Subcommittee advances bill barring ratepayer reimbursement of excessive utility supervisor pay

On Jan. 29, 2026, the Environment and Transportation Committee's energy subcommittee advanced House Bill 1 after approving substantive amendments that limit the portion of utility supervisor compensation that may be recovered through customer rates.

Steve, the presenter, told the subcommittee that as amended "House Bill 1 prohibits an investor owned electric, gas, or combination gas, electric company from recovering through rates any compensation for supervisors that exceeds 110% of the maximum annual salary payable to the chair of the public service commission." He said the threshold is roughly $250,000 in the current budget and that changing the reference from a PSC "member" to the PSC "chair" raised the cap by about $40,000.

The amendment narrows an earlier proposal that would have disallowed ratepayer recovery for bonuses to any employee; the current language applies only to supervisors and removes references to collective-bargaining distinctions. Steve also said the bill would apply the same threshold to supervisor compensation at investor-owned utility holding companies when costs are allocated down to operating utilities.

The package requires utilities to adopt a company-wide policy on reasonable cost limitations for costs they intend to recover through rates and to submit that policy to the Public Service Commission for guidance and oversight. Steve said utilities must send the policy to the PSC "as soon as practicable," must resend an updated policy whenever it changes, and must resubmit at least every five years to ensure ongoing oversight.

Steve described that the bill "casts a broad net" for compensation items counted toward the threshold, citing dental and vision benefits and examples such as tuition remission, but emphasized the measure does not cap the total amount an employer may pay; it limits the portion ratepayers would reimburse. He illustrated with examples showing amounts above the roughly $250,000 threshold would not be recoverable through rates.

During a brief procedural exchange, Delegate Morgan asked how utilities would know the PSC chair's salary; the chair replied the information is public. The subcommittee took voice votes on the amendments and then on the bill as amended. Members present answered "aye," and the chair declared "the bill carries."

Votes at a glance: The subcommittee recorded a voice vote to adopt the amendments and a subsequent voice vote on the bill as amended; members present voted in favor and the chair declared both the amendments and the bill as amended carried.

The chair closed the session and indicated the group would meet again later that night and the following day to continue work on related items.