Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the summary and inserting the following:
‘Sec. 1. 35-A MRSA §3132, sub-§10-A is enacted to read:
10-A. Filing fee to Office of the Public Advocate. When a person pays a filing fee to the commission pursuant to subsection 9, the person shall, at the same time, pay to the Office of the Public Advocate an amount equal to 1/100 of 1% of the estimated cost to erect, rebuild or relocate the transmission line. The person may, at the time of the filing of the petition under this section, request the Office of the Public Advocate to waive all or a portion of the filing fee. The Office of the Public Advocate shall decide on the waiver request within 30 days. Filing fees paid as required under this subsection must be segregated, apportioned and expended by the Office of the Public Advocate for the purposes of representing the interests of consumers in the proceeding before the commission or conducting public outreach to inform consumers about the proceeding. The Office of the Public Advocate shall return any portion of the filing fee that is not expended for these purposes to the person who paid the fee.
Sec. 2. 35-A MRSA §3132, sub-§10-B is enacted to read:
10-B. Office of the Public Advocate reporting requirement; repeal. No later than January 15, 2012, the Office of the Public Advocate shall report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over utilities and energy matters regarding filing fees collected pursuant to this section, including a detailed accounting of the amount of filing fees collected, the expenditures of the fees and the return of unexpended fees. This subsection is repealed June 30, 2012.
Sec. 3. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and allocations are made.
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT
Public Advocate 0410
Initiative: Provides a base allocation for expenditure of future assessments of transmission projects by the Office of the Public Advocate in representing the interests of affected ratepayers.
| OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS |
2009-10 |
2010-11 |
|
All Other
|
$500 |
$500 |
|
 |
|
| OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS TOTAL |
$500 |
$500 |
’
summary
This amendment makes the following changes to the bill.
1. It conditions the payment of a filing fee to the Office of the Public Advocate upon the payment of a filing fee to the Public Utilities Commission.
2. It sets the amount of the filing fee to the Office of the Public Advocate at 1/100 of 1% of the estimated project cost in all cases.
3. It clarifies the purposes for the expenditures of the filing fee by the Office of the Public Advocate to include public outreach.
4. It requires the Office of the Public Advocate to report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over utilities and energy matters by January 15, 2012 regarding its experience with the collection and expenditure of filing fees.
5. It adds an appropriations and allocations section to the bill.
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED
(See attached)