An Act Regarding Utility-related Fees / \
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 1881
Committee Amendment CA_A_H713 (House)
Amends: 35-A MRSA §116, 35-A MRSA §120, 35-A MRSA §708, 35-A MRSA §1702

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT .. /Jr" to H.P. 1347, L.D. 1881, Bill, "An Act 
Regarding Utility-related Fees" 
/ \ 
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following: 
'An Act Regarding Public Utility Assessments, Fees and Penalties' 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and inserting the 
following: 
'Sec. 1. 35-A MRSA §116, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2013, c. 600, §1, is further 
amended to read: 
1. 
Entities subject to assessments. 
Every transmission and distribution, gas, 
telephone and water utility and ferry subject to regulation by the commission and every 
qualified telecommunications 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. 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 or qualified 
telecommunications provider is based on an accounting by the commission of the portion 
of the commission's resources devoted to matters related to each category. 
The 
commission shall develop a reasonable and practicable method of accounting for 
resources devoted by the commission to matters related to each category of public utility 
or qualified telecommunications provider. Assessments on each public utility or qualified 
telecommunications provider within each category must be based on the utility's or 
qualified telecommunications provider's gross intrastate operating revenues. Within each 
category of public utility, the assessment must be apportioned and applied separately to 
investor-owned utilities and consumer-owned utilities. The portion of the assessment 
applicable to investor-owned utilities and consumer-owned utilities within each category 
must be determined based on an accounting by the commission of the portion of the 
commission's resources devoted to matters related to investor-owned utilities and the 
portion devoted to matters related to consumer-owned utilities. The commission shall 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT •A" to H.P. 1347, L.D. 1881 
determine the assessments annually prior to May 1st and assess each utility or qualified 
telecommunications provider for its pro rata share for expenditure during the fiscal year 
beginning July 1st. Each utility or qualified telecommunications provider shall pay the 
assessment charged to the utility or qualified telecommunications provider on or before 
July 1st of each year. Any increase in the assessment that becomes effective subsequent 
to May 1st may be billed on the effective date of the act authorizing the increase. 
A. The assessments charged to utilities and qualified telecommunications providers 
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: 
(1) In the case of all utilities except telephone utilities, revenues derived from 
filed rates except revenues derived from sales for resale; 
(2) In the case of a telephone utility, all intrastate revenues, except revenues 
derived from sales for resale, whether or not the rates from which those revenues 
are derived are required to be filed pursuant to this Title; and 
(3) In the case of a qualified telecommunications provider, all intrastate revenues 
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 or 
qualified telecommunications providers in the current year. 
E. The commission may exempt utilities or qualified telecommunications providers 
with annual intrastate gross operating revenues under $50,000 from assessments 
under this section. 
For purposes of this section, "qualified telecommunications provider" means a provider 
of interconnected voice over Internet protocol service that paid any assessment under this 
subsection, whether voluntarily, by agreement with the commission or otherwise, prior to 
March 1, 2012. 
Sec. 2. 35-A MRSA §116, sub-§8, as amended by PL 2019, c. 226, §1, is further 
amended to read: 
8. Public Advocate assessment. Every utility or qualified telecommunications 
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 the Public Advocate. 
The portion of this assessment applicable to each category of public utility or qualified 
telecommunications 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 or qualified 
telecommunications provider. 
Assessments on each public utility or qualified 
telecommunications provider within each category must be based on the utility's or 
qualified telecommunications provider's gross intrastate operating revenues. Within each 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 1347, L.D. 1881 
category of public utility, the assessment must be apportioned and applied separately to 
investor-owned utilities and consumer-owned utilities. The portion of the assessment 
applicable to investor-owned utilities and to consumer-owned utilities within each 
category must be determined based on an accounting by the Public Advocate of the 
portion of the resources of the Office of the Public Advocate devoted to matters related to 
investor-owned utilities and the portion devoted to matters related to consumer-owned 
utilities. The revenues produced from this assessment are transferred to the Public 
Advocate Regulatory Fund and may ealy be used only to fulfill the duties specified in 
chapter 17. 
The assessments charged to utilities and qualified telecommunications 
providers 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 the 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 and qualified telecommunications provider regulation and the percentage of 
time devoted to other duties that may be required by law. 
A. The Public Advocate shall submit its budget recommendations, using a zero-
based budgeting process or other process or method directed by the State Budget 
Officer, as part of the unified current services budget legislation in accordance with 
Title 5, sections 1663 to 1666. 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 10 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-1. 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. 
Sec. 3. 35-A MRSA §120, sub-§2-A is enacted to read: 
2-A. Filing fees and penalties; legislation. Any filing fees or penalties collected in 
the previous year under this Title that have not been adjusted in the previous 5 years. For 
filing fees or penalties reported pursuant to this subsection, the commission shall submit, 
along with the annual report, draft legislation to adjust the dollar value of the filing fee or 
penalty based on the actuarially compounded Consumer Price Index since the fee or 
penalty was last adjusted. After receiving the annual report, the committee may report 
out a bill based on the draft legislation submitted pursuant to this subsection; 
Sec. 4. 35-A MRSA §120, sub-§2-B is enacted to read: 
2-B. 
Commission expenses; investor-owned and consumer-owned utilities. 
