MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2018 Regular Session
To: Accountability, Efficiency, Transparency
By: Senator(s) Carmichael
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 77-1-1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO INCREASE THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION BEGINNING ON JANUARY 1, 2020; TO AMEND SECTION 77-1-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THE NUMBER OF MEMBERS NECESSARY FOR A QUORUM OF THE COMMISSION; TO AMEND SECTION 77-2-1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT THE PUBLIC UTILITIES STAFF SHALL BE UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION; TO AMEND SECTION 77-2-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT THE PUBLIC UTILITIES STAFF SHALL CONDUCT INVESTIGATIONS AND PERFORM CERTAIN OTHER FUNCTIONS AS DIRECTED BY THE COMMISSION; TO AMEND SECTION 77-2-7, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE STAFF SHALL BE APPOINTED BY THE COMMISSION AND SHALL SERVE AT THE WILL AND PLEASURE OF THE COMMISSION; TO AMEND SECTION 77-2-9, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT TIN ORDER FOR CERTAIN DUTIES TO BE CARRIED OUT BY THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, THE COMMISSION MUST PROVIDE ITS ADVICE AND CONSENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 77-1-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
77-1-1. A public service
commission, hereinafter referred to in this chapter as the commission, is
hereby created * * *. The initial members of the commission shall consist
of three (3) members, one (1) to be elected from each of the three (3) Supreme
Court districts by the qualified electors of such district. Beginning on January 1, 2020, the commission shall be
reconstituted to consist of five (5) members, one (1) member to be elected from
each of the four (4) congressional districts, and one (1) member to be
appointed from the state at large by the Governor with the advice and consent
of the Senate. Elections for * * * the elected members of the
reconstituted commission shall be held in the general election in November * * *
2019, and every four (4) years thereafter, and the terms of office of
the * * * commissioners elected at the general
election in November * * * 2019 shall expire on December 31, * * * 2023. The member of the
commission appointed by the Governor shall be appointed for a term of four (4)
years and until his successor is appointed, such initial term to commence on
January 1, 2020, and expiring on December 31, 2023.
The commissioners shall each receive a yearly salary fixed by the Legislature, payable monthly.
The commissioners shall each possess the qualifications prescribed for the Secretary of State. The commissioners shall not operate, own any stock in, or be in the employment of any common or contract carrier by motor vehicle, telephone company, gas or electric utility company, or any other public utility that shall come under their jurisdiction or supervision.
SECTION 2. Section 77-1-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
77-1-5. The commission shall keep an office in the City of Jackson, which shall be kept open Monday through Friday of each week for eight (8) hours each day. The commission shall meet at its office on the first Tuesday of each month and at such other times and places as its duties may require. The commission may sit from day to day and from time to time, and any meeting may be pretermitted not exceeding two (2) in any year.
The members of the commission shall devote their entire time to the performance of their official duties on every business day, except on the legal holidays enumerated in Section 3-3-7, Mississippi Code of 1972. However, official acts of the commission done on legal holidays shall be valid.
The commission shall keep regular minutes of its proceedings, which shall be a public record, and all orders, findings and acts of the commission shall be entered on the minutes.
Two (2) members of the commission shall be a quorum; however, beginning on January 1, 2020, three (3) members of the commission shall be a quorum.
SECTION 3. Section 77-2-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
77-2-1. There is hereby established
a Public Utilities Staff, which shall be * * * under
the authority and supervision of the Public Service Commission. * * * The staff shall consist of the
personnel positions of the executive director, the economic and planning
division, legal division, engineering division and accounting division with a
State Personnel Board organizational code of twenty thousand (20,000) or larger
which were formerly authorized and appropriated under the provisions of Section
77-3-8, Mississippi Code of 1972. The * * * commission shall establish the organizational
structure of the staff, and shall have the authority to create units as deemed
appropriate to carry out the responsibilities of the staff. The Public
Utilities Staff shall represent the broad interests of the State of Mississippi
by balancing the respective concerns of the residential, commercial or
industrial ratepayers, and the state and its agencies and departments, and the
public utilities. The staff shall consist of a sufficient number of
professional, administrative, technical, clerical and other personnel as may be
necessary for the staff to perform its duties and responsibilities as
hereinafter provided. All such personnel shall be competitively appointed by
the executive director, subject to the approval of the commission, and
shall be dismissed only for cause in accordance with the rules and regulations
of the State Personnel Board. All equipment, supplies, records and any funds
appropriated by the Legislature to the Public Service Commission for and on
behalf of the Public Utilities Staff shall be transferred to such staff on
September 1, 1990. The Public Utilities Staff shall be funded separately from
the Mississippi Public Service Commission. Any appropriated funds to the
Public Utilities Staff shall be maintained in an account separate from any
funds of the Public Service Commission and shall never be commingled therewith.
Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary, the personnel positions of the data processing division and the gas pipeline safety division of the Public Utilities Staff shall be the Public Service Commission staff positions authorized under Section 77-3-8, and shall be under the control and supervision of the Public Service Commission from and after March 15, 1991. However, the Public Service Commission staff shall continue to provide at no cost administrative support in the nature of data processing and bookkeeping to the Public Utilities Staff in order to avoid duplication of services.
SECTION 4. Section 77-2-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
77-2-3. (1) The Public Utilities Staff created pursuant to Section 77-2-1 and the Public Service Commission and commission staff shall have and possess all of the rights and powers to perform all of the duties vested by this chapter.
(2) The functions of the commission, with the aid and assistance of its staff and the Public Utilities Staff, shall be regulatory and quasi-judicial in nature. It may make such investigations and determinations, hold such hearings, prescribe such rules and issue such orders with respect to the control and conduct of the businesses coming within its jurisdiction. It may adjudicate all proceedings brought before it in which the violation of any law or rule administered by the commission is alleged.
(3) The primary functions of the Public Utilities Staff shall be investigative and advisory in nature. The Public Utilities Staff shall conduct investigations and perform other functions relating to the regulation of public utilities as ordered and directed by the commission.
SECTION 5. Section 77-2-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
77-2-7. (1) An Executive
Director of the Public Utilities Staff shall be appointed * * * by the Public Service
Commission * * *. The executive director shall serve at the
will and pleasure of the * * * Governor commission.
(2) The Executive Director of the Public Utilities Staff shall hold at least a bachelor's degree and shall have extensive managerial experience with a thorough knowledge of public utility economics and the principles of utility service and rate construction. The Executive Director of the Public Utilities Staff shall possess the ability to analyze quantitative and qualitative data and to develop and adjust regulatory strategies or policies to attain commission objectives. The salary of the executive director shall be set by the Personnel Board and shall be such that it is comparable to salaries of those holding similar positions in other state and federal agencies and commensurate with the duties and responsibilities imposed on this official position which affects the broad interests of the State of Mississippi. Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent reappointment of the executive director for consecutive terms.
SECTION 6. Section 77-2-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
77-2-9. (1) The executive director shall have general charge of the operations and administration of the Public Utilities Staff. It shall be the duty and responsibility of the executive director to supervise and manage the offices and personnel on the Public Utilities Staff and formulate written policies and procedures for the effective and efficient operation thereof, subject to the approval of the commission. The executive director shall be responsible for hiring persons on the staff who meet established qualifications for comparable positions of duty and responsibility, subject to the approval of the commission. The Public Utilities Staff as formerly created in Section 77-3-8, Mississippi Code of 1972, which consists of the Economic and Planning Division, Legal Division, Engineering Division, Accounting Division and Administrative Services Division, and has a State Personnel Board organizational code of twenty thousand (20,000) or larger, is abolished from and after August 31, 1990. All such former employees shall be eligible to be rehired by the executive director for positions on the Public Utilities Staff created pursuant to Section 77-2-1. Such former employees shall not, by virtue of abolishing such staff, lose any vacation or sick leave benefits previously accrued and, if rehired, shall continue vacation and sick leave as if they had not been terminated. For a period of one (1) year after July 1, 1990, the personnel actions of the Public Utilities Staff shall be exempt from State Personnel Board procedures in order to give the Public Utilities Staff flexibility in making an orderly, effective and timely transition to the mandated reorganization.
(2) The following personnel and members of the Public Utilities Staff shall be competitively appointed by the executive director, subject to the approval of the commission, and shall have at least the knowledge, skills and abilities set forth herein. These requirements shall not be waived, and possession thereof shall be certified by the State Personnel Board:
(a) A chief engineer who is a graduate licensed engineer and who has a thorough knowledge of engineering principles as applied to the design, construction, operation, maintenance and expansion of utility facilities and rate structure determination. The chief engineer shall possess a thorough knowledge of techniques and practices of public utility service and regulation and shall have the ability to evaluate same and to formulate accurate conclusions therefrom.
(b) A certified public accountant who possesses a thorough knowledge of standard accounting procedures, techniques and systems with specific reference to the utility industry. Such accountant shall be experienced in public utility accounting and shall have a thorough knowledge of the financial and organizational structure of public utility companies to include knowledge of the methods by which financing of major additions and extensions to utility operations is acquired.
