|
By Jon Coupal
In a recent column I referred to SBX1-2, a dangerous legislative proposal to define “excessive profits,” as setting a new speed record in California’s headlong rush toward Soviet-style central planning. Well, let’s add one more bad bill to the state’s perpetual march toward a collectivist state. Fortunately, this one may not be legal for long.
Like SBX1-2, Assembly Bill No. 205 from last year, bypassed many of the normal procedures for enacting legislation. It did this because it was a so-called “budget trailer bill.” While the “budget bill” is constitutionally mandated to be enacted by June 15, it only passes by that date for one reason—so the legislators can continue to receive their paychecks. Moreover, after the enactment of the budget, there are so-called “junior budget bills” amending the fake June 15th budget as well as last-minute “budget trailer bills” directing the spending of billions in ways that the budget bill itself did not direct.
AB 205, the “energy trailer bill,” received scant public attention and no meaningful public hearings were held. But its impacts are profound, and not in a good way.
Following the new law’s mandates, California’s big utility companies have announced a radical change in the way they will charge customers for service. Soon, residential electricity charges will depend in part on the ratepayer’s income. Specifically, electricity bills will have two components: a fixed infrastructure charge that varies with income, and an electricity use charge, which would vary based on consumption. Next year, the CPUC will determine what charges are imposed, and on whom.
Not surprisingly, the announcement from Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas & Electric and Pacific Gas & Electric has resulted in a huge negative reaction from taxpayers and the media – for good reason. Trying to shoehorn an income component into utility rates converts “ratepayers” into “taxpayers,” and Californians have had their fill of high taxes.
The difference between a tax and a fee is more than semantics. Taxes are imposed for generalized government services like education, public safety, transportation, and even for a reasonable safety net for the less fortunate. But a “fee” or “charge” has always correlated to the receipt of a specific service. Californians readily understand the difference and have wholly embraced “cost of service” principles by approving several amendments to the California Constitution.
To read the entire column, please click here.
|
