House Calendar
TUESDAY, March 14, 2000
70th DAY OF ADJOURNED SESSION
ORDERS OF THE DAY
Action Postponed Until Tuesday, March 14, 2000
Favorable with Amendment
H. 632
An act relating to work zone speed violations.
Rep. Wisell of Bristol, for the Committee on Transportation, recommends the bill be amended as follows:
First: By striking Sec. 3 and inserting in lieu thereof a new Sec. 3 to read as follows:
Sec. 3. 23 V.S.A. § 2502(a)(7), (8) and (9) are amended to read:
(7) Three points assessed for § 1003 and, § 1004, § 1007 and 1081(b). State speed zones and local speed limits, more than 10 miles per hour over and in excess of speed limit;
(8) Five points assessed for § 1003 and, § 1004, § 1007 and 1081(b). State speed zones and local speed limits, more than 20 miles per hour over and in excess of speed limit;
(9) Eight points assessed for § 1003 and, § 1004, § 1007 and 1081(b). State speed zones and local speed limits, more than 30 miles per hour over and in excess of the speed limit.
Second: By adding a new Sec. 4 to read as follows:
Sec. 4. 23 V.S.A. § 2502(c) is added to read:
(c) Two additional points shall be assessed for any violation of subsection 1006a(d) (work site speed violations on state highway system) or 1010(b) (work site speed violations on town highways) of this title.
(Committee vote: 10-0-1)
H. 705
An act relating to particular proceedings of the public service board.
Rep. Larocque of Barnet, for the Committee on Commerce, recommends the bill be amended by striking all after the enacting clause and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
Sec. 1. 30 V.S.A. § 21(a) is amended to read:
(a) The board or the department may allocate the portion of the expense incurred or authorized by it in retaining additional personnel for the particular proceedings authorized in section 20 of this title to the applicant or the public service company or companies involved in those proceedings. The board shall upon petition of an applicant or public service company to which costs are proposed to be allocated, review and determine, after opportunity for hearing, having due regard for the size and complexity of the project, the necessity and reasonableness of such costs, and may amend or revise such allocations. Prior to allocating costs, the board shall make a determination of the purpose and use of the funds to be raised hereunder, identify the recipient of the funds, provide for allocation of costs among companies to be assessed, indicate an estimated duration of the proceedings, and estimate the total costs to be imposed. With the approval of the board, such estimates may be revised as necessary. From time to time during the progress of the work of such additional personnel, the board or department shall render to the company detailed statements showing the amount of money expended or contracted for in the work of such personnel, which statements shall be paid by the applicant or the public service company into the state treasury at such time and in such manner as the board or department may reasonably direct.
Sec. 2. 30 V.S.A. § 107(c) and (e)(1) are amended to read:
(c) If any company acquires such a controlling interest without the prior approval of the public service board, the board may then, after due notice and opportunity for hearing,
(1) approve the acquisition; or
(2) modify any existing certificates or orders authorizing either or both companies to own or operate a public utility business under the provisions of this title; or
(3) revoke any such existing certificates or orders, or revoke any orders approving the articles of association of such companies; or
(4) declare the acquisition null and void, all as necessary to promote the public good.
(e) For the purposes of this section,
(1) "Controlling interest" means ten percent or more of the outstanding voting securities of a company; or such other interest as the public service board determines, upon notice and opportunity for hearing following its own investigation or a petition filed by the department of public service or other interested party, to constitute the means to direct or cause the direction of the management or policies of a company. The presumption that ten percent or more of the outstanding voting securities of a company constitutes a controlling interest may be rebutted by a company under procedures established by the board by rule.
Sec. 3. 30 V.S.A. § 210 is amended to read:
§ 210. ELECTRIC COMPANIES; INTERCONNECTION FACILITIES
The public service board shall have jurisdiction to order electric companies subject to its supervision to build or rebuild electric transmission lines in order to provide adequate interconnection between the transmission systems of the state. The board shall have power to exercise the jurisdiction herein conferred only after due notice to all interested parties and opportunity for hearing and after making findings based upon adequate evidence that the ordered construction:
(1) Is necessary in the interests of consumers of electrical energy;
(2) Is not detrimental to the interests of the investors of the company ordered to build or rebuild;
(3) Will serve the public good.
The board may allocate the cost of building or rebuilding between the companies whose facilities are to be interconnected providing that the findings herein referred to are made as to each company affected by such allocation.
Sec. 4. 30 V.S.A. § 212d(b) is amended to read:
(b) If, pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, the department and a company are unable to negotiate the rates, charges, terms or other conditions of such contracts including the assurance of adequate reliability, either may petition the public service board to establish the rates, terms, charges, or conditions thereunder, or resolve any other related matter, as the board determines to be just and reasonable. The board shall establish rates or charges under this section to compensate or reimburse such company for all costs reasonably and necessarily incurred by it to provide such arrangements. The board shall commence offer an opportunity for commencing a hearing within 45 days of filing of the petition and shall make either a final decision or, if unable to do so, an interim decision within three months of filing of the petition. If, within three months of filing, the board is unable to reach a final decision on the petition, the board shall direct the company to provide to the department the necessary arrangements, including if necessary or appropriate, backup reliability, and access to facilities to allow the department to distribute the electric energy involved in its proposal on an interim basis under such interim terms and conditions as the board finds to be reasonable pending a final board decision on the petition. The board shall render a final decision on the petition within six months from the date it is filed.
