This act establishes a two-year federal lobbying ban for former state utility regulators and mandates that states consider adopting this standard.
Josh Harder
Representative
CA-9
This act establishes a mandatory two-year lobbying ban for former state utility regulatory commissioners, preventing them from influencing their former commissions or providing related paid services. It requires every state utility regulatory authority to consider and make a final determination on adopting this new standard within two years of enactment. The bill aims to curb undue influence by former regulators on utility decisions.
End PG&E Lobbying Act Proposes Two-Year 'Cooling Off' Period for Utility Regulators to Curb Insider Influence.
The End PG&E Lobbying Act targets the 'revolving door' between government regulators and the massive utility companies they oversee. The bill introduces a mandatory two-year ban (Section 111(d)(22)) that prevents former members of state utility commissions from lobbying, appearing before, or providing paid services to their former agencies. By setting a hard 24-month clock, the legislation aims to ensure that the people deciding your electricity rates today aren't immediately selling their inside connections to the highest bidder tomorrow.
Closing the Revolving Door
Under this bill, once a commissioner finishes their term, they are legally sidelined from the regulatory arena for two years. They cannot practice before the commission to influence decisions or use non-public information to benefit a private client. For a regular consumer, this means the person who just approved a rate hike for your local power company can't be hired by that same company a month later to argue for another increase. It’s a move designed to keep the focus on public service rather than future job security in the private sector.
Deadlines for State Action
The federal government isn't just suggesting this; it’s putting states on a clock. Every state regulatory authority must begin considering this new standard within one year of the law passing and make a final 'yes or no' decision within two years (Section 2). This prevents the proposal from gathering dust in a sub-committee. However, the bill is fair to states that are already ahead of the curve; if a state legislature has already voted on or implemented a similar ban in the last three years, they don't have to restart the process from scratch.
Real-World Accountability
For the average person—whether you’re a small business owner watching your overhead or a homeowner managing monthly bills—this provides a layer of ethical protection. When a utility commission decides how much you pay for heat or light, those decisions should be based on data, not the influence of a former colleague sitting across the table. While this may limit the immediate career options for high-level regulators and the lobbying firms that recruit them, the bill prioritizes the integrity of the regulatory process over the job prospects of a few insiders.