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.