PRINTER'S NO. 2424
No. 271 Session of 2001
INTRODUCED BY CASORIO, BELARDI, BELFANTI, DALEY, GEORGE,
LEVDANSKY, PALLONE, READSHAW, SHANER, SOLOBAY, STABACK,
SURRA, TANGRETTI, THOMAS, TIGUE, TRAVAGLIO, WALKO, WOJNAROSKI
AND YOUNGBLOOD, JULY 23, 2001
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON RULES, JULY 23, 2001
A RESOLUTION
1 Establishing a select committee to develop an energy strategy.
2 WHEREAS, A report issued by the Keystone Research Center
3 indicates that deregulation of electricity, gas and telephone
4 industries in this Commonwealth has resulted in lower quality
5 service, fewer jobs and less reinvestment in the utility
6 systems; and
7 WHEREAS, In the 1990s the General Assembly began deregulating
8 basic utility services, including the electricity, telephone and
9 natural gas industries and proponents of deregulation promised
10 benefits to consumers and the economy and offered assurances
11 that reliability and quality of service would not suffer; and
12 WHEREAS, From 1994 to 1999 the number of consumers who
13 complained to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission about
14 utility service in the electric, gas and utility industries more
15 than doubled; and
16 WHEREAS, By 1999 the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission
1 received more than 10,000 complaints about utility service; and
2 WHEREAS, Electric utility outages lasted on average 30
3 minutes longer in 1999 than in 1994; and
4 WHEREAS, Gas utilities in 1999, the year Pennsylvania enacted
5 gas deregulation legislation, saw an increase in the number of
6 consumer complaints and the number of distribution system
7 incidents, including explosions or other significant gas leaks
8 leading to an accident of some type; and
9 WHEREAS, In the past six years, Pennsylvania utilities
10 reinvested just 5% of their profits in Pennsylvania utility
11 systems, the remainder amounting to more than $15 billion having
12 been spent in other states or other countries; and
13 WHEREAS, From 1994 to 1999 Pennsylvania utilities decreased
14 their Pennsylvania work force by about 6,500 people, or nearly
15 15%; and
16 WHEREAS, In the electricity, telephone and natural gas
17 industries examined, pay increased for chief executive officers
18 by 76% in inflation-adjusted dollars from 1994 to 1999 while the
19 real wages of typical Pennsylvania workers increased by about
20 5%; therefore be it
21 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives establish a
22 select committee to study the impact of deregulation in this
23 Commonwealth; and be it further
24 RESOLVED, That the select committee consist of eight members
25 of the House of Representatives, four from the majority party
26 and four from the minority party; and be it further
27 RESOLVED, That the Speaker of the House of Representatives
28 appoint four members of the select committee; and be it further
29 RESOLVED, That the Minority Leader of the House of
30 Representatives appoint four members of the select committee;
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1 and be it further
2 RESOLVED, That the Speaker of the House of Representatives
3 designate one member of the select committee to serve as
4 chairperson; and be it further
5 RESOLVED, That the Minority Leader of the House of
6 Representatives designate one member of the select committee to
7 serve as minority chairperson; and be it further
8 RESOLVED, That the members of the select committee be
9 appointed within 15 days of the date of adoption of this
10 resolution; and be it further
11 RESOLVED, That the select committee hold hearings, take
12 testimony and make its investigations at such places as it deems
13 necessary within or without this Commonwealth and that each
14 member of the select committee have the power to administer
15 oaths and affirmations to witnesses appearing before the select
16 committee; and be it further
17 RESOLVED, That the Chief Clerk of the House of
18 Representatives be authorized to pay for all necessary,
19 appropriate and proper expenses incurred by the select
20 committee; and be it further
21 RESOLVED, That the select committee make a report of its
22 findings and recommendations to the House of Representatives no
23 later than October 31, 2002.
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