 | |||
| 89 | Michael Picker | 2014-2019 | |||
| 90 | Liane Randolph | 2015-2021 | |||
| 91 | Clifford Rechtschaffen | 2017-2023 | |||
| 92 | Martha Guzman Aceves | 2017-2021 | |||
| 93 | Genevieve Shiroma | 2019-Present | |||
| 94 | Marybel Batjer | 2019-2021 | |||
| 95 | Darcie Houck | 2021-Present | |||
| 96 | Alice Reynolds | 2021-Present | |||
| 97 | John Reynolds | 2021-Present | |||
| 98 | Karen Douglas | 2023-Present | |||
| 99 | Matt Baker | 2024-Present | |||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms California Public Utilities Commission. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
Contact info
Physical office:
505 Van Ness Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94102
Phone: (415) 703-2782
Fax: (415) 703-1758
See also
| California | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
|---|---|---|
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ California Public Utilities Commission, "Home," accessed January 12, 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 California Constitution, "Article 12, Section 1," accessed January 12, 2021
- ↑ California Public Utilities Code, "Division 1, Part 1, Chapter 2, Section 303," accessed January 12, 2021
- ↑ California Government Code, "Sections 1020-1042," accessed January 12, 2021
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 California Public Utilities Commission, "About Us," accessed January 12, 2021
- ↑ California Budget, "2024-25 Budget - 8660 Public Utilities Commission," accessed January 15, 2025
- ↑ California Government Code, "Section 11550," accessed January 12, 2021
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Book of the States 2023 Table 4.11: Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries," accessed January 15, 2025
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Book of the States 2022 Table 4.11: Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries," provided to Ballotpedia by CSG personnel
- ↑ Issuu, "The Book of the States 2021," accessed September 22, 2022
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "The Book of the States 2020," accessed January 12, 2021
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "The Book of the States 2019," accessed January 12, 2021
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "The Book of the States 2018," accessed January 12, 2021
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "The Book of the States 2017," accessed January 12, 2021
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries, 2016," accessed August 27, 2016
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries, 2015," accessed August 27, 2016
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries," accessed November 14, 2014
- ↑ The Council of State Governments, "Book of the States 2013, Table 4.11," accessed February 2, 2014
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Book of the States 2010 -- Table 4.11," accessed June 23, 2011
- ↑ California Public Utilities Commission, "Terms of Governors and Commissioners since 1911," accessed January 12, 2021
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