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Legislation proposed to bar PG&E from utilizing tax deductions to cover penalty

June 28, 2015

San Bruno 2If proposed legislation is passed, PG&E will not be able to harvest a tax windfall from state authorities by taking a tax deduction for a $1.6 billion penalty because of its negligence in a fatal explosion in San Bruno. [Contra Costa Times]

In April, the state Public Utilities Commission imposed a $1.6 billion penalty against PG&E for its role in the explosion which killed eight people. The penalty requires PG&E shareholders to pay $850 million for gas system safety improvements, the company to refund $400 million to gas customers, and PG&E to pay a $300 million fine to the state.

State Sen. Jerry Hill and state Assemblyman Kevin Mullin, both of San Mateo County, co-authored SB 681.

The $1.6 billion penalty is heavily weighted towards safety improvements, but it is open to interpretation about whether PG&E can claim state and federal tax deductions.

“This should eliminate the ambiguity,” Sen. Hill said. “Our legislation will save $115 million for state taxpayers.”


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Another bad proposed law. Our wildly liberal state Legislature speaks again. Even on the wrong side of this one.


Always making crazy, overreaching boutique laws which suit their liberal, populist, socialist taste and publicity. .


Dump on PG&E again. To paraphrase a 1970’s humor magazine: “Among all the world and all the peoples, TWO THINGS unite nearly everyone of every creed.. A desire for world peace, and a hated of utility companies.”


Listen, I can find reasons to hate PG&E also, but if the tax break was in existing law, changing it suddenly ex post facto is just wrong.


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let’s see; if they can’t get their tax deductions then that cost gets passed to us? we should look hard at any rate increase requests in the future. if you want to see a Darth Vader clone look at your local utility.


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These are clearly nothing more then government subsidies that WE wind up paying for..in loss of life, damage to the environment, and of course our tax dollars.


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I was raised blocks from this mess. Knowing that the fault line runs across this piping, it is no wonder that the pipe would break someday. So the State want bonus money too, a complete joke!


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It’s the government way don’t you know……….


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