Section 1701.1.

(a) The commission, consistent with due process, public policy, and statutory requirements, shall determine whether a proceeding requires a hearing. The commission shall determine whether the matter requires a quasi-legislative, an adjudication, or a ratesetting hearing. The commission's decision as to the nature of the proceeding shall be subject to a request for rehearing within 10 days of the date of that decision. If that decision is not appealed to the commission within that time period it shall not be subsequently subject to judicial review. Only those parties who have requested a rehearing within that time period shall subsequently have standing for judicial review and that review shall only be available at the conclusion of the proceeding. The commission shall render its decision regarding the rehearing within 30 days. The commission shall establish regulations regarding ex parte communication on case categorization issues.

(b) The commission upon initiating a hearing shall assign one or more commissioners to oversee the case and an administrative law judge where appropriate. The assigned commissioner shall schedule a prehearing conference. The assigned commissioner shall prepare and issue by order or ruling a scoping memo that describes the issues to be considered and the applicable timetable for resolution.

(c) (1) Quasi-legislative cases, for purposes of this article, are cases that establish policy, including, but not limited to, rulemakings and investigations which may establish rules affecting an entire industry.

(2) Adjudication cases, for purposes of this article, are enforcement cases and complaints except those challenging the reasonableness of any rates or charges as specified in Section 1702.

(3) Ratesetting cases, for purposes of this article, are cases in which rates are established for a specific company, including, but not limited to, general rate cases, performance-based ratemaking, and other ratesetting mechanisms.

(4) "Ex parte communication," for purposes of this article, means any oral or written communication between a decisionmaker and a person with an interest in a matter before the commission concerning substantive, but not procedural issues, that does not occur in a public hearing, workshop, or other public proceeding, or on the official record of the proceeding on the matter. "Person with an interest," for purposes of this article, means any of the following:

(A) Any applicant, an agent or an employee of the applicant, or a person receiving consideration for representing the applicant, or a participant in the proceeding on any matter before the commission.

(B) Any person with a financial interest, as described in Article 1 (commencing with Section 87100) of Chapter 7 of Title 9 of the Government Code, in a matter before the commission, or an agent or employee of the person with a financial interest, or a person receiving consideration for representing the person with a financial interest.

(C) A representative acting on behalf of any civic, environmental, neighborhood, business, labor, trade, or similar organization who intends to influence the decision of a commission member on a matter before the commission.

The commission shall by regulation adopt and publish a definition of decisionmakers and persons for purposes of this section, along with any requirements for written reporting of ex parte communications and appropriate sanctions for noncompliance with any rule proscribing ex parte communications. The regulation shall provide that reportable communications shall be reported by the party, whether the communication was initiated by the party or the decisionmaker. Communications shall be reported within three working days of the communication by filing a "Notice of Ex Parte Communication" with the commission in accordance with the procedures established by the commission for the service of that notice. The notice shall include the following information:

(i) The date, time, and location of the communication, and whether it was oral, written, or a combination.

(ii) The identity of the recipient and the person initiating the communication, as well as the identity of any persons present during the communication.

(iii) A description of the party's, but not the decisionmaker's, communication and its content, to which shall be attached a copy of any written material or text used during the communication.

(Amended by Stats. 1999, Ch. 1005, Sec. 55. Effective January 1, 2000.)