Is Jerry Brown hiding his San Onofre role?

Yesterday (July 24), attorney Mike Aguirre filed a suit against governor Jerry Brown, complaining that he may have violated the California Public Records Act by refusing to reveal any communications he had on the termination of a study on the now-shuttered San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station.

The California Public Utilities Commission's Office of Ratepayer Advocates and a so-called utility watchdog, the Utility Reform Network (TURN) reached a settlement in which ratepayers will cough up $3.3 billion even though the closing of San Onofre was caused by Southern California Edison's mismanagement, according to Aguirre, who has been fighting implementation of the agreement.

Last year, the CPUC authorized the hiring of an expert to look into the failure of steam generators at San Onofre. Shortly, that study was called off. The CPUC and Office of Ratepayer Advocates were asked to provide records of any communications they might have had with the governor over the study's termination. They declined to produce the records. So, Aguirre has sued the governor for the information.