It also proposes a major change that could politicize the PUC and take away its status an independent regulator. The bill would give the governor authority to appoint the commission chairman, instead of the current practice of having three co-equal commissioners name a chairman on a rotating basis. Worse, the bill would give that chairman the authority to hire, fire and assign personnel. What would result is a single, overly powerful PUC chairman, serving at the pleasure of the governor, with little accountability to anybody else. Indeed, the reason voters approved the three-member independent regulatory panel was because Oregon's prior experience with a single political appointee, with power to hire and fire staff, produced abuses of power.
Utilities are big contributors to gubernatorial campaigns.
So giving a future governor this power invites undue political influence. Don't expect a veto from the governor on this one. Gov. John Kitzhaber supports adding this new authority for future governors, so it's really up to the Legislature to strip this bill of its damaging provision or kill it outright. Even if lawmakers believe that the PUC has been out of control and should be reined in, the task force ought to do its work before the Legislature acts.