Sec. 5. 30 V.S.A. § 218(a) is amended to read:
(a) When, upon after opportunity for hearing, the rates, tolls, charges or schedules are found unjust, unreasonable, insufficient or unjustly discriminatory, or are found to be preferential or otherwise in violation of a provision of this chapter, the board may order and substitute therefor such rates, tolls, charges or schedules, and make such changes in any regulations, measurements, practices or acts of such company relating to its service, and may make such order as will compel the furnishing of such adequate service as shall at such hearing be found by it to be just and reasonable. This section shall not be construed to require the same rates, tolls or charges from any company subject to supervision under this chapter for like service in different parts of the state, but the board in determining these questions shall investigate local conditions and its final findings and judgment shall take cognizance thereof.
Sec. 6. 30 V.S.A. § 218a(c) is amended to read:
(c) The public service board, after notice and opportunity for hearing, may approve the proposed contract, or a modified version thereof, if it is just and reasonable, giving due consideration to costs, quality of service and the interests of the deaf, hearing impaired and speech impaired community.
Sec. 7. 30 V.S.A. § 218c(b) is amended to read:
(b) Each regulated electric or gas company shall prepare and implement a least cost integrated plan for the provision of energy services to its Vermont customers. Proposed plans shall be submitted to the department of public service and the public service board. The board, after notice and opportunity for hearing, may approve a company's least cost integrated plan if it determines that the company's plan complies with the requirements of subdivision (a)(1) of this section.
Sec. 8. 30 V.S.A. § 225(a) is amended to read:
(a) Within a time to be fixed by the board, each company subject to the provisions of this chapter shall file with the department, with separate filings to the directors for regulated utility planning and public advocacy, schedules which shall be open to public inspection, showing all rates including joint rates for any service performed or any product furnished by it within the state, and as a part thereof shall file the rules and regulations that in any manner affect the tolls or rates charged or to be charged for any such service or product. Those schedules, or summaries of the schedules approved by the department, shall be published by the company in two newspapers with general circulation in the state within 15 days after such filing. A change shall not thereafter be made in any such schedules, including schedules of joint rates or in any such rules and regulations, except upon forty-five 45 days notice to the board and to the department of public service, and such notice to parties affected by such schedules as the board shall direct. The board shall consider the department's recommendation and take action pursuant to sections 226 and 227 of this title before the date on which the changed rate is to become effective. All such changes shall be plainly indicated upon existing schedules, or by filing new schedules in lieu thereof forty-five 45 days prior to the time the same are to take effect. Subject only to temporary increases, rates may not thereafter be raised without strictly complying with the notice and filing requirements set forth in this section. In no event may a company amend, supplement or alter an existing filing or substantially revise the proof in support of such filing in order to increase, decrease or substantiate a pending rate request, unless, upon opportunity for hearing, the company demonstrates that such a change in filing or proof is necessary for the purpose of providing adequate and efficient service. However, upon application of any company subject to the provisions of this chapter, and with the consent of the department of public service, the board may for good cause shown prescribe a shorter time within which such change may be made; but a change which in effect decreases such tolls or rates may be made upon five days' notice to the board and the department of public service and such notice to parties affected as the board shall direct.
Sec. 9. 30 V.S.A. § 226a(e) is amended to read:
(e) If at any time, after notice and opportunity for hearing, the board determines that changes in federal regulatory law, unforeseen and significant economic shifts, or changes in technology have created either extremely severe economic hardships for the company or a condition that is severely detrimental and contrary to the public good, the board shall order the department and the company to renegotiate relevant portions of a contract negotiated under this section, and any renegotiated provisions shall be subject to the board's approval under the procedures of subsection (c) of this section. If at any time the general assembly is concerned that such conditions exist, it may by joint resolution, direct the board to conduct a hearing and make a determination thereon. If the department and the company fail to reach a negotiated agreement within four months of receipt of an order to negotiate from the board, the board shall hold a hearing to determine the appropriate content of the relevant portions of the contract. In such proceedings, the public contract advocate shall represent the interests of the public and the state, and any interested party may intervene. The board shall complete its hearings and render its decision within four months from the date that the department and the company failed to agree under an order to negotiate. If the department and the company agree within 14 days of the board's decision to accept the board's determination of the appropriate content of the contract, the contract shall continue in effect as modified until its termination date. If the department or the company does not accept the board's determination, the contract shall terminate under the terms specified in subsection (f) of this section 30 days after the date of the board's decision.
