HB 2408 -- Utility Payments to Public Counsel Fund

Sponsor:  Schlottach

This bill creates an assessment-based funding mechanism for the
Office of the Public Counsel.  Prior to the beginning of each
fiscal year, the counsel must make available to the Missouri
Public Service Commission an estimate of the expenses to be
incurred during the year which are reasonably attributable to the
regulation of public utilities under Sections 386.700 and
386.710, RSMo, a separate estimate of expenses directly
attributable to the various public utility groups, and the amount
of expenses not directly attributable to these groups.

The calculation of the assessments is specified in the bill with
the total amount of the counsel's assessment limited at two
hundredths of 1% of the total gross intrastate operating revenues
of all utilities regulated by the commission.  In order for the
counsel to make the allocations and assessments as provided in
the bill, every commission-regulated utility must file with the
commission a statement under oath of its gross intrastate
operating revenues on or before March 31 of each year for the
preceding calendar year.  If a utility fails to timely file a
statement, the commission will estimate the revenues.

A statement of the assessments must be rendered by the commission
on behalf of the counsel to each public utility on or before
July 1 with the amount assessed paid by July 15 or, if the
utility elects, in four equal installments throughout the fiscal
year.  The moneys from the assessments will be deposited into the
newly created Public Counsel Fund solely for the payment of
expenditures actually incurred by the counsel.  Moneys remaining
in the fund will not revert to the General Revenue Fund.

The bill contains an emergency clause.

Missouri House of Representatives
95th General Assembly, 2nd Regular Session
Last Updated September 14, 2010 at 3:13 pm