SECTIONS 2100-2119 - California Statutes

PUBLIC UTILITIES CODE

SECTION 2100-2119

2100. Whenever the commission, after a hearing, finds that any
common carrier, other than a railroad corporation, has charged,
collected, or received a lesser compensation for the transportation
of persons or property, or for any service in connection therewith,
than the applicable rates, fares, and charges specified in its tariff
schedules filed and in effect at the time, or that the carrier has
refunded or remitted in any manner or by any device any portion of
the rates, fares, or charges so specified without an order of the
commission so authorizing, or charged, collected, or received a
lesser compensation than that established by the commission under
subdivision (b) of Section 493, the commission shall require the
carrier to collect the undercharges involved and may impose upon the
carrier a fine equal to the amount of the undercharges. These fines
shall be deposited in the General Fund.
The remedy and penalty provided by this section shall be
cumulative and shall not be a bar to or affect any other remedy or
penalty provided for in this part, or to the exercise by the
commission of its power to punish for contempt.

2101. The commission shall see that the provisions of the
Constitution and statutes of this State affecting public utilities,
the enforcement of which is not specifically vested in some other
officer or tribunal, are enforced and obeyed, and that violations
thereof are promptly prosecuted and penalties due the State therefor
recovered and collected, and to this end it may sue in the name of
the people of the State of California. Upon the request of the
commission, the Attorney General or the district attorney of the
proper county or city and county shall aid in any investigation,
hearing, or trial had under the provisions of this part, and shall
institute and prosecute actions or proceedings for the enforcement of
the provisions of the Constitution and statutes of this State
affecting public utilities and for the punishment of all violations
thereof.

2102. Whenever the commission is of the opinion that any public
utility is failing or omitting or about to fail or omit, to do
anything required of it by law, or by any order, decision, rule,
direction, or requirement of the commission, or is doing anything or
about to do anything, or permitting anything or about to permit
anything to be done, in violation of law or of any order, decision,
rule, direction, or requirement of the commission, it shall direct
the attorney of the commission to commence an action or proceeding in
the superior court in and for the county, or city and county, in
which the cause or some part thereof arose, or in which the
corporation complained of has its principal place of business, or in
which the person complained of resides, for the purpose of having
such violations or threatened violations stopped and prevented,
either by mandamus or injunction. The attorney of the commission
shall thereupon begin such action or proceeding in the name of the
people of the State of California, by petition to such superior
court, alleging the violation or threatened violation complained of,
and praying for appropriate relief by way of mandamus or injunction.

2103. Upon the filing of a petition pursuant to Section 2102, the
court shall specify a time, not exceeding 20 days after the service
of the copy of the petition, within which the public utility
complained of shall answer the petition, and in the meantime the
public utility may be restrained. In case of default in answer, or
after answer, the court shall immediately inquire into the facts and
circumstances of the case. Such corporations or persons as the court
deems necessary or proper to be joined as parties, in order to make
its judgment, order or writ effective, may be joined as parties. The
final judgment in any such action or proceeding shall either dismiss
the action or proceeding or direct that the writ of mandamus or
injunction issue or be made permanent as prayed for in the petition,
or in such modified or other form as will afford appropriate relief.
An appeal may be taken to the Supreme Court from such final judgment
in the same manner and with the same effect, subject to the
provisions of this part, as appeals are taken from judgments of the
superior court in other actions for mandamus or injunction.

2104. (a) Except as provided by Sections 2100 and 2107.5, and in
addition to the remedies provided in Sections 688.020 and 688.030 of
the Code of Civil Procedure, actions to recover penalties under this
part may be brought in the name of the people of the State of
California, in the superior court in and for the county, or city and
county, in which the cause or some part thereof arose, or in which
the corporation complained of has its principal place of business, or
in which the person complained of resides. The action, if brought
pursuant to this section, shall be commenced and prosecuted to final
judgment by the attorney or agent of the commission. All fines and
penalties may be sued for and recovered. The commission may enjoin
the sale of a public utility's or common carrier's assets to satisfy
unpaid fines and penalties. The commission may use any of the
remedies afforded to a creditor under the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer
Act (Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 3439) of Title 2 of Part 2
of Division 4 of the Civil Code). Respondents who fraudulently
transfer assets to avoid paying commission-imposed fines or penalties
are subject to prosecution under Sections 154, 531, and 531a of the
Penal Code. In all of these actions, the procedure and rules of
evidence shall be the same as in ordinary civil actions, except for
prosecutions under the Penal Code or as otherwise herein provided.
All fines and penalties recovered by the state in any action,
together with the costs thereof, shall be paid into the State
Treasury to the credit of the General Fund. Any action may be
compromised or discontinued on application of the commission upon the
terms the court approves and orders.

