HF 2439

as introduced - 93rd Legislature (2023 - 2024) Posted on 03/02/2023 02:12pm

A bill for an act
relating to energy; modifying provisions providing for a participant's compensation
in certain Public Utilities Commission proceedings; requiring a report; proposing
coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 216B; repealing Minnesota
Statutes 2022, section 216B.16, subdivision 10.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

new text begin [216B.631] COMPENSATION FOR PARTICIPANTS IN PROCEEDINGS.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Definitions. new text end

new text begin (a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have
the meanings given.
new text end

new text begin (b) "Participant" means a person who:
new text end

new text begin (1) meets the requirements of subdivision 2;
new text end

new text begin (2) meets one of the following criteria:
new text end

new text begin (i) files comments or appears in a commission proceeding concerning one or more public
utilities, excluding public hearings held in contested cases and commission proceedings
conducted to receive general public comments; or
new text end

new text begin (ii) the commission authorizes to intervene in a commission proceeding concerning one
or more public utilities; and
new text end

new text begin (3) files a request for compensation under this section.
new text end

new text begin (c) "Party" means a person who files comments or appears in a commission proceeding,
other than public hearings, concerning one or more public utilities.
new text end

new text begin (d) "Proceeding" means a process or procedural means the commission engages in to
attempt to resolve an issue affecting one or more public utilities and which results in a
commission order.
new text end

new text begin (e) "Public utility" has the meaning given in section 216B.02, subdivision 4.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Participants; eligibility. new text end

new text begin Any of the following participants is eligible to receive
compensation under this section:
new text end

new text begin (1) a nonprofit organization that:
new text end

new text begin (i) is exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue
Code;
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new text begin (ii) is incorporated or organized in Minnesota;
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new text begin (iii) is governed under chapter 317A or section 322C.1101; and
new text end

new text begin (iv) the commission determines under subdivision 3, paragraph (c), would suffer financial
hardship if not compensated for the nonprofit organization's participation in the applicable
proceeding;
new text end

new text begin (2) a Tribal government of a federally recognized Indian Tribe that is located in
Minnesota; or
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new text begin (3) a Minnesota resident, except that an individual who owns a for-profit business that
has earned revenue from a Minnesota utility in the past two years is not eligible for
compensation.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Compensation; conditions. new text end

new text begin (a) The commission may order a public utility to
compensate all or part of a participant's reasonable costs incurred to participate in a
proceeding before the commission if the commission finds:
new text end

new text begin (1) that the participant has materially assisted the commission's deliberation; and
new text end

new text begin (2) if the participant is a nonprofit organization, that the participant would suffer financial
hardship if the nonprofit organization's participation in the proceeding was not compensated.
new text end

new text begin (b) In determining whether a participant has materially assisted the commission's
deliberation, the commission must find that:
new text end

new text begin (1) the participant made a unique contribution to the record and represented an interest
that would not otherwise have been adequately represented;
new text end

new text begin (2) the evidence or arguments presented or the positions taken by the participant were
an important factor in producing a fair decision;
new text end

new text begin (3) the participant's position promoted a public purpose or policy;
new text end

new text begin (4) the evidence presented, arguments made, issues raised, or positions taken by the
participant would not otherwise have been part of the record;
new text end

new text begin (5) the participant was active in any stakeholder process included in the proceeding; and
new text end

new text begin (6) the proceeding resulted in a commission order that adopted, in whole or in part, a
position advocated by the participant.
new text end

new text begin (c) In determining whether a nonprofit participant has demonstrated that a lack of
compensation would present financial hardship, the commission must find that the nonprofit
participant:
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new text begin (1) incorporated or organized within three years of the beginning of the applicable
proceeding;
new text end

new text begin (2) has payroll expense less than $750,000; or
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new text begin (3) has secured less than $100,000 in current year funding dedicated to participation in
commission proceedings, not including any participant compensation awarded under this
section.
new text end

new text begin (d) In reviewing a compensation request, the commission must consider whether the
costs presented in the participant's claim are reasonable.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Compensation; amount. new text end

new text begin (a) Compensation must not exceed $50,000 for a
single participant in any proceeding, except that:
new text end

new text begin (1) if a proceeding extends longer than 12 months, a participant may request compensation
of up to $50,000 for costs incurred in each calendar year; and
new text end

new text begin (2) in a general rate case proceeding under section 216B.16 or an integrated resource
plan proceeding under section 216B.2422, the maximum single participant compensation
per proceeding under this section must not exceed $75,000.
new text end

new text begin (b) A single participant must not be granted more than $200,000 under this section in a
single calendar year.
new text end

new text begin (c) Compensation requests from joint participants must be presented as a single request.
new text end

new text begin (d) Notwithstanding paragraphs (a) and (b), the commission must not, in any calendar
year, require a single public utility to pay aggregate compensation under this section that
exceeds the following amounts:
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new text begin (1) $100,000, for a public utility with up to $300,000,000 annual gross operating revenue
in Minnesota;
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new text begin (2) $275,000, for a public utility with at least $300,000,000 but less than $900,000,000
annual gross operating revenue in Minnesota;
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new text begin (3) $375,000, for a public utility with at least $900,000,000 but less than $2,000,000,000
annual gross operating revenue in Minnesota; and
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new text begin (4) $1,250,000, for a public utility with $2,000,000,000 or more annual gross operating
revenue in Minnesota.
new text end

new text begin (e) When requests for compensation from any public utility approach the limits established
in paragraph (d), the commission may prioritize requests from participants that received
less than $150,000 in total compensation during the previous two years.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Compensation; process. new text end

new text begin (a) A participant seeking compensation must file a
request and an affidavit of service with the commission, and serve a copy of the request on
each party to the proceeding. The request must be filed no more than 30 days after the later
of:
new text end

new text begin (1) the expiration of the period within which a petition for rehearing, amendment,
vacation, reconsideration, or reargument must be filed; or
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new text begin (2) the date the commission issues an order following rehearing, amendment, vacation,
reconsideration, or reargument.
new text end

new text begin (b) A compensation request must include:
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new text begin (1) the name and address of the participant or nonprofit organization the participant is
representing;
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new text begin (2) evidence of the organization's nonprofit, tax-exempt status, if applicable;
new text end

new text begin (3) the name and docket number of the proceeding for which compensation is requested;
new text end

new text begin (4) for a nonprofit participant, evidence supporting the nonprofit organization's eligibility
for compensation under the financial hardship test under subdivision 3, paragraph (c);
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new text begin (5) amounts of compensation awarded to the participant under this section during the
current year and any pending requests for compensation, itemized by docket;
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new text begin (6) an itemization of the participant's costs, including:
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new text begin (i) hours worked and associated hourly rates for each individual contributing to the
participation, not including overhead costs;
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new text begin (ii) participant revenues dedicated for the proceeding; and
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new text begin (iii) the total compensation request; and
new text end

new text begin (7) a narrative describing the unique contribution made to the proceeding by the
participant.
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new text begin (c) A participant must comply with reasonable requests for information by the commission
and other parties or participants. A participant must reply to information requests within
ten calendar days of the date the request is received, unless doing so would place an extreme
hardship upon the replying participant. The replying participant must provide a copy of the
information to any other participant or interested person upon request. Disputes regarding
information requests may be resolved by the commission.
new text end

new text begin (d) A party objecting to a request for compensation must, within 30 days after service
of the request for compensation, file a response, together with an affidavit of service, with
the commission. A copy of the response must be served on the requesting participant and
all other parties to the proceeding.
new text end

new text begin (e) The requesting participant may file a reply with the commission within 15 days after
a response is filed under paragraph (d). A copy of the reply and an affidavit of service must
be served on all other parties to the proceeding.
new text end

new text begin (f) If additional costs are incurred by a participant as a result of additional proceedings
following the commission's initial order, the participant may file an amended request within
30 days after the commission issues an amended order. Paragraphs (b) to (e) apply to an
amended request.
new text end

new text begin (g) The commission must issue a decision on participant compensation within 120 days
of the date a request for compensation is filed by a participant.
new text end

new text begin (h) The commission may extend the deadlines in paragraphs (d), (e), and (g) for up to
30 days upon the request of a participant or on the commission's own initiative.
new text end

new text begin (i) A participant may request reconsideration of the commission's compensation decision
within 30 days of the decision date.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 6. new text end

new text begin Compensation; orders. new text end

new text begin (a) If the commission issues an order requiring payment
of participant compensation, the public utility that was the subject of the proceeding must
pay the full compensation to the participant and file proof of payment with the commission
within 30 days after the later of:
new text end

new text begin (1) the expiration of the period within which a petition for reconsideration of the
commission's compensation decision must be filed; or
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new text begin (2) the date the commission issues an order following reconsideration of the commission's
order on participant compensation.
new text end

new text begin (b) If the commission issues an order requiring payment of participant compensation in
a proceeding involving multiple public utilities, the commission must apportion costs among
the public utilities in proportion to each public utility's annual revenue.
new text end

new text begin (c) The commission may issue orders necessary to allow a public utility to recover the
costs of participant compensation on a timely basis.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 7. new text end

new text begin Report. new text end

new text begin By July 1, 2025, the commission must report to the chairs and ranking
minority members of the senate and house of representatives committees with primary
jurisdiction over energy policy on the operation of this section. The report must include but
is not limited to:
new text end

new text begin (1) the amount of compensation paid each year by each utility;
new text end

new text begin (2) each recipient of compensation, the commission dockets in which compensation was
awarded, and the compensation amounts; and
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new text begin (3) the impact of the commission's adoption of the positions of compensated participants.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment and
applies to any proceeding in which the commission has not issued a final order as of that
date.
new text end

Sec. 2. new text begin REPEALER.
new text end

new text begin Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 216B.16, subdivision 10, new text end new text begin is repealed.
new text end

APPENDIX

Repealed Minnesota Statutes: 23-00688

216B.16 RATE CHANGE; PROCEDURE; HEARING.

Subd. 10.

Intervenor compensation.

(a) A nonprofit organization or an individual granted formal intervenor status by the commission is eligible to receive compensation.

(b) The commission may order a utility to compensate all or part of an eligible intervenor's reasonable costs of participation in a general rate case that comes before the commission when the commission finds that the intervenor has materially assisted the commission's deliberation and when a lack of compensation would present financial hardship to the intervenor. Compensation may not exceed $50,000 for a single intervenor in any proceeding. For the purpose of this subdivision, "materially assisted" means that the intervenor's participation and presentation was useful and seriously considered, or otherwise substantially contributed to the commission's deliberations in the proceeding.

(c) In determining whether an intervenor has materially assisted the commission's deliberation, the commission must consider, among other factors, whether:

(1) the intervenor represented an interest that would not otherwise have been adequately represented;

(2) the evidence or arguments presented or the positions taken by the intervenor were an important factor in producing a fair decision;

(3) the intervenor's position promoted a public purpose or policy;

(4) the evidence presented, arguments made, issues raised, or positions taken by the intervenor would not have been a part of the record without the intervenor's participation; and

(5) the administrative law judge or the commission adopted, in whole or in part, a position advocated by the intervenor.

(d) In determining whether the absence of compensation would present financial hardship to the intervenor, the commission must consider:

(1) whether the costs presented in the intervenor's claim reflect reasonable fees for attorneys and expert witnesses and other reasonable costs; and

(2) the ratio between the costs of intervention and the intervenor's unrestricted funds.

(e) An intervenor seeking compensation must file a request and an affidavit of service with the commission, and serve a copy of the request on each party to the proceeding. The request must be filed 30 days after the later of (1) the expiration of the period within which a petition for rehearing, amendment, vacation, reconsideration, or reargument must be filed or (2) the date the commission issues an order following rehearing, amendment, vacation, reconsideration, or reargument.

(f) The compensation request must include:

(1) the name and address of the intervenor or representative of the nonprofit organization the intervenor is representing;

(2) proof of the organization's nonprofit, tax-exempt status;

(3) the name and docket number of the proceeding for which compensation is requested;

(4) a list of actual annual revenues and expenses of the organization the intervenor is representing for the preceding year and projected revenues, revenue sources, and expenses for the current year;

(5) the organization's balance sheet for the preceding year and a current monthly balance sheet;

(6) an itemization of intervenor costs and the total compensation request; and

(7) a narrative explaining why additional organizational funds cannot be devoted to the intervention.

(g) Within 30 days after service of the request for compensation, a party may file a response, together with an affidavit of service, with the commission. A copy of the response must be served on the intervenor and all other parties to the proceeding.

(h) Within 15 days after the response is filed, the intervenor may file a reply with the commission. A copy of the reply and an affidavit of service must be served on all other parties to the proceeding.

(i) If additional costs are incurred as a result of additional proceedings following the commission's initial order, the intervenor may file an amended request within 30 days after the commission issues an amended order. Paragraphs (e) to (h) apply to an amended request.

(j) The commission must issue a decision on intervenor compensation within 60 days of a filing by an intervenor.

(k) A party may request reconsideration of the commission's compensation decision within 30 days of the decision.

(l) If the commission issues an order requiring payment of intervenor compensation, the utility that was the subject of the proceeding must pay the compensation to the intervenor, and file with the commission proof of payment, within 30 days after the later of (1) the expiration of the period within which a petition for reconsideration of the commission's compensation decision must be filed or (2) the date the commission issues an order following reconsideration of its order on intervenor compensation.