(c) A director of economics and planning who holds at least a bachelor's degree in economics and possesses a thorough knowledge of the principles and techniques of economic and financial research and statistical analysis. The director of economics and planning shall have a thorough knowledge of the sources of economic, financial and statistical information and the methods of utilizing these sources, as well as considerable knowledge of capital markets with specific reference to utility financing. This employee shall be experienced in conducting analyses of the utility industry, the economy, cost of money, availability and cost of fuel and energy and other related matters within the authority of the commission.
(d) Supportive technical personnel consisting of rate analysts, accountants, inspectors and statisticians as authorized and appropriated by the Legislature.
(e) A general counsel, who shall be a member of The Mississippi Bar, shall have practiced law for a minimum of five (5) years and who shall possess considerable knowledge of utility regulation generally and of the case law, statutory law and the common law relating thereto.
(3) It shall be the duty and responsibility of the Public Utilities Staff by and through the executive director to:
(a) In uncontested matters review, investigate and make appropriate written recommendations to the commission with respect to the reasonableness of rates charged or proposed to be charged by any public utility and with respect to the consistency of such rates with the public policy of assuring an energy supply adequate to protect the public health and safety and to promote the general welfare;
(b) Review, investigate and make appropriate written recommendations to the commission with respect to the service furnished or proposed to be furnished by any utility;
(c) When deemed
necessary by the * * * commission, in the broad public interest
of the State of Mississippi, the using and consuming public, and the public
utilities, make written recommendations and reports to the commission regarding
all commission proceedings affecting the rates or service of any public
utility;
(d) When deemed
necessary by the * * * commission, in the broad public interest
of the State of Mississippi, the using and consuming public, and the public
utilities, * * * initiate proceedings to review, investigate and
take appropriate action with respect to the rates or service of public
utilities * * *;
(e) When deemed
necessary by the * * * commission, in the broad public interest
of the State of Mississippi, the using and consuming public, and the public
utilities, make written recommendations and reports to the commission regarding
all certificate applications filed and provide assistance to the commission in
making the analysis and plans required;
(f) When deemed
necessary by the * * * commission, in the broad public interest
of the State of Mississippi, the using and consuming public, and the public
utilities, make written recommendations and reports to the commission regarding
all proceedings wherein any public utility proposes to reduce or abandon
service to the public;
(g) When deemed necessary by the commission, make studies with respect to standards, regulations, practices or service of any public utility; however, the Public Utilities Staff shall have no duty, responsibility or authority with respect to the enforcement of natural gas pipeline safety law, or the federal railroad safety laws, rules or regulations;
(h) When deemed
necessary by the * * * commission, in the broad public interest
of the State of Mississippi, the using and consuming public, and the public
utilities, make written recommendations and reports to the commission regarding
all commission proceedings with respect to transfers of franchises, mergers,
consolidation and combination of public utilities;
(i) When deemed
necessary by the * * * commission, in the broad public interest
of the State of Mississippi, the using and consuming public and the public
utilities, review and investigate contracts of public utilities with affiliates
or subsidiaries;
(j) When deemed
necessary by the * * * commission, in the broad public interest
of the State of Mississippi, the using and consuming public, and the public
utilities, advise the commission with respect to regulations and transactions;
(k) When deemed
necessary by the * * * commission, in the broad public interest
of the State of Mississippi, the using and consuming public and the public
utilities, review and make recommendations to the commission on all
miscellaneous uncontested filings;
(l) When deemed necessary by the commission, advise the Public Service Commission in writing as to the broad public interest of the State of Mississippi, the using and consuming public, and the public utilities in all major rate cases and automatic adjustment clauses;
(m) When deemed
necessary by the * * * commission, in the broad public interest
of the State of Mississippi, the using and consuming public, and the public
utilities, review and investigate the justness and reasonableness, to both the
public and the public utility, of rates charged or proposed to be charged by
any public utility, the rates of which are subject to regulation under the provisions
of this chapter; and
(n) Accumulate evidence and other information from public utilities and other sources as required or as may be requested by the Public Service Commission.
(4) The Executive Director of the Public Utilities Staff shall employ the resources of the staff to furnish to the commission, in a timely and expeditious manner, such information and reports or conduct such investigations and provide such other assistance as may be required in order to enforce the laws providing for the regulation of public utilities.
(5) All written recommendations and reports provided to the Public Service Commission from the Public Utilities Staff shall bear the signature of the executive director, who shall maintain a record thereof, including the date such recommendation or report was submitted to the commission.
(6) In no event shall the duties and responsibilities of the Public Utilities Staff be exercised with regard to matters not within the jurisdiction and powers of the Public Service Commission.
(7) The executive director shall not carry out any of the duties in this chapter without the advice and consent of the Public Service Commission.
SECTION 7. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2018.