Section 8.2 - (Rule 8.2) Ex Parte Requirements(a) In any quasi-legislative proceeding, ex parte communications are allowed without restriction or reporting requirement.(b) In any adjudicatory proceeding, ex parte communications and communications concerning procedural matters between interested persons and decisionmakers other than the assigned Administrative Law Judge are prohibited.(c) In any ratesetting or catastrophic wildfire proceeding, ex parte communications are permitted if consistent with the following requirements: (1) All-party meetings: (A) Oral ex parte communications are permitted at any time with a Commissioner provided that the Commissioner involved (i) invites all parties to attend the meeting or sets up a conference call in which all parties may participate, and (ii) gives notice of this meeting or call as soon as possible, but no less than three working days before the meeting or call.(B) Oral ex parte communications at all-party meetings are not subject to the reporting requirements set forth in Rule 8.4.(2) Individual oral ex parte communications: (A) If a decisionmaker, other than the policy or legal advisory staff assigned to a Commissioner's office, grants an ex parte communication meeting or call to any interested person individually or to a group of interested persons outside of an all-party meeting, all other parties shall be granted an individual meeting of a substantially equal period of time with that decisionmaker.(B) If a decisionmaker grants an ex parte communication meeting or call to any interested person individually or to a group of interested persons outside of an all-party meeting, the interested person requesting the initial individual meeting shall notify the parties that its request has been granted, and shall file this notification, at least three working days before the meeting or call. A single notification on behalf of a group of interested persons will suffice.(C) Individual oral ex parte communications are not permitted during the three working days before the Commission's scheduled vote on the decision in the proceeding and extending until after the Commission's voting meeting concludes.(D) Individual oral ex parte communications are subject to the reporting requirements set forth in Rule 8.4.(3) Written ex parte communications:(A) Written ex parte communications are permitted provided that the interested person making the communication serves copies of the communication on all parties on the same day the communication is sent to a decisionmaker.(B) Written ex parte communications permissible under Rule 8.2(c)(3)(A) are not subject to the reporting requirements set forth in Rule 8.4.(4) No oral or written ex parte communications may occur during any "quiet period" established pursuant to Public Utilities Code Sections 1701.3(h)(6)(A) or 1701.3(h)(6)(D).(d) Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (c) of this rule, the assigned Commissioner may issue a ruling to restrict or prohibit ex parte communications in a quasi-legislative, ratesetting, or catastrophic wildfire proceeding or to require reporting of ex parte communications in a quasi-legislative proceeding.(e) Ex parte communications concerning categorization of a given proceeding are permitted, but must be reported pursuant to Rule 8.3.(f) Ex parte communications regarding the assignment of a proceeding to a particular Commissioner or Administrative Law Judge, or reassignment of a proceeding to another Commissioner or Administrative Law Judge, are prohibited.(g) Ex parte communications that are one-way from a decisionmaker to an interested person are banned.(h) If a prohibited communication occurs, the interested person shall report it pursuant to Rule 8.4.(i) The requirements of this rule, and any reporting requirements under Rule 8.4, shall apply until (1) the date when the Commission serves the decision finally resolving any application for rehearing, or (2) where the period to apply for rehearing has expired and no application for rehearing has been filed.(j) Upon the filing of a petition for modification, the requirements of this rule, and any reporting requirements under Rule 8.4, that applied to the proceeding in which the decision that would be modified was issued shall apply until and unless a scoping memo has issued determining that a different category shall apply.(k) Where a proceeding is remanded to the Commission by a court or where the Commission re-opens a proceeding, the requirements of this rule and any reporting requirements under Rule 8.4 that previously applied to the proceeding shall apply until and unless a Commission order or a scoping memo has issued determining that a different category shall apply.(l) When the Commission determines that there has been a violation of this rule or of Rule 8.3, the Commission may impose penalties and sanctions, or make any other order, including but not limited to:(i) penalty of from $500 up to $50,000 for each offense, except that, if the person or entity that committed the violation may obtain financial benefits that exceed this maximum penalty, the Commission may impose a penalty up to the amount of those benefits. If the violation consists of engaging in a prohibited ex parte communication, each day that the violation is not disclosed to the Commission and to parties to the proceeding is a separate violation.(ii) adverse consequences in the subject proceeding or in other Commission proceedings. In determining the appropriate penalties or sanctions, the Commission shall consider (i) the harm caused by virtue of the violation, (ii) the person's or entity's conduct in preventing, detecting, correcting, disclosing, and rectifying the violation, (iii) the amount of penalty that will achieve the objective of deterrence based on the person's or entity's financial resources, (iv) penalties or sanctions that the Commission has imposed under reasonably comparable factual circumstances, and (v) the totality of circumstances from the perspective of the public interest.
(m) The Commission shall render its decision based on the evidence of record. Ex parte communications, and any notice filed pursuant to Rule 8.3, are not a part of the evidentiary record of the proceeding.Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 20, § 8.2
1. Repealer filed 6-9-95; operative 6-9-95 (Register 95, No. 23).
2. Editorial correction implementing 6-9-95 order and adding HISTORY 1 (Register 98, No. 43).
3. New section filed 10-19-98; designated effective 1-1-98 by Decision 97-12-043. Submitted to OAL for printing only (Register 98, No. 43).
4. Amendment of subsections (b)-(d) filed 2-22-2005; operative 3-24-2005 (Register 2005, No. 8).
5. Renumbering of former section 8.2 to new section 14.4 and renumbering of former section 7 to new section 8.2, including amendment of section heading and section filed 9-13-2006; operative 9-13-2006 pursuant to Government Code section 11351(a) (Register 2006, No. 37).
6. Amendment of subsections (c)(2)-(3) and (d) filed 6-4-2009; operative 7-4-2009 (Register 2009, No. 23). Submitted to OAL for limited review pursuant to Government Code section 11351 and Public Utilities Code section 311(h).
7. Renumbering of former section 8.2 to section 8.3 and new section 8.2 filed 5-9-2011; operative 6-8-2011. Submitted to OAL for limited review pursuant to Government Code section 11351 and Public Utilities Code section 311(h) (Register 2011, No. 19).
8. Repealer of former section 8.2 and renumbering of former section 8.3 to section 8.2, including amendment of section and NOTE, filed 1-30-2018; operative 4-1-2018. Submitted to OAL for limited review pursuant to Government Code section 11351 and Public Utilities Code section 311(h) (Register 2018, No. 5).
9. Amendment of subsections (c), (c)(2)(B) and (c)(3)(A)-(c)(3)(B), repealer and new subsection (c)(4), repealer of subsections (c)(4)(A)-(c)(4)(B) and amendment of subsection (d) filed 3-15-2021; operative 5-1-2021 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(3). Submitted to OAL for limited review pursuant to Government Code section 11351 and Public Utilities Code section 311(h) (Register 2021, No. 12). Note: Authority cited: Section 1701, Public Utilities Code. Reference: Sections 1701, 1701.1, 1701.2, 1701.3 and 1701.4, Public Utilities Code.
1. Repealer filed 6-9-95; operative 6-9-95 (Register 95, No. 23).
2. Editorial correction implementing 6-9-95 order and adding History 1 (Register 98, No. 43).
3. New section filed 10-19-98; designated effective 1-1-98 by Decision 97-12-043. Submitted to OAL for printing only (Register 98, No. 43).
4. Amendment of subsections (b)-(d) filed 2-22-2005; operative 3-24-2005 (Register 2005, No. 8).
5. Renumbering of former section 8.2 to new section 14.4 and renumbering of former section 7 to new section 8.2, including amendment of section heading and section filed 9-13-2006; operative 9-13-2006 pursuant to Government Code section 11351(a) (Register 2006, No. 37).
6. Amendment of subsections (c)(2)-(3) and (d) filed 6-4-2009; operative 7-4-2009 (Register 2009, No. 23). Submitted to OAL for limited review pursuant to Government Code section 11351 and Public Utilities Code section 311(h).
7. Renumbering of former section 8.2 to section 8.3 and new section 8.2 filed 5-9-2011; operative 6-8-2011. Submitted to OAL for limited review pursuant to Government Code section 11351 and Public Utilities Code section 311(h) (Register 2011, No. 19).
8. Repealer of former section 8.2 and renumbering of former section 8.3 to section 8.2, including amendment of section and Note, filed 1-30-2018; operative 4/1/2018. Submitted to OAL for limited review pursuant to Government Code section 11351 and Public Utilities Code section 311(h) (Register 2018, No. 5).
9. Amendment of subsections (c), (c)(2)(B) and (c)(3)(A)-(c)(3)(B), repealer and new subsection (c)(4), repealer of subsections (c)(4)(A)-(c)(4)(B) and amendment of subsection (d) filed 3-15-2021; operative 5/1/2021 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(3). Submitted to OAL for limited review pursuant to Government Code section 11351 and Public Utilities Code section 311(h) (Register 2021, No. 12).