An Act To Provide for Equitable Sharing by Service Providers of the Costs of the Public Utilities Commission and the Office of the Public Advocate
Maine Legislature, Session 124, LD 1578
Committee: Utilities and Energy
Sponsors: FLAHERTY, BARTLETT, BERRY, DOSTIE, FITTS, MORRISON
Amends: 35-A MRSA §116

MAINE STATE LEGISLATURE 
The following document is provided by the 
LAW AND LEGISLATIVE DIGITAL LIBRARY 
at the Maine State Law and Legislative Reference Library 
http://legislature.maine.gov/lawlib 
Reproduced from scanned originals with text recognition applied 
(searchable text may contain some errors and/or omissions) 
( 
r-\ 
( 
) 
\~) 
124th MAl E LEGISLATURE 
Legislative Document 
No. 1578 
H.P. 1116 
House of Representatives, December 22, 2009 
An Act To Provide for Equitable Sharing by Service Providers of 
the Costs of the Public Utilities Commission and the Office of the 
Public Advocate 
Submitted by the Office of the Public Advocate pursuant to Joint Rule 204. 
Received by the Clerk of the House on December 18, 2009. Referred to the Committee on 
Utilities and Energy pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered plinted pursuant to Joint Rule 
401. 
Presented by Representative FLAHERTY of Scarborough. 
Cosponsored by Senator BARTLETT of Cumberland and 
71/~ 
/J7.17l1l£;:f~Yf4{ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: BERRY of Bowdoinham, DOSTIE of Sabattus, FITTS of Pittsfield, HINCK 
ofPOliland, McCABE of Skowhegan, MORRISON of South Portland. 
Primed ltll recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 35-A MRSA §116, sub-§l, as amended by PL 2007, c. 478, §1, is further 
amended to read: 
1. Utilities and communications service providers subject to assessments. Every 
transmission and distribution, gas, telephone and water utility and ferry subject to 
regulation by the commission and every communications service provider is subject to an 
assessment on its intrastate gross operating revenues to produce sufficient revenue for 
expenditures allocated by the Legislature for the Public Utilities Commission Regulatory 
Fund established pursuant to this section. For purposes of this section, "communications 
service provider" has the same meaning as set forth in section 9202, subsection 4. The 
budget for the Public Utilities Commission Regulatory Fund is subject to legislative 
review and approval in accordance with subsection 2. The portion of the total assessment 
applicable to each category of public utility and communications service provider is 
based on an accounting by the commission of the portion of the commission's resources 
devoted to matters related to each c'ltegory. The commission shall develop a reasonable 
and practicable method of accountiI is for resources devoted by the commission to matters 
related to each category of pubh; utility. 
Assessments on each public utility and 
communications service provider within each category must be based on the utility's and 
communications service provider's gross intrastate operating revenues. The commission 
shall determine the assessments annually prior to May 1 st and assess each utility and 
communications service provider for its pro rata share for expenditure during the fiscal 
year beginning July 1 st. Each utility and communications service provider shall pay the 
assessment charged to the utility and communications service provider on or before July 
st of each year. Any increase in the assessment that becomes effective subsequent to 
May 1 st may be billed on the effective date of the act authorizing the increase. 
A. 
The assessments charged to utilities under this section are just and reasonable 
operating costs for rate-making purposes. 
B. 
For the purposes of this section, "intrastate gross operating revenues" means 
intrastate revenues derived from .fi.lea rates and rates that are exempt from filing 
requirements pursuant to rules adopted by the commission under section 307-A, 
except revenues derived from sales for resale. 
C. 
Gas utilities subject to the jurisdiction of the commission solely with respect to 
safety are not subject to any assessment. 
D. 
The commission may correct any errors in the assessments by means of a credit 
or debit to the following year's assessment rather than reassessing all utilities and 
communications service providers in the current year. 
E. 
The commission may exempt utilities and communications service providers 
with annual intrastate gross operating revenues under $50,000 from assessments 
under this section. 
Sec. 2. 35-A MRS A §116, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 141, Pt. A, §6, is 
amended to read: 
) 
) 
') 
L) 
3. Deposit of funds. All revenues derived from assessments levied against utilities 
and communications service providers described in this section sfl.alt must be deposited 
with the Treasurer of State in a separate account to be known as the Public Utilities 
Commission Regulatory Fund. 
Sec. 3. 35-A MRSA §116, sub-§8, as amended by PL 2007, c. 539, Pt. KK, §13, 
is further amended to read: 
8. Public Advocate assessment. Every utility and communications service provider 
subject to assessment under this section is subject to an additional annual assessment on 
its intrastate gross operating revenues to produce sufficient revenue for expenditures 
allocated by the Legislature for operating the Office of Public Advocate. The portion of 
this assessment applicable to each category of public utility and communications service 
provider is based on an accounting by the Public Advocate of resources devoted to 
matters related to each category. The Public Advocate shall develop a reasonable and 
practicable method of accounting for resources devoted by the Public Advocate to matters 
related to each category of public utility and communications service provider. 
Assessments on each public utility and communications service provider within each 
category must be based on the utility's and communications service provider's gross 
intrastate operating revenues. 
The revenues produced from this assessment are 
transferred to the Public Advocate Regulatory Fund and may only be used to fulfill the 
duties specified in chapter 17. The assessments charged to utilities under this subsection 
are considered just and reasonable operating costs for rate-making purposes. The Public 
Advocate shall develop a method of accounting for staff time within the Office of Public 
Advocate. All professional and support staff shall account for their time in such a way as 
to identify the percentage of time devoted to public utility regulation and the percentage 
oftime devoted to other duties that may be required by law. 
A. 
The Public Advocate shall submit its budget recommendations as part of the 
unified current services budget legislation in accordance with Title 5, sections 1663 
to 1665. The assessments and expenditures provided in this section are subject to 
legislative approval. The Public Advocate shall make an annual report of its planned 
expenditures for the year and on its use of funds in the previous year. The Public 
Advocate may also receive other funds as appropriated by the Legislature. 
B. 
The Public Advocate may use the revenues provided in accordance with this 
section to fund the Public Advocate and 9 employees and to defray the costs incurred 
by the Public Advocate pursuant to this Title, including administrative expenses, 
general expenses, consulting fees and all other reasonable costs incurred to 
administer this Title. 
C-I. Funds that are not expended at the end of a fiscal year do not lapse but must be 
carried forward to be expended for the purposes specified in this section in 
succeeding fiscal years. 
SUMMARY 
Under current law, the Public Utilities Commission and the Office of Public 
Advocate .assess utilities to fund the legislatively approved budgets for these agencies. 
This bill directs that the assessment be applied to communications service providers, 
which will broaden the pool of entities sharing the cost. 
) 
) 
)