Text: SSB01139                          Text: SSB01141
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Senate Study Bill 1140

Bill Text

PAG LIN
  1  1    Section 1.  Section 475A.6, Code 1999, is amended to read
  1  2 as follows:
  1  3    475A.6  CERTIFICATION OF EXPENSES TO UTILITIES DIVISION.
  1  4    The consumer advocate shall determine the advocate's
  1  5 expenses, including a reasonable allocation of general office
  1  6 expenses, directly attributable to participation in
  1  7 proceedings the performance of the advocate's duties involving
  1  8 specific utilities persons subject to direct assessment, and
  1  9 shall certify the expenses to the utilities division not less
  1 10 than quarterly.  The expenses shall then be includable in the
  1 11 expenses of the division subject to direct assessment under
  1 12 section 476.10.
  1 13    The consumer advocate shall annually, within ninety days
  1 14 after the close of each fiscal year, determine the advocate's
  1 15 expenses, including a reasonable allocation of general office
  1 16 expenses, attributable to participation in proceedings
  1 17 involving public utilities the performance of the advocate's
  1 18 duties generally, and shall certify the expenses to the
  1 19 utilities division.  The expenses shall then be includable in
  1 20 the expenses of the division subject to remainder assessment
  1 21 under section 476.10.
  1 22    The consumer advocate is entitled to notice and opportunity
  1 23 to be heard in any utilities board proceeding on objection to
  1 24 an assessment for expenses certified by the consumer advocate.
  1 25 Expenses assessed under this section shall not exceed the
  1 26 amount appropriated for the consumer advocate division of the
  1 27 department of justice.
  1 28    The office of consumer advocate may expend additional
  1 29 funds, including funds for outside consultants, if those
  1 30 additional expenditures are actual expenses which exceed the
  1 31 funds budgeted for utilities investigations and directly
  1 32 result from investigations of utilities the performance of the
  1 33 advocate's duties.  Before the office expends or encumbers an
  1 34 amount in excess of the funds budgeted for investigations, the
  1 35 director of the department of management shall approve the
  2  1 expenditure or encumbrance.  Before approval is given, the
  2  2 director of the department of management shall determine that
  2  3 the investigation expenses exceed the funds budgeted by the
  2  4 general assembly to the office of consumer advocate and that
  2  5 the office does not have other funds from which investigation
  2  6 such expenses can be paid.  Upon approval of the director of
  2  7 the department of management, the office may expend and
  2  8 encumber funds for excess investigation expenses.  The amounts
  2  9 necessary to fund the excess investigation expenses shall be
  2 10 collected from those utilities being investigated or persons
  2 11 which caused the excess expenditures, and the collections
  2 12 shall be treated as repayment receipts as defined in section
  2 13 8.2, subsection 8.
  2 14    Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  476.86  DEFINITIONS.
  2 15    As used this section and section 476.87, unless the context
  2 16 otherwise requires:
  2 17    1.  "Aggregator" means a person who combines retail end
  2 18 users into a group and arranges for the acquisition of
  2 19 competitive natural gas services without taking title to those
  2 20 services.
  2 21    2.  "Competitive natural gas provider" means a person who
  2 22 takes title to natural gas and sells it for consumption by a
  2 23 retail end user in the state of Iowa.  "Competitive natural
  2 24 gas provider" includes an affiliate of an Iowa gas utility.
  2 25    "Competitive natural gas provider" does not include the
  2 26 following:
  2 27    a.  A public utility which is subject to rate regulation
  2 28 under chapter 476.
  2 29    b.  A municipally owned utility which provides natural gas
  2 30 service only within its designated territory.
  2 31    Sec. 3.  NEW SECTION.  476.87  CERTIFICATION OF COMPETITIVE
  2 32 NATURAL GAS PROVIDERS.
  2 33    1.  The board shall certify all competitive natural gas
  2 34 providers and aggregators providing natural gas services in
  2 35 this state.  In an application for certification, a
