Bill Text: MI SB1124 | 2017-2018 | 99th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Public utilities; public service commission; fines for violations of commission rules; allocate to consumer commission fund. Amends secs. 5 & 11a of 1919 PA 419 (MCL 460.55 & 460.61a).

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-09-26 - Referred To Committee On Energy And Technology [SB1124 Detail]

Download: Michigan-2017-SB1124-Introduced.html

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SENATE BILL No. 1124

 

 

September 26, 2018, Introduced by Senator COLBECK and referred to the Committee on Energy and Technology.

 

 

 

     A bill to amend 1919 PA 419, entitled

 

"An act to provide for the regulation and control of certain public

utilities operated within this state; to create a public utilities

commission and to define the powers and duties thereof; to abolish

the Michigan railroad commission and to confer the powers and

duties thereof on the commission hereby created; to provide for the

transfer and completion of matters and proceedings now pending

before said railroad commission; and to prescribe penalties for

violations of the provisions hereof,"

 

by amending sections 5 and 11a (MCL 460.55 and 460.61a).

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 5. (1) In addition to the reports now required to be made

 

by any public utility under the laws of the this state relating to

 

the Michigan railroad commission, it shall be competent for the

 

public utilities commission to service commission may require the

 

making of such additional and further reports and the supplying of

 

such data as is that are reasonably necessary for the proper

 

performance of the powers and duties hereby contemplated. set forth

in this act. Any report required to be made by a utility operated

 

and controlled by a corporation, joint stock company, or

 

association shall must be verified by the affidavit of the

 

president and secretary thereof. In all other cases such

 

verification shall of that corporation, joint stock company, or

 

association. Any report required to be made by a utility operated

 

and controlled by a corporation, joint stock company, or

 

association must be made verified by the affidavit of the owner, or

 

1 of them, or by the general manager of the utility. Said The

 

public service commission shall have has the power and authority to

 

make, adopt, and enforce rules and regulations for the conduct of

 

its business and the proper discharge of its functions hereunder,

 

under this act, and all persons dealing with the commission or

 

interested in any matter or proceedings pending before it shall be

 

the commission are bound by such those rules and regulations. The

 

commission shall also have has the authority to make and prescribe

 

regulations for the conducting of the business of public utilities,

 

subject to the jurisdiction thereof, of the commission, and it

 

shall be the duty of every corporation, joint stock company,

 

association, or individual owning, managing, or operating any such

 

public utility to subject to the jurisdiction of the commission

 

shall obey such those rules and regulations.

 

     (2) Any such corporation, joint stock company, association, or

 

individual refusing or neglecting so to do, obey those rules and

 

regulations or refusing or neglecting to make any report required

 

hereunder, shall be under this act is liable to a penalty for a

 

fine of not less than 100 dollars nor $100.00 or more than 1,000

dollars; and the $10,000.00. If a fine is imposed on a public

 

utility under this subsection, the commission shall refer the

 

matter to the attorney general for enforcement of a criminal

 

penalty under subsection (3).

 

     (3) The officer or individual in default shall also be deemed

 

to be owning, managing, or operating any public utility refusing or

 

neglecting to obey those rules and regulations or refusing or

 

neglecting to make any report required under this act is guilty of

 

a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be subject to

 

punishable by imprisonment for not more than 6 months, a fine of

 

not less than 10 dollars nor $100.00 or more than 1,000 dollars, or

 

to imprisonment in the county jail not more than 6 months,

 

$10,000.00, or both. such fine and imprisonment in the discretion

 

of the court.

 

     (4) If the commission has the authority to waive utility

 

reporting requirements, any reports authorized under this act must

 

not be waived by the commission for more than a period of 24 months

 

in a row for any given utility. After that 24-month period, the

 

commission may waive the same reporting requirements for that

 

utility again only if both of the following have occurred:

 

     (a) At least 13 months have passed since the last reporting

 

waiver expired.

 

     (b) The utility has fully complied with providing all

 

necessary reports during the period of time after the last

 

reporting waiver ended.

 

     (5) The commission shall create a report that details and

 

lists all rules the commission has required of utilities and

subsequently waived, minimally broken down by utility, rule, waiver

 

start date, and waiver end date. Rules being considered by the

 

commission for waiver must be included in a separate section of the

 

report any time a rate case hearing or other process commences that

 

is authorized and designed to waive a reporting requirement or

 

other rule. The commission shall send a copy of an updated version

 

of the report to the senate majority leader, the speaker of the

 

house of representatives, the chairperson of the house energy

 

policy committee, and the chairperson of the senate energy and

 

technology committee if the commission either starts a rate case

 

hearing or other process to waive a report or rule, or if a report

 

or rule is officially waived. The commission shall post, maintain,

 

and update the report on a webpage made available to the general

 

public.

 

     Sec. 11a. (1) Notwithstanding this or any other act to the

 

contrary, all funds money paid into the state treasury under this

 

act, shall except fines for a violation of section 5(2), must be

 

credited to a special account to be utilized solely to finance the

 

cost of regulating public utilities.

 

     (2) Money paid into the state treasury from fines for a

 

violation of section 5(2) must be credited as follows:

 

     (a) Fifty percent to the utility consumer representation fund

 

created in section 6m of 1939 PA 3, MCL 460.6m.

 

     (b) Fifty percent to a special account to be utilized solely

 

to finance the cost of regulating public utilities.