HB1222 Gives Voters Right to Retain PUC Commissioners - or not

LEGISLATIVE ALERT: Committee hearing Wed. Feb. 23, 3 p.m. on HB11-1222, which will give citizens the right to vote on retaining members of the Public Utilities Commission.

Should three appointed people have the total authority to regulate all fixed and transportation utilities in Colorado without any accountability to the voters?If your business, your fixed income, or your employment prospects are limited because of the effects of the increased costs of electricity and natural gas for example, your testimony at the Transportation Committee hearing on HB1222 will be most valuable.

Currently, the three members of the public utilities commission (PUC) are appointed to 4-year terms by the governor with the consent of the senate. HB11-1222 will:

· Shorten terms from four years to two years.

· Make PUC members subject to a retention vote by the citizens for additional terms.

· Limits to 2 the total number of terms that a member is permitted to serve.

· Clarifies that the governor may only appoint PUC members if a vacancy exists.

The original intent of the Public Utilities Commission was to serve as a watchdog over the cost of utility services for consumers. Fixed utilities regulated by the Colorado PUC include electric power utilities, natural gas utilities, and intrastate natural gas. Transportation utilities regulated by the Colorado PUC include railroads, taxis, limousines, shuttles, charters, and sightseeing carriers, pipelines, district heating utilities, drinking water utilities, and telecommunications utilities.

Over the years, the PUC has re-written its charter to give the unelected members more power.

The current three commissioners (and their term expiration dates), Chairman Ron Binz (Jan 2011), Jim Tarpey (Jan 2013), and Matt Baker (Jan 2012) were all appointed by Gov. Bill Ritter.

Last legislative session, the Commissioners lobbied for HB1365 and HB1001, two bills that raised energy costs while cutting supply. And in November, after two and half years through the process, Baker and Tarpey endorsed an administrative law judge's decision to deny 150 taxi drivers the right to provide service in Denver because of the commissioners' concerns for "oversupply and destructive competition" to spare existing cab companies any competition.