AB 3200

Bill Subjects

Master-Metered Mobilehome Parks And Manufactured Housing Communities Transfer Of Water Systems

Abstract

Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission (commission) with regulatory authority over public utilities, including water corporations. Existing law authorizes the commission to fix the rates and charges for every public utility and requires that those rates and charges be just and reasonable. Existing law exempts from the jurisdiction, control, or regulation of the commission any person or corporation, as specified, that maintains a mobilehome park or a multiple unit residential complex and provides, or will provide, water service to users through a submeter service system if each user of the submeter service system is charged at the rate which would be applicable if the user were receiving the water directly from the water corporation, or if management of the mobilehome park complies with a specified notice provision. This bill would require the commission to authorize and establish a pilot program for specified water corporations to accept the transfer of ownership and operational responsibility of water systems in master-metered mobilehome parks or manufactured housing communities, and provide that the exemption described above does not apply to the maintenance or provision of water service by a water corporation pursuant to that pilot program, as specified. The bill would authorize the owner of a master-metered mobilehome park or manufactured housing community that provides water service to residents to transfer ownership and operational responsibility to the water corporation providing service in the area in which the park or community is located, or as the park or community owner and the serving water corporation mutually agree. The bill would impose specified duties on a water corporation and on the owner of the mobilehome park or manufactured housing community in connection with the transfer. The bill would require the commission to establish procedures for initiating and completing the transfer, as provided, including by requiring the owner of the mobilehome park or manufactured housing community to provide written notice of the intent to transfer ownership and operational responsibility of a water system in a mobilehome park or manufactured housing community to the water corporation. The bill would require the commission to authorize the water corporation to recover in its revenue requirement and rates all costs to acquire, improve, upgrade, operate, and maintain transferred mobilehome park or manufactured housing community water systems. The bill would also require the commission to adopt a standard form contract for these transfers that would be the basis for an expedited approval of the transfer. The bill would prohibit costs related to the transfer of ownership process from being passed through to the park or community residents, but would provide that those costs would be recoverable in rates. The bill would authorize the mobilehome park or manufactured housing community owner, by written notice, to stop the transfer process at any time. The bill would authorize, at any time during the transfer of ownership process, either party to apply to the commission for informal mediation and resolution of any issue, finding, determination, or delay in the transfer process. The bill would require, if the initiation of the transfer process does not result in a transfer of the park or community owner's water system to the water corporation, all information, data, reports, studies, and proposals to be retained by the water corporation for a period of 5 years or offered to the mobilehome park or manufactured housing community owner, as specified. Under existing law, a violation of any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because a violation of a commission action implementing the above-described prohibition 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.