SECTIONS 1731-1736 - California Statutes

PUBLIC UTILITIES CODE

SECTION 1731-1736

1731. (a) The commission shall set an effective date when issuing
an order or decision. The commission may set the effective date of an
order or decision prior to the date of issuance of the order or
decision.
(b) (1) After any order or decision has been made by the
commission, any party to the action or proceeding, or any stockholder
or bondholder or other party pecuniarily interested in the public
utility affected, may apply for a rehearing in respect to any matters
determined in the action or proceeding and specified in the
application for rehearing. The commission may grant and hold a
rehearing on those matters, if in its judgment sufficient reason is
made to appear. No cause of action arising out of any order or
decision of the commission shall accrue in any court to any
corporation or person unless the corporation or person has filed an
application to the commission for a rehearing within 30 days after
the date of issuance or within 10 days after the date of issuance in
the case of an order issued pursuant to either Article 5 (commencing
with Section 816) or Article 6 (commencing with Section 851) of
Chapter 4 relating to security transactions and the transfer or
encumbrance of utility property.
(2) The commission shall notify the parties of the issuance of an
order or decision by either mail or electronic transmission.
Notification of the parties may be accomplished by one of the
following methods:
(A) Mailing the order or decision to the parties to the action or
proceeding.
(B) If a party to an action or proceeding consents in advance to
receive notice of any order or decision related to the action or
proceeding by electronic mail address, notification of the party may
be accomplished by transmitting an electronic copy of the official
version of the order or decision to the party if the party has
provided an electronic mail address to the commission.
(C) If a party to an action or proceeding consents in advance to
receive notice of any order or decision related to the action or
proceeding by electronic mail address, notification of the party may
be accomplished by transmitting a link to an Internet Web site where
the official version of the order or decision is readily available to
the party if the party has provided an electronic mail address to
the commission.
(3) For the purposes of this article, "date of issuance" means the
mailing or electronic transmission date that is stamped on the
official version of the order or decision
(c) No cause of action arising out of any order or decision of the
commission construing, applying, or implementing the provisions of
Chapter 4 of the Statutes of the 2001-02 First Extraordinary Session
that (1) relates to the determination or implementation of the
department's revenue requirements, or the establishment or
implementation of bond or power charges necessary to recover those
revenue requirements, or (2) in the sole determination of the
Department of Water Resources, the expedited review of order or
decision of the commission is necessary or desirable, for the
maintenance of any credit ratings on any bonds or notes of the
department issued pursuant to Division 27 (commencing with Section
80000) of the Water Code or for the department to meet its
obligations with respect to any bonds or notes pursuant to that
division, shall accrue in any court to any corporation or person
unless the corporation or person has filed an application with the
commission for a rehearing within 10 days after the date of issuance
of the order or decision. The Department of Water Resources shall
notify the commission of any determination pursuant to paragraph (2)
of this subdivision prior to the issuance by the commission of any
order or decision construing, applying, or implementing the
provisions of Chapter 4 of the Statutes of the 2001-02 First
Extraordinary Session. The commission shall issue its decision and
order on rehearing within 20 days after the filing of the
application.

1732. The application for a rehearing shall set forth specifically
the ground or grounds on which the applicant considers the decision
or order to be unlawful. No corporation or person shall in any court
urge or rely on any ground not so set forth in the application.

1733. (a) Any application for a rehearing made 10 days or more
before the effective date of the order as to which a rehearing is
sought, shall be either granted or denied before the effective date,
or the order shall stand suspended until the application is granted
or denied; but, absent further order of the commission the order
shall not stand so suspended for more than 60 days after the date of
filing of the application, at which time the suspension shall lapse,
the order shall become effective, and the application may be taken by
the party making it to be denied.
(b) Any application for a rehearing made within less than 10 days
before the effective date of the order as to which a rehearing is
sought, and not granted within 60 days, may be taken by the party
making the application to be denied, unless the effective date of the
order is extended for the period of the pendency of the application.

1734. If any application for a rehearing is granted without a
suspension of the order involved, the commission shall forthwith
proceed to hear the matter with all dispatch and shall determine the
matter within 20 days after final submission. If no determination is
made within that time, it may be taken by any party to the rehearing
that the order involved is affirmed.

1735. An application for rehearing shall not excuse any corporation
or person from complying with and obeying any order or decision, or
any requirement of any order or decision of the commission
theretofore made, or operate in any manner to stay or postpone the
enforcement thereof, except in such cases and upon such terms as the
commission by order directs.

1736. If, after such rehearing and a consideration of all the
facts, including those arising since the making of the order or
decision, the commission is of the opinion that the original order or
decision or any part thereof is in any respect unjust or
unwarranted, or should be changed, the commission may abrogate,
change, or modify it. The order or decision abrogating, changing, or
modifying the original order or decision shall have the same force
and effect as an orginal order or decision, but shall not affect any
right or the enforcement of any right arising from or by virtue of
the original order or decision unless so ordered by the commission.