An Act To Facilitate the Protection of Electric Utility Consumer Interests in Public Utility Commission Cases Involving the Construction, Rebuilding or Relocating of Transmission Lines
Maine Legislature, Session 124, LD 0147
Committee Amendment CA_A_H23 (House)
Amends: 35-A MRSA §3132

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A" to H.P. 126, L.D. 147, Bill, "An Act To 
Facilitate the Protection of Electric Utility Consumer Interests in Public Utility 
Commission Cases Involving the Construction, Rebuilding or Relocating of Transmission 
Lines" 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the 
summary and inseliing the following: 
'Sec. 1. 35-A MRSA §3132, sub-§10-A is enacted to read: 
lO-A. Filing fee to Office of the Public Advocate. When a person pays a filing fee 
to the commission pursuant to subsection 9, the person shall, at the same time, pay to the 
Office of the Public Advocate an amount equal to 1/100 of 1 % of the estimated cost to 
erect, rebuild or relocate the transmission line. The person may, at the time of the filing of 
the petition under this section, request the Office of the Public Advocate to waive all or a 
portion of the filing fee. The Office of the Public Advocate shall decide on the waiver 
request within 30 days. 
Filing fees paid as required under this subsection must be segregated, apportioned and 
expended by the Office of the Public Advocate for the purposes of representing the 
interests of consumers in the proceeding before the commission or conducting public 
outreach to inform consumers about the proceeding. The Office of the Public Advocate 
shall return any pOliion of the filing fee that is not expended for these purposes to the 
person who paid the fee. 
Sec. 2. 35-A MRSA §3132, sub-§10-B is enacted to read: 
lO-B. Office of the Public Advocate reporting requirement; repeal. No later than 
JanuaIY 15, 2012, the Office of the Public Advocate shall report to the joint standing 
committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over utilities and energy matters 
regarding filing fees collected pursuant to this section, including a detailed accounting of 
the amount of filing fees collected, the expenditures of the fees and the return of 
unexpended fees. 
This subsection is repealed June 30, 2012. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
~a 
i1>,'1i~1'-
\)$~''''" 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ., A" to H,P. 126, L.D. 147 
Sec. 3. Appropriations and allocations. 
The following appropriations and 
allocations are made, 
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 
Public Advocate 0410 
Initiative: Provides a base allocation for expenditure of future assessments of 
transmission projects by the Office of the Public Advocate in representing the interests of 
affected ratepayers. 
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS 
All Other 
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS TOTAL 
SUMMARY 
This amendment makes the following changes to the bill. 
2009-10 
$500 
$500 ' 
2010-11 
$500 
$500 
1. 
It conditions the payment of a filing fee to the Office of the Public Advocate 
upon the payment of a filing fee to the Public Utilities Commission. 
2. 
It sets the amount of the filing fee to the Office of the Public Advocate at 1/100 
of 1 % of the estimated project cost in all cases. 
3. It clarifies the purposes for the expenditures of the filing fee by the Office of the 
Public Advocate to include public outreach. 
4. 
It requires the Office of the Public Advocate to repOJi to the joint standing 
committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over utilities and energy matters by 
January 15, 2012 regarding its experience with the collection and expenditure of filing 
fees. 
5. It adds an appropriations and allocations section to the bill. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
\ 
') 
,/ 
) 
') 
:-' 
£' 
( 
Approved: 03/04/09 Mac:.. 
. (--\ 
, 
) 
( 
LD147 
LR 425(02) 
An Act To Facilitate the Protection of Electric Utility Consumer Interests in Public Utility Commission 
Cases Involving the Construction, Rebuilding or Relocating of Transmission Lines 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment !Iff, 
Committee: Utilities and Energy 
Appropriations/Allocations 
Other Special Revenue Funds 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
2009-10 
$500 
2010-11 
$500 
Projections 
2011-12 
$500 
Projections 
2012-13 
$500 
This bill establishes a fee of 111 00 of 1 % of the cost to erect, rebuild or relocate transmission lines, payable by a 
utility company to the Office of the Public Advocate (OPA). The OPA will utilize these funds to represent the 
interests of the utility consumers in proceedings before the commission or conducting public outreach about a project. 
A provision allows the OPA to waive the fee. The OPA will submit a report to the Legislature detailing the accounting 
of the filing fees collected and expenditures. Due to the infrequency of applications, a base allocation of$500 is 
established in anticipation of future projects. When actual projects come online the allocation will be increased by 
financial order. 
LR0425(02) - Fiscal Note - Page I of I