Sec. 10. 30 V.S.A. § 231(b) is amended to read:
(b) A company subject to the general supervision of the public service board under section 203 of this title may not abandon or curtail any service subject to the jurisdiction of the board or abandon all or any part of its facilities if it would in doing so effect the abandonment, curtailment or impairment of the service, without first obtaining approval of the public service board, after notice and opportunity for hearing, and upon finding by the board that the abandonment or curtailment is consistent with the public interest; provided, however, this section shall not apply to disconnection of service pursuant to valid tariffs or to rules adopted under section 209(b) and (c) of this title.
Sec. 11. 30 V.S.A. § 506 is amended to read:
§ 506. RENEWAL
Certificates with a limited duration may be renewed during or at the end of the period, after a opportunity for hearing held according to the criteria for the granting of an original certificate in section 504 of this title and after the board has made the finding required by that section. As part of the renewal proceedings, the board shall hold a public hearing in each county served pursuant to the certificates which are the subject of the renewal proceedings.
Sec. 12. 30 V.S.A. § 509(a) is amended to read:
(a) For good cause, after a opportunity for hearing, the board may amend or revoke any certificate of public good awarded pursuant to sections section 503 or 504 of this title.
Sec. 13. 30 V.S.A. § 515(a) is amended to read:
(a) No person, corporation, partnership, or unincorporated association shall acquire ownership of greater than forty 40 percent of the voting securities in a company as defined in section 501(3) of this title subject to the supervision of the public service board without the approval of the board after due notice and opportunity for hearing and a finding on its part that such acquisition will not be contrary to the public good.
Sec. 14. 30 V.S.A. § 2816(a) is amended to read:
(a) Any person who violates any statute, rule, regulation or order of the public service board relating to safety standards or practices applicable to transportation of gas through gas pipeline facilities subject to the jurisdiction of the public service board is subject to a civil penalty of not more than $10,000.00 for each violation for each day that the violation persists. However, the maximum civil penalty shall not exceed $500,000.00 for any related series of violations. The penalty may be imposed by the board after notice to the offending person of the alleged violations and opportunity for hearing.
Sec. 15. 30 V.S.A. § 7002 is amended to read:
§ 7002. PUBLIC UTILITY UNDERGROUND FACILITY DAMAGE
PREVENTION SYSTEM
Each company shall be a member of and participate in a public utility underground facility damage prevention system as designated by the board unless granted an exemption by the board after opportunity for hearing. The system shall operate during regular business hours throughout the year, except Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays. The system shall receive notices of proposed excavation activities and transmit the notices to member companies whose facilities may be affected. The cost for operation of the system shall be apportioned equitably among member companies.
Sec. 16. REPORT
The department of public service shall provide, by December 1, 2002, a report on the effectiveness of various efforts by the Energy Efficiency Utility to provide access to capital for, and increased customer contribution by, customers installing energy efficiency measures in its programs. The report shall address financing strategies, performance contracting, the development of market-based services, and other strategies to facilitate and leverage customer investment. The report shall further address opportunities for improving access to capital and increasing the level of customer contribution, discussing in particular, the need for potential benefits of, and requirements for, capitalization of an energy efficiency revolving fund for commercial and industrial customers. The report shall address the potential for capitalizing such a revolving loan fund from a volumetric charge as authorized in 30 V.S.A § 209(d)(3) and (4). This report may be included in the report to be prepared by the department under paragraph 18 of the Memorandum of Understanding approved by and included in the Public Service Board’s Order of September 30, 1999 in Docket No. 5980.
(Committee vote: 10-0-1)
H. 784
An act relating to act 250 jurisdiction, district commission chairs, review on the record, violations, and presumptions accorded to agency permits.
Rep. Sullivan of Burlington, for the Committee on Natural Resources and Energy, respectfully report that they have considered the same and recommend that the bill be amended by striking all after the enacting clause and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
* * * Act 250 Definition of Jurisdictional Term * * *
Sec. 1. 10 V.S.A. § 6001(19) is amended to read:
(19) "Subdivision" means a tract or tracts of land, owned or controlled by a person, which the person has partitioned or divided for the purpose of resale into 10 or more lots within a radius of five miles of any point on any lot, or within the jurisdictional area of the same district commission, within any continuous period of five years. In determining the number of lots, a lot shall be counted if any portion is within five miles or within the jurisdictional area of the same district commission. The word "subdivision" shall not include a lot or lots created for the purpose of conveyance to the state or to a qualified organization, as defined under section 6301a of this title, if the land to be transferred includes and will preserve a segment of the Long Trail. The word "subdivision" shall not include a lot or lots created for the purpose of conveyance to the state or to a "qualified holder" of "conservation rights and interest," as those terms are defined in section 821 of this title. "Subdivision" also means a tract of land, owned or controlled by a person, which is partitioned or divided by any person or persons for the purpose of resale, if there would result 15 or more lots, within any continuous period of five years. Notwithstanding the above, "subdivision" shall also mean a tract or tracts of land, owned or controlled by a person, which the person has partitioned or divided for the purposes of resale into six or more lots, within a continuous period of five years, in a municipality which does not have duly adopted zoning and subdivision regulations.