(b) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2014, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2014, deletes or extends
that date.

2104. (a) Except as provided by Sections 2100 and 2107.5, actions
to recover penalties under this part shall be brought in the name of
the people of the State of California, in the superior court in and
for the county, or city and county, in which the cause or some part
thereof arose, or in which the corporation complained of has its
principal place of business, or in which the person complained of
resides. The action shall be commenced and prosecuted to final
judgment by the attorney or agent of the commission. All fines and
penalties may be sued for and recovered. The commission may enjoin
the sale of a public utility's or common carrier's assets to satisfy
unpaid fines and penalties. The commission may use any of the
remedies afforded to a creditor under the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer
Act (Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 3439) of Title 2 of Part 2
of Division 4 of the Civil Code). Respondents who fraudulently
transfer assets to avoid paying commission-imposed fines or penalties
are subject to prosecution under Sections 154, 531, and 531a of the
Penal Code. In all of these actions, the procedure and rules of
evidence shall be the same as in ordinary civil actions, except for
prosecutions under the Penal Code or as otherwise herein provided.
All fines and penalties recovered by the state in any action,
together with the costs thereof, shall be paid into the State
Treasury to the credit of the General Fund. Any action may be
compromised or discontinued on application of the commission upon the
terms the court approves and orders.
(b) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2014.

2104.5. Any penalty for violation of any provision of this act, or
of any rule, regulation, general order, or order of the commission,
involving safety standards for pipeline facilities or the
transportation of gas in the State of California may be compromised
by the commission. In determining the amount of such penalty, or the
amount agreed upon in compromise, the appropriateness of such penalty
to the size of the business of the person charged, the gravity of
the violation, and the good faith of the person charged in attempting
to achieve compliance, after notification of a violation, shall be
considered. The amount of any such penalty, when finally determined,
or the amount agreed upon in compromise, may be recovered in a civil
action in the name of the People of the State of California in the
superior court in and for the county, or city and county in which the
cause or some part thereof arose, or in which the corporation
complained of has its principal place of business or the person
complained of resides. In any such action, all penalties incurred, or
amounts agreed upon in compromise for violations committed up to the
time of commencing the action may be sued for and recovered. In all
such actions, the procedure and rules of evidence shall be the same
as in ordinary civil actions, except as otherwise herein provided.
All fines and penalties recovered by the state in any such action,
together with the costs thereof, shall be paid into the State
Treasury to the credit of the General Fund.

2105. All penalties accruing under this part shall be cumulative,
and a suit for the recovery of one penalty shall not be a bar to or
affect the recovery of any other penalty or forfeiture or be a bar to
any criminal prosecution against any public utility, or any officer,
director, agent, or employee thereof, or any other corporation or
person, or to the exercise by the commission of its power to punish
for contempt.

2106. Any public utility which does, causes to be done, or permits
any act, matter, or thing prohibited or declared unlawful, or which
omits to do any act, matter, or thing required to be done, either by
the Constitution, any law of this State, or any order or decision of
the commission, shall be liable to the persons or corporations
affected thereby for all loss, damages, or injury caused thereby or
resulting therefrom. If the court finds that the act or omission was
wilful, it may, in addition to the actual damages, award exemplary
damages. An action to recover for such loss, damage, or injury may be
brought in any court of competent jurisdiction by any corporation or
person.
No recovery as provided in this section shall in any manner affect
a recovery by the State of the penalties provided in this part or
the exercise by the commission of its power to punish for contempt.

2107. Any public utility which violates or fails to comply with any
provision of the Constitution of this state or of this part, or
which fails or neglects to comply with any part or provision of any
order, decision, decree, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of
the commission, in a case in which a penalty has not otherwise been
provided, is subject to a penalty of not less than five hundred
dollars ($500), nor more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) for
each offense.

2107.5. When the commission finds, after hearing, that any person
or corporation has knowingly aided or abetted a common carrier in
violating Section 458 or has violated Section 459, or any order,
decision, rule, regulation, direction, demand, or requirement issued
under those provisions, the commission may impose a fine for each
violation not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000). In addition
to the fine, the commission may impose interest on the fine, not to
exceed the maximum rate of interest provided for in Section 1 of
Article XV of the Constitution. Interest shall commence to accrue on
the date when the payment of the fine becomes delinquent.

