Bill Commons

CA AB 420

enacted

Public utilities: property, franchises, and permits: exemption.

California · 2025-2026 Regular Session · lower

Quick answers

Did CA AB 420 pass?

Yes. CA AB 420 has been enacted into law as of 2025-10-01. Latest recorded action (2025-10-01): Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 150, Statutes of 2025.

What is CA AB 420 about?

Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities. Existing law prohibits public utilities, other than certain common carriers, from selling, leasing, assigning, mortgaging, or otherwise disposing of, or encumbering, its assets that are necessary or useful in the performance of its duties to the public, unless the public utility has secured an order from the commission to do so for a qualified transaction above $5,000,000 or an approval from the commission through the filing of an advice letter for a qualified transaction at or below $5,000,000. This bill would exempt from that prohibition easements, or changes to easements, that have a ratepayer financial impact valued at $100,000 or less if a public utility that is a party to the qualified transaction has gross annual California revenues of $500,000,000 or more. The bill would require, beginning January 1, 2030, and every 5 years thereafter, those threshold values to increase to reflect any increase in inflation, as specified. The bill would require each public utility to annually file a Tier 1 advice letter with a report of all transactions performed pursuant to this exemption, enumerated by date, value, location, and party. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because the provisions of this bill would be a part of the act, and a violation of a commission action implementing the above-described provisions would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Who sponsors CA AB 420?

Petrie-Norris is the primary sponsor of CA AB 420.

Description

Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities. Existing law prohibits public utilities, other than certain common carriers, from selling, leasing, assigning, mortgaging, or otherwise disposing of, or encumbering, its assets that are necessary or useful in the performance of its duties to the public, unless the public utility has secured an order from the commission to do so for a qualified transaction above $5,000,000 or an approval from the commission through the filing of an advice letter for a qualified transaction at or below $5,000,000. This bill would exempt from that prohibition easements, or changes to easements, that have a ratepayer financial impact valued at $100,000 or less if a public utility that is a party to the qualified transaction has gross annual California revenues of $500,000,000 or more. The bill would require, beginning January 1, 2030, and every 5 years thereafter, those threshold values to increase to reflect any increase in inflation, as specified. The bill would require each public utility to annually file a Tier 1 advice letter with a report of all transactions performed pursuant to this exemption, enumerated by date, value, location, and party. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because the provisions of this bill would be a part of the act, and a violation of a commission action implementing the above-described provisions would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Introduced
2025-04-09
Latest action
2025-10-01 — Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 150, Statutes of 2025.
Bill type
bill
Last updated
—

Subjects

Sponsors

  • Petrie-Norrisauthor

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

  1. 2025-02-05

    Read first time. To print.

    reading-1

  2. 2025-02-06

    From printer. May be heard in committee March 8.

  3. 2025-02-18

    Referred to Com. on U. & E.

    referral-committee

  4. 2025-04-09

    From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on U. & E. Read second time and amended.

    amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee

  5. 2025-04-10

    Re-referred to Com. on U. & E.

    referral-committee

  6. 2025-04-24

    From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 18. Noes 0.) (April 23).

    amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage,referral-committee

  7. 2025-04-28

    Read second time and amended.

    amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-2

  8. 2025-04-29

    Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

    referral-committee

  9. 2025-05-14

    From committee: Do pass. To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (May 14).

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable

  10. 2025-05-15

    Read second time. Ordered to Consent Calendar.

    reading-1,reading-2

  11. 2025-05-23

    Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 71. Noes 0. Page 1661.)

    passage,reading-1,reading-3

  12. 2025-05-23

    In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.

    reading-1,referral-committee

  13. 2025-06-04

    Referred to Com. on E., U & C.

    referral-committee

  14. 2025-06-26

    In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.

  15. 2025-07-17

    From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 16. Noes 0.) (July 15).

    amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage,referral-committee

  16. 2025-07-17

    Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

    amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee

  17. 2025-08-19

    From committee: Be ordered to second reading file pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8 and ordered to Consent Calendar.

    committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2

  18. 2025-08-20

    Read second time. Ordered to Consent Calendar.

    reading-1,reading-2

  19. 2025-08-25

    Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 37. Noes 0. Page 2250.).

    passage,reading-1,reading-3

  20. 2025-08-26

    In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending.

