Senate Rejects Bid to Abolish Energy Panel

Gov. Pete Wilson suffered a setback Thursday when the state Senate rejected his plan to abolish the state Energy Commission and shift most of its powers and duties to a new Department of Energy and Conservation.

It was the first rejection of a governor’s reorganization plan since 1985, when the Assembly turned down a proposal by Gov. George Deukmejian to create a Department of Waste Management.

The Senate is considering its own energy reorganization scheme that would go further than Wilson’s by merging the Energy Commission with the Public Utilities Commission.

That proposal also is part of negotiations between the governor and legislative leaders as they try to reach an agreement on the stalled state budget, now 21 days overdue.

The Senate effectively killed Wilson’s proposal by sending it back to a committee for further study. The vote was 21-15, with 19 Democrats, one Republican and one independent voting yes. All 15 no votes came from GOP members.

State Sen. Herschel Rosenthal (D-Los Angeles) called the plan a “power play” designed to give the governor increased control over energy use regulations, “but not needed reform.”

“What [Wilson] wants us to do is take what is an independent commission and make it into a department directly under his control,” said state Sen. Alfred E. Alquist (D-San Jose), sponsor of the resolution sending the proposal to the committee for more study.

Senate Republican Leader Ken Maddy of Fresno called the vote premature because the fate of two Senate bills advocating the merger of the Energy Commission and the PUC is not known yet.

The measures to establish a new Utilities Exchange Commission are sponsored by Sens. Steve Peace (D-Chula Vista) and Bill Leonard (R-San Bernardino). If approved by the Legislature, the merger would have to be ratified by voters.

The PUC is basically responsible for setting public utility rates that dictate the amount of bills paid by all Californians. The Energy Commission was established in 1974 at the height of the Arab oil embargo when state energy policies were unsettled because of economic uncertainties. One of the commission’s main responsibilities is to forecast energy needs.