THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
477 |
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2023 |
S.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. Section 269-19, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"ยง269-19 Merger and consolidation of public utilities.
(a) Except as provided in
subsection (b), no public utility shall sell, lease, assign, mortgage, or
otherwise dispose of or encumber the whole or any part of its road, line,
plant, system, or other property necessary or useful in the performance of its
duties to the public, or any franchise or permit, or any right thereunder, nor
by any means, directly or indirectly, merge or consolidate with any other
public utility without first having secured from the public utilities
commission an order authorizing it so to do.
Every [such] sale, lease, assignment, mortgage, disposition,
encumbrance, merger, or consolidation, made other than in accordance with the
order of the commission shall be void.
(b)
A public utility, under circumstances that it deems exigent and in its
judgment require a response that rapidly restores one of its customers to
normal, or near normal, operating status in order to prevent serious disruption
of essential public services, or avoid serious risk to public safety, or to
mitigate severe economic losses to that customer, may transfer, assign, or
otherwise dispose of its property without prior approval from the public
utilities commission as required in subsection (a); provided that in so doing:
(1) The
public utility does not unduly hinder or degrade the public utility's operation
with respect to its services or other customers;
(2) The
public utility is duly compensated for its property; and
(3) The
public utility reports in detail to the public utilities commission within
thirty days of any [such] action unless otherwise approved by the public
utilities commission for good cause shown.
[For purposes of] As used in
this subsection, "property" does not include real property.
(c)
With respect to mergers, consolidations, acquisitions, or other changes
of control under subsection (a), the public utilities commission shall make
every effort to complete its review and issue a decision within nine months
from the date that the public utility, other than an investor-owned electric utility
company, files its completed application seeking an order of authorization.
With respect to mergers, consolidations,
acquisitions, or other changes of control under subsection (a) for which an investor-owned
electric utility company seeks an order of authorization from the public
utilities commission, the commission shall make every effort to complete its
review and issue a decision within twelve months from the date that the investor-owned
electric utility company files its completed application.
If a decision is rendered after the
relevant nine- or twelve-month period, the public utilities commission shall
submit a report to the legislature in writing, on paper or electronically,
detailing the reasons for failing to meet the prescribed period within thirty
days after rendering the decision.
As used in this subsection, an "investor-owned electric utility company" means a for-profit electric utility company that issues stock owned by shareholders."
SECTION 2. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.
SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2050.
Report Title:
Public Utilities Commission; Deadlines; Merger, Consolidation, Acquisition, or Other Change of Control; Report
Description:
Requires
the Public Utilities Commission to make every effort to complete its review and
issue a decision within nine months from the date that a public utility, other
than an investor-owned electric utility company, files its completed
application seeking approval for a merger, consolidation, acquisition, or other
change of control and within twelve months from the date of the application for
an investor-owned electric utility company.
Requires the Public Utilities Commission to, if a decision is rendered
after the relevant nine- or twelve-month period, submit a report in writing, on
paper or electronically, detailing the reasons
therefore to the Legislature within thirty days after rendering the
decision. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.