6001-6017

PUBLIC UTILITIES CODE
SECTION 6001-6017




6001.  Every franchise or privilege to erect or lay telegraph or
telephone wires, to construct or operate street or interurban
railroads upon any public street or highway, to lay gas pipes for the
purpose of carrying gas for light, heat, or power, to erect poles or
wires for transmitting electricity for light, heat, or power, along
or upon any public street or highway, or to exercise any other
privilege whatever proposed to be granted by the governing or
legislative body of any county, city and county, or city shall be
granted upon the conditions in this article provided, and not
otherwise, except when such franchises are granted pursuant to
Chapters 2 or 3 of this division.
   This article does not apply to franchises or privileges for
railroads, or telegraph or telephone lines doing an interstate
business, or to renewals of franchises for piers, chutes, or wharves,
or to community antenna television systems, or to franchises or
privileges for purposes not involving the furnishing of any service
or commodity to the public or any portion thereof.



6001.5.  (a) All franchises, licenses, permits, or other privileges
granted to a public utility by any city, county, or city and county
holding a freeholder's charter, to use, or to construct, or lay and
use, under, along, across, or upon the public streets, ways, alleys,
and places within the municipality, facilities which are part of a
pipeline system transmitting oil or products thereof, shall be
granted upon the terms and conditions provided in, and in accordance
with, this chapter or Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 6201).
   (b) It is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting this section,
to preempt the ordinance of any chartered municipality insofar as
that ordinance governs the granting of franchises to construct
facilities which are part of a pipeline system transmitting oil or
other products thereof.



6002.  The grantor may, in such a franchise, impose such other and
additional terms and conditions not in conflict with this article,
whether governmental or contractual in character, as in the judgment
of the legislative body thereof are to the public interest.



6003.  No clause or condition of any kind shall be inserted in any
franchise or grant offered or sold under the terms of this article
which shall directly or indirectly restrict free and open competition
in bidding therefor, and no clause or provision shall be inserted in
any franchise offered for sale, which shall in anywise favor one
person, firm, or corporation, as against another, in bidding for the
purchase thereof.



6004.  An applicant for a franchise or privilege shall file with the
governing or legislative body of the county or municipality an
application, and thereupon that body shall, in its discretion,
advertise the fact of the application, together with a statement that
it is proposed to grant the franchise or privilege, in one or more
newpapers of the county, city and county, or city wherein the
franchise or privilege is to be exercised.



6005.  The advertisement shall state that bids will be received for
the franchise and that it will be awarded to the highest bidder. The
advertisement shall be published once a day for 10 successive days,
or as often during that period as the paper is published, if it is a
daily newspaper. If there is no daily newspaper published in the
county, city and county, or city, it shall be published in a weekly
newspaper once a week for four successive weeks. In either case the
full publication shall be completed not less than 20 nor more than 30
days before any further action can be taken thereon.



6006.  The publication shall state the character of the franchise or
privilege proposed to be granted, the term for which it is granted,
and, if it is for a street railroad, the route to be traversed; that
sealed bids therefor will be received up to a certain hour and day
named therein, and that the successful bidder and his assigns shall
during the life of the franchise pay to the county or municipality
two percent (2%) of the gross annual receipts of the grantee arising
from the use, operation, or possession of the franchise.



6007.  The advertisement shall also contain a statement that the
franchise will be struck off, sold, and awarded to the person, firm,
or corporation making the highest cash bid therefor; that at the time
of the opening of the bids any responsible person, firm, or
corporation present or represented may bid for the franchise or
privilege a sum not less than 10 percent above the highest sealed bid
therefor, and the bid so made may be raised not less than 10 percent
by any other responsible bidder and the bidding may so continue
until the franchise is finally struck off, sold, and awarded to the
highest bidder therefor in lawful money of the United States.




6008.  Each sealed bid shall be accompanied with cash or a certified
check payable to the treasurer of the county or municipality for the
full amount of the bid, and no sealed bid shall be considered unless
the cash or check is enclosed therewith. The successful bidder shall
deposit at least 10 percent of the amount of his bid with the clerk
of the county or municipality before the franchise is struck off to
him. If he fails to make the deposit immediately his bid shall not be
received, and is void, and the franchise shall then and there be
again offered for sale to the bidder who makes the highest cash bid
therefor, subject to the same conditions as to deposit. This
procedure shall be had until the franchise is struck off, sold, and
awarded to a bidder who makes the necessary deposit of at least 10
percent of the amount of his bid.



6009.  The successful bidder shall deposit with the clerk of the
county or municipality, within 24 hours of the acceptance of his bid,
the remaining 90 percent of the amount thereof. If the bidder fails
to deposit with the clerk of the county or municipality the remaining
90 percent of his bid within 24 hours after its acceptance, the
award to him of the franchise shall be set aside, the deposit made by
him shall be forfeited, and no further proceedings for a sale of the
franchise shall be had unless it is readvertised and again offered
for sale in the manner provided in this article.



6010.  (a) The advertisement may also contain a statement that the
successful bidder for any franchise or privilege struck off, sold,
and awarded under this article shall file a bond running to the
county, city and county, or city, approved by the governing body. The
advertisement may require a bond executed by an admitted surety
insurer. The bond shall be in a penal sum prescribed by the governing
body and set forth in the advertisement for bids, and conditioned
that the bidder shall well and truly observe, fulfill, and perform
each term and condition of the franchise, and that in case of any
breach of condition of the bond, the whole amount of the penal sum
therein named shall be deemed to be liquidated damages.
   (b) The bond if required shall be filed with the governing body
within the time specified in the advertisement and if no time is
specified within five days after the franchise is awarded. The
franchise shall be granted by ordinance to the person, firm, or
corporation to whom it has been struck off, sold or awarded. If the
bond is not filed within the time required, the award of the
franchise may be set aside at any time prior to the filing and, if
set aside, any money paid for the franchise shall be forfeited, and
if an ordinance has been enacted granting the franchise, the
governing or legislative body may repeal the ordinance and the
franchise shall, in the discretion of the governing or legislative
body, be readvertised and again offered for sale in the same manner
and under the same restrictions, as provided in this article.



6010.1.  Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, any
franchise heretofore or hereafter granted shall not be invalid or
subject to revocation because the bond required by law at the time of
the award of such franchise shall not have been filed within the
time then prescribed, provided the bond is filed prior to the setting
aside of the award or, as the case may be, the repeal of the
ordinance granting such franchise.



6011.  If the franchise is a renewal of a right already in
existence, payment of the percentage of gross receipts shall begin at
once upon the granting of the franchise. If the franchise is not a
renewal of a right already in existence, no percentage shall be paid
for the first five (5) years succeeding the date of the franchise,
but thereafter the percentage shall be payable annually. If payment
is not made, the franchise shall be forfeited.



6012.  If the franchise granted is an extension of an existing
street railroad system, the gross receipts shall be estimated to be
one-half of the proportion of the total gross receipts of the system
which the mileage of this extension bears to the total mileage of the
whole system. This estimate is conclusive as to the amount of the
gross receipts of the extension.



6013.  Work to erect or lay telegraph or telephone wires, to
construct street or interurban railroads, to lay gas pipes for the
purpose of carrying gas for light, heat, or power, to erect poles or
wires for transmitting electricity for light, heat, or power, along
or upon any public street or highway, or to exercise any other
privilege whatever, a franchise for which has been granted pursuant
to this article, shall be commenced in good faith within not more
than four months from the granting of the franchise. If not so
commenced the franchise shall be declared forfeited.



6014.  Work to construct street or interurban railroads shall be
completed within not more than three years from the granting of the
franchise, and if not so completed the franchise shall be forfeited.
For good cause shown, the governing or legislative body may by
resolution extend the time for completion, not exceeding three
months.



6015.  Work under any franchise other than for a street or
interurban railroad shall be prosecuted diligently and in good faith
so as to meet and fill the reasonable needs of the inhabitants of the
territory for the service of which the franchise is granted.




6016.  The Attorney General, upon the complaint of any county or
municipality, or, in his discretion, upon the complaint of any
taxpayer, shall sue for the forfeiture of any franchise granted under
this article, for the noncompliance with any condition thereof.




6017.  Any member of a governing or legislative body of any county,
city and county, or city, who, by his vote, violates or attempts to
violate any of the provisions of this article is guilty of a
misdemeanor and may be punished therefor as provided by law, and may
be deprived of his office by the decree of a court of competent
jurisdiction, after trial and conviction.