Senate asks Public Service Commission for rapid analysis and recommended language on SB 307, sets Monday deadline

The Arkansas Senate on the floor on March 6 voted to ask the Arkansas Public Service Commission to analyze SB 307 and to recommend statutory language clarifying how the bill would treat certain utility investments, with the Senate setting a delivery deadline of 9 a.m. Monday, March 10, 2025.

Senator Sarah Hickey, who offered the motion, told colleagues the commission should recommend ways “to best allow the CWIP, which will provide adequate protection to ratepayers while also providing the expediency to maintain and efficiently expand our energy generation.” She also asked that Chairman Webb establish an environment free from outside influence while preparing the commission’s analysis and recommendations.

The motion asked the PSC to: (1) analyze how to allow construction work in progress (CWIP) while protecting ratepayers; (2) propose definitions for “strategic investment” that would be allowed under a related rider; (3) recommend methods for quickly determining project feasibility; and (4) identify any aspects of SB 307 that the PSC deems problematic and propose structural changes. Hickey told the Senate she views the work as urgent because of the bill’s potential fiscal impact on the state.

Senator Ben Gilmore and other senators questioned whether the request would ask the PSC to take a policy position. Gilmore said PSC commissioners have repeatedly told legislators they are “policytakers, not policymakers,” and asked whether the Senate was asking the PSC to take a position on policy. Hickey replied the Senate was requesting analysis and recommendations — technical work to inform lawmakers — and emphasized that final policymaking remains with the Legislature and the governor.

Senator Mark Johnson backed the motion as a way to expand the Senate’s technical understanding before enactment and said he expected the PSC staff and commissioners could parse technical details the Senate could not. Multiple senators urged that the request not be framed to achieve a predetermined result and emphasized the need for impartiality in the PSC’s review.

The motion passed on a voice vote. The Senate recording shows the motion language asked specifically for delivery to the Senate, the House and the governor’s office by 9 a.m. Monday, March 10, 2025, and asked Chairman Webb to provide an environment for preparing the document that is “free from outside influence” from the legislative branch, executive branch, utilities or other parties with a vested interest.

Senator Hickey closed by asking the body to consider, after receiving the PSC recommendations, whether the Senate should convene a committee of the whole to hear testimony, including sworn testimony if necessary, to expedite consideration of the bill.

The request is advisory: the PSC’s recommendations will be provided to lawmakers for consideration. The motion directs the PSC to provide analysis and suggested statutory language; it does not itself alter SB 307 or create law.