  3  1 competitive natural gas provider or aggregator must reasonably
  3  2 demonstrate managerial, technical, and financial capability
  3  3 sufficient to obtain and deliver the services such provider or
  3  4 aggregator proposes to offer.  The board may establish
  3  5 reasonable conditions or restrictions on the certificate at
  3  6 the time of issuance.  The board shall adopt rules to
  3  7 establish specific criteria for certification.  The board
  3  8 shall make a determination on an application for certification
  3  9 within ninety days of its submission, unless the board
  3 10 determines that additional time is necessary to consider the
  3 11 application, in which case the board may extend the time for
  3 12 making a determination for an additional sixty days.
  3 13    2.  The board may resolve disputes involving the provision
  3 14 of natural gas services by a competitive natural gas provider
  3 15 or aggregator.
  3 16    3.  The board shall allocate the costs and expenses
  3 17 reasonably attributable to certification and dispute
  3 18 resolution in this section to persons identified as parties to
  3 19 such proceeding who are engaged in or who seek to engage in
  3 20 providing natural gas services or other persons identified as
  3 21 participants in such proceeding.  The funds received for the
  3 22 costs and the expenses of certification and dispute resolution
  3 23 shall be remitted to the treasurer of state for deposit in the
  3 24 general fund of the state as provided in section 476.10.
  3 25    Sec. 4.  Section 476.101, Code 1999, is amended by adding
  3 26 the following new subsection:
  3 27    NEW SUBSECTION.  10.  In a proceeding associated with the
  3 28 granting of a certificate under section 476.29, approving maps
  3 29 and tariffs for competitive local exchange providers provided
  3 30 for in this section, or in resolving a complaint filed
  3 31 pursuant to subsection 8 and proceedings under 47 U.S.C. }
  3 32 251-254, the board shall allocate the costs and expenses of
  3 33 the proceedings to persons identified as parties in the
  3 34 proceeding who are engaged in or who seek to engage in
  3 35 providing telecommunications services or other persons
  4  1 identified as participants in the proceeding.  The funds
  4  2 received for the costs and the expenses shall be remitted to
  4  3 the treasurer of state for deposit in the general fund of the
  4  4 state as provided in section 476.10.
  4  5    Sec. 5.  CODE EDITOR DIRECTIONS.  The Code editor shall
  4  6 codify new sections 476.86 and 476.87, as enacted in this Act,
  4  7 as a new division in chapter 476 relating to competitive
  4  8 natural gas providers.
  4  9    Sec. 6.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This Act, being deemed of
  4 10 immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.  
  4 11                           EXPLANATION
  4 12    This bill amends provisions related to proceedings before
  4 13 the utilities board, the provision of competitive utility
  4 14 services, and the allocation of costs incurred by the
  4 15 utilities board and the office of consumer advocate to
  4 16 participants in certain proceedings before the utilities
  4 17 board.
  4 18    New Code sections 476.86 and 476.87 are created and provide
  4 19 for the certification of competitive natural gas providers and
  4 20 aggregators.  A competitive natural gas provider is defined as
  4 21 a person who takes title to natural gas and sells for
  4 22 consumption to retail end users.  A competitive natural gas
  4 23 provider does not include a rate regulated gas utility or a
  4 24 municipal utility which provides natural gas service only
  4 25 within its designated territory.
  4 26    The bill also provides for the allocation and assessment of
  4 27 costs incurred by the office of consumer advocate directly
  4 28 attributable to the performance of the advocate's duties
  4 29 involving persons subject to direct assessment by the
  4 30 utilities division.
  4 31    The bill takes effect upon enactment.  
  4 32 LSB 1316DP 78
  4 33 mj/cf/24.3
     

Text: SSB01139                          Text: SSB01141
Text: SSB01100 - SSB01199               Text: SSB Index
Bills and Amendments: General Index     Bill History: General Index

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