An Act To Provide for Temporary Commissioners at the Public Utilities Commission
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 1860
Committee: Energy, Utilities and Technology
Sponsors: RUSSELL
Amends: 35-A MRSA §108-B

Legislative Document 
No. 1860 
H.P. 1354 
House of Representatives, April 16, 2014 
An Act To Provide for Temporary Commissioners at the Public 
Utilities Commission 
(EMERGENCY) 
Reference to the Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology suggested and ordered 
printed. 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative RUSSELL of Portland.  (GOVERNOR'S BILL) 
Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts and resolves of the Legislature do not 
become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and 
Whereas, there is currently a proceeding before the Public Utilities Commission for 
which a quorum is not available; and 
Whereas, the proceeding cannot be decided without a quorum and a delay in the 
case could be detrimental to all parties; and 
Whereas, in order to maintain a quorum at the commission, the appointment process 
and confirmation process proposed in this legislation must commence as soon as possible; 
and 
Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within 
the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as 
immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, 
therefore, 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  35-A MRSA §108-B is enacted to read: 
§108-B.  Lack of quorum; temporary appointment 
If the commission is unable to maintain a quorum for reasons as described in 
subsection 1, the Governor shall appoint 3 alternate commissioners who may serve as 
temporary commissioners in accordance with this section. 
1.  Selection of alternate commissioners.  If 2 or more commissioners, due to a 
conflict of interest, disability or other reason, are unable to serve in a proceeding, which 
results in the commission being unable to maintain a quorum as provided under section 
108-A, the commission shall report this information to the Governor and post this 
information on its publicly accessible website.  Once the Governor is notified of the lack 
of a quorum for a particular proceeding, the Governor shall appoint 3 alternate 
commissioners, each of whom may serve as a temporary commissioner in that particular 
proceeding.  All appointed alternate commissioners must be retired judges or justices who 
are subject to review by the joint standing committee of the Legislature having 
jurisdiction over public utilities matters and to confirmation by the Legislature.  Once the 
alternate commissioners are confirmed by the Legislature, the commission shall, in a 
transparent manner, randomly assign from the alternate commissioners one alternate 
commissioner to be the first alternate commissioner, one alternate commissioner to be the 
2nd alternate commissioner and one alternate commissioner to be the 3rd alternate 
commissioner and send this information to the Governor. Following the receipt of this 
information, the Governor shall appoint alternate commissioners as temporary 
commissioners in the assigned order, until the number of temporary commissioners 
needed to reach a quorum is reached.  If, for good cause, an alternate commissioner is 
unable to serve as a temporary commissioner, the Governor shall appoint the next 
assigned alternate as a temporary commissioner. 
2.  Service for duration of proceeding.  Once appointed as a temporary 
commissioner to serve in a proceeding, the temporary commissioner shall serve for the 
length of time for which there is otherwise no quorum for the proceeding. 
3.  Compensation.  In the event of a temporary appointment under this section, the 
commission shall provide administrative support to the temporary commissioner and 
compensate the temporary commissioner for the hours spent at the commission working 
on a proceeding at an hourly rate that is computed by dividing the annual salary of a 
commissioner, established in Title 2, section 6-A, subsection 2, by 2,080 hours. 
4.  Authority.  A temporary commissioner appointed pursuant to this section is 
subject to all laws applicable to and has such authority with respect to the proceeding as a 
commissioner.  An alternate commissioner who is not appointed as a temporary 
commissioner has no authority with respect to any proceedings of the commission. 
Emergency clause.  In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this 
legislation takes effect when approved. 
SUMMARY 
This bill authorizes the Governor to appoint, subject to confirmation by the 
Legislature, 3 individuals to be alternate commissioners of the Public Utilities 
Commission on a case by case basis whenever 2 or more commissioners, due to a conflict 
of interest, disability or other reason, are unable to serve in a proceeding, which results in 
the commission being unable to maintain a quorum.