HB331: relative to discovery in public utilities commission proceedings.

HB 331-FN - AS INTRODUCED

2003 SESSION

03-0068

03/09

HOUSE BILL 331-FN

AN ACT relative to discovery in public utilities commission proceedings.

SPONSORS: Rep. McHugh, Hills 61; Rep. Crane, Hills 59; Rep. Gibson, Hills 58; Rep. Sorg, Graf 11

COMMITTEE: Science, Technology and Energy

ANALYSIS

This bill establishes a penalty for delay by a utility in complying with a discovery request and establishes a procedure for discovery by intervenors in public utilities commission proceedings.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

03-0068

03/09

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Three

AN ACT relative to discovery in public utilities commission proceedings.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 New Section; Proceedings Before the Public Utilities Commission; Discovery. Amend RSA 365 by inserting after section 10-a the following new section:

365:10-b Discovery.

I. Any natural person qualifying for intervention may conduct discovery pursuant to this paragraph. An intervenor may conduct discovery by filing the discovery request with the commission. The commission shall serve the request on the relevant party and shall distribute copies of the request to all parties and intervenors entitled to copies of the request.

II. If a utility does not timely comply with any discovery request, the commission shall postpone the implementation of any action to the benefit of the utility for a period of time equal to the period of time the utility has failed to comply with the request. Such action shall be in addition to any other penalty permitted for failure to comply with a discovery request.

2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2004.

LBAO

03-0068

12/17/02

HB 331-FN - FISCAL NOTE

AN ACT relative to discovery in public utilities commission proceedings.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The Public Utilities Commission has determined this bill may increase state, county and local expenditures in FY 2004 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on state, county and local revenues.

METHODOLOGY:

The Commission stated that RSA 365:10-b, I, as inserted by this bill, would require the Commission to serve intervenor's data requests on the parties and intervenors to any docket. The Commission currently does not have that function. Parties and staff, by rule, are responsible for the service of data requests on staff and other parties. The requirement to distribute all discovery through the Commission may result in the extension of procedural schedule or scheduling delays. Therefor, depending on the nature of the docket, the extension or delay could result in additional costs to the parties, including the public utility, which in turn may impact the utility rates of state, county and local governmental units. RSA 365:10-b, II, as inserted by this bill, would require the Commission to delay its procedural schedule on any matter by one day for every day there is a delay in a utility's response to data requests. Again, such delays could result in significant costs that would be passed onto the parties or public utilities. Because of the varying nature of dockets and number of interventions, it is impossible to determine the likelihood or the amount of costs associated with delays