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Senate File 279

Partial Bill History

Bill Text

PAG LIN
  1  1                                           SENATE FILE 279
  1  2 
  1  3                             AN ACT
  1  4 RELATING TO ALLOCATION AND PAYMENT OF EXPENSES ARISING FROM 
  1  5    PERFORMANCE OF DUTIES BY THE IOWA UTILITIES BOARD AND THE 
  1  6    CONSUMER ADVOCATE, PROVIDING FOR A REPORT BY THE IOWA 
  1  7    UTILITIES BOARD, AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.  
  1  8 
  1  9 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
  1 10 
  1 11    Section 1.  Section 476.10, unnumbered paragraphs 1, 2, and
  1 12 3, Code 2001, are amended to read as follows:
  1 13    When the board deems it necessary in In order to carry out
  1 14 the duties imposed upon it by this chapter for the purpose of
  1 15 determining rate matters to investigate the books, accounts,
  1 16 practices, and activities of, or make appraisals of the
  1 17 property of any public utility, or to render any engineering
  1 18 or accounting services to any public utility, or to review the
  1 19 operations or annual reports of the public utility under
  1 20 section 476.31 or 476.32, or to evaluate a proposal for
  1 21 reorganization under section 476.77, the public utility shall
  1 22 pay the expense reasonably attributable to the investigation,
  1 23 appraisal, service, or review law, the board may, at its
  1 24 discretion, allocate and charge directly the expenses
  1 25 attributable to its duties to the person bringing a proceeding
  1 26 before the board or to persons participating in matters before
  1 27 the board.  The board shall ascertain the expenses including
  1 28 certified expenses incurred and directly chargeable by the
  1 29 consumer advocate division of the department of justice
  1 30 directly chargeable to the public utility under section
  1 31 475A.6, and shall render in the performance of its duties.
  1 32 The board and the consumer advocate separately may decide not
  1 33 to charge expenses to persons who, without expanding the scope
  1 34 of the proceeding or matter, intervene in good faith in a
  1 35 board proceeding initiated by a person subject to the board's
  2  1 jurisdiction, the consumer advocate, or the board on its own
  2  2 motion.  For assessments in any proceedings or matters before
  2  3 the board, the board and the consumer advocate separately may
  2  4 consider the financial resources of the person, the impact of
  2  5 assessment on participation by intervenors, the nature of the
  2  6 proceeding or matter, and the contribution of a person's
  2  7 participation to the public interest.  The board may present a
  2  8 bill for expenses under this paragraph to the public utility
  2  9 person, either at the conclusion of the investigation,
  2 10 appraisal, services, or review a proceeding or matter, or from
  2 11 time to time during its progress, which.  Presentation of a
  2 12 bill is for expenses under this paragraph constitutes notice
  2 13 of the direct assessment and shall demand request for payment
  2 14 in accordance with this section.  The total amount of such
  2 15 expense in any one calendar year, for which any public utility
  2 16 shall become liable, shall not exceed two-tenths of one
  2 17 percent of its gross operating revenues derived from
  2 18 intrastate public utility operations in the last preceding
  2 19 calendar year.
  2 20    The board shall ascertain the total of the division's
  2 21 expenditures expenses incurred during each fiscal year which
  2 22 are reasonably attributable to in the performance of its
  2 23 duties under this chapter law.  The board shall add to this
  2 24 the total of the division's expenses the certified expenses of
  2 25 the consumer advocate as provided under section 475A.6 and.
  2 26 The board shall deduct all amounts chargeable directly to any
  2 27 specific utility under any law charged directly to any person
  2 28 from the total expenses of the board and the consumer
  2 29 advocate.  The remainder shall be assessed by the board may
  2 30 assess the amount remaining after the deduction to the public
  2 31 utilities all persons providing service over which the board
  2 32 has jurisdiction in proportion to their the respective gross
  2 33 operating revenues of such persons from intrastate operations
  2 34 during the last calendar year derived from intrastate public
  2 35 utility operations and may be assessed by the board on a
  3  1 quarterly basis over which the board has jurisdiction.  For
  3  2 purposes of determining gross operating revenues under this
  3  3 section, the board shall not include gross receipts received
  3  4 by a cooperative corporation or association for wholesale
  3  5 transactions with members of the cooperative corporation or
  3  6 association, provided that the members are subject to
  3  7 assessment by the board based upon the members' gross
  3  8 operating revenues, or provided that such a member is an
  3  9 association whose members are subject to assessment by the
  3 10 board based upon the members' gross operating revenues.
  3 11 Assessments may be made quarterly If any portion of the
  3 12 remainder can be identified with a specific type of utility
