California Committee Dismisses Bill to Block Fixed Rate Utility Charge Based on Income

Democratic lawmakers on the Senate’s Energy, Utility, and Communications Committee chose not to vote on Senate Bill 1326—which would have repealed a 2022 law mandating higher fixed rate charges on utility bills—thus pulling the plug on the measure April 22. “It’s shameful that all 14 Democrats on the Senate Energy Committee refused to even cast a vote,” the bill’s author, Republican Leader Sen. Brian W. Jones, said in an April 23 press release. “Thousands of Californians support this measure and their refusal to act is a stark betrayal of the very constituents they claim to represent.” The bill, known as the Cost of Living Reduction Act, sought to set a cap of $10 for monthly fixed charges, a sharp difference from a rate schedule that included $128 monthly charges proposed by utility companies earlier this year....