reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
WV Code § 24-1-1d (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 24. Public Service Commission|Article 1. General Provisions|§24-1-1d. Additional Legislative Findings Related to the Coal Industry

The Legislature finds that:(1) Over 600 coal-fired electric units nationally have been forced to close; (2) Eighteen coal-fired electric units within West Virginias borders have been forced to close; (3) Markets for West Virginia coal have been severely diminished due to the closure of regional coal plants to the point that West Virginia coal shipments have been reduced from 162 coal plants a decade ago to only 43 plants today;(4) West Virginia coal mines are forced to close, resulting in West Virginia coal miners being out of work, compromising homeland security and defense measures, and threatening grid stability and resiliency; (5) It is imperative the State of West Virginia take immediate steps to reverse these undesirable trends to ensure that no more coal-fired plants close, no additional jobs are lost, and long-term state prosperity is maintained;(6) Throughout the past decade, no group has been hit harder by the decline of coal than West Virginias coal miners and their families. Many coal miners are struggling to make ends meet and provide for their families;(7) In addition to working toward sustaining coal employment levels and coal-based, electric generation, the State of West Virginia should take immediate steps to provide education, training, and retraining opportunities for displaced coal miners and their families;(8) West Virginia coal-fired power plants should continue to provide base load generation critical for maintaining slow, steady generation that produces power on a continuous cycle, ensures grid stability, and protects against overloads and power shortages;(9) West Virginia coal and electricity generated in West Virginia are relied upon throughout a multi-state region, thus playing a vital role in regional homeland security;(10) West Virginias coal fleet, comprised of nine individual plants and 25 units, is fueled on average by a total of 25 million tons annually; accounts for over $2 billion of economic activity; and sustains approximately 3,500 mining jobs, 2,000 plant worker jobs, thousands of downstream and indirect local and surrounding county jobs, and hundreds of millions of dollars of payroll and tax dollars; (11) The role of West Virginia and West Virginia coal in regional homeland security is of paramount importance; thus, it is incumbent for our state to continue to provide leadership in this increasingly critical area in order to sustain and protect our regional electric supplies; and(12) Public electric utilities in West Virginia should be encouraged to operate their coal-fired plants at maximum reasonable output and for the duration of the life of the plants.
WV Code § 24-1-2 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 24. Public Service Commission|Article 1. General Provisions|§24-1-2. Definitions

Except where a different meaning clearly appears from the context, the following words when used in this chapter, shall mean:"Commission" or "Public Service Commission" means the Public Service Commission of West Virginia."Customer" means any person, firm, corporation, municipality, public service district, or any other entity who purchases a product or services of any utility and shall include any person, firm, corporation, municipality, public service district, or any other entity who purchases the services or product for resale."Governing body" means the municipal body charged with the authority and responsibility of enacting ordinances of the municipality, as defined in 8-1-2 of this code, or a public service board of a public service district, as defined in 16-13A-3 of this code."Public utility" means any person or persons, or association of persons, however associated, whether incorporated or not, including municipalities, engaged in any business, whether herein enumerated or not, which is, or shall hereafter be held to be, a public service: Provided, That "public utility" does not include individuals or entities owning a solar photovoltaic energy facility located on and designed to meet only the electrical needs of the premises of a retail electric customer, the output of which is subject to a power purchase agreement with the retail electric customer, subject to 24-2-1(a) of this code.
WV Code § 24-1-4 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 24. Public Service Commission|Article 1. General Provisions|§24-1-4. Appointment, Duties and Compensation of Secretary and Other Employees; Hearings Generally; Public Comment; Outside Employment by Certain Employees Prohibited

The commission shall appoint a secretary and such other employees as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter and shall fix their respective salaries or compensations. It shall be the duty of the secretary to keep a full and true record of all proceedings, acts, orders and judgments of the commission, to issue all necessary process, returns and notices, to keep all books, maps, documents and papers ordered filed by the commission, and all orders made by the commission or approved and confirmed by it and ordered to be filed; and he shall be responsible to the commission for the safe custody and preservation of all such documents in his office. He may administer oaths in all parts of the state, so far as the exercise of such power is properly incidental to the performance of his duty or that of the commission.The commission may designate such of its employees as it deems necessary to hold hearings, held or required by this chapter, and to take evidence at such hearings, which employees are hereby empowered to subpoena witnesses, administer oaths, take testimony, require the production of documentary evidence and exercise such other powers and perform such other duties as may be delegated to them and required by the commission, in any proceeding or examination instituted or conducted by the commission under this chapter, at any designated place of hearing within the state. The commission shall provide a web site to accept comments from West Virginia residents regarding any matter under the auspices of the commission or before the commission. The commission staff shall report to the full commission all comments and suggestions received through the web site. Any commissioner or person employed by the commission other than on a part-time basis shall devote full time to the performance of his duties as such commissioner or employee during the regular working hours as set by the commission.
WV Code § 24-1-5 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 24. Public Service Commission|Article 1. General Provisions|§24-1-5. Seal to Be Adopted; Collection and Disposition of Fees

