PRINTER'S NO. 1834
No. 1564 Session of 1989
INTRODUCED BY FREEMAN, HECKLER, JAROLIN, BELFANTI, TIGUE,
TRELLO, CAWLEY, BELARDI, PISTELLA, RICHARDSON, PRESTON AND
DALEY, MAY 30, 1989
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON CONSUMER AFFAIRS, MAY 30, 1989
AN ACT
1 Amending Title 66 (Public Utilities) of the Pennsylvania
2 Consolidated Statutes, providing for the election of
3 commission members.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. Section 301 of Title 66 of the Pennsylvania
7 Consolidated Statutes is amended to read:
8 § 301. Establishment, members, qualifications and chairman.
9 (a) [Appointment] Election and terms of members.--The
10 Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, established by the act
11 of March 31, 1937 (P.L.160, No.43), as an independent
12 administrative commission, is hereby continued as such. [Prior
13 to the third Tuesday in January of 1987, the commission shall
14 consist of five members who shall be appointed by the Governor,
15 by and with the advice and consent of two-thirds of all the
16 members of the Senate, for a term of ten years, provided that
17 the term of any member appointed to fill a vacancy existing on
18 the effective date of this amendatory act and prior to the third
1 Tuesday in January of 1987 shall expire on March 31, 1987.
2 Vacancies on April 1, 1987, shall be filled as follows: One term
3 shall be until April 1, 1990, and one term shall be until April
4 1, 1992. Confirmation of such gubernatorial appointees shall be
5 by a majority of the members of the Senate. If other vacancies
6 occur between the effective date of this amendatory act and
7 April 1, 1987, the term shall be the balance of the term to
8 which the predecessor had been appointed. Vacancies after April
9 1, 1987, shall be filled for the balance of the term to which a
10 predecessor had been appointed. Thereafter, the commission shall
11 consist of five members appointed by the Governor, by and with
12 the advice and consent of a majority of the members of the
13 Senate, for a term of five years. The Governor may submit the
14 nomination to the Senate within 60 days prior to the expiration
15 of the term or the effective date of the resignation of the
16 member whom the nominee would replace and shall submit that
17 nomination no later than 90 days after the expiration of the
18 term or the effective date of the resignation. A commissioner
19 may continue to hold office for a period not to exceed six
20 months beyond the expiration of his term if his successor has
21 not been duly appointed and qualified according to law.] The
22 commission shall consist of five elected members.
23 (b) Qualifications and restrictions.--Each commissioner, at
24 the time of his [appointment] election and qualification, shall
25 be a resident of this Commonwealth and shall have been a
26 qualified elector therein for a period of at least one year next
27 preceding his [appointment] election, and shall also be not less
28 than 25 years of age. No person shall be [appointed] elected a
29 member of the commission or hold any place, position or office
30 under it, who occupies any official relation to any public
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1 utility or who holds any other appointive or elected office of
2 the Commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof.
3 Commencing July 1, 1977, commissioners shall devote full time to
4 their official duties. No commissioner shall hold any office or
5 position, the duties of which are incompatible with the duties
6 of his office as commissioner, or be engaged in any business,
7 employment or vocation, for which he shall receive any
8 remuneration, except as provided in this chapter. No employee,
9 appointee or official engaged in the service of or in any manner
10 connected with, the commission shall hold any office or
11 position, or be engaged in any employment or vocation, the
12 duties of which are incompatible with his employment in the
13 service of or in connection with the work of the commission. No
14 commissioner shall be paid or accept for any service connected
15 with the office, any fee or emolument other than the salary and
16 expenses provided by law. No commissioner shall participate in
17 any hearing or proceeding in which he has any direct or indirect
18 pecuniary interest. Within 90 days of confirmation, each
19 commissioner shall disclose, at that time and thereafter
20 annually, the existence of all security holdings in any public
21 utility or its affiliates held by such commissioner, his or her
22 spouse and any minor or unemancipated children and must either
23 divest or place in a blind trust such securities. As used in
24 this part, blind trust means a trust over which neither the
25 commissioners, their spouses, nor any minor or unemancipated
26 children shall exercise any managerial control, and from which
27 neither the commissioners, their spouses, nor any minor or
28 unemancipated children shall receive any income from the trust
29 during the commissioner's tenure of office. Such disclosure
30 statement shall be filed with the secretary of the commission
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1 and shall be open to inspection by the public during the normal
2 business hours of the commission during the tenure of the
3 commissioner. Every commissioner, and every individual or
4 official, employed or appointed to office under, in the service
5 of, or in connection with, the work of the commission, is
6 forbidden, directly or indirectly, to solicit or request from,
7 or to suggest or recommend to any public utility, or to any
8 officer, attorney, agent or employee thereof, the appointment of
9 any individual to any office, place or position in, or the
10 employment of any individual in any capacity by, such public
11 utility. Every commissioner, every bureau or office director and
12 every administrative law judge elected, employed or appointed to
13 office under, in the service of or in connection with the work
14 of the commission, is prohibited from accepting employment with
15 any public utility subject to the rules and regulations of the
16 commission for a period of one year, and every commissioner is
17 prohibited from appearing before the commission on behalf of any
18 public utility subject to the rules and regulations of the
19 commission for a period of three years, after terminating
20 employment or service with the commission. If any person
21 elected, employed or appointed in the service of the commission
22 violates any provision of this section, the commission shall
23 forthwith remove him from the office or employment held by him.