2108. Every violation of the provisions of this part or of any part
of any order, decision, decree, rule, direction, demand, or
requirement of the commission, by any corporation or person is a
separate and distinct offense, and in case of a continuing violation
each day's continuance thereof shall be a separate and distinct
offense.

2109. In construing and enforcing the provisions of this part
relating to penalties, the act, omission, or failure of any officer,
agent, or employee of any public utility, acting within the scope of
his official duties or employment, shall in every case be the act,
omission, or failure of such public utility.

2110. Every public utility and every officer, agent, or employee of
any public utility, who violates or fails to comply with, or who
procures, aids, or abets any violation by any public utility of any
provision of the Constitution of this state or of this part, or who
fails to comply with any part of any order, decision, rule,
direction, demand, or requirement of the commission, or who procures,
aids, or abets any public utility in such violation or noncompliance
in a case in which a penalty has not otherwise been provided, is
guilty of a misdemeanor and is punishable by a fine not exceeding one
thousand dollars ($1,000), or by imprisonment in a county jail not
exceeding one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

2111. Every corporation or person, other than a public utility and
its officers, agents, or employees, which or who knowingly violates
or fails to comply with, or procures, aids or abets any violation of
any provision of the Constitution of this state relating to public
utilities or of this part, or fails to comply with any part of any
order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the
commission, or who procures, aids, or abets any public utility in
such violation or noncompliance, in a case in which a penalty has not
otherwise been provided for such corporation or person, is subject
to a penalty of not less than five hundred dollars ($500), nor more
than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) for each offense.

2112. Every person who, either individually, or acting as an
officer, agent, or employee of a corporation other than a public
utility, violates any provision of this part, or fails to comply with
any part of any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or
requirement of the commission, or who procures, aids, or abets any
public utility in such violation or noncompliance, in a case in which
a penalty has not otherwise been provided for such person, is guilty
of a misdemeanor, and is punishable by a fine not exceeding one
thousand dollars ($1,000), or by imprisonment in a county jail not
exceeding one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

2112.5. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any person who
willfully violates the provisions of Section 588 is guilty of a
misdemeanor, subject to a penalty of not less than five hundred
dollars ($500), nor more than two thousand dollars ($2,000), for each
offense.

2113. Every public utility, corporation, or person which fails to
comply with any part of any order, decision, rule, regulation,
direction, demand, or requirement of the commission or any
commissioner is in contempt of the commission, and is punishable by
the commission for contempt in the same manner and to the same extent
as contempt is punished by courts of record. The remedy prescribed
in this section does not bar or affect any other remedy prescribed in
this part, but is cumulative and in addition thereto.

2114. Any public utility on whose behalf any agent or officer
thereof who, having taken an oath that he will testify, declare,
depose or certify truly before the commission, willfully and contrary
to such oath states or submits as true any material matter which he
knows to be false, or who testifies, declares, deposes, or certifies
under penalty of perjury and willfully states as true any material
matter which he knows to be false, is guilty of a felony and shall be
punished by a fine not to exceed five hundred thousand dollars
($500,000).

2115. Whenever the commission determines that a railroad
corporation has violated any order of the commission concerning the
adequacy, condition, or safety of the corporation's cars or tracks or
any related fixture or appliance, the commission may impose upon the
corporation a fine of not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2,000)
for each violation or a fine of not exceeding two hundred dollars
($200) for each day that a violation continues uncorrected. The
commission may assess interest upon any fine imposed, which shall
commence upon the day the payment of the fine is delinquent.

2117. (a) Whenever a written notice to appear has been mailed to
the owner of a passenger stage, an exact and legible duplicate copy
of the notice, when filed with the magistrate in lieu of a verified
complaint, is a complaint to which the defendant may plead guilty.
(b) If, however, the defendant fails to appear, does not deposit
bail, or pleads other than guilty to the offense charged, a complaint
shall be filed which conforms to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section
948) of Title 5 of Part 2 of the Penal Code and which shall be deemed
to be an original complaint, and thereafter the proceeding shall be
held as provided by law, except that the defendant may, by an
agreement in writing, subscribed by the defendant and filed with the
court, waive the filing of a verified complaint and elect that the
prosecution may proceed upon a written notice to appear.

2119. Every passenger stage corporation and every officer,
director, agent, or employee of a passenger stage corporation, who
displays on any vehicle any identifying symbol other than one
prescribed by the commission pursuant to Section 1038.5, or who fails
to remove an identifying symbol when required by the commission, is
guilty of a misdemeanor and is punishable by a fine of not more than
one thousand dollars ($1,000), by imprisonment in the county jail for
not more than one year, or by both.