| Chapter 106 |
| 2025 -- S 0599 Enacted 06/23/2025 |
| A N A C T |
| RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS -- PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION |
Introduced By: Senators Sosnowski, Murray, and Britto |
| Date Introduced: March 06, 2025 |
| It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
| SECTION 1. Section 39-1-26 of the General Laws in Chapter 39-1 entitled "Public Utilities |
| Commission" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
| 39-1-26. Public utilities reserve fund created — Appropriations — Recovery of |
| expenses from utility companies. |
| (a) There is hereby created a fund to be known as the public utilities reserve account, an |
| account within the public utilities commission in the general fund. Such account, hereinafter |
| referred to as the “fund,” shall be used for the purpose of providing the financial means for the |
| commission and division to purchase materials, and to employ on a contract or other basis, legal |
| counsel, official stenographers, engineers, accountants, economists, and other expert witnesses, and |
| for other necessary expenses of the commission and division in investigations and hearings related |
| to applications and filings made by public utilities, or commission- or division-initiated |
| investigations into utility operating practices, or related appeals to state or federal courts or in |
| relevant regulatory matters before federal agencies. The general assembly shall annually |
| appropriate to the fund a sum equal to twenty-five one thousandths of one percent (.00025%) of |
| the gross, annual operating revenues of gas, electric, and telephone companies attributable to their |
| conduct of intrastate operations in this state during the year next preceding; provided, however, that |
| if at June 30, in any year the balance in the fund shall be in excess of one hundred thousand dollars |
| ($100,000), the amount of the excess shall forthwith be transferred to the general fund of the state. |
| Prebilled revenue shall be excluded from an excess balance to be transferred to the general fund. |
| The state controller is authorized and directed to draw his or her orders upon the general treasurer |
| for the payment from the fund of such sums as may be required from time to time upon receipt by |
| him or her of proper vouchers approved by the administrator. |
| (b) The public utility making an application or filing to the commission or division, or |
| subject to a commission- or division-initiated investigation, or any public utility distributing |
| electricity or gas whose retail rates would be affected by a proceeding before an agency of the |
| federal government or a federal court, shall be charged with and shall pay a portion of the expenses |
| reasonably so incurred by the commission and by the division for the purchase of materials and for |
| the employment of legal counsel, official stenographers, engineers, accountants, and expert |
| witnesses, and for travel and other necessary expenses as are reasonably attributable to the |
| investigation or the hearing of the proposal by the commission and the division, or to the |
| administrator’s representation of the state before federal or state courts or an agency of the federal |
| government. The administrator or the commission chairperson, as appropriate, shall ascertain the |
| expenses and shall determine the amount to be paid by the public utility company or companies, |
| and bills shall be rendered therefor either at the conclusion of the investigation or hearing, or from |
| time to time during its progress, and the amount of each bill so rendered shall be paid by the public |
| utility to the administrator or the commission, as appropriate, within thirty (30) days from the date |
| of its rendition unless, within the thirty-day (30) time period, the public utility so billed shall request |
| an opportunity to be heard by the commission as to the amount thereof. The commission shall |
| comply with any such request. Any amount of the bill not paid within thirty (30) days from the date |
| of service of the determination upon the hearing, or, if none shall be requested, within thirty (30) |
| days from the date of rendition of the bill, shall draw interest at the rate of twelve percent (12%) |
| per annum. At the discretion of the administrator, or the commission chairperson, as appropriate, |
| utility companies may be prebilled for contractual services utilized by the commission or division. |
| Any revenue received from public utilities not expended upon the completion of the case will be |
| promptly reimbursed to the utility company. The total amount that may be charged to any public |
| utility under authority of this section for proceedings before the commission or division or in related |
| appeals before state or federal courts in any calendar year shall not exceed seven hundred and fifty |
| thousand dollars ($750,000), provided that any indirect one million dollars ($1,000,000). Indirect |
| cost recovery obligations pursuant to § 35-4-27 shall constitute a separate and additional assessment |
| to public utilities to be added to the foregoing expense assessment limit limits; in addition, the total |
| amount that may be charged against any public utility under authority of this section for the |
| administrator’s representation of the state before agencies of the federal government in any calendar |
| year shall not exceed two hundred and fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) five hundred thousand |
| dollars ($500,000). All moneys collected by the administrator or the commission pursuant to this |
| section shall be paid by him or her monthly to the general treasurer to be added to the public utilities |
| reserve fund. |
| (c) The division of public utilities and carriers shall adopt by regulation, a fee schedule for |
| all telecommunications filings, including initial applications and annual registrations, by |
| telecommunications providers that are not otherwise subject to the provisions of subsection (a) or |
| (b) of this section. The money assessed and paid shall be paid into the general fund and shall not |
| be a part of the public utilities reserve fund. |
| (d) The general assembly shall annually appropriate such sums as it may deem necessary |
| for the salaries of the commissioners and their expenses incurred in the performance of their duties, |
| and for the operations of the commission and the division and payment of such office expenses and |
| assistance as from time to time may be required. The state controller is authorized and directed to |
| draw his or her orders upon the general treasurer for the payment of such sum, or so much thereof, |
| as may be required from time to time upon receipt by him or her of vouchers approved by the |
| administrator or his or her authorized agent. |
| SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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| LC001349 |
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