  21. 2025-09-03

    Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 79. Noes 0. Page 2854.).

    amendment-passage,committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable

  22. 2025-09-09

    Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3 p.m.

    executive-receipt

  23. 2025-10-01

    Approved by the Governor.

    executive-signature

  24. 2025-10-01

    Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 150, Statutes of 2025.

    became-law

Versions

  • 02/05/25 - Introduced — 2025-02-05Compare
  • 04/09/25 - Amended Assembly — 2025-04-09Compare
  • 04/28/25 - Amended Assembly — 2025-04-28Compare
  • 07/17/25 - Amended Senate — 2025-07-17Compare
  • 09/05/25 - Enrolled — 2025-09-05Compare
  • 10/01/25 - Chaptered — 2025-10-01Compare
  • AB420Compare
  • (document, no version)Compare

Documents

Votes

  • Do pass as amended, and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with recommendation: To Consent Calendar

    2025-04-23 · pass · 18-0

    Member-level votes (18)
    • Chen: yes
    • Wallis: yes
    • Ta: yes
    • Petrie-Norris: yes
    • Boerner: yes
    • Irwin: yes
    • Papan: yes
    • Rogers: yes
    • Hart: yes
    • Zbur: yes
    • Mark González: yes
    • Calderon: yes
    • Harabedian: yes
    • Schultz: yes
    • Kalra: yes
    • Schiavo: yes
    • Davies: yes
    • Patterson: yes

  • Do pass. To Consent Calendar.

    2025-05-14 · pass · 15-0

    Member-level votes (15)
    • Fong: yes
    • Pacheco: yes
    • Pellerin: yes
    • Mark González: yes
    • Hart: yes
    • Sanchez: yes
    • Ta: yes
    • Tangipa: yes
    • Dixon: yes
    • Calderon: yes
    • Solache: yes
    • Caloza: yes
    • Elhawary: yes
    • Wicks: yes
    • Arambula: yes

  • AB 420 Petrie-Norris Consent Calendar Second Day

    2025-05-23 · pass · 71-0

    Member-level votes (79)
    • DeMaio: yes
    • Davies: yes
    • Calderon: yes
    • Soria: yes
    • Lee: yes
    • Hadwick: yes
    • Valencia: yes
    • Rogers: yes
    • Castillo: yes
    • Bennett: yes
    • Blanca Rubio: yes
    • Solache: yes
    • Ta: yes
    • Alanis: yes
    • Carrillo: yes
    • Haney: yes
    • Flora: yes
    • Bonta: yes
    • Muratsuchi: yes
    • Connolly: yes
    • Rivas: yes
    • Ahrens: yes
    • Patterson: yes
    • Petrie-Norris: yes
    • Alvarez: yes
    • Zbur: yes
    • Harabedian: yes
    • Dixon: yes
    • Addis: yes
    • Bauer-Kahan: yes
    • Fong: yes
    • Lackey: yes
    • Ávila Farías: yes
    • Jeff Gonzalez: yes
    • Berman: yes
    • Ward: yes
    • Hart: yes
    • Gipson: yes
    • Irwin: yes
    • Jackson: yes
    • Arambula: yes
    • Lowenthal: yes
    • Mark González: yes
    • Pacheco: yes
    • Stefani: yes
    • Gabriel: yes
    • Gallagher: yes
    • Boerner: yes
    • Ramos: yes
    • Wallis: yes
    • Ortega: yes
    • Papan: yes
    • Patel: yes
    • Ransom: yes
    • Schiavo: yes
    • Michelle Rodriguez: yes
    • Elhawary: yes
    • Bains: yes
    • Celeste Rodriguez: yes
    • Aguiar-Curry: yes
    • Garcia: yes
    • Krell: yes
    • Wilson: yes
    • Hoover: yes
    • Macedo: yes
    • Caloza: yes
    • McKinnor: yes
    • Quirk-Silva: yes
    • Kalra: yes
    • Pellerin: yes
    • Tangipa: yes
    • Bryan: other
    • Sharp-Collins: other
    • Nguyen: other
    • Ellis: other
    • Schultz: other
    • Sanchez: other
    • Chen: other
    • Wicks: other

