Section 386.135

Title XXV INCORPORATION AND REGULATION OF CERTAIN UTILITIES AND CARRIERS

Chapter 386

Effective - 28 Aug 2004, 3 histories, see footnote   (history) 

  386.135.  Independent technical staff for commission authorized, qualifications — personal advisors permitted — corresponding elimination of positions required — duties of technical staff. — 1.  The commission shall have an independent technical advisory staff of up to six full-time employees.  The advisory staff shall have expertise in accounting, economics, finance, engineering/utility operations, law, or public policy.

  2.  In addition, each commissioner shall also have the authority to retain one personal advisor, who shall be deemed a member of the technical advisory staff.  The personal advisors will serve at the pleasure of the individual commissioner whom they serve and shall possess expertise in one or more of the following fields:  accounting, economics, finance, engineering/utility operations, law, or public policy.

  3.  The commission shall only hire technical advisory staff pursuant to subsections 1 and 2 of this section if there is a corresponding elimination in comparable staff positions for commission staff to offset the hiring of such technical advisory staff on a cost-neutral basis.  Such technical advisory staff shall be hired on or before July 1, 2005.

  4.  It shall be the duty of the technical advisory staff to render advice and assistance to the commissioners and the commission's administrative law judges on technical matters within their respective areas of expertise that may arise during the course of proceedings before the commission.

  5.  The technical advisory staff shall also update the commission and the commission's administrative law judges periodically on developments and trends in public utility regulation, including updates comparing the use, nature, and effect of various regulatory practices and procedures as employed by the commission and public utility commissions in other jurisdictions.

  6.  Each member of the technical advisory staff shall be subject to any applicable ex parte or conflict of interest requirements in the same manner and to the same degree as any commissioner, provided that neither any person regulated by, appearing before, or employed by the commission shall be permitted to offer such member a different appointment or position during that member's tenure on the technical advisory staff.

  7.  No employee of a company or corporation regulated by the public service commission, no employee of the office of public counsel or the public counsel, and no staff members of either the utility operations division or utility services division who were an employee or staff member on, during the two years immediately preceding, or anytime after August 28, 2003, may be a member of the commission's technical advisory staff for two years following the termination of their employment with the corporation, office of public counsel or commission staff member.

  8.  The technical advisory staff shall never be a party to any case before the commission.

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(L. 2003 H.B. 208, A.L. 2004 H.B. 1548)