24 (c) Chairman.--A member designated by the [Governor]
25 commissioners shall be the chairman of the commission during
26 such member's term of office[, except that within 120 days
27 following the third Tuesday in January 1987, and, every four
28 years thereafter, the Governor shall designate a chairman. The
29 commissioners shall annually elect a member to serve as the vice
30 chairman of the commission]. The chairman shall designate a
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1 member to serve as vice chairman of the commission at the
2 pleasure of the chairman. When present, the chairman shall
3 preside at all meetings, but in his absence the vice chairman
4 or, in his absence, a member, designated by the chairman, shall
5 preside and shall exercise, for the time being, all the powers
6 of the chairman. The chairman shall have such powers and duties
7 as authorized by the commission as provided in section 331(b)
8 (relating to powers of commission and administrative law
9 judges).
10 (d) Quorum.--A majority of the members of the commission
11 serving in accordance with law shall constitute a quorum and
12 such majority, acting unanimously, shall be required for any
13 action, including the making of any order or the ratification of
14 any act done or order made by one or more of the commissioners.
15 No vacancy in the commission shall impair the right of a quorum
16 of the commissioners to exercise all the rights and perform all
17 the duties of the commission.
18 (e) Compensation.--Each of the commissioners shall receive
19 an annual salary of $55,000, except the chairman, who shall
20 receive an annual salary of $57,500.
21 (f) Open proceedings.--The proceedings of the commission
22 shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of the act
23 of July 19, 1974 (P.L.486, No.175), referred to as the Public
24 Agency Open Meeting Law.
25 (g) Monitoring cases.--Each commissioner shall be
26 responsible for monitoring specified cases as shall be assigned
27 to him in a manner determined by the commission. All proceedings
28 properly before the commission shall be assigned immediately
29 upon filing.
30 Section 2. Title 66 is amended by adding sections to read:
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1 § 301.1. Districts and elections.
2 (a) Public Utility Commissioner Districts.--The Commonwealth
3 shall be divided into five Public Utility Commissioner
4 Districts, which shall be composed of compact and contiguous
5 territory as nearly equal in population as practicable. Each
6 district shall elect one commissioner. Unless absolutely
7 necessary, no county, city, incorporated town, borough, township
8 or ward shall be divided in forming a district. Apportionment
9 shall be conducted by the Legislative Reapportionment Commission
10 in the manner provided by law for the apportionment of
11 legislative districts.
12 (b) Election.--Commissioners shall be elected in even-
13 numbered years. The term of office shall begin on the second
14 Monday of the January following election and shall continue for
15 four years. However, for the first election of public utility
16 commissioners, commissioners from odd-numbered districts shall
17 be elected to a term of four years and commissioners from even-
18 numbered districts shall be elected to a term of two years.
19 Thereafter, all terms shall be for four years.
20 (c) Vacancies.--In the event of a vacancy, the Governor
21 shall appoint a person to serve for the remainder of the term in
22 cases where less than two years of service remain in the term
23 that became vacant. In cases where more than two years of
24 service remain in a vacated term, the Governor shall appoint a
25 person to fill the vacancy until the next general election to be
26 held that is more than 90 days after the vacancy occurs, at
27 which time a commissioner shall be elected to fill the vacancy
28 for the remainder of the term. A commissioner so elected shall
29 assume his office 30 days after being elected, at which time the
30 term of service of the commissioner appointed by the Governor to
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1 fill the vacancy shall end.
2 (d) Initial districts.--Initial districts for the purposes
3 of this section shall exist until the reapportionment of
4 districts occur pursuant to the 1990 Federal Decennial Census.
5 These districts shall be as follows:
6 (1) District I shall consist of the following Senatorial
7 Districts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12 and 17.
8 (2) District II shall consist of the following
9 Senatorial Districts: 9, 10, 13, 15, 19, 24, 26, 28, 31 and
10 36.
11 (3) District III shall consist of the following
12 Senatorial Districts: 11, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 23, 27, 29 and
13 48.
14 (4) District IV shall consist of the following
15 Senatorial Districts: 25, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, 39, 41, 49 and
16 50.
17 (5) District V shall consist of the following Senatorial
18 Districts: 21, 37, 38, 40, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46 and 47.
19 (e) Nominations.--Candidates for nomination to the office of
20 commissioner shall present a nominating petition containing
21 2,000 signatures of registered and enrolled members of the
22 appropriate party and district. The filing fee shall be $100,
23 payable as provided in section 913(b.1) of the act of June 3,
24 1937 (P.L.1333, No.320), known as the Pennsylvania Election
25 Code.
26 § 301.2. Campaigns.
27 (a) General rule.--Campaigns to elect public utility
28 commissioners may be conducted by candidates with moneys from a
29 public utility campaign financing fund (referred to as the
30 fund). A public utility campaign financing fund committee
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1 (referred to as the committee) shall be selected to supervise
2 the collection, administration and distribution of moneys to
3 candidates.
4 (b) Committee.--The committee shall consist of the Majority
5 and Minority Leaders of the House of Representatives and the
6 Senate, or their designated representatives, and a chairman who
7 shall be a resident of this Commonwealth and appointed by the
8 Governor. The committee members shall serve for two-year terms,
9 which terms shall run concurrently with the legislative session.
10 Committee members shall be reimbursed for reasonable expenses
11 incurred while conducting official business of the committee.
12 (c) Tax.--In order to provide the fund, an annual 0.5% tax
13 is hereby imposed on the gross profits of each public utility
14 company. As used in this section, the term "gross profits" means
15 the gross receipts of a public utility for the fiscal year,
16 minus the operating expenses for the fiscal year, that are
17 included in the base rate. Public utility companies shall not
18 pass the cost of this tax on to their customers. The allowable
19 rate of return granted to a public utility shall be adjusted
20 downward to reflect the reduction in gross profits of a public
21 utility as a result of this tax. Funds not used in an election
22 shall be placed in an interest-bearing account to be available
23 for use in the next election.
24 (d) Availability of moneys.--
25 (1) Campaign financing moneys shall be available to
26 primary election candidates who are registered with a
27 political party which is legally recognized and which may
28 nominate candidates in a primary election. These candidates
29 shall, when filing their nominating petitions, file a
30 security deposit with the committee in the amount of 10% of
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1 the moneys they will receive from the fund, as follows:
2 (i) Documentation indicating the source of the
3 security deposit moneys, including the name, address,
4 occupation and employment of each source and the date
5 received by the candidate, shall be filed with the
6 Department of State and with the committee.
7 (ii) Within ten days of depositing the security
8 deposit and qualifying as a candidate for the primary,
9 candidates shall receive 20¢ for each voter registered in
10 their district in the candidate's political party
11 according to the voter registration for the November
12 election immediately preceding the primary.
13 (iii) Candidates who receive at least 15% of the
14 total votes cast in the primary election shall have their
15 security deposits refunded by the committee. Each
16 candidate shall return contributions used to make his
17 security deposit to contributors in the exact amount
18 contributed by each. Those who do not receive at least
19 15% of the vote shall lose their security deposit, and
20 the moneys forfeited shall be added to the fund.
21 (iv) Candidates who wish to receive moneys from the
22 fund may, from the time of the commencement of any action
23 in furtherance of their candidacy, spend up to $10,000 of
24 private campaign contributions and shall file a source
25 and expenditure disclosure statement, indicating the
26 sources of private contributions, with the nominating
27 petition. No private contributions from a public utility
28 political action committee or public utility employees
29 shall be accepted by the candidate.
30 (2) As used in this subsection, the term "action in
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1 furtherance of their candidacy" means any action taken by, or
2 on behalf of a candidate, with the candidate's knowledge and
3 consent, to promote his candidacy for the Pennsylvania Public
4 Utility Commission and includes, but is not limited to:
5 (i) Circulating petitions bearing the candidate's
6 name.
7 (ii) Raising funds totaling $1,000 or more for a
8 campaign.
9 (iii) Expending funds of $1,000 or more.
10 (e) Payments to candidates.--To conduct their campaigns for
11 the general election, successful candidates in the primary
12 election shall automatically receive campaign financing fund
13 moneys amounting to 15¢ for each voter registered in their
14 district, with registration being computed according to the
15 number of voters registered at the time of the most recently
16 held primary election. A check in the proper amount shall be
17 sent to the candidates within ten days of the certification of
18 the primary election results.
19 (f) Limits on spending.--Candidates accepting moneys from
20 the fund shall not spend more in their campaign than the amount
21 given to them from the fund, plus that portion of $10,000 which
22 the candidate raised from private sources as permitted by
23 subsection (d)(1)(iv).
24 (g) Formula for payments.--Candidates of political bodies,
25 as defined in the act of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333, No.320), known
26 as the Pennsylvania Election Code, other than political parties
27 may receive moneys from the fund for the general election
28 calculated by the same formula as is used for party candidates
29 receiving campaign financing fund moneys in the general
30 election, except that, when political body candidates file their
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1 nominating petitions, they shall deposit a security deposit
2 representing 10% of the moneys they will receive based on the
3 general election formula of 15¢ per voter registered at the time
4 of the most recently held primary election. They shall receive
5 these moneys within ten days after primary election results are
6 certified. If the candidate receives 15% of the total vote cast
7 in the election, the security deposit shall be refunded to him,
8 and he, in turn, shall return the moneys to those persons who
9 contributed it. If the candidate does not receive 15% of the
10 vote, the security deposit shall be forfeited by the candidate
11 to the committee, which shall deposit the forfeited sum in the
12 fund.
13 (h) Repayment to fund.--All campaign financing fund moneys
14 distributed to candidates, but not used by them during their
15 primary or general campaigns, shall be returned to the committee
16 within 30 days of the election for which the moneys were
17 distributed.
18 (i) Requirements of election code, etc.--Those candidates
19 who do not accept moneys from the campaign financing fund shall
20 adhere to the requirements of Article XVI of the Pennsylvania
21 Election Code and the regulations promulgated thereunder. A
22 violation of Article XVI or regulations shall also constitute a
23 violation of this section. The candidate is subject to the
24 following additional restrictions:
25 (1) No public utility political action committee (PAC)
26 money shall be accepted nor shall any individual contribution
27 by any public utility employee be accepted.
28 (2) Individual contributions, except those made by the
29 candidate to himself, shall not exceed $100 per contributor.
30 Permitted PAC contributions are limited to $500 per PAC. Any
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1 contribution exceeding $50 must be reported in a manner which
2 indicates the contributor's occupation and employer.
3 (3) Privately financed candidates must report each
4 contribution within seven days of its receipt to both the
5 committee and the Bureau of Elections of the Department of
6 State.
7 (j) Advertisements.--Any political campaign advertisements
8 sponsored, financed or underwritten by a public utility or by a
9 public utility PAC shall address only the issues of a particular
10 campaign and shall not name or in any way promote any candidate
11 for the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.
12 (k) Violations.--Any candidate who violates the provisions
13 of this section may, at the discretion of the committee, be
14 required to return all, or a portion of, public financing moneys
15 received to the fund, and the committee may impose additional
16 civil penalties not to exceed $25,000 per occurrence. In
17 addition, any willful violation of this section by any person
18 shall be considered a misdemeanor of the third degree and
19 prosecuted accordingly.
20 (l) Regulations.--The committee shall promulgate regulations
21 providing for the investigation of alleged violations of this
22 section and for the establishment of a fair hearing procedure to
23 determine the extent of the violation and the appropriate
24 penalties. In addition, any information regarding willful
25 violations of this section shall be reported immediately by the
26 committee to the Attorney General.
27 Section 3. In the general election of the first even-
28 numbered year following the effective date of this act, all five
29 public commissioners will be elected. To finance this campaign
30 only, moneys from the General Fund shall be used if necessary,
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1 in addition to moneys from the public utility campaign financing
2 fund.
3 Section 4. Terms of public utility commissioners appointed
4 before the date when commissioners elected under this act assume
5 office shall terminate at noon of the second Monday of January
6 following the first general election in which commissioners are
7 elected.
8 Section 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
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