Anyone with business before the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) needs to be familiar with the CPUC’s rules governing ex parte communications. “Ex parte communications,” or “ex partes,” are direct, nonpublic communications with decision-makers, such as CPUC Commissioners or their advisors Ex partes have played an important behind-the-scenes role in many CPUC decisions, and have been at the center of the several CPUC controversies involving allegedly overly cozy relationships with regulated entities.

Senate Bill SB 215 (SB 215) was one of the few CPUC reform-related bills to emerge from the legislature this year. SB 215 makes a large number of changes to the CPUC’s procedures and to its ex parte rules. This article identifies those changes and discusses what those changes mean for those who practice before the CPUC.