SPONSOR: Van Schoiack
This bill requires that before the beginning of each fiscal year, the Public Counsel must make an estimate of expenses his office will incur reasonably attributable to the performance of his powers, duties, and functions and must also estimate the amount directly attributable to each of the specified public utilities. The bill specifies how the Public Counsel is to attribute such expenses.
The Public Counsel must assess the amount allocated to each group in proportion to the groups respective gross intrastate operating revenues for the previous year, except that the total assessed to all public utilities must not exceed 0.063 of one percent of the total gross intrastate operating revenues. The Public Counsel must provide the assessment to each public utility before July 1 of each year and the utility must pay the assessment as specified in the bill.
This bill establishes "The Office of the Public Counsel Fund". The Fund consists of moneys paid for assessments and is to be solely used for the payment of expenditures incurred by the Public Counsel and attributable to the regulation of public utilities under the jurisdiction of the Public Service Commission.
Statutes affected: