HF 2496

1st Engrossment - 81st Legislature (1999 - 2000) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to state government; abolishing department of 
  1.3             public service and transferring responsibilities; 
  1.4             making technical and conforming changes; appropriating 
  1.5             money; amending Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 
  1.6             13.68, subdivision 1; 13.692; 116C.03, subdivision 2; 
  1.7             116C.04, subdivision 1; 169.073; 181.30; 216A.01; 
  1.8             216A.02, by adding a subdivision; 216A.036; 216A.05, 
  1.9             subdivision 1; 216A.07, subdivisions 1, 3, 4, 5, and 
  1.10            6; 216A.085; 216A.095; 216B.026, subdivision 2; 
  1.11            216B.12, subdivision 1; 216B.16, subdivision 2; 
  1.12            216B.241, subdivision 1c; 216C.01, subdivisions 2 and 
  1.13            3; 216C.09; 237.075, subdivision 2; 237.11; 237.16, 
  1.14            subdivision 12; 237.55; 237.63, subdivision 3; 237.70, 
  1.15            subdivision 7; 237.763; 237.768; 237.773, subdivisions 
  1.16            3 and 4; 239.101, subdivision 2; and 326.243; 
  1.17            Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 216B.241, 
  1.18            subdivisions 1, 1a, 1b, 2, 2a, and 2b; proposing 
  1.19            coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapters 4A; 
  1.20            and 216A; repealing Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 
  1.21            216A.06; 216A.07, subdivision 2; 216B.02, subdivision 
  1.22            8; 216B.163, subdivision 8; and 237.69, subdivision 3. 
  1.23  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.24                             ARTICLE 1
  1.25                      PUBLIC SERVICE ABOLISHED
  1.26     Section 1.  [DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE ABOLISHED; 
  1.27  RESPONSIBILITIES TRANSFERRED.] 
  1.28     Subdivision 1.  [DEPARTMENT ABOLISHED; RESPONSIBILITIES 
  1.29  TRANSFERRED.] The department of public service is abolished.  
  1.30  The responsibilities held by the department and the commissioner 
  1.31  of public service are transferred to a receiving agency as 
  1.32  designated in this act.  Except as provided in this act, the 
  1.33  responsibilities of the department are transferred in accordance 
  1.34  with Minnesota Statutes, section 15.039.  For the purposes of 
  2.1   this article, "responsibilities" means the powers, duties, 
  2.2   rights, obligations, rules, court actions, contracts, records, 
  2.3   property of every description, unexpended funds, personnel, and 
  2.4   other authority imposed by law on the department of public 
  2.5   service.  For the purposes of this article, "receiving agency" 
  2.6   has the meaning given "new agency" in Minnesota Statutes, 
  2.7   section 15.039, subdivision 1. 
  2.8      Subd. 2.  [SPECIFIC POSITIONS ABOLISHED.] The following 
  2.9   positions in the department of public service are not 
  2.10  transferred to a receiving agency and are specifically abolished:
  2.11     (1) commissioner; 
  2.12     (2) deputy commissioner; 
  2.13     (3) assistant commissioner; and 
  2.14     (4) executive assistant. 
  2.15     Subd. 3.  [PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION.] All 
  2.16  responsibilities of the department are transferred to the public 
  2.17  utilities commission except those responsibilities transferred 
  2.18  to other receiving agencies as provided in subdivisions 4 to 8, 
  2.19  and the responsibilities of the department which are rescinded 
  2.20  as set forth in article 2. 
  2.21     Subd. 4.  [DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.] The responsibilities 
  2.22  of the division of weights and measures of the department of 
  2.23  public service other than responsibilities of the division 
  2.24  relating to petroleum products, including inspecting and testing 
  2.25  petroleum product measuring equipment and providing petroleum 
  2.26  quality assurance tests, and responsibilities relating to 
  2.27  ammonia, motor oil, and batteries are transferred to the 
  2.28  department of agriculture. 
  2.29     Subd. 5.  [OFFICE OF STRATEGIC AND LONG-RANGE 
  2.30  PLANNING.] The responsibilities of the department of public 
  2.31  service set forth in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 216C, and 
  2.32  Minnesota Statutes, sections 16B.32; 16B.76; 123B.65; 174.031; 
  2.33  216A.07, subdivisions 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6; 216A.085; 216B.12; 
  2.34  216B.168; 216B.62; 216B.65; 237.02; 237.15; 237.67; and 237.74, 
  2.35  subdivision 4, are transferred to the office of strategic and 
  2.36  long-range planning.  
  3.1      Subd. 6.  [DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION.] The 
  3.2   responsibilities of the department of public service set forth 
  3.3   in Minnesota Statutes, section 169.073, are transferred to the 
  3.4   department of transportation. 
  3.5      Subd. 7.  [DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND INDUSTRY.] The 
  3.6   responsibilities of the department of public service set forth 
  3.7   in Minnesota Statutes, section 181.30, are transferred to the 
  3.8   department of labor and industry. 
  3.9      Subd. 8.  [DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE.] The responsibilities of 
  3.10  the division of weights and measures of the department of public 
  3.11  service that are not transferred under subdivision 4 are 
  3.12  transferred to the department of commerce. 
  3.13     Subd. 9.  [RULES.] Rules adopted by or transferred to the 
  3.14  department of public service before the effective date of this 
  3.15  article become rules of the receiving agency to which the 
  3.16  appropriate rulemaking authority is transferred by this article. 
  3.17     Sec. 2.  [EFFECT ON REORGANIZATION ORDER.] 
  3.18     This act supersedes department of administration 
  3.19  reorganization order number 181, which transferred certain 
  3.20  functions, personnel, powers, responsibilities, and duties of 
  3.21  the department of public service to the department of commerce.  
  3.22  The responsibilities of the department of public service 
  3.23  transferred by this act are the responsibilities of the 
  3.24  department as they existed on the day before the effective date 
  3.25  of reorganization order number 181.  Any responsibility 
  3.26  transferred to the department of commerce must be reallocated as 
  3.27  required by this act.  The executive branch may not use the 
  3.28  authority of Minnesota Statutes, section 16B.37, to transfer any 
  3.29  responsibilities that are transferred by this act. 
  3.30                             ARTICLE 2 
  3.31                       CONFORMING AMENDMENTS 
  3.32     Section 1.  [4A.11] [ENERGY POLICY DUTIES; INTERVENTION AND 
  3.33  INVESTIGATION AUTHORITY.] 
  3.34     The director is responsible for developing state energy 
  3.35  policy in accordance with the requirements of chapter 216C.  The 
  3.36  director may intervene in proceedings of the public utilities 
  4.1   commission and investigate matters in accordance with provisions 
  4.2   of section 216A.07 and any other statutory authority.  
  4.3      Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 13.68, 
  4.4   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  4.5      Subdivision 1.  [NONPUBLIC DATA.] Energy and financial 
  4.6   data, statistics, and information furnished to the commissioner 
  4.7   of public service development director of the office of 
  4.8   strategic and long-range planning by a coal supplier or 
  4.9   petroleum supplier, or information on individual business 
  4.10  customers of a public utility pursuant to section 216C.16 or 
  4.11  216C.17, either directly or through a federal department or 
  4.12  agency are classified as nonpublic data as defined by section 
  4.13  13.02, subdivision 9. 
  4.14     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 13.692, is 
  4.15  amended to read: 
  4.16     13.692 [DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC UTILITY SERVICE DATA.] 
  4.17     Subdivision 1.  [TENANT.] Data collected by the department 
  4.18  of public service office of strategic and long-range planning or 
  4.19  the public utilities commission that reveals the identity of a 
  4.20  tenant who makes a complaint regarding energy efficiency 
  4.21  standards for rental housing are private data on individuals.  
  4.22     Subd. 2.  [UTILITY OR TELEPHONE COMPANY EMPLOYEE OR 
  4.23  CUSTOMER.] (a) The following are private data on individuals:  
  4.24  data collected by the department of public service or the office 
  4.25  of strategic and long-range planning public utilities 
  4.26  commission, including the names or any other data that would 
  4.27  reveal the identity of either an employee or customer of a 
  4.28  telephone company or public utility who files a complaint or 
  4.29  provides information regarding a violation or suspected 
  4.30  violation by the telephone company or public utility of any 
  4.31  federal or state law or rule; except this data may be released 
  4.32  as needed to law enforcement authorities. 
  4.33     (b) The following are private data on individuals:  data 
  4.34  collected by the commission or the department of public service, 
  4.35  the office of strategic and long-range planning, or the 
  4.36  department of human services on individual public utility or 
  5.1   telephone company customers or prospective customers, including 
  5.2   copies of tax forms, needed to administer federal or state 
  5.3   programs that provide relief from telephone company bills, 
  5.4   public utility bills, or cold weather disconnection.  The 
  5.5   determination of eligibility of the customers or prospective 
  5.6   customers may be released to public utilities or telephone 
  5.7   companies to administer the programs. 
  5.8      Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 116C.03, 
  5.9   subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  5.10     Subd. 2.  [MEMBERSHIP.] The members of the board are the 
  5.11  director of the office of strategic and long-range planning, the 
  5.12  commissioner of public service chair of the public utilities 
  5.13  commission, the commissioner of the pollution control agency, 
  5.14  the commissioner of natural resources, the director of the 
  5.15  office of environmental assistance, the commissioner of 
  5.16  agriculture, the commissioner of health, the commissioner of 
  5.17  trade and economic development, the commissioner of 
  5.18  transportation, the chair of the board of water and soil 
  5.19  resources, and a representative of the governor's office 
  5.20  designated by the governor.  The chair of the public utilities 
  5.21  commission shall serve as an advisory, nonvoting member of the 
  5.22  board.  The governor shall appoint five members from the general 
  5.23  public to the board, subject to the advice and consent of the 
  5.24  senate.  At least two of the five public members must have 
  5.25  knowledge of and be conversant in water management issues in the 
  5.26  state.  Notwithstanding the provisions of section 15.06, 
  5.27  subdivision 6, members of the board may not delegate their 
  5.28  powers and responsibilities as board members to any other person.
  5.29     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 116C.04, 
  5.30  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  5.31     Subdivision 1.  The powers and duties of the Minnesota 
  5.32  environmental quality board shall be as provided in this section 
  5.33  and as otherwise provided by law or executive order.  Actions of 
  5.34  the board shall be taken only at an open meeting upon a majority 
  5.35  vote of all the permanent members of the board, excluding the 
  5.36  chair of the public utilities commission. 
  6.1      Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 169.073, is 
  6.2   amended to read: 
  6.3      169.073 [PROHIBITED LIGHT OR SIGNAL.] 
  6.4      No person or corporation shall place, maintain or display 
  6.5   any red light or red sign, signal, or lighting device or 
  6.6   maintain it in view of any highway or any line of railroad on or 
  6.7   over which trains are operated in such a way as to interfere 
  6.8   with the effectiveness or efficiency of any highway 
  6.9   traffic-control device or signals or devices used in the 
  6.10  operation of a railroad.  Upon written notice from the 
  6.11  commissioner of transportation, a person or corporation 
  6.12  maintaining or owning or displaying a prohibited light shall 
  6.13  promptly remove it, or change the color of it to some other 
  6.14  color than red.  Where a prohibited light or sign interferes 
  6.15  with the effectiveness or efficiency of the signals or devices 
  6.16  used in the operation of a railroad, the department of public 
  6.17  service transportation may cause the removal of it and the 
  6.18  department may issue notices and orders for its removal.  The 
  6.19  department shall proceed as provided in sections 216.13, 216.14, 
  6.20  216.15, 216.16, and 216.17, with a right of appeal to the 
  6.21  aggrieved party in accordance with chapter 14. 
  6.22     No person or corporation shall maintain or display any 
  6.23  light after written notice from the commissioner of 
  6.24  transportation or the department of public service that the 
  6.25  light constitutes a traffic hazard and that it has ordered the 
  6.26  removal thereof. 
  6.27     Sec. 7.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 181.30, is 
  6.28  amended to read: 
  6.29     181.30 [DUTY OF DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE LABOR AND 
  6.30  INDUSTRY.] 
  6.31     Any officer of any railroad company in the state violating 
  6.32  any of the provisions of section 181.29 shall be guilty of a 
  6.33  misdemeanor; and, upon conviction, punished by a fine of not 
  6.34  less than $100, and not more than $700, for each offense, or by 
  6.35  imprisonment in the county jail not more than 60 days, or both 
  6.36  fine and imprisonment, at the discretion of the court.  It shall 
  7.1   be the duty of the state department of public service labor and 
  7.2   industry, upon complaint properly filed with it alleging a 
  7.3   violation of section 181.29, to make a full investigation in 
  7.4   relation thereto, and for such purpose it shall have the power 
  7.5   to administer oaths, interrogate witnesses, take testimony and 
  7.6   require the production of books and papers, and if such report 
  7.7   shall show a violation of the provisions of section 181.29, the 
  7.8   department of public service labor and industry shall, through 
  7.9   the attorney general, begin the prosecution of all parties 
  7.10  against whom evidence of such violation is found; but section 
  7.11  181.29 shall not be construed to prevent any other person from 
  7.12  beginning prosecution for the violation of the provisions 
  7.13  thereof.  
  7.14     Sec. 8.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 216A.01, is 
  7.15  amended to read: 
  7.16     216A.01 [ESTABLISHMENT OF DEPARTMENT AND PUBLIC UTILITIES 
  7.17  COMMISSION.] 
  7.18     There are is hereby created and established the department 
  7.19  of public service, and the public utilities commission.  The 
  7.20  department of public service shall have and possess all of the 
  7.21  rights and powers and perform all of the duties vested in it by 
  7.22  this chapter.  The public utilities commission shall have and 
  7.23  possess all of the rights and powers and perform all of the 
  7.24  duties vested in it by this chapter, and those formerly vested 
  7.25  by law in the railroad and warehouse commission. 
  7.26     Sec. 9.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 216A.02, is 
  7.27  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  7.28     Subd. 5.  [CHAIR.] "Chair" means the administrative and 
  7.29  executive head of the public utilities commission. 
  7.30     Sec. 10.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 216A.036, is 
  7.31  amended to read: 
  7.32     216A.036 [EMPLOYMENT RESTRICTIONS.] 
  7.33     (a) A person who serves as (1) a commissioner of the public 
  7.34  utilities commission, (2) commissioner of the department of 
  7.35  public service, or (3) deputy commissioner of the department, or 
  7.36  (2) the director of the office of strategic and long-range 
  8.1   planning shall not, while employed with or within one year after 
  8.2   leaving the commission, or department, or the office of 
  8.3   strategic and long-range planning, accept employment with, 
  8.4   receive compensation directly or indirectly from, or enter into 
  8.5   a contractual relationship with an entity, or an affiliated 
  8.6   company of an entity, that is subject to rate regulation by the 
  8.7   commission. 
  8.8      (b) An entity or an affiliated company of an entity that is 
  8.9   subject to rate regulation by the commission, or a person acting 
  8.10  on behalf of the entity, shall not negotiate or offer to employ 
  8.11  or compensate a commissioner of the public utilities commission, 
  8.12  the commissioner of public service, or the deputy commissioner, 
  8.13  or the director of the office of strategic and long-range 
  8.14  planning while the person is so employed or within one year 
  8.15  after the person leaves that employment. 
  8.16     (c) For the purposes of this section, "affiliated company" 
  8.17  means a company that controls, is controlled by, or is under 
  8.18  common control with an entity subject to rate regulation by the 
  8.19  commission. 
  8.20     (d) A person who violates this section is subject to a 
  8.21  civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 for each violation.  The 
  8.22  attorney general may bring an action in district court to 
  8.23  collect the penalties provided in this section.  
  8.24     Sec. 11.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 216A.05, 
  8.25  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  8.26     Subdivision 1.  [LEGISLATIVE AND QUASI-JUDICIAL FUNCTIONS.] 
  8.27  The functions of the commission shall be legislative and 
  8.28  quasi-judicial in nature.  It may make such investigations and 
  8.29  determinations, hold such hearings, prescribe such rules and 
  8.30  issue such orders with respect to the control and conduct of the 
  8.31  businesses coming within its jurisdiction as the legislature 
  8.32  itself might make but only as it shall from time to time 
  8.33  authorize.  It may adjudicate all proceedings brought before it 
  8.34  in which the violation of any law or rule administered by the 
  8.35  department under its jurisdiction is alleged or the 
  8.36  implementation of any rule or law under its jurisdiction is 
  9.1   required. 
  9.2      Sec. 12.  [216A.055] [ENFORCEMENT.] 
  9.3      Upon request of the public utilities commission, the 
  9.4   attorney general shall investigate alleged violations of and 
  9.5   enforce this chapter and chapters 216B and 237, and the orders 
  9.6   of the commission issued pursuant to those chapters. 
  9.7      Sec. 13.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 216A.07, 
  9.8   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  9.9      Subdivision 1.  [ADMINISTRATIVE DUTIES.] The commissioner 
  9.10  shall be the executive and administrative head of the public 
  9.11  service department and shall have and possess all the rights and 
  9.12  powers and perform all the duties relating to the administrative 
  9.13  function of the department as set forth in this chapter.  The 
  9.14  commissioner director of the office of strategic and long-range 
  9.15  planning may: 
  9.16     (1) prepare all forms or blanks for the purpose of 
  9.17  obtaining information which the commissioner director may deem 
  9.18  necessary or useful in the proper exercise of the authority and 
  9.19  duties of the commissioner director in connection with regulated 
  9.20  businesses; 
  9.21     (2) prescribe the time and manner within which forms or 
  9.22  blanks shall be filed with the department office of strategic 
  9.23  and long-range planning; 
  9.24     (3) inspect at all reasonable times, and copy the books, 
  9.25  records, memoranda and correspondence or other documents and 
  9.26  records of any person relating to any regulated business; and 
  9.27     (4) cause the deposition to be taken of any person 
  9.28  concerning the business and affairs of any business regulated by 
  9.29  the department commission.  Information sought through said 
  9.30  deposition shall be for a lawfully authorized purpose and shall 
  9.31  be relevant and material to the investigation or hearing before 
  9.32  the commission.  Information obtained from said deposition shall 
  9.33  be used by the department office only for a lawfully authorized 
  9.34  purpose and pursuant to powers and responsibilities conferred 
  9.35  upon the department office.  Said deposition is to be taken in 
  9.36  the manner prescribed by law for taking depositions in civil 
 10.1   actions in the district court. 
 10.2      Sec. 14.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 216A.07, 
 10.3   subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
 10.4      Subd. 3.  [INTERVENTION IN COMMISSION PROCEEDING.] The 
 10.5   commissioner director of the office of strategic and long-range 
 10.6   planning may intervene as a party in all proceedings before the 
 10.7   commission.  When intervening in gas or electric hearings, 
 10.8   the commissioner director shall prepare and defend testimony 
 10.9   designed to encourage energy conservation improvements as 
 10.10  defined in section 216B.241.  The attorney general shall act as 
 10.11  counsel in the proceedings.  
 10.12     Sec. 15.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 216A.07, 
 10.13  subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
 10.14     Subd. 4.  [INVESTIGATION.] The commissioner director of the 
 10.15  office of strategic and long-range planning may, on the 
 10.16  commissioner's director's own initiative, investigate any matter 
 10.17  subject to the jurisdiction of the department office or 
 10.18  commission.  
 10.19     Sec. 16.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 216A.07, 
 10.20  subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
 10.21     Subd. 5.  [RULEMAKING.] The commissioner director of the 
 10.22  office of strategic and long-range planning shall make 
 10.23  substantive and procedural rules to implement the provisions of 
 10.24  this chapter and chapters 216B and 237.  Rules adopted under 
 10.25  this authority shall be promulgated pursuant to the 
 10.26  Administrative Procedure Act and shall have the force and effect 
 10.27  of law.  
 10.28     Sec. 17.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 216A.07, 
 10.29  subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
 10.30     Subd. 6.  [MISSION; EFFICIENCY; LEGISLATIVE REPORT, 
 10.31  RECOMMENDATIONS.] It is part of the department's office of 
 10.32  strategic and long-range planning's mission that within 
 10.33  the department's office's resources the commissioner director 
 10.34  shall endeavor to: 
 10.35     (1) prevent the waste or unnecessary spending of public 
 10.36  money; 
 11.1      (2) use innovative fiscal and human resource practices to 
 11.2   manage the state's resources and operate the department office 
 11.3   as efficiently as possible; 
 11.4      (3) coordinate the department's office's activities 
 11.5   wherever appropriate with the activities of other governmental 
 11.6   agencies; 
 11.7      (4) use technology where appropriate to increase agency 
 11.8   productivity, improve customer service, increase public access 
 11.9   to information about government, and increase public 
 11.10  participation in the business of government; 
 11.11     (5) utilize constructive and cooperative labor-management 
 11.12  practices to the extent otherwise required by chapters 43A and 
 11.13  179A; 
 11.14     (6) report to the legislature on the performance of agency 
 11.15  operations and the accomplishment of agency goals in the 
 11.16  agency's biennial budget according to section 16A.10, 
 11.17  subdivision 1; and 
 11.18     (7) recommend to the legislature appropriate changes in law 
 11.19  necessary to carry out the mission and improve the performance 
 11.20  of the department office. 
 11.21     Sec. 18.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 216A.085, is 
 11.22  amended to read: 
 11.23     216A.085 [ENERGY ISSUES INTERVENTION OFFICE DIVISION.] 
 11.24     Subdivision 1.  [CREATION.] There is created within the 
 11.25  department of public service office of strategic and long-range 
 11.26  planning an intervention office division to represent the 
 11.27  interests of Minnesota residents, businesses, and governments 
 11.28  before bodies and agencies outside the state that make, 
 11.29  interpret, or implement national and international energy policy.
 11.30     Subd. 2.  [DUTIES.] The intervention office division shall 
 11.31  determine those areas in which state intervention is most 
 11.32  needed, most likely to have a positive impact, and most 
 11.33  effective for the broad public interest of the state.  The 
 11.34  office division shall seek recommendations from appropriate 
 11.35  public and private sources before deciding which cases merit 
 11.36  intervention.  
 12.1      Subd. 3.  [STAFFING.] The intervention office division 
 12.2   shall be under the control and supervision of the commissioner 
 12.3   of the department of public service director of the office of 
 12.4   strategic and long-range planning.  The commissioner director 
 12.5   may hire staff or contract for outside services as needed to 
 12.6   carry out the purposes of this section.  The attorney general 
 12.7   shall act as counsel in all intervention proceedings.  
 12.8      Sec. 19.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 216A.095, is 
 12.9   amended to read: 
 12.10     216A.095 [COOPERATION BETWEEN DEPARTMENT AND COMMISSION THE 
 12.11  COMMISSION AND THE OFFICE OF STRATEGIC AND LONG-RANGE PLANNING.] 
 12.12     Nothing in this chapter prevents the department or the 
 12.13  commission or the office of strategic and long-range planning 
 12.14  from entering into agreements with each other or with other 
 12.15  agencies to coordinate and share services, to conduct joint 
 12.16  projects or investigations on matters within the authority and 
 12.17  jurisdiction of the parties thereto, or to temporarily assign 
 12.18  staff to projects requested by each other or by other agencies.  
 12.19  The cooperative agreements may provide for the sharing of costs 
 12.20  between the parties thereto or the reimbursement of 
 12.21  the department or commission or the office operating budget for 
 12.22  expenditures made on behalf of the department office or 
 12.23  commission or agency.  No cooperative effort shall interfere 
 12.24  with the independence and integrity of either the commission or 
 12.25  the department office or any other agency that is a party.  
 12.26     Sec. 20.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 216B.026, 
 12.27  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
 12.28     Subd. 2.  [PETITION CONTENTS; VERIFICATION.] The petition 
 12.29  form shall be prescribed by the department commission and sample 
 12.30  forms shall be available from the department commission and 
 12.31  electric cooperative associations.  Petitions shall include a 
 12.32  uniform statement that petition signers are requesting a 
 12.33  balloting of the association membership on the question of 
 12.34  regulation of electric rates of the association by the 
 12.35  commission.  The department commission shall, upon receipt, 
 12.36  transmit the prescribed form of petition to the appropriate 
 13.1   association for validation of petition signatures in accordance 
 13.2   with agreed procedures between the association and 
 13.3   the department commission.  When the association rejects any 
 13.4   signature on a petition as invalid, it shall provide 
 13.5   the department commission with a written statement as to the 
 13.6   reason the cooperative deems the signature invalid.  
 13.7   The department commission may challenge reverse the 
 13.8   association's decisions on the validity of signatures and may 
 13.9   appeal to the commission for a resolution of the issue through 
 13.10  informal proceedings before the commission after notice to all 
 13.11  parties.  
 13.12     Sec. 21.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 216B.12, 
 13.13  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
 13.14     Subdivision 1.  [AUTHORITY OF COMMISSION AND 
 13.15  DEPARTMENT OFFICE.] The commissioners and the duly authorized 
 13.16  officers and employees of the department office of strategic and 
 13.17  long-range planning, during business hours, may enter upon any 
 13.18  premises occupied by any public utility for the purpose of 
 13.19  making examinations and tests and to inspect the accounts, 
 13.20  books, papers, and documents of any public utility for the 
 13.21  purpose of exercising any power provided for in Laws 1974, 
 13.22  chapter 429, and may set up and use on the premises any 
 13.23  apparatus and appliance necessary therefor.  Such public utility 
 13.24  shall have the right to be represented at the making of the 
 13.25  examinations, tests, and inspections.  The public utility, its 
 13.26  officers and employees, shall facilitate the examinations, 
 13.27  tests, and inspections by giving every reasonable aid to the 
 13.28  commissioners and any person or persons designated by the 
 13.29  department office of strategic and long-range planning for the 
 13.30  duties aforesaid.  
 13.31     Sec. 22.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 216B.16, 
 13.32  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
 13.33     Subd. 2.  [SUSPENSION OF PROPOSED RATE; HEARING; FINAL 
 13.34  DETERMINATION DEFINED.] (a) Whenever there is filed with the 
 13.35  commission a schedule modifying or resulting in a change in any 
 13.36  rates then in force as provided in subdivision 1, the commission 
 14.1   may suspend the operation of the schedule by filing with the 
 14.2   schedule of rates and delivering to the affected utility a 
 14.3   statement in writing of its reasons for the suspension at any 
 14.4   time before the rates become effective.  The suspension shall 
 14.5   not be for a longer period than ten months beyond the initial 
 14.6   filing date except as provided in this subdivision or 
 14.7   subdivision 1a.  During the suspension the commission shall 
 14.8   determine whether all questions of the reasonableness of the 
 14.9   rates requested raised by persons deemed interested or by the 
 14.10  administrative division of the department of public service 
 14.11  office of strategic and long-range planning can be resolved to 
 14.12  the satisfaction of the commission.  If the commission finds 
 14.13  that all significant issues raised have not been resolved to its 
 14.14  satisfaction, or upon petition by ten percent of the affected 
 14.15  customers or 250 affected customers, whichever is less, it shall 
 14.16  refer the matter to the office of administrative hearings with 
 14.17  instructions for a public hearing as a contested case pursuant 
 14.18  to chapter 14, except as otherwise provided in this section.  
 14.19  The commission may order that the issues presented by the 
 14.20  proposed rate changes be bifurcated into two separate hearings 
 14.21  as follows:  (1) determination of the utility's revenue 
 14.22  requirements and (2) determination of the rate design.  Upon 
 14.23  issuance of both administrative law judge reports, the issues 
 14.24  shall again be joined for consideration and final determination 
 14.25  by the commission.  All prehearing discovery activities of state 
 14.26  agency intervenors shall be consolidated and conducted by 
 14.27  the department of public service office of strategic and 
 14.28  long-range planning.  If the commission does not make a final 
 14.29  determination concerning a schedule of rates within ten months 
 14.30  after the initial filing date, the schedule shall be deemed to 
 14.31  have been approved by the commission; except if: 
 14.32     (1) an extension of the procedural schedule has been 
 14.33  granted under subdivision 1a, in which case the schedule of 
 14.34  rates is deemed to have been approved by the commission on the 
 14.35  last day of the extended period of suspension; or 
 14.36     (2) a settlement has been submitted to and rejected by the 
 15.1   commission and the commission does not make a final 
 15.2   determination concerning the schedule of rates, the schedule of 
 15.3   rates is deemed to have been approved 60 days after the initial 
 15.4   or, if applicable, the extended period of suspension. 
 15.5      (b) If the commission finds that it has insufficient time 
 15.6   during the suspension period to make a final determination of a 
 15.7   case involving changes in general rates because of the need to 
 15.8   make a final determination of another previously filed case 
 15.9   involving changes in general rates under this section or section 
 15.10  237.075, the commission may extend the suspension period to the 
 15.11  extent necessary to allow itself 20 working days to make the 
 15.12  final determination after it has made a final determination in 
 15.13  the previously filed case.  An extension of the suspension 
 15.14  period under this paragraph does not alter the setting of 
 15.15  interim rates under subdivision 3. 
 15.16     (c) For the purposes of this section, "final determination" 
 15.17  means the initial decision of the commission and not any order 
 15.18  which may be entered by the commission in response to a petition 
 15.19  for rehearing or other further relief.  The commission may 
 15.20  further suspend rates until it determines all those petitions. 
 15.21     Sec. 23.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
 15.22  216B.241, subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
 15.23     Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] For purposes of this section 
 15.24  and section 216B.16, subdivision 6b, the terms defined in this 
 15.25  subdivision have the meanings given them.  
 15.26     (a) "Commission" means the public utilities commission. 
 15.27     (b) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of public service.
 15.28     (c) "Customer facility" means all buildings, structures, 
 15.29  equipment, and installations at a single site. 
 15.30     (d) "Department" means the department of public service. 
 15.31     (e) (c) "Energy conservation improvement" means the 
 15.32  purchase or installation of a device, method, material, or 
 15.33  project that: 
 15.34     (1) reduces consumption of or increases efficiency in the 
 15.35  use of electricity or natural gas, including, but not limited to 
 15.36  insulation and ventilation, storm or thermal doors or windows, 
 16.1   caulking and weatherstripping, furnace efficiency modifications, 
 16.2   thermostat or lighting controls, awnings, or systems to turn off 
 16.3   or vary the delivery of energy; 
 16.4      (2) creates, converts, or actively uses energy from 
 16.5   renewable sources such as solar, wind, and biomass, provided 
 16.6   that the device or method conforms with national or state 
 16.7   performance and quality standards whenever applicable; 
 16.8      (3) seeks to provide energy savings through reclamation or 
 16.9   recycling and that is used as part of the infrastructure of an 
 16.10  electric generation, transmission, or distribution system within 
 16.11  the state or a natural gas distribution system within the state; 
 16.12  or 
 16.13     (4) provides research or development of new means of 
 16.14  increasing energy efficiency or conserving energy or research or 
 16.15  development of improvement of existing means of increasing 
 16.16  energy efficiency or conserving energy.  
 16.17     (f) (d) "Investments and expenses of a public utility" 
 16.18  includes the investments and expenses incurred by a public 
 16.19  utility in connection with an energy conservation improvement, 
 16.20  including but not limited to:  
 16.21     (1) the differential in interest cost between the market 
 16.22  rate and the rate charged on a no-interest or below-market 
 16.23  interest loan made by a public utility to a customer for the 
 16.24  purchase or installation of an energy conservation improvement; 
 16.25     (2) the difference between the utility's cost of purchase 
 16.26  or installation of energy conservation improvements and any 
 16.27  price charged by a public utility to a customer for such 
 16.28  improvements.  
 16.29     (g) (e) "Large electric customer facility" means a customer 
 16.30  facility that imposes a peak electrical demand on an electric 
 16.31  utility's system of not less than 20,000 kilowatts, measured in 
 16.32  the same way as the utility that serves the customer facility 
 16.33  measures electrical demand for billing purposes, and for which 
 16.34  electric services are provided at retail on a single bill by a 
 16.35  utility operating in the state. 
 16.36     Sec. 24.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
 17.1   216B.241, subdivision 1a, is amended to read: 
 17.2      Subd. 1a.  [INVESTMENT, EXPENDITURE, AND CONTRIBUTION; 
 17.3   PUBLIC UTILITY.] (a) For purposes of this subdivision and 
 17.4   subdivision 2, "public utility" has the meaning given it in 
 17.5   section 216B.02, subdivision 4.  Each public utility shall spend 
 17.6   and invest for energy conservation improvements under this 
 17.7   subdivision and subdivision 2 the following amounts: 
 17.8      (1) for a utility that furnishes gas service, 0.5 percent 
 17.9   of its gross operating revenues from service provided in the 
 17.10  state; 
 17.11     (2) for a utility that furnishes electric service, 1.5 
 17.12  percent of its gross operating revenues from service provided in 
 17.13  the state; and 
 17.14     (3) for a utility that furnishes electric service and that 
 17.15  operates a nuclear-powered electric generating plant within the 
 17.16  state, two percent of its gross operating revenues from service 
 17.17  provided in the state. 
 17.18     For purposes of this paragraph (a), "gross operating 
 17.19  revenues" do not include revenues from large electric customer 
 17.20  facilities exempted by the commissioner of the department of 
 17.21  public service commission pursuant to paragraph (b). 
 17.22     (b) The owner of a large electric customer facility may 
 17.23  petition the commissioner of the department of public service 
 17.24  public utilities commission to exempt both electric and gas 
 17.25  utilities serving the large energy customer facility from the 
 17.26  investment and expenditure requirements of paragraph (a) with 
 17.27  respect to retail revenues attributable to the facility.  At a 
 17.28  minimum, the petition must be supported by evidence relating to 
 17.29  competitive or economic pressures on the customer and a showing 
 17.30  by the customer of reasonable efforts to identify, evaluate, and 
 17.31  implement cost-effective conservation improvements at the 
 17.32  facility.  If a petition is filed on or before October 1 of any 
 17.33  year, the order of the commissioner commission to exempt 
 17.34  revenues attributable to the facility can be effective no 
 17.35  earlier than January 1 of the following year.  The commissioner 
 17.36  commission shall not grant an exemption if the commissioner 
 18.1   commission determines that granting the exemption is contrary to 
 18.2   the public interest.  The commissioner commission may, after 
 18.3   investigation, rescind any exemption granted under this 
 18.4   paragraph upon a determination that cost-effective energy 
 18.5   conservation improvements are available at the large electric 
 18.6   customer facility.  For the purposes of this paragraph, 
 18.7   "cost-effective" means that the projected total cost of the 
 18.8   energy conservation improvement at the large electric customer 
 18.9   facility is less than the projected present value of the energy 
 18.10  and demand savings resulting from the energy conservation 
 18.11  improvement.  For the purposes of investigations by the 
 18.12  commissioner commission under this paragraph, the owner of any 
 18.13  large electric customer facility shall, upon request, provide 
 18.14  the commissioner commission with updated information comparable 
 18.15  to that originally supplied in or with the owner's original 
 18.16  petition under this paragraph. 
 18.17     (c) The commissioner commission may require investments or 
 18.18  spending greater than the amounts required under this 
 18.19  subdivision for a public utility whose most recent advance 
 18.20  forecast required under section 216B.2422 or 216C.17 projects a 
 18.21  peak demand deficit of 100 megawatts or greater within five 
 18.22  years under mid-range forecast assumptions.  
 18.23     (d) A public utility or owner of a large electric customer 
 18.24  facility may appeal a decision of the commissioner commission 
 18.25  under paragraph (b) or (c) to the commission under subdivision 
 18.26  2.  In reviewing a decision of the commissioner under paragraph 
 18.27  (b) or (c), the commission shall rescind the decision if it 
 18.28  finds that the required investments or spending will: 
 18.29     (1) not result in cost-effective energy conservation 
 18.30  improvements; or 
 18.31     (2) otherwise not be in the public interest pursuant to 
 18.32  section 216B.52. 
 18.33     (e) Each utility shall determine what portion of the amount 
 18.34  it sets aside for conservation improvement will be used for 
 18.35  conservation improvements under subdivision 2 and what portion 
 18.36  it will contribute to the energy and conservation account 
 19.1   established in subdivision 2a.  A public utility may propose to 
 19.2   the commissioner commission to designate that all or a portion 
 19.3   of funds contributed to the account established in subdivision 
 19.4   2a be used for research and development projects.  Contributions 
 19.5   must be remitted to the commissioner of public service 
 19.6   commission by February 1 of each year.  Nothing in this 
 19.7   subdivision prohibits a public utility from spending or 
 19.8   investing for energy conservation improvement more than required 
 19.9   in this subdivision. 
 19.10     Sec. 25.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
 19.11  216B.241, subdivision 1b, is amended to read: 
 19.12     Subd. 1b.  [CONSERVATION IMPROVEMENT BY COOPERATIVE 
 19.13  ASSOCIATION OR MUNICIPALITY.] (a) This subdivision applies to: 
 19.14     (1) a cooperative electric association that generates and 
 19.15  transmits electricity to associations that provide electricity 
 19.16  at retail including a cooperative electric association not 
 19.17  located in this state that serves associations or others in the 
 19.18  state; 
 19.19     (2) a municipality that provides electric service to retail 
 19.20  customers; and 
 19.21     (3) a municipality with gross operating revenues in excess 
 19.22  of $5,000,000 from sales of natural gas to retail customers.  
 19.23     (b) Each cooperative electric association and municipality 
 19.24  subject to this subdivision shall spend and invest for energy 
 19.25  conservation improvements under this subdivision the following 
 19.26  amounts: 
 19.27     (1) for a municipality, 0.5 percent of its gross operating 
 19.28  revenues from the sale of gas and one percent of its gross 
 19.29  operating revenues from the sale of electricity not purchased 
 19.30  from a public utility governed by subdivision 1a or a 
 19.31  cooperative electric association governed by this subdivision, 
 19.32  excluding gross operating revenues from electric and gas service 
 19.33  provided in the state to large electric customer facilities; and 
 19.34     (2) for a cooperative electric association, 1.5 percent of 
 19.35  its gross operating revenues from service provided in the state, 
 19.36  excluding gross operating revenues from service provided in the 
 20.1   state to large electric customer facilities indirectly through a 
 20.2   distribution cooperative electric association. 
 20.3      (c) Each municipality and cooperative association subject 
 20.4   to this subdivision shall identify and implement energy 
 20.5   conservation improvement spending and investments that are 
 20.6   appropriate for the municipality or association, except that a 
 20.7   municipality or association may not spend or invest for energy 
 20.8   conservation improvements that directly benefit a large electric 
 20.9   customer facility.  Each municipality and cooperative electric 
 20.10  association subject to this subdivision may spend and invest 
 20.11  annually up to 15 percent of the total amount required to be 
 20.12  spent and invested on energy conservation improvements under 
 20.13  this subdivision on research and development projects that meet 
 20.14  the definition of energy conservation improvement in subdivision 
 20.15  1 and that are funded directly by the municipality or 
 20.16  cooperative electric association.  Load management may be used 
 20.17  to meet the requirements of this subdivision if it reduces the 
 20.18  demand for or increases the efficiency of electric services.  A 
 20.19  generation and transmission cooperative electric association may 
 20.20  include as spending and investment required under this 
 20.21  subdivision conservation improvement spending and investment by 
 20.22  cooperative electric associations that provide electric service 
 20.23  at retail to consumers and that are served by the generation and 
 20.24  transmission association.  
 20.25     (d) By February 1 of each year, each municipality or 
 20.26  cooperative shall report to the commissioner commission its 
 20.27  energy conservation improvement spending and investments with a 
 20.28  brief analysis of effectiveness in reducing consumption of 
 20.29  electricity or gas.  The commissioner commission shall review 
 20.30  each report and make recommendations, where appropriate, to the 
 20.31  municipality or association to increase the effectiveness of 
 20.32  conservation improvement activities.  The commissioner 
 20.33  commission shall also review each report for whether a portion 
 20.34  of the money spent on residential conservation improvement 
 20.35  programs is devoted to programs that directly address the needs 
 20.36  of renters and low-income persons unless an insufficient number 
 21.1   of appropriate programs are available.  For the purposes of this 
 21.2   subdivision and subdivision 2, "low-income" means an income of 
 21.3   less than 185 percent of the federal poverty level. 
 21.4      (e) As part of its spending for conservation improvement, a 
 21.5   municipality or association may contribute to the energy and 
 21.6   conservation account.  A municipality or association may propose 
 21.7   to the commissioner commission to designate that all or a 
 21.8   portion of funds contributed to the account be used for research 
 21.9   and development projects.  Any amount contributed must be 
 21.10  remitted to the commissioner commission of public service by 
 21.11  February 1 of each year. 
 21.12     Sec. 26.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 216B.241, 
 21.13  subdivision 1c, is amended to read: 
 21.14     Subd. 1c.  [ENERGY-SAVING GOALS.] The commissioner 
 21.15  commission shall establish energy-saving goals for energy 
 21.16  conservation improvement expenditures and shall evaluate an 
 21.17  energy conservation improvement program on how well it meets the 
 21.18  goals set. 
 21.19     Sec. 27.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
 21.20  216B.241, subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
 21.21     Subd. 2.  [PROGRAMS.] (a) The commissioner commission may 
 21.22  by rule require public utilities to make investments and 
 21.23  expenditures in energy conservation improvements, explicitly 
 21.24  setting forth the interest rates, prices, and terms under which 
 21.25  the improvements must be offered to the customers.  The required 
 21.26  programs must cover a two-year period.  The commissioner 
 21.27  commission shall require at least one public utility to 
 21.28  establish a pilot program to make investments in and 
 21.29  expenditures for energy from renewable resources such as solar, 
 21.30  wind, or biomass and shall give special consideration and 
 21.31  encouragement to programs that bring about significant net 
 21.32  savings through the use of energy-efficient lighting.  The 
 21.33  commissioner commission shall evaluate the program on the basis 
 21.34  of cost-effectiveness and the reliability of technologies 
 21.35  employed.  The rules of the department commission must provide 
 21.36  to the extent practicable for a free choice, by consumers 
 22.1   participating in the program, of the device, method, material, 
 22.2   or project constituting the energy conservation improvement and 
 22.3   for a free choice of the seller, installer, or contractor of the 
 22.4   energy conservation improvement, provided that the device, 
 22.5   method, material, or project seller, installer, or contractor is 
 22.6   duly licensed, certified, approved, or qualified, including 
 22.7   under the residential conservation services program, where 
 22.8   applicable.  
 22.9      (b) The commissioner commission may require a utility to 
 22.10  make an energy conservation improvement investment or 
 22.11  expenditure whenever the commissioner commission finds that the 
 22.12  improvement will result in energy savings at a total cost to the 
 22.13  utility less than the cost to the utility to produce or purchase 
 22.14  an equivalent amount of new supply of energy.  The commissioner 
 22.15  commission shall