Text: SF00223 Text: SF00225 Text: SF00200 - SF00299 Text: SF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
PAG LIN 1 1 SENATE FILE 224 1 2 1 3 AN ACT 1 4 RELATING TO PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE UTILITIES BOARD AND THE 1 5 PROVISION OF COMPETITIVE UTILITY SERVICES BY ALLOCATING COSTS 1 6 INCURRED BY THE UTILITIES BOARD AND THE OFFICE OF CONSUMER 1 7 ADVOCATE TO CERTAIN PERSONS IN CERTAIN PROCEEDINGS RELATED TO 1 8 PROVIDING COMPETITIVE UTILITY SERVICES, AND BY PROVIDING FOR 1 9 THE CERTIFICATION OF COMPETITIVE NATURAL GAS PROVIDERS AND 1 10 AGGREGATORS, AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 1 11 1 12 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 1 13 1 14 Section 1. Section 475A.6, Code 1999, is amended to read 1 15 as follows: 1 16 475A.6 CERTIFICATION OF EXPENSES TO UTILITIES DIVISION. 1 17 The consumer advocate shall determine the advocate's 1 18 expenses, including a reasonable allocation of general office 1 19 expenses, directly attributable toparticipation in1 20proceedingsthe performance of the advocate's duties involving 1 21 specificutilitiespersons subject to direct assessment, and 1 22 shall certify the expenses to the utilities division not less 1 23 than quarterly. The expenses shall then be includable in the 1 24 expenses of the division subject to direct assessment under 1 25 section 476.10. 1 26 The consumer advocate shall annually, within ninety days 1 27 after the close of each fiscal year, determine the advocate's 1 28 expenses, including a reasonable allocation of general office 1 29 expenses, attributable toparticipation in proceedings1 30involving public utilitiesthe performance of the advocate's 1 31 duties generally, and shall certify the expenses to the 1 32 utilities division. The expenses shall then be includable in 1 33 the expenses of the division subject to remainder assessment 1 34 under section 476.10. 1 35 The consumer advocate is entitled to notice and opportunity 2 1 to be heard in any utilities board proceeding on objection to 2 2 an assessment for expenses certified by the consumer advocate. 2 3 Expenses assessed under this section shall not exceed the 2 4 amount appropriated for the consumer advocate division of the 2 5 department of justice. 2 6 The office of consumer advocate may expend additional 2 7 funds, including funds for outside consultants, if those 2 8 additional expenditures are actual expenses which exceed the 2 9 funds budgeted forutilities investigations and directly2 10result from investigations of utilitiesthe performance of the 2 11 advocate's duties. Before the office expends or encumbers an 2 12 amount in excess of the funds budgetedfor investigations, the 2 13 director of the department of management shall approve the 2 14 expenditure or encumbrance. Before approval is given, the 2 15 director of the department of management shall determine that 2 16 theinvestigationexpenses exceed the funds budgeted by the 2 17 general assembly to the office of consumer advocate and that 2 18 the office does not have other funds from whichinvestigation2 19 such expenses can be paid. Upon approval of the director of 2 20 the department of management, the office may expend and 2 21 encumber funds for excessinvestigationexpenses. The amounts 2 22 necessary to fund the excessinvestigationexpenses shall be 2 23 collected from those utilitiesbeing investigatedor persons 2 24 which caused the excess expenditures, and the collections 2 25 shall be treated as repayment receipts as defined in section 2 26 8.2, subsection 8. 2 27 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 476.86 DEFINITIONS. 2 28 As used this section and section 476.87, unless the context 2 29 otherwise requires: 2 30 1. "Aggregator" means a person who combines retail end 2 31 users into a group and arranges for the acquisition of 2 32 competitive natural gas services without taking title to those 2 33 services. 2 34 2. "Competitive natural gas provider" means a person who 2 35 takes title to natural gas and sells it for consumption by a 3 1 retail end user in the state of Iowa. "Competitive natural 3 2 gas provider" includes an affiliate of an Iowa gas utility. 