The commission shall adopt a seal which shall be affixed to all papers under such regulations as the commission may prescribe. The commission shall likewise prescribe a schedule of fees to be charged for the certification of all records and papers, and sums to be paid witnesses and other costs necessary and incident to hearings before it and order the same paid by the unsuccessful party. All sums collected by the secretary, except witness fees, shall be paid by him into the State Treasury and be credited to the Public Service Commission fund provided for in section six, article three of this chapter. The witness fee shall be paid to the person to whom they are allowed. The sums to be paid into the Public Service Commission fund representing the collection of any month shall be so paid on or before the tenth of the following month.
WV Code § 24-1-6 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 24. Public Service Commission|Article 1. General Provisions|§24-1-6. Office of Commission; Time and Place of Hearings; Number of Commissioners Required for Taking Action

The general office of the commission shall be kept at the seat of government and in charge of the secretary or his or her deputy. Hearings and the taking of evidence may be had at such times and places and in such manner in each particular case as the commission may designate. If the sole purpose of the hearing is to receive public comment or protest, then not less than one commissioner is required to be present.The concurrent judgment of two of the commissioners, when in session as the commission, shall be deemed the action of the commission, and a vacancy in the commission shall not affect the right or duty of the remaining commissioners to function as a commission.
WV Code § 24-1-7 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 24. Public Service Commission|Article 1. General Provisions|§24-1-7. Rules of Procedure; Commission Not Bound by Rules of Evidence or Pleadings; Inscription On, Use of and Judicial Notice of Seal

The commission shall prescribe such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter, including rules of procedure and for taking evidence in all matters that may come before it, and enter such orders as may be just and lawful: Provided, That no such rule or regulation shall be effective unless promulgated pursuant to the provisions of sections one through ten, article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code: Provided, however, That no such rule or regulation shall become effective until sixty days after its final adoption or until the effective date proposed by the commission, whichever is later: Provided further, That any rules and regulations promulgated prior to the effective date of this section shall remain in full force and effect unless changed, modified or repealed in accordance herewith. The rules and regulations promulgated hereunder by the Public Service Commission shall not be subject to the legislative rule-making review procedures established in sections eleven through fifteen, article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code. In the investigations, preparations and hearings of cases, the commission shall not be bound by the technical rules of pleading and evidence, but in that respect it may exercise such discretion as will facilitate its efforts to understand and learn all the facts bearing upon the right and justice to the matters before it.Meetings of the commission wherein the sole purpose is to decide or deliberate toward a decision on any matter are exempt from the requirements of article nine-a, chapter six of this code, any other provision of this code to the contrary notwithstanding.All orders of the commission shall set forth separately findings of facts and conclusions of law, which findings of fact shall make specific reference to the evidence in the record which supports such findings.The commission shall have a seal bearing the following inscription: "The Public Service Commission of West Virginia." The seal shall be affixed to all writs and authentications of copies of records, and to such other instruments as the commission shall direct. All courts shall take judicial notice of said seal.
WV Code § 24-1-8 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 24. Public Service Commission|Article 1. General Provisions|§24-1-8. Legal Counsel for the Commission

The commission may employ counsel to represent it in proceedings before it on application, complaint, or otherwise, and proceedings of any nature in any and all courts or before administrative or executive boards and to act as legal advisers to the commission in all matters for which their services, in the opinion of the commission, are required. The compensation of such counsel shall be fixed by the commission and shall be paid as are other employees of the commission. The commission shall notify the Attorney General of any action or suit brought against the commission.
WV Code § 24-2-1a (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 24. Public Service Commission|Article 2. Powers and Duties of Public Service Commission|§24-2-1a. Authority of Commission to Enter and Inspect Railroad Property

