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- Written by: LAKE COUNTY NEWS REPORTS
SB 350, by Sen. Jerry Hill, provides California with a failsafe if PG&E does not exit bankruptcy, or if the utility falls short of achieving the reforms in practices and operations that have been required by law.
SB 350 builds on the framework set up by AB 1054, which was signed in July 2019, as well as on requirements set in motion by the California Public Utilities Commission, the bankruptcy court and most importantly, by the governor’s push for fundamental changes to transform PG&E into a utility that is reliable and accountable to its customers and to all Californians.
“No more business as usual for PG&E,” said Gov. Newsom. “As we head into wildfire season amid a pandemic, Californians need to have confidence that their utility is focused on customer safety – preventing wildfire sparks and making critical safety upgrades. SB 350 marks a critical step in the transformation of PG&E into a utility that is accountable to those it serves – the people of California. I would like to recognize and thank the Legislature for taking action on this important legislation.”
“California must have a backstop in place to protect ratepayers and our state if PG&E does not meet the strict requirements for emerging from bankruptcy and for becoming a safe, reliable and sustainable energy provider,” said Sen. Hill, D-San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties.
“My thanks go to Governor Newsom and to Senators Bill Dodd and Mike McGuire and Assemblymember Chris Holden, the coauthors of SB 350, for sharing the vision of a transformed PG&E,” said Sen. Hill. “I also thank the governor and my colleagues in the Legislature for supporting measures to safeguard California and PG&E customers. SB 350 isn’t a bill we want, but it is a bill we need.”
SB 350 authorizes the creation of a new entity, Golden State Energy, as a nonprofit public benefit corporation, which would step in and take over if PG&E fails to emerge from bankruptcy or if the utility does not transform as required by Assembly Bill 1054, the legislation by Assemblymember Holden that Governor Newsom signed into law in 2019.
The governor signed SB 350 one day before PG&E is expected to conclude the bankruptcy case it filed in January 2019.
The state won key victories in the company’s reorganization plan as a result of its intervention. These included sweeping governance and operational reforms, including a newly constituted board of directors, and billions of additional benefits to ratepayers, victims and the people of California.
The state’s involvement also ensured that the company emerged from bankruptcy in a position to make massive upgrades necessary to deliver safe, reliable, clean electricity, and to swiftly compensate victims.
The California Public Utilities Commission approved PG&E’s bankruptcy plan on May 28 in a decision that placed enforceable requirements on PG&E to meet the mandates of AB 1054.
The Senate passed SB 350 with a 30-8 vote on Monday. Earlier this month, the Assembly voted 57-17 to pass the legislation.
The new law takes effect Jan. 1, 2021.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Lake County Public Health said the four new cases bring the county’s total to 60.
Details about the four new cases were not released by Public Health.
Of Lake County’s 60 cases, Public Health said 20 are active and 40 are recovered.
Four people currently are hospitalized, an increase of one over Monday, according to the Public Health reporting.
Approximately 4,911 tests have been conducted, with Public Health reporting that the results from 789 tests are pending.
On Tuesday, the California Department of Public Health said that 4,167,139 tests had been conducted in the state and reported as of Monday, an increase of 105,447 tests over the prior 24-hour reporting period.
The state said those testing numbers include data from commercial, private and academic labs, including Quest, LabCorp, Kaiser, University of California and Stanford, and the 25 state and county health labs currently testing.
As of Tuesday evening, county Public Health departments statewide reported more than 230,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and approximately 6,083 deaths.
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Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace said he would release the information once the county passed the 50-case mark, which it did over the weekend.
The information is to be updated weekly on the Lake County Coronavirus Response Hub.
The new data shows that the highest number of cases have been reported in supervisorial District 2, which includes Clearlake; there, 19 of the county’s 56 cases are located.
District 3, which covers the Northshore, has 13 cases; District 4, covering the Lakeport and north Lakeport areas, has 12; District 5, which includes areas from Kelseyville to Cobb, has seven; and District 1 – which covers a portion of Clearlake, as well as Middletown, Hidden Valley and Lower Lake – has five cases.
Public Health has traced 25 of the 56 cases to close contacts to known cases. Fifteen cases have been tracked to out-of-county contacts with known cases and travel.
The origin of six cases are under investigation, four cases are presumed to have come from occupational contact, four cases are attributed to “other/unknown” sources and two are related to a congregate living situation like a jail or nursing home. The sheriff’s office previously had confirmed two inmates at the Lake County Jail tested positive.
In assessing the age range of patients, the largest number of COVID-19 positive individuals, 36, was in the 18 to 49 age range, followed by 12 patients in the 50 to 64 category, five among those age 65 and above, and three in the range of birth to age 17.
As for gender, local cases are following the statewide trend of more cases being confirmed in males. Of Lake County’s cases so far, 32 are in men and 24 are in women.
In releasing the demographics on Monday Public Health left out a key piece of information – a case breakdown by racial and ethnic data.
That’s information that numerous other counties as well as the state have released on a regular basis for months.
The California Department of Public Health has reported finding consistent and stark health disparities with how COVID-19 affects people of color. When it comes to COVID-19 deaths, the agency said that for adults 18 and older, Californians who identify as Latino, Black, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander are dying at disproportionately higher levels.
Pace did not respond to questions from Lake County News about why this ethnic and racial data was not reported.
He also did not respond to a request for how many health care workers in Lake County have been impacted by COVID-19. CDPH said local health departments have reported 14,827 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 88 deaths statewide.
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The new cases bring the county’s total to 56.
Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace did not respond to a request for information about the new cases or how the individuals acquired the virus.
Of Lake County’s 56 cases, 18 are active, 38 are recovered and three are hospitalized, Public Health reported.
In a Monday video, Dr. Pace said the three individuals who are hospitalized are in the intensive care unit.
He said numbers are going up because of the reopening, with people getting sicker.
Pace said Public Health investigations are finding that people who wear masks and practice social distancing are showing much less transmission to others than those who are not being as careful.
As of Monday, Public Health said 4,835 tests have been conducted in Lake County, which has a population of more than 64,000. Results for 717 tests are pending.
Public Health departments statewide reported more than 220,000 COVID-19 cases in California and nearly 6,000 deaths as of Monday night.
Case totals for neighboring counties are on the rise. As of Monday night, in Colusa, cases more than doubled to 35, while in Glenn County, with a population that’s less than half of Lake’s, the cases are now up to 103. Napa is at 310, Sonoma at 1,136, and Yolo is at 505. Only Mendocino didn’t report an increase on Monday, with cases remaining at 76.
Pace said local officials are working on a plan for how to respond if things get worse.
He said Public Health is discouraging larger group events, especially those taking place indoors, which appear to be a source of spreading the virus.
Pace said they don’t intend to add more restrictions. “Our goal is for people to be safe and to not overwhelm the hospitals,” he said.
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