3 3 "Competitive natural gas provider" does not include the 3 4 following: 3 5 a. A public utility which is subject to rate regulation 3 6 under chapter 476. 3 7 b. A municipally owned utility which provides natural gas 3 8 service within its incorporated area or within the municipal 3 9 natural gas competitive service area, as defined in section 3 10 437A.3, subsection 19, paragraph "a", subparagraph (1), in 3 11 which the municipally owned utility is located. 3 12 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION. 476.87 CERTIFICATION OF COMPETITIVE 3 13 NATURAL GAS PROVIDERS. 3 14 1. The board shall certify all competitive natural gas 3 15 providers and aggregators providing natural gas services in 3 16 this state. In an application for certification, a 3 17 competitive natural gas provider or aggregator must reasonably 3 18 demonstrate managerial, technical, and financial capability 3 19 sufficient to obtain and deliver the services such provider or 3 20 aggregator proposes to offer. The board may establish 3 21 reasonable conditions or restrictions on the certificate at 3 22 the time of issuance. The board shall adopt rules to 3 23 establish specific criteria for certification. The board 3 24 shall make a determination on an application for certification 3 25 within ninety days of its submission, unless the board 3 26 determines that additional time is necessary to consider the 3 27 application, in which case the board may extend the time for 3 28 making a determination for an additional sixty days. 3 29 2. The board may resolve disputes involving the provision 3 30 of natural gas services by a competitive natural gas provider 3 31 or aggregator. 3 32 3. The board shall allocate the costs and expenses 3 33 reasonably attributable to certification and dispute 3 34 resolution in this section to persons identified as parties to 3 35 such proceeding who are engaged in or who seek to engage in 4 1 providing natural gas services or other persons identified as 4 2 participants in such proceeding. The funds received for the 4 3 costs and the expenses of certification and dispute resolution 4 4 shall be remitted to the treasurer of state for deposit in the 4 5 general fund of the state as provided in section 476.10. 4 6 Sec. 4. Section 476.101, Code 1999, is amended by adding 4 7 the following new subsection: 4 8 NEW SUBSECTION. 10. In a proceeding associated with the 4 9 granting of a certificate under section 476.29, approving maps 4 10 and tariffs for competitive local exchange providers provided 4 11 for in this section, or in resolving a complaint filed 4 12 pursuant to subsection 8 and proceedings under 47 U.S.C. } 4 13 251-254, the board shall allocate the costs and expenses of 4 14 the proceedings to persons identified as parties in the 4 15 proceeding who are engaged in or who seek to engage in 4 16 providing telecommunications services or other persons 4 17 identified as participants in the proceeding. The funds 4 18 received for the costs and the expenses shall be remitted to 4 19 the treasurer of state for deposit in the general fund of the 4 20 state as provided in section 476.10. 4 21 Sec. 5. CODE EDITOR DIRECTIONS. The Code editor shall 4 22 codify new sections 476.86 and 476.87, as enacted in this Act, 4 23 as a new division in chapter 476 relating to competitive 4 24 natural gas providers. 4 25 Sec. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act, being deemed of 4 26 immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment. 4 27 4 28 4 29 4 30 MARY E. KRAMER 4 31 President of the Senate 4 32 4 33 4 34 4 35 RON J. CORBETT 5 1 Speaker of the House 5 2 5 3 I hereby certify that this bill originated in the Senate and 5 4 is known as Senate File 224, Seventy-eighth General Assembly. 5 5 5 6 5 7 5 8 MICHAEL E. MARSHALL 5 9 Secretary of the Senate 5 10 Approved , 1999 5 11 5 12 5 13 5 14 THOMAS J. VILSACK 5 15 Governor
Text: SF00223 Text: SF00225 Text: SF00200 - SF00299 Text: SF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
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