Date: 04/30/2015

Final
BILL SUMMARY for SB15-261

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION & ENERGY

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Refer Senate Bill 15-261 to the Committee of the WPASS



11:33 AM -- SB 15-261

Representative Young, prime sponsor, came to the table to present on Senate Bill 15-261. A summary of the bill was distributed (Attachment A). Under current law, all public utilities, with the exception of rail carriers, must provide notice to the public and the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) in the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) at least 30 days before any change is made to any rate, fare, toll, rental, charge, classification, service, privilege, or facility. Such notice is required to be given by filing with the PUC and keeping open for public inspection a new schedule that states in plain language the changes to be made and the time when the changes will go into effect. Transportation and water utilities are required by PUC rules to give other specific notices. The remaining applicable utilities must provide one additional form of public notice by any of the following methods:

150430 AttachA.pdf150430 AttachA.pdf

By changing the word "application" to "request", this bill changes the requirement that the PUC conduct a formal proceeding to approve another notice method. Instead, the utility will file a motion within an existing proceeding.

11:34 AM -- Darwin Winfield, representing Atmos Energy, spoke in favor of the bill. He responded to a question on whether the bill would reduce the amount of time that a consumer has from the point of notification to the point of proceeding.

11:36 AM -- Carl Larson, representing SourceGas LLC, spoke in favor of the bill. He distributed a letter of support from SourceGas' manager (Attachment B). He also acknowledged Black Hills Corporation's support for the bill.

150430 AttachB.pdf150430 AttachB.pdf

11:38 AM -- Becky Quintana, representing the Public Utilities Commission, spoke in favor of the bill. She said the bill will not change the PUC's authority, but will streamline a process and remove the requirement for a separate legal proceeding when a utility requests a rate change. She responded to a question on whether the bill changes the requirement for the amount of notification time. She said the Office of Consumer Counsel also supports the bill.

BILL:SB15-261
TIME: 11:40:15 AM
MOVED:Coram
MOTION:Refer Senate Bill 15-261 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 13-0.
SECONDED:Melton
VOTE
Becker J.
Yes
Buck
Yes
Carver
Yes
Coram
Yes
Esgar
Yes
Kraft-Tharp
Yes
Melton
Yes
Moreno
Yes
Neville P.
Yes
Nordberg
Yes
Winter
Yes
Mitsch Bush
Yes
Tyler
Yes
Final YES: 13 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS