,i #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #dghe ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,july #bi1 #bjbe,ms4 ,castor of ,florida 7for herself1 ,ms4 ,matsui1 ,ms4 ,mc,clellan1 ,ms4 ,ocasio-,cortez1 ,ms4 ,pingree1 ,mr4 ,thanedar1 and ,ms4 ,tlaib7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce ,a ,,bill ,to direct the ,federal ,energy ,regulatory ,commission to prohibit covered utilities from recovering covered expenses from ratepayers1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,ethics in ,energy ,act of #bjbe4 #b4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,centralized service company ,the term centralized service company has the meaning given the term in section #cfg4a7;a7 of title #ah1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations 7or a successor regulation74 7#b7 ,commission ,the term ,commission means the ,federal ,energy ,regulatory ,commission4 7#c7 ,covered expense ,the term covered expense means a direct or indirect expense paid by a covered utility to-- 7,a7 an external entity to perform political influence activities2 7,b7 a centralized service company1 parent company1 or other corporate affiliate-- 7i7 to perform a political influence activity2 and 7ii7 that invoices that covered utility for the expenses related to that political influence activity2 or 7,c7 an employee of that covered utility1 in the form of a salary1 that performs a political influence activity4 7#d7 ,covered utility ,the term covered utility means-- 7,a7 an electric utility company 7as defined in section #cfg4a7;a7 of title #ah1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations 7or a successor regulation77 that had1 in each of the #c previous calendar years1 sales or transmission services that exceeded-- 7i7 #a1jjj1jjj megawatt-hours of total annual sales2 7ii7 #ajj megawatt-hours of annual sales for resale2 7iii7 #ejj megawatt-hours of annual power exchanges delivered2 or 7iv7 #ejj megawatt-hours of annual wheeling2 7,b7 a major natural gas company2 and 7,c7 a centralized service company4 7#e7 ,major natural gas company ,the term major natural gas company means a natural-gas company 7as defined in section #b of the ,natural ,gas ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #gag;a77 whose combined gas transported or stored for a fee exceed #ej1jjj1jjj ,dth in each of the #c previous calendar years4 7#f7 ,political influence activity ,the term political influence activity includes-- 7,a7 any expense for the purpose of directly or indirectly influencing the possible-- 7i7 adoption of ,federal1 ,state1 or local regulations1 legislation1 or ordinances2 or 7ii7 repeal or modification of existing ,federal1 ,state1 or local regulations1 legislation1 or ordinances2 7,b7 any expense for the purpose of directly or indirectly influencing elections or appointments of public officials or referenda2 7,c7 any expense for the purpose of directly or indirectly influencing the approval1 modification1 or revocation of utility franchises2 7,d7 any expense for the purpose of directly or indirectly influencing the public opinion with respect to ,federal1 ,state1 or local-- 7i7 regulations1 legislation1 or ordinances2 7ii7 elections2 7iii7 referenda2 or 7iv7 utility rate setting2 7,e7 any expense for the purpose of directly or indirectly influencing the decisions of ,federal1 ,state1 or local government officials2 7,f7 any expense relating to attendance or participation in1 preparation for1 or appeal of any formal proceeding before a regulatory commission2 7,g7 dues or fees paid to trade associations or industry associations2 7,h7 any contributions or other payments to an organization described in paragraph 7#c7 or 7#d7 of section #eja7;c7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf2 and 7,i7 advertising1 marketing1 or public relations expenses designed for the purpose of-- 7i7 influencing public opinion2 7ii7 increasing goodwill toward a covered utility from the public or from public officials2 7iii7 improving the reputation of a covered utility2 or 7iv7 promoting or retaining the service provided by a covered utility4 #c4 ,prohibition against recovering political activity expenses from ratepayers 7a7 ,regulations ,not later than #ah months after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,commission shall promulgate regulations-- 7#a7 to prohibit covered utilities from recovering covered expenses from ratepayers in proceedings before the ,commission1 in accordance with this section2 and 7#b7 to amend the applicable ,uniform ,system of ,accounts in title #ah1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations 7or successor regulations71 to instruct covered utilities to place covered expenses in accounts that are presumptively not recoverable from ratepayers1 in accordance with this section4 7b7 ,report 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,commission shall require that1 not later than #ah months after the date of enactment of this ,act1 and annually thereafter1 each covered utility shall submit to the ,commission a report containing-- 7,a7 an itemized list of expenses of the preceding year recorded in accounts relating to-- 7i7 covered expenses2 7ii7 outside services or vendors2 and 7iii7 the operations of the covered utility with respect to administrative and general expenses2 and 7,b7 for each expense or cost described in clauses 7i7 through 7iii7 of subparagraph 7,a71 unredacted information with respect to each of the matters described in paragraph 7#b7 that are applicable to that expense or cost4 7#b7 ,matters described ,the matters referred to in paragraph 7#a77;,b7 for the expenses and costs described in clauses 7i7 through 7iii7 of paragraph 7#a77;,a7 are the following3 7,a7 ,billing amounts4 7,b7 ,billing dates4 7,c7 ,the identity of each payee for any external consultants or contracts4 7,d7 ,in the case of a payment made to a third-party vendor by a centralized service company1 parent company1 or other corporate affiliate of the covered utility1 the identity of that third-party vendor4 7,e7 ,the job title1 portion of salaries1 and expenses1 and all ,uniform ,system of ,account codes to which compensation was recorded for the employee1 of covered utility staff with respect to any work performed relating to a covered expense4 7,f7 ,an explanation of the expense or cost that is sufficient to describe the purpose of the expense or cost4 7#c7 ,reporting minimum removed ,with respect to any annual form that a covered utility submits to the ,commission having a reporting threshold of #bej1jjjj1 the ,commission shall remove that reporting threshold for the reporting of transactions with associated or affiliated companies on that annual form4 7c7 ,enforcement 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,commission shall monitor and investigate compliance and noncompliance with the regulations promulgated under this section4 7#b7 ,penalty 7,a7 ,in general ,in addition to any refunds that the ,commission orders a covered utility to pay ratepayers1 the ,commission shall assess a penalty in accordance with subparagraph 7,b7 against a covered utility that violates or fails or refuses to comply with the regulations promulgated under this section by charging a ratepayer a covered expense4 7,b7 ,amount of penalty 7i7 ,in general ,subject to clause 7ii71 a penalty assessed under subparagraph 7,a7 shall be-- 7,i7 for a covered expense charged to ratepayers in an amount less than #a1jjj1jjj1 not less than the amount of that covered expense2 7,,ii7 for a covered expense charged to ratepayers in an amount not less than #a1jjj1jjj and not more than #aj1jjj1jjj1 not less than double the amount of that covered expense2 and 7,,iii7 for a covered expense charged to ratepayers in an amount more than #aj1jjj1jjj1 not less than triple the amount of that covered expense4 7ii7 ,limitation ,the amount of a penalty assessed under subparagraph 7,a7 shall be not more than #bj times the amount of the applicable covered expense4 7#c7 ,no recovery from ratepayers ,covered utilities that are subject to a penalty under this subsection may not recover that penalty from ratepayers4 7#d7 ,penalty distribution ,with respect to each penalty assessed and collected under this subsection-- 7,a7 of that penalty shall be distributed to ratepayers1 through a rebate2 and 7,b7 of that penalty shall be distributed to the ,commission for the purpose of increasing resources for enforcing this section4 7#e7 ,rule of construction ,nothing in this ,act prevents the ,commission from issuing refunds or rebates to ratepayers for a covered expense that was recovered by a covered utility on a date before the date of enactment of this ,act4