Bill Number: OK51RHB 1338 Filed: 01-18-2007
Author: Watson
STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1 1st Session of the 51st Legislature (2007)
2 HOUSE BILL 1338 By: Watson
3 AS INTRODUCED
4 An Act relating to Corporation Commission; amending
5 17 O.S. 2001, Section 180.11, which relates the
6 assessment upon public utilities; updating statutory
7 language and citations; providing an effective date;
8 and declaring an emergency.
9 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
10 SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 17 O.S. 2001, Section 180.11, is
11 amended to read as follows:
12 Section 180.11 A. The Corporation Commission is hereby
13 authorized to assess a fee upon each public utility to provide
14 adequate funding to the Public Utility Division of the Oklahoma
15 Corporation Commission for the regulation of public utilities in
16 this state and for providing for timely and expeditious reviews and
17 completion of rate cases, and increased responsiveness to the needs
18 of consumers and the regulated community.
19 B. 1. The assessment authorized by this section may, after
20 excluding the amount allocated to interexchange telecommunications
21 companies, resellers, pay phone service providers and operator
22 service providers in paragraph 2 of this subsection, be borne by the
23 affected public utilities as follows:
24 a. one-half shall be allocated based on that proportion
1
1 which the total regulated Oklahoma jurisdictional gross operating
2 revenues of each public utility bear to the total regulated Oklahoma
3 jurisdictional gross operating revenues of all public utilities, and
4 b. one-half shall be allocated based on that proportion
5 which the total number of regulated Oklahoma jurisdictional
6 customers of each public utility bears to the total number of
7 regulated Oklahoma jurisdictional customers of all public utilities.
8 2. For interexchange telecommunications companies, resellers,
9 pay phone service providers and operator service providers, the
10 allocation may be based on the total regulated Oklahoma
11 jurisdictional gross operating revenues that each interexchange
12 telecommunications company, reseller or operator service provider
13 bears in proportion to the total regulated Oklahoma jurisdictional
14 gross operating revenue of all public utilities as applied to the
15 total amount of the assessment to be collected from all public
16 utilities for each year.
17 C. Any assessment levied pursuant to this section shall
18 be recoverable as an operating expense to the public utility and
19 shall be included in a utility's base rates or basic monthly service
20 charge. The Corporation Commission shall take [such] any action
21 necessary to ensure recovery of the assessment by a public utility
22 during the period for which it is levied.
23 D. The Corporation Commission may provide that each public
24 utility shall pay any assessment levied pursuant to this section on
25 a quarterly basis. Notice of the annual assessment shall be sent by
26 certified mail, return receipt requested, to each public utility.
27 Each public utility shall pay the amount assessed to the Commission
2
1 for deposit to the Public Utility Regulation Revolving Fund created
2 in subsection E of this section. A public utility may, at its
3 discretion, pay its annual assessment prior to the due date of the
4 quarterly payments.
5 E. Any assessment collected by the Commission pursuant to
6 this section shall be deposited in the Public Utility Regulation
7 Revolving Fund hereby created. The fund shall be a continuing fund
8 not subject to fiscal year limitations and shall consist of the
9 monies received by the Commission from any assessment levied
10 pursuant to the provisions of this section. All monies accruing to
11 the credit of the fund are hereby appropriated and may be budgeted
12 and expended by the Commission to pay the costs, both direct and
13 indirect, of the Public Utilities Division incurred to regulate
14 public utilities. Expenditures from [said] the fund shall be made
15 upon warrants issued by the State Treasurer against claims filed as
16 prescribed by law with the Director of State Finance for approval
17 and payment.
18 F. The Legislature shall establish budgetary limits for the
19 Public Utility Division of the Corporation Commission. Any
20 assessment levied pursuant to this section shall not exceed the
21 amount of the budgetary limits and indirect costs for related
22 support functions established by the Legislature for any fiscal
23 year.
24 G. For purposes of this section, "public utility" means:
25 1. A public utility as defined by Section 151 of [Title 17 of
26 the Oklahoma Statutes] this title, excluding those companies
27 encompassed by paragraph (d) of Section 151 of [Title 17 of the
3
1 Oklahoma Statutes] this title;
2 2. Any telephone or telecommunications company subject to
3 Section 131 et seq. of [Title 17 of the Oklahoma Statutes] this
4 title, including interexchange telecommunications companies or such
5 other telecommunications companies as defined by OCC Rule OAC
6 165:55-1-4, resellers as defined by OCC Rule OAC 165:56-1-4 and
7 operator service providers as defined by OCC Rule OAC 165:57-1-4;
8 and
9 3. Any association or cooperative corporation doing business
10 under the Rural Electric Cooperative Act except for generation and
11 transmission associations or cooperative corporations, or
12 transmission associations or cooperative corporations.
13 H. It is the intention of the Legislature that this entire
14 section is an amendment to and alteration of Sections 18 through 34,
15 inclusive, of Article IX of the Constitution of the State of
16 Oklahoma, as authorized by Section 35 of Article IX of said
17 Constitution.
18 SECTION 2. This act shall become effective July 1, 2007.
19 SECTION 3. It being immediately necessary for the
20 preservation of the public peace, health and safety, an emergency is
21 hereby declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take
22 effect and be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
23 51-1-5334 KB 01/02/07
24 Page 1
25 Req. No. 5334
4