Revision: March 11, 2010, midnight
SB 449-FN – AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE
03/10/10 0884s
2010 SESSION
06/09
SENATE BILL 449-FN
AN ACT relative to the designation of staff members as staff advocates in public utilities commission adjudicatory proceedings.
SPONSORS: Sen. Cilley, Dist 6; Rep. R. Read, Rock 16
COMMITTEE: Executive Departments and Administration
This bill clarifies when staff members may be designated as staff advocates or decisional employees in adjudicatory proceedings of the public utilities commission.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
03/10/10 0884s
10-2918
06/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Ten
AN ACT relative to the designation of staff members as staff advocates in public utilities commission adjudicatory proceedings.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Designation of Employees. RSA 363:32 is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
363:22 Designation of Employees.
I. Whenever the commission conducts an adjudicative proceeding in accordance with the provisions of RSA 541-A:31 through RSA 541-A:35, the commission shall designate one or more members of its staff as a staff advocate, as defined in RSA 363:30, VIII, if requested by a party with full rights of participation in the proceeding, or upon its own initiative, when the commission determines that such members of its staff may not be able to fairly and neutrally advise the commission on all positions advanced in the proceeding.
II. Whenever the commission conducts an adjudicative proceeding in accordance with the provisions of RSA 541-A:31 through RSA 541-A:35, the commission may designate one or more members of its staff as a staff advocate, as defined in RSA 363:30, VIII, if requested by a party with full rights of participation in the proceeding, or upon its own initiative, at any time for good reason, including that: the proceeding is particularly controversial and significant in consequence; the proceeding is so contentious as to create a reasonable concern about staff's role; or it appears reasonable that such designations may increase the likelihood of a stipulated agreement by the parties.
III. Whenever the commission conducts an adjudicative proceeding in accordance with the provisions of RSA 541-A:31 through RSA 541-A:35, the commission may designate one or more members of its staff as a decisional employee, as defined in RSA 363:30, III, when the commission determines that such designation will contribute to the prompt and orderly conduct of the proceeding or is otherwise in the public interest.
IV. Unless the commission provides otherwise, any such designations shall only be applicable to a specified adjudicative proceeding. The commission shall make a list of all current designations available to the public.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
LBAO
10-2918
01/13/10
SB 449-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to ex parte communications of staff advocates and decisional employees in public utilities commission adjudicatory proceedings.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Public Utilities Commission states this bill may increase state restricted expenditures and state restricted revenue by $924,222 in FY 2011, $935,472 in FY 2012, $983,427 in FY 2013 and $1,033,264 in FY 2014. The Commission also states this bill may increase state, county and local expenditures in FY 2011 and each year thereafter. There is no fiscal impact on county and local revenue.
METHODOLOGY:
The Public Utilities Commission states this bill requires Commission staff be designated as advocates or advisors in every case in which the staff take a position. This change would impact the majority of the Commission’s dockets. The Commission’s practice is to staff all dockets with technical and legal advisors. The staff members analyze evidence, participate in discovery, negotiate settlements, and make recommendations or file testimony and legal briefs in dockets. During deliberation on contested and non-contested cases, staff members may be asked to assist the Public Utilities Commissioners on technical aspects of a case and draft opinions. Not allowing the staff to work in a dual role and requiring staff to be designated as advocate or advisor in every case will result in the need for approximately 10 additional staff. The Commission estimates it would need one administrator IV (LG 33), 2 hearings officers (LG 34), 4 utility analyst IV positions (LG 30), 2 utility analyst III positions (LG 28), and one program assistant II position (LG 15). The Commission assumes it will not require any additional positions until FY 2011. The costs for the positions would be as follows:
LBAO
10-2918
01/13/10
FY 2011 |
FY 2012 |
FY 2013 |
FY 2014 | |
Personnel |
$549,901 |
$574,533 |
$600,757 |
$627,356 |
Benefits |
249,321 |
267,488 |
287,221 |
308,410 |
Current Expense |
25,500 |
26,138 |
26,791 |
27,461 |
Equipment |
33,500 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Office Space |
52,500 |
53,813 |
55,158 |
56,537 |
Travel |
13,500 |
13,500 |
13,500 |
13,500 |
Total |
$924,222 |
$935,472 |
$983,427 |
$1,033,264 |
The Commission states it is funded by assessments on regulated entities. Annual assessments are levied on each utility based on the proportion of its respective revenues to the total of all utility revenues. The Commission states the addition of 10 employees would result in an increase of 3.3 cents for each $100 of utility bills a customer pays. The Commission has no information on the utility bills paid by state, county or local governments to estimate the potential increase in expenditures for those entities.
This bill does not contain authorization or appropriation for positions.