Talking Too Much

California has been a leader among state and local governments in making its decisions in public.

But there is a black hole in all this governmental sunshine and it hovers over the headquarters of the California Public Utilities Commission on Van Ness Street in San Francisco. There is a solution, but the PUC seems intent on ducking the issue as long as possible.

Here’s the situation: The PUC employs judicial-style procedures in setting the rates people pay for utilities services such as electric power, natural gas and the telephone.

But there is no rule, as is common in such proceedings, to limit ex parte contact between participants in the rate cases and the five gubernatorial appointees to the PUC, the administrative law judge who is handling the case or PUC staff members.

For instance, nothing prevents the chairman of the electric, gas or telephone companies from calling PUC members, or taking them to lunch, to argue for higher rates than those recommended by the administrative law judge. The same freedom, of course, applies to consumer groups seeking lower rates. A rule that would regulate such discussions--but not ban them--has been before the commission since last summer. The PUC was to have voted on the rule today, but suddenly on Wednesday the vote was postponed for a third time.

The proposed ex parte contact disclosure rule is a reasonable one. It is necessary for the maintenance of public confidence in a commission so vital to all Californians. The PUC should stop ducking and vote.