An Act Regarding Public Utility Assessments, Fees and Penalties
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 0251
Committee: Energy, Utilities and Technology
Sponsors: BERRY
Amends: 35-A MRSA §116, 35-A MRSA §120, 35-A MRSA §708, 35-A MRSA §1702

Legislative Document
No. 251
H.P. 172
House of Representatives, January 29, 2021
An Act Regarding Public Utility Assessments, Fees and Penalties
Received by the Clerk of the House on January 27, 2021.  Referred to the Committee on 
Energy, Utilities and Technology pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to 
Joint Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative BERRY of Bowdoinham.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
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 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 
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 only 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 2022, for each category of public utility listed in section 116, subsection 1:
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 which will 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, ¶A is enacted to read:
A.  Beginning in 2022, the annual report must include, for each category of public 
utility listed in section 116, subsection 1, an accounting of:
(1)  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 Second 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 bill does the following:
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 
portion 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 2022, on the portion of resources 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 of up to $50,000 to an 
applicant seeking approval for a reorganization.
5.  It requires the commission to submit legislation to the Second 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.