Beginning in 2021, for each category of public utility listed in section 116, subsection 1: 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEEAMENDMENT'A''toH.P.1347,L.D.1881 
• l 
A. The portion of commission resources devoted to matters related to investor-
owned utilities and the portion of commission resources devoted to matters related to 
consumer-owned utilities: and 
B. The commission's expenses per dollar of intrastate gross operating revenue for 
investor-owned utilities and for consumer-owned utilities: 
Sec. 5. 35-A MRSA §708, sub-§4, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 141, Pt. A, §6, is 
amended to read: 
4. Filing fee. Within 30 days after the application for approval of a reorganization is 
filed pursuant to subsection 2, the commission may order the applicant to pay a filing fee 
not to exceed $50,000, .05% of the estimated total value of the corporation or entity 
resulting from the proposed reorganization if the commission determines that the 
application may involve issues vmieh vlill that would necessitate significant additional 
costs to the commission. except that if a reorganization would result in the transfer of 
ownership and control of a public utility or the parent company of a public utility. the 
commission shall order the applicant to pay to the commission a filing fee in an amount 
equal to .05% of the estimated total value of the corporation or entity resulting from the 
proposed reorganization. The applicant may request the commission to waive all or a 
portion of the filing fee. The commission shall rule on the request for waiver within 30 
days. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, filing fees paid as required in this 
subsection shall must be segregated, apportioned and expended by the commission for the 
purposes of processing the application. Any portion of the filing fee that is received from 
an applicant and is not expended by the commission to process the application shall must 
be returned to the applicant. 
Sec. 6. 35-A MRSA §1702, sub-§6, 1A is enacted to read: 
A. Beginning in 2021. the annual report must include. for each category of public 
utility listed in section 116. subsection 1, an accounting of: 
0) The portion of the Public Advocate's resources devoted to matters related to 
investor-owned utilities and the portion of resources devoted to matters related to 
consumer-owned utilities: and 
(2) The Public Advocate's expenses per dollar of intrastate gross operating 
revenue for investor-owned utilities and for consumer-owned utilities. 
Sec. 7. Fee and penalty revision. The Public Utilities Commission shall submit 
legislation to the First Regular Session of the 130th Legislature to adjust the dollar value 
of filing fees and penalties required under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 35-A based 
on the actuarially compounded Consumer Price Index for each filing fee or penalty since 
it was enacted or established, rounding to the nearest multiple of $100 if the filing fee or 
penalty is below $10,000 and to the nearest multiple of $1,000 if the filing fee or penalty 
is $10,000 or greater.' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment replaces the bill. The amendment does the following: 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEEAMENDMENT"4toH.P.1347,L.D. 1881 
1. It requires the Public Utilities Commission and the Public Advocate, respectively, 
in calculating assessments charged to public utilities to apportion the assessment within 
each category of public utility, that is, transmission and distribution, gas, telephone and 
water, between investor-owned utilities and consumer-owned utilities based on an 
accounting of the portion of the commission's resources and the Public Advocate's 
resources, respectively, devoted to matters related to investor-owned utilities and the 
po1tion devoted to matters related to consumer-owned utilities. 
2. It requires the commission, in its annual report, to report on any filing fees or 
penalties collected from public utilities in the previous year that have not been adjusted in 
the previous 5 years and to provide draft legislation to adjust the dollar value of filing 
fees and penalties based on the actuarially compounded Consumer Price Index for each 
fee and penalty since the last adjustment. 
3. It requires the commission and the Public Advocate to report annually, beginning 
in 2021, on the portion ofresources devoted to matters related to investor-owned utilities 
and the portion of resources devoted to matters related to consumer-owned utilities and 
on commission and Public Advocate expenses, respectively, per dollar of intrastate gross 
operating revenue for investor-owned utilities and consumer-owned utilities. 
4. It amends the law governing filing fees for reorganizations of utilities to authorize 
the commission to order a filing fee of up to .05% of the estimated total value of the 
reorganization and to require the commission to order payment of a filing fee equal to 
.05% of the estimated total value of the reorganization if a reorganization would result in 
the transfer of ownership and control of a public utility or the parent company of a public 
utility. Under current law the commission may charge a filing fee ofup to $50,000 to an 
applicant seeking approval for a reorganization. 
5. It requires the commission to submit legislation to the First Regular Session of the 
130th Legislature to adjust all fees and penalties paid by public utilities based on the 
actuarially compounded Consumer Price Index for each fee or penalty since enactment. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Approved: 03/02/20 frac 
LD 1881 
LR 2628(02) 
An Act Regarding Utility-related Fees 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment A,, { H-7 (3 \ 
Committee: Energy, Utilities and Technology 
) 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Future biennium revenue increase - Other Special Revenue Funds 
Minor cost increase - Other Special Revenue Funds 
This bill requires the Public Utilities Co1mnission (PUC) and the Office of the Public Advocate (OPA) to apportion 
the existing assessments collected from public utilities between investor-owned utilities and consumer-owned 
utilities. It also requires the PUC to report on any filing fees or penalties collected during the previous year that have 
not been adjusted in the previous five years and to recommend adjustments based on the consumer price index. It also 
requires the PUC and OP A to include information regarding their activities devoted to investor-owned utilities and 
consumer-owned utilities in aimual reports. Finally, the bill authorizes the PUC to increase filing fees for 
reorganizations of utilities from $50,000 to an amount not to exceed 5/100 of 1 percent of the estimated total value of 
the reorganization. 
Rec01mnendations to change the filing fees or penalties based on the consumer price index and changes to the filing 
fees for reorganizations of utilities will increase Other Special Revenue Funds revenue to the PUC. No estimate of the 
amount is made at this time. Any additional costs to the PUC and OP A from the activities required in this bill are 
anticipated to be minor and can be absorbed within existing budgeted resources. 
LR2628(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1