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SPONSOR: |
SCORC |
DATE TYPED: |
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HB |
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SHORT TITLE: |
Public Peace, Health, Safety & Welfare |
SB |
CS/903/aSFl#1/aHJC |
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ANALYST: |
Valenzuela |
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APPROPRIATION
Appropriation
Contained |
Estimated
Additional Impact |
Recurring or
Non-Rec |
Fund Affected |
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FY03 |
FY04 |
FY03 |
FY04 |
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NFI |
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(Parenthesis
( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
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Report of the Legislative Finance
Committee to the Forty-sixth Legislature, First Session,
January 2003 for Fiscal Year 2003 – 2004, pp. 390 – 401.
-
Report to the Legislative Council from
the Public Regulation Commission Subcommittee, in response
to SENATE MEMORIAL 41, (2001 Legislative Session) December 2002.
This Fiscal Impact Report excerpts directly from
the above mentioned reports.
SUMMARY
The
House Judiciary Committee (HJC) amendment makes two substantive changes. The
first revision further clarifies that the PRC regulatory action should balance
the interests of the public, consumers and investors. The second revision
clarifies that consultation between Commissioners’ staff and a party to a case
may occur pursuant to the PRC rulemaking authority.
Synopsis of Senate Floor Amendment
The
Senate Floor Amendment # 1 simply cleans up the language. The first deletion
eliminates redundant wording, “fulfill its responsibility to”, that requires
the PRC to balance consumer versus utility interests in its regulatory actions.
The second and third items clarify that at least one Commissioner shall be
present for oral arguments on a case before a hearing examiner.
Synopsis of Original
Bill
The Senate
Corporations and Transportation Committee (SCORC) substitute for Senate Bill
903 proposes three major amendments to the Public Regulation Commission (PRC)
enabling act to provide more communication among all entities involved in
rulemaking and adjudicatory hearings. A detail by section is provided below:
Section 1. Requires the staff of the Utility
Division to testify for docketed cases before the Commission on how to balance
the interests of consumer and investors. Prohibits ex-parte communication with
any Commissioner, except as allowed under Section
Section
2. Adds a new section that requires at least one Commissioner be present at
oral arguments before a hearing examiner, if requested by a party to the proceeding.
Section
3. Adds a new section to the Ex-parte Communication criteria that allows communication
between a party to a proceeding and the Commission’s advisory staff.
Significant
Issues
The Public Regulation Commission (PRC) has a complex mix of
policy-making, regulatory, judicial and administrative responsibilities for
diverse industries essential to the economic health and future of
The
Public Regulation Commission (PRC) was created through a merger of the elected
State Corporation Commission and the appointed Public Utility Commission.
Despite this significant change, the public policy and regulatory issues
involved in such a merger were never fully debated by the Legislature or the
public. The subcommittee evaluated the ex-parte statute and recommended that no
changes be made. The specific recommendation is provided below.
Ex-Parte Laws. The subcommittee examined the dual
responsibilities of the PRC commissioners to make policy and serve a judicial
role. The subcommittee recommends that ex-parte communications be addressed
through training for the PRC commissioners, staff and intervenors to assure all
parties are informed on acceptable practices. Ex-parte issues should also be
addressed through more effective administrative policies and procedures. The
PRC, regulated industries and consumer representatives did not make any
specific recommendations for statutory changes to the ex-parte laws. The subcommittee
does not recommend statutory changes at this time.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The SCORC substitute
does not carry an appropriation. Its enactment would not have a fiscal impact
on the PRC.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
Increased
communication between parties could improve processing of cases.
Several regulated utilities have testified to
the LFC and other legislative committees about the length of time that it takes
the PRC to act on and complete docketed cases. The LFC has
recommended several performance measures with targets to focus attention on
this issue of timeliness. These measures are shown below:
-
Percent reduction
in the number of water utility rate cases on the PRC docket: 25%
-
Percent reduction in the number of
docketed cases before the PRC: 25%
Improving the number
of cases going through the PRC could actually make available more resources for
larger more complex cases.
MFV/sb/ls:njw