,,ii #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #ecec ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,august #f1 #bjbf,mr4 ,blumenthal 7for himself and ,mr4 ,hawley7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,energy and ,natural ,resources ,a ,,bill ,to limit bonuses for executives of certain electric utilities1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,no ,bonuses for ,utility ,executives ,act4 #b4 ,limitation on bonuses for executives of certain electric utilities 7a7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,commission ,the term ,commission means the ,federal ,energy ,regulatory ,commission4 7#b7 ,covered utility ,the term covered utility has the meaning given the term ,state regulated electric utility in section #c of the ,public ,utility ,regulatory ,policies ,act of #aigh 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #bfjb74 7#c7 ,customer rates ,the term customer rates means the rates and charges made1 demanded1 or received by a covered utility for or in connection with the sale of electric energy and1 if applicable1 natural gas4 7#d7 ,executive ,the term executive means a ,c-suite executive1 including a chief executive officer1 chief operating officer1 chief financial officer1 chief information officer1 chief technology officer1 chief marketing officer1 chief human resources officer1 chief people officer1 and any person that the ,commission determines holds a title substantially similar to any such title4 7#e7 ,fiscal year ,the term fiscal year1 with respect to a covered utility1 means the fiscal year of that covered utility4 7#f7 ,secretary ,the term ,secretary means the ,secretary of the ,treasury1 acting through the ,bureau of the ,fiscal ,service4 7b7 ,authorized bonuses 7#a7 ,in general ,beginning ,january #a1 #bjbg1 a covered utility may1 subject to paragraph 7#b71 pay a bonus to an executive of the covered utility for a fiscal year only if the average percentage increase in customer rates of the covered utility for that fiscal year does not exceed any percentage increase in the ,consumer ,price ,index for ,all ,urban ,consumers 7,,cpi-,u7 published by the ,bureau of ,labor ,statistics of the ,department of ,labor for the #ab-month period ending on the last day of that fiscal year4 7#b7 ,limitation ,a bonus paid pursuant to paragraph 7#a7 may not exceed an amount equal to #be percent of the median annual compensation1 for the applicable fiscal year1 of employees of the covered utility who are not executives4 7#c7 ,prohibition ,a covered utility may not pay a bonus to an executive of the covered utility for a fiscal year before the ,commission has made a determination under subsection 7c77#b7 with respect to that covered utility for that fiscal year4 7c7 ,determination of bonuses allowed 7#a7 ,notification ,not later than #g days after the last day of a fiscal year1 a covered utility shall provide to the ,commission information on-- 7,a7 the average percentage increase in customer rates of the covered utility for that fiscal year2 and 7,b7 the median annual compensation1 for that fiscal year1 of employees of the covered utility who are not executives4 7#b7 ,determination ,not later than #cj days after the last day of a fiscal year for which the ,commission receives information from a covered utility under paragraph 7#a71 the ,commission shall determine-- 7,a7 whether the covered utility may pay a bonus pursuant to subsection 7b77#a72 and 7,b7 the maximum allowable amount of that bonus under subsection 7b77#b74 7d7 ,oversight of bonuses 7#a7 ,notification ,not later than #g days after paying a bonus to an executive1 a covered utility shall provide to the ,commission information on-- 7,a7 the amount of the bonus2 and 7,b7 the fiscal year for which the bonus was paid4 7#b7 ,determination of compliance ,not later than #cj days after receiving a notification under paragraph 7#a71 the ,commission shall determine whether the covered utility submitting the notification is in compliance with subsection 7b74 7#c7 ,penalties 7,a7 ,forfeiture ,a bonus shall be forfeited to the ,united ,states if-- 7i7 the bonus was paid in violation of any provision of subsection 7b72 7ii7 the covered utility paying the bonus failed to provide a notification under paragraph 7#a7 by the date described in that paragraph with respect to the bonus2 or 7iii7 the covered utility paying the bonus made a materially false or misleading representation in a notification provided under paragraph 7#a7 or subsection 7c77#a7 with respect to the bonus or any other matter described in paragraph 7#a7 or subsection 7c77#a7 for the applicable fiscal year4 7,b7 ,collection of forfeited bonus 7i7 ,in general ,to collect a bonus forfeited under subparagraph 7,a71 the ,commission shall impose a civil penalty in the amount of the bonus on the covered utility that paid the bonus4 7ii7 ,transfer to the ,secretary ,amounts collected by the ,commission under clause 7i7 shall be transferred to the ,secretary for purposes of carrying out subparagraph 7,c74 7iii7 ,prohibition ,a covered utility may not recover through customer rates the cost of a civil penalty imposed under this subparagraph4 7,c7 ,ratepayer checks ,for any bonus described in subparagraph 7,a7 that is collected pursuant to subparagraph 7,b7-- 7i7 the applicable covered utility shall provide any information to the ,commission or the ,secretary that the ,commission or the ,secretary1 as applicable1 determines to be necessary to carry out clause 7ii72 and 7ii7 the ,secretary shall issue to each customer of that covered utility a payment in an amount equal to the quotient obtained by dividing-- 7,i7 the amount forfeited under subparagraph 7,a7 and collected under subparagraph 7,b72 by 7,,ii7 the number of customers of the covered utility4