San Francisco Chronicle

In an obscure financial disclosure filing, Michael Peevey, the state’s top utility regulator, said he mistakenly violated state rules by accepting $2,134 in free parking from San Francisco International Airport last year. State rules bar officials from accepting more than $320 in gifts.

Peevey, the newly appointed president of the California Public Utilities Commission, said he only recently became familiar with the complexities of the state conflicts-of-interest rules. And he said the majority of the parking fees were related to PUC business, which in hindsight he should have paid and then been reimbursed for by the state.

The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, a Santa Monica watchdog group that opposed Peevey’s appointment, plans to raise the issue today at Peevey’s state Senate confirmation hearing. Doug Heller, a consumer advocate for the group, said the gift is a problem because the PUC oversees transportation, including SFO shuttles.