---
type: "Bill"
title: "Electricity: direct transactions."
description: "The Public Utilities Act requires the Public Utilities Commission to authorize and facilitate direct transactions between electricity suppliers and retail end-use customers, but suspends direct transactions except as expressly authorized. Existing law expressly requires the commission to authorize direct transactions for nonresidential end-use customers, subject to an annual maximum allowable total kilowatthour limit established, as specified, for each electrical corporation, to be achieved following a now completed 3-to 5-year phase-in period."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ca"
legislature: "California Legislature"
session: "20172018"
identifier: "SB 237"
citation: "California SB 237 (20172018)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Electricity: direct transactions."]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Hertzberg"]
version_count: 10
action_count: 41
vote_count: 4
first_action: "2017-02-06"
last_action: "2018-09-20"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/002842ac-4640-41c1-9f66-b52c3e395564"
source_url: "http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB237"
source_hash: "124af9c4a6f03854f83c1a9b5d320f6dfa3bbfc3501654467b24004c3a016a9e"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ca"]
---

# California SB 237 (20172018) — Electricity: direct transactions.

The Public Utilities Act requires the Public Utilities Commission to authorize and facilitate direct transactions between electricity suppliers and retail end-use customers, but suspends direct transactions except as expressly authorized. Existing law expressly requires the commission to authorize direct transactions for nonresidential end-use customers, subject to an annual maximum allowable total kilowatthour limit established, as specified, for each electrical corporation, to be achieved following a now completed 3-to 5-year phase-in period.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **02/06/17 - Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB237&version=20170SB23799INT)
2. **06/13/18 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB237&version=20170SB23795AMD)
3. **06/15/17 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB237&version=20170SB23798AMD)
4. **08/21/18 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB237&version=20170SB23794AMD)
5. **08/24/18 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB237&version=20170SB23793AMD)
6. **09/08/17 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB237&version=20170SB23797AMD)
7. **09/11/17 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB237&version=20170SB23796AMD)
8. **09/20/18 - Chaptered** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB237&version=20170SB23791CHP)
9. **SB237** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB237)
10. **09/05/18 - Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB237&version=20170SB23792ENR)

## Votes

- SB 237 Hertzberg Senate Third Reading By BURKE — **48–17** (pass) · lower
- Unfinished Business SB237 Hertzberg Concurrence — **22–12** (pass) · upper
- That the Assembly amendments be concurred in — **6–3** (pass) · upper
- Do pass as amended. — **11–2** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Hertzberg — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2017-02-06** Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print. `introduction, reading-1`
- **2017-02-07** From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 9.
- **2017-02-16** Referred to Com. on PUB. S. `referral-committee`
- **2017-03-01** Set for hearing March 21.
- **2017-03-22** From committee: Do pass. Ordered to consent calendar. (Ayes 7. Noes 0. Page 429.) (March 21). `committee-passage-favorable, committee-passage`
- **2017-03-23** Read second time. Ordered to consent calendar. `reading-2, reading-1`
- **2017-03-30** Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 37. Noes 0. Page 545.) Ordered to the Assembly. `reading-3, passage, reading-1`
- **2017-03-30** In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk. `reading-1`
- **2017-05-18** Referred to Com. on PUB. S. `referral-committee`
- **2017-06-14** From committee: Do pass as amended. Ordered to consent calendar. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (June 13). `committee-passage-favorable, committee-passage, amendment-passage`
- **2017-06-15** Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading. `reading-1, amendment-passage, reading-2`
- **2017-06-19** Read second time. Ordered to consent calendar. `reading-2, reading-1`
- **2017-06-19** Re-referred to Com. on APPR. pursuant to Joint Rule 10.5. `referral-committee`
- **2017-06-28** From committee: Do pass. Ordered to consent calendar. (Ayes 14. Noes 0.) (June 28). `committee-passage-favorable, committee-passage`
- **2017-06-29** Read second time. Ordered to consent calendar. `reading-2, reading-1`
- **2017-07-03** From consent calendar on motion of Assembly Member Bonta.
- **2017-07-03** Ordered to third reading.
- **2017-09-08** Read third time and amended. `amendment-passage, reading-3, reading-1`
- **2017-09-08** Ordered to third reading.
- **2017-09-08** Re-referred to Com. on RLS. pursuant to Assembly Rule 77.2. `referral-committee`
- **2017-09-11** Re-referred to Com. on TRANS. pursuant to Assembly Rule 77.2. `referral-committee`
- **2017-09-11** From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on TRANS. `reading-2, referral-committee, amendment-passage, committee-passage, reading-1`
- **2018-06-13** From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on TRANS. `reading-2, referral-committee, amendment-passage, committee-passage, reading-1`
- **2018-06-14** Re-referred to Com. on RLS. pursuant to Assembly Rule 96. `referral-committee`
- **2018-06-18** From committee: Be re-referred to Com. on U. & E. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (June 18). Re-referred to Com. on U. & E. `committee-passage, referral-committee`
- **2018-06-28** From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 10. Noes 2.) (June 27). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. `committee-passage-favorable, committee-passage, referral-committee`
- **2018-08-08** August 8 set for first hearing. Placed on APPR. suspense file.
- **2018-08-20** From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 11. Noes 2.) (August 16). `committee-passage-favorable, committee-passage, amendment-passage`
- **2018-08-21** Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading. `reading-1, amendment-passage, reading-2`
- **2018-08-22** Read second time. Ordered to third reading. `reading-2, reading-1`
- **2018-08-24** Read third time and amended. `amendment-passage, reading-3, reading-1`
- **2018-08-24** Ordered to third reading.
- **2018-08-30** Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 48. Noes 17. Page 6981.) Ordered to the Senate. `reading-3, passage, reading-1`
- **2018-08-30** In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending.
- **2018-08-31** Re-referred to Com. on RLS. pursuant to Senate Rule 29.10(d). `referral-committee`
- **2018-08-31** From committee: Be re-referred to Com. on E., U. & C. pursuant to Senate Rule 29.10(d) . (Ayes 5. Noes 0. Page 6076.) Re-referred to Com. on E., U. & C. `committee-passage, referral-committee`
- **2018-08-31** From committee: That the Assembly amendments be concurred in. (Ayes 6. Noes 3. Page 6198.) `committee-passage`
- **2018-08-31** Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 22. Noes 12. Page 6146.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling. `committee-passage-favorable, amendment-passage`
- **2018-09-06** Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4 p.m.
- **2018-09-20** Approved by the Governor. `executive-signature`
- **2018-09-20** Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 600, Statutes of 2018.

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/002842ac-4640-41c1-9f66-b52c3e395564`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official California legislature records).