  3 13 service, the board shall assess those expenses only to the
  3 14 entities providing that type of service over which the board
  3 15 has jurisdiction.  The board may make the remainder
  3 16 assessments under this paragraph on a quarterly basis, based
  3 17 upon estimates of the utilities division's and the consumer
  3 18 advocate's expenditures for the fiscal year for the utilities
  3 19 division and the consumer advocate.  Beginning with the fiscal
  3 20 year beginning July 1, 1987, the first assessment for any
  3 21 fiscal year may be made by the utilities division by May 15 of
  3 22 the preceding fiscal year and shall be paid by the utility on
  3 23 or before the following July 1.  Not more than ninety days
  3 24 following the close of the fiscal year, the utilities division
  3 25 shall conform the amount of the prior fiscal year's
  3 26 assessments to the requirements of this section paragraph.
  3 27 Public utilities exempt from rate regulation under this
  3 28 chapter shall not be assessed for remainder expenses incurred
  3 29 during review of rate-regulated public utilities under section
  3 30 476.31 or 476.32, but such remainder expenses shall be
  3 31 assessed proportionally as provided in this section among only
  3 32 the rate-regulated public utilities.  The total amount which
  3 33 may be assessed to the public utilities under authority of
  3 34 this paragraph shall not exceed two-tenths of one percent of
  3 35 the total gross operating revenues of the public utilities
  4  1 during the calendar year derived from intrastate public
  4  2 utility operations.  However, the total amount which may be
  4  3 assessed in any one calendar year to a public utility under
  4  4 this section shall not exceed three-tenths of one percent of
  4  5 the utility's total gross operating revenues derived from
  4  6 intrastate public utility operation in the last preceding
  4  7 year.  For gas and electric public utilities exempted from
  4  8 rate regulation under pursuant to this chapter, the remainder
  4  9 assessments under this paragraph shall be computed at one-half
  4 10 the rate used in computing the assessment for other utilities
  4 11 persons.
  4 12    Each utility A person subject to a charge or assessment
  4 13 shall pay the division the amount charged or assessed against
  4 14 it the person within thirty days from the time the division
  4 15 mails provides notice to it the person of the amount due,
  4 16 unless it shall file with the board objections the person
  4 17 files an objection in writing with the board, setting out the
  4 18 grounds upon which it the person claims that such charge or
  4 19 assessment is excessive, unreasonable, erroneous, unlawful, or
  4 20 invalid.  Upon the filing of such objections receipt of an
  4 21 objection, the board shall set the matter down for hearing and
  4 22 issue its order in accordance with its findings in such the
  4 23 proceeding, which.
  4 24    The order shall be subject to review in the manner provided
  4 25 in this chapter.  All amounts collected by the division
  4 26 pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be deposited
  4 27 with the state treasurer of state and credited to the general
  4 28 fund of the state.  Such amounts shall be spent in accordance
  4 29 with the provisions of chapter 8.
  4 30    Sec. 2.  UTILITIES BOARD REPORT.  The utilities board shall
  4 31 submit a written report to the general assembly on or before
  4 32 March 1, 2002, regarding the direct and remainder assessments
  4 33 made pursuant to this Act.  The utilities board shall indicate
  4 34 for both direct and remainder assessments the amount of the
  4 35 assessment and the party to whom it was assessed.  The
  5  1 utilities board shall also provide a comparison of the
  5  2 assessments made to the same parties under the previous
  5  3 statute.  The utilities board may also address additional
  5  4 issues or information that it deems useful to the general
  5  5 assembly in reviewing the statutory changes.
  5  6    Sec. 3.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This Act, being deemed of
  5  7 immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.  
  5  8 
  5  9 
  5 10                                                             
  5 11                               MARY E. KRAMER
  5 12                               President of the Senate
  5 13 
  5 14 
  5 15                                                             
  5 16                               BRENT SIEGRIST
  5 17                               Speaker of the House
  5 18 
  5 19    I hereby certify that this bill originated in the Senate and
  5 20 is known as Senate File 279, Seventy-ninth General Assembly.
  5 21 
  5 22 
  5 23                                                             
  5 24                               MICHAEL E. MARSHALL
  5 25                               Secretary of the Senate
  5 26 Approved                , 2001
  5 27 
  5 28 
  5 29                                
  5 30 THOMAS J. VILSACK
  5 31 Governor
     

Text: SF00278                           Text: SF00280
Text: SF00200 - SF00299                 Text: SF Index
Bills and Amendments: General Index     Bill History: General Index

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