The commission or its duly authorized representatives are hereby authorized and empowered to enter and inspect any property, premise or place, owned or operated by a railroad, whether fixed facilities or rolling stock, including, but not limited to, locomotives, cars and cabooses, stationary or in motion, at any reasonable time for the purpose of ascertaining the state of compliance with this article and rules and regulations in force pursuant thereto. No person shall refuse entry or access to the commission or any authorized representative of the commission who requests entry for purposes of inspection, and who presents appropriate credentials; nor shall any person obstruct, hamper or interfere with any such inspection.
WV Code § 24-2-1b (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 24. Public Service Commission|Article 2. Powers and Duties of Public Service Commission|§24-2-1b. Additional Jurisdiction of Commission

(a) Effective July 1, 1988, in addition to all other powers and duties of the commission as defined in this article, the commission shall establish, prescribe and enforce rates and fees charged by commercial solid waste facilities, as defined in section two, article fifteen, chapter twenty-two of this code, that are owned or under the direct control of persons or entities who are regulated under section five, article two, chapter twenty-four-a of this code. The commission shall establish, prescribe and enforce rules providing for the safe transportation of solid waste in the state. The commission shall establish rules for the collection of waste tires by private commercial carriers of solid waste.(b) The Public Service Commission shall study the feasibility of incorporating and adopting guidelines for solid waste collection fees that are based upon the volume of solid waste generated by any person. This report shall be submitted to the Governor and the members of the Legislature on or before January 1, 1993.
WV Code § 24-2-1e (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 24. Public Service Commission|Article 2. Powers and Duties of Public Service Commission|§24-2-1e. Rate Recovery for Construction of Electric Transmission Facilities

In order to encourage the construction of transmission facilities necessary to transmit electric power from generating facilities located in this state to areas where such power can be economically marketed, the commission may allow an electric utility accelerated rate recovery for transmission facilities constructed or upgraded for the purpose of increasing the capacity to transmit electric power to areas outside the utility's service territory where such power can be economically marketed. In allowing accelerated rate recovery, the commission shall include the impact of the investment in transmission facilities on any investment equalization agreement in which the utilities participate.
WV Code § 24-2-1f (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 24. Public Service Commission|Article 2. Powers and Duties of Public Service Commission|§24-2-1f. Jurisdiction of Commission Over Solid Waste Facilities

Effective July 1, 1989, in addition to all other powers and duties of the commission as defined in this article, the commission shall establish, prescribe and enforce rates and fees charged by commercial solid waste facilities, as defined in subsection (b), section two, article four, chapter twenty-two-c of this code.
WV Code § 24-2-1g (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 24. Public Service Commission|Article 2. Powers and Duties of Public Service Commission|§24-2-1g. Rate Incentives for Utility Investment in Qualified Clean Coal and Clean Air Control Technology Facilities

(a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the State of West Virginia has been a major supplier of coal to the electric power industry both within and outside of the State of West Virginia; the congress of the United States is currently considering legislation to limit the emissions of oxides of sulfur and nitrogen from coal fired electric generating plants; the continued use of coal for generating electrical energy can be accomplished in an environmentally acceptable manner through the use of current state of the art and emerging clean coal and clean air technology; it is in the interest of the economy of West Virginia to encourage the use of such technologies for the production of electricity and steam; revenues from the continued production of coal are important to the State of West Virginia and are necessary for the funding of education and other vital state services; the construction of electric utility generation and transmission facilities may continue for many years following the finalization of plans for such facilities; and the prudence of the construction of such facilities may be affected by changing conditions during the extended interval between finalization of plans and completion of construction.(b) Upon a finding that it is in the public interest of this state, as provided in section one, article one of this chapter, the Public Service Commission shall authorize rate-making allowances for electric utility investment in clean coal and clean air technology facilities or electric utility purchases of power from clean coal technology facilities located in West Virginia which shall provide an incentive to encourage investments in such technology.(c) For purposes of this section a qualified clean coal or clean air technology facility must use coal produced in West Virginia for no less than seventy-five percent of its fuel requirements.(d) The Public Service Commission shall determine, at such time and in such proceeding, form and manner as is considered appropriate by the commission, the extent to which any electric utility investment or purchases of power qualify for incentive rate-making pursuant to this section.
WV Code § 24-2-1m (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 24. Public Service Commission|Article 2. Powers and Duties of Public Service Commission|§24-2-1m. Commission Jurisdiction Does Not Extend to Materials Recovery Facilities, Mixed Waste Processing Facilities, and Certain Mixed Waste Processing and Resource Recovery Facilities

Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, the jurisdiction of the commission does not extend to materials recovery facilities or mixed waste processing facilities as defined by 22-15-2 of this code, except within a 35-mile radius of a facility sited in a county that is, in whole or in part, within a karst region as determined by the West Virginia Geologic and Economic Survey that has been permitted and classified by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection as a mixed waste processing resource recovery facility and has received a certificate of need by July 1, 2016: Provided, That nothing in this section shall affect the requirements of 24A-2-5 and 24A-3-3 of this code: Provided, however, That the jurisdiction of the commission does not extend to any mixed waste processing and resource recovery facility that processes a minimum of 70 percent of the material brought to the facility on any given day on a 30-day aggregate basis.
WV Code § 24-2-1q (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 24. Public Service Commission|Article 2. Powers and Duties of Public Service Commission|§24-2-1q. Base Fuel Supply Requirements for Electric Grid Resiliency

Any coal-fired power plant owned by a public electric utility as of the effective date of this section shall, in order to ensure grid resiliency and homeland security, maintain a minimum 30-day aggregate coal supply under contract for the remainder of the life of those plants.
WV Code § 24-2-3a (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 24. Public Service Commission|Article 2. Powers and Duties of Public Service Commission|§24-2-3a. Advance Notice of Filing of General Rate Case Required

All public utilities subject to the provisions of section four or four-a of this article, intending to institute a general rate case, shall give the commission not less than thirty days' notice before proceeding under the provision of those sections unless the commission modifies or waives such notice requirement.
WV Code § 24-2-3b (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 24. Public Service Commission|Article 2. Powers and Duties of Public Service Commission|§24-2-3b. Transitional Suspension of Schedule; Legislative Findings; Procedure

The Legislature finds that in anticipation of the operative date of the provisions of section four-a of this article, certain regulated utilities have presented to the Public Service Commission a large number of proceedings pursuant to section four of this article. In the public interest, the commission should be granted sufficient authority to make disposition of those cases in an orderly and just manner, consistent with the duties of the commission requiring conversion of its procedure from that provided in section four of this article to that provided in section four-a. In view of the increased demands upon the commission, it is in the public interest to grant to the Public Service Commission additional authority for the suspension of rates in cases filed pursuant to section four of this article.In any proceeding commenced pursuant to the provisions of section four of this article which is pending on the effective date of this section or is thereafter commenced, the commission may at the commencement of, or during the pendency of, any period of suspension provided for in section four, further suspend the operation of any such schedule and defer the use of such rate, charge, classification, regulation or practice for a further and additional period of one hundred fifty days or such shorter further and additional period as the commission may order. The total period of suspension including the original suspension and the suspension resulting from the application of this section shall not exceed a period equal to the maximum suspension prescribed for the public utility as it is classified in section four-a of this article, according to the number of customers. The statement of reasons adopted pursuant to section four of this article shall be a sufficient statement of reasons for such further and additional period under this section. Any such order for a further and additional period of suspension shall be effective upon its service upon the utility affected thereby, and may make provision for interim rate relief or may provide only for such rates as have been fully approved previously. At the expiration of any such additional period of suspension, the commission shall authorize rates under bond under the provisions of section four of this article, or shall make a final order: Provided, That proceedings in which such further and additional period of suspension have commenced but not expired on July 1, 1981, shall not be treated as filed anew on July 1, 1981, pursuant to section four of this article.
WV Code § 24-2-4d (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 24. Public Service Commission|Article 2. Powers and Duties of Public Service Commission|§24-2-4d. Procedures for Intrastate Rail Carrier Rate-Making and Compliants

Inasmuch as the commission retains authority over intrastate rail rates and complaints pursuant to 49 United States Code §11501 and other federal law, and inasmuch as the commission's procedures are subject to periodic review and certification by the interstate commerce commission for compliance with federal standards, the general rate-making procedures set forth in section four-a, article two, chapter twenty-four of this code, shall not be applied to intrastate railroad rates. The commission shall promulgate its rules and regulations for the government of intrastate rail rates. Such rules shall contain notice requirements, grounds for rate suspension and the permitted suspension period, procedures for protest, standards for determining market dominance and rate reasonableness, burdens of proof, refund provisions, contract rate procedures and trackage rights. These rules shall also contain procedures for complaints and filing of contract rates. All final orders of the commission concerning intrastate rail rates shall be appealable to the interstate commerce commission in conformance with federally established standards of review.