Bill would move telecom registration details from statute into PSC rulemaking

Senate Bill 51, carried in the House by Senator Daniel Zolnikov, would remove a prescriptive list of telecommunications provider registration requirements from Montana statute and provide the Montana Public Service Commission authority to set registration requirements by rule.

"The intent here is not to get rid of all of these reporting requirements per se," Trevor Graf of the Public Service Commission said in committee. Graf told lawmakers that some statutory items are outdated or impose reporting burdens the commission does not use; moving requirements into rulemaking gives the PSC discretion to retain useful requirements and eliminate or update items that are obsolete or unnecessary.

Zolnikov told the committee the change was part of a telecom cleanup exercise and would allow the commission to keep registration requirements current without repeated legislative fixes. The sponsor described the proposed rulemaking as narrow and constrained to the registration list, rather than broad delegation of authority.

Representative Vice Chair Quordam asked whether senators who opposed the bill in the Senate had specific concerns; Zolnikov said most were worried that the commission would stop collecting some items, and he argued those requirements can be preserved or reconsidered through the rulemaking process and ETIC review.

The committee later took executive action and concurred in SB 51 by a recorded vote of 14 ayes and 0 nos.

Supporters said the change would reduce unnecessary paperwork for providers and allow the PSC to adapt requirements to technological change. No opponents were identified in committee testimony.