Bill > AB705

This bill establishes an Independent Office of Audits and Investigations within the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), effective January 1, 2026, to replace the existing chief internal auditor role. The new office will be led by an Inspector General appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate, who will serve a six-year term and can only be removed for good cause. The Inspector General will have broad authority to examine all records, documents, and property of the PUC, public utilities, and other regulated entities, with the primary goals of ensuring efficient use of ratepayer funds, maintaining proper accounting standards, accomplishing mandated requirements, and identifying fraud or serious administrative deficiencies. The office is required to report audit and investigation findings regularly to the Governor and Legislature, with annual public summaries of significant problems discovered and recommendations implemented. Additionally, the bill eliminates a previous exception that allowed the PUC to extend beyond 18 months the timeline for resolving issues in ratesetting or quasi-legislative cases, thereby requiring stricter adherence to the original 18-month resolution timeline. The bill does not require local government reimbursement and makes some technical changes to existing procedural requirements.

Budget and Finance, Transportation and Infrastructure

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB705