Committee introduces RS 31,781 to remove certain PUC code language as part of 'red tape' effort

Madam Chair and committee members introduced RS 31,781 during a brief meeting; Representative Joe Palmer of District 20 in Meridian said the measure is part of the red tape reduction act and would remove several sections of code that he said the Public Utilities Commission does not have authority over.

"This piece of legislation is part of the red tape reduction act. It's RS 31,781," Representative Joe Palmer said, adding that the bill would "take out quite a few sections of code, for instance, dealing with aircraft. The PUC doesn't have any authority to deal with any aircraft. That's all dealt with through the federal government." Palmer told the committee the same measure was before the body last year but returned from the other chamber because of wording changes ("May" vs. "Shall").

The measure was moved for introduction by Representative Crane. The committee approved the motion by voice vote and the motion carried. The chair then closed the item.

Representative Achilles said she supported moving the bill to print but raised a substantive concern about one edit, quoting committee materials in the hearing: she is "concerned with 1 area in the edits here to explain why we're removing common carrier from the Code. That's in 61300 and 100% agreed with removing unnecessary code and cutting red tape, but I'm concerned that we're reducing rather than modernizing the role of the PUC." Achilles said the question merits further discussion when the bill returns to the committee, noting the broader context of market concentration compared with when PUCs were created.

Palmer told the committee he did not have all technical answers and recommended the committee print the bill and hear from a PUC representative at a later date to address detailed questions. The chair put the motion to introduce RS 31,781 and the committee approved it.

Procedural items: the committee approved minutes from the Jan. 8 meeting on a separate motion earlier in the session. The meeting adjourned after the RS 31,781 introduction and no further substantive items were discussed.

Next steps: RS 31,781 was introduced to print; staff indicated the committee expects a representative of the PUC to appear at a future hearing to answer technical questions. More detailed debate and any amendments will be recorded when the bill returns to committee.