“To amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to establish a Federal standard relating to a two-year lobbying ban.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section establishes a new standard under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA) requiring each State regulatory authority (with respect to each electric utility for which it has ratemaking authority) and each nonregulated electric utility to consider whether it is appropriate to implement a two-year ban prohibiting former members of such State regulatory authority from lobbying, practicing, or rendering compensated services before the authority to influence decisions, gain non-public information, or in related matters. (As background, PURPA requires states to consider listed standards in electric utility ratemaking to promote energy efficiency, renewables, and other policies.) It further directs State regulatory authorities to commence such consideration no later than one year after enactment and complete the determination no later than two years after enactment, exempts states that previously implemented, considered, or legislatively voted on the standard (or comparable standard) for an electric utility, and makes conforming changes to related PURPA procedural timelines in §§112(c) and 124.