  • Do pass as amended, but first amend, and re-refer to the Committee on [Appropriations] with the recommendation: To Consent Calendar

    2025-07-15 · pass · 16-0

    Member-level votes (17)
    • Gonzalez: yes
    • Hurtado: yes
    • Arreguín: yes
    • Rubio: yes
    • Stern: yes
    • Becker: yes
    • Allen: yes
    • Dahle: yes
    • Strickland: yes
    • Caballero: yes
    • Archuleta: yes
    • McNerney: yes
    • Grove: yes
    • Wahab: yes
    • Limón: yes
    • Ochoa Bogh: yes
    • Ashby: other

  • Consent Calendar 2nd AB420 Petrie-Norris

    2025-08-25 · pass · 37-0

    Member-level votes (40)
    • Reyes: yes
    • Allen: yes
    • Jones: yes
    • Menjivar: yes
    • Dahle: yes
    • Niello: yes
    • Pérez: yes
    • Wahab: yes
    • Weber Pierson: yes
    • Ochoa Bogh: yes
    • Grove: yes
    • Cabaldon: yes
    • Wiener: yes
    • Blakespear: yes
    • Choi: yes
    • Richardson: yes
    • Limón: yes
    • McNerney: yes
    • Becker: yes
    • Arreguín: yes
    • Archuleta: yes
    • Grayson: yes
    • Cortese: yes
    • Cervantes: yes
    • Laird: yes
    • Stern: yes
    • McGuire: yes
    • Seyarto: yes
    • Umberg: yes
    • Caballero: yes
    • Durazo: yes
    • Smallwood-Cuevas: yes
    • Strickland: yes
    • Gonzalez: yes
    • Padilla: yes
    • Ashby: yes
    • Valladares: yes
    • Hurtado: other
    • Alvarado-Gil: other
    • Rubio: other

  • AB 420 Petrie-Norris Concurrence in Senate Amendments

    2025-09-03 · pass · 79-0

    Member-level votes (79)
    • Pacheco: yes
    • Flora: yes
    • Schultz: yes
    • Patterson: yes
    • Ellis: yes
    • Gabriel: yes
    • Valencia: yes
    • Petrie-Norris: yes
    • Caloza: yes
    • Gipson: yes
    • Bauer-Kahan: yes
    • Lee: yes
    • Muratsuchi: yes
    • Alanis: yes
    • Elhawary: yes
    • Zbur: yes
    • Schiavo: yes
    • Michelle Rodriguez: yes
    • Macedo: yes
    • Kalra: yes
    • Rivas: yes
    • Ortega: yes
    • Berman: yes
    • Davies: yes
    • Connolly: yes
    • Bains: yes
    • Nguyen: yes
    • Arambula: yes
    • Garcia: yes
    • Krell: yes
    • Chen: yes
    • Wilson: yes
    • Mark González: yes
    • Carrillo: yes
    • Hadwick: yes
    • Stefani: yes
    • Blanca Rubio: yes
    • Wicks: yes
    • Gallagher: yes
    • Jackson: yes
    • Jeff Gonzalez: yes
    • Ramos: yes
    • Wallis: yes
    • Alvarez: yes
    • Addis: yes
    • Ransom: yes
    • Haney: yes
    • Harabedian: yes
    • Irwin: yes
    • Solache: yes
    • DeMaio: yes
    • McKinnor: yes
    • Patel: yes
    • Quirk-Silva: yes
    • Aguiar-Curry: yes
    • Bennett: yes
    • Hart: yes
    • Castillo: yes
    • Ward: yes
    • Rogers: yes
    • Ahrens: yes
    • Dixon: yes
    • Bryan: yes
    • Sanchez: yes
    • Calderon: yes
    • Sharp-Collins: yes
    • Lowenthal: yes
    • Ávila Farías: yes
    • Soria: yes
    • Boerner: yes
    • Pellerin: yes
    • Ta: yes
    • Hoover: yes
    • Papan: yes
    • Tangipa: yes
    • Celeste Rodriguez: yes
    • Lackey: yes
    • Bonta: yes
    • Fong: yes

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB420

Attribution

Data from openstates_bulk_csv, retrieved 2026-07-24T01:34:27.960412Z

Inspect retained evidence for changes recorded after evidence tracking began:

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