- Committee -

SCS/SB 246 - This act removes the limitation on the residence of Commissioners, however, Commissioners would still be required to live within the State. The act also prohibits members of the Public Service Commission and technical advisory staff from establishing, maintaining, or contributing a committee subject to the Campaign Finance Disclosure Committee.

The act gives the PSC Commissioners authority to have a technical advisory staff. This staff would consist of a pool of up to six full time employees and each Commissioner could hire up to one personal advisor. Before these employees could be hired the Commission would have to correspondingly eliminate comparable positions within Commission staff to accommodate the hiring of the technical advisory staff such that there would be no net gain of employees to the PSC as a whole and at a cost neutral level. Technical advisory staff must be hired by July 1, 2004. The technical advisory staff would render advice and assistance to the Commissioners and provide relevant updates to the Commission. Each of the technical advisory staff would be subject to the same ex parte communication and conflict of interest requirements as the Commissioners. No person could be hired as part of the technical advisory staff within two years of employment with certain divisions of the PSC, corporations regulated by the PSC or the Office of Public Counsel. The technical advisory staff will never be a party to proceedings before the PSC.

The act also delineates standards for the PSC regarding ex parte communications. Commissioners may confer with members of the public, any public utility or similar commission and the act sets for the procedural guidelines for these communications.

CINDY KADLEC