860.
(a) An electrical and gas corporation that serves more than 3,000,000 customers shall not spend funds received from ratepayers as authorized revenues on political and public affairs related to state or local governments. For purposes of this section, political and public affairs spending includes any activities involving, directly or indirectly, advocacy of the election or defeat of political candidates and of the adoption or defeat of ballot measures, through the actions of the corporation or through a third party. Political and public affairs spending prohibited by this section does not include spending on contacts with state agency officials or local officials required as part of licensing or regulatory proceedings or to optimize utility operations.(b) Each electrical and gas corporation that serves more than 3,000,000 customers shall annually report to the commission all political and public affairs spending for the preceding year, including, but not limited to, any amounts reported pursuant to the Political Reform Act of 1974 (Title 9 (commencing with Section 81000) of the Government Code) to the Secretary of State, the Fair Political Practices Commission, or any local election official by any affiliate of the electrical and gas corporation, and including any amounts contributed by the utility, or any affiliate, to a reporting entity. The commission shall approve the form of the report and shall determine the annual date by which the report is to be filed by each electrical and gas corporation that serves more than 3,000,000 customers.
(c) The commission shall ensure that all political and public affairs spending identified in the annual report pursuant to subdivision (b) is not included in rates paid by the ratepayers of an electrical and gas corporation that serves more than 3,000,000 customers by disallowing the reported amounts from revenues authorized to be collected from ratepayers and reducing the corporation’s rates.
(d) Subdivisions (a) and (c) are applicable to all ratemaking proceedings that are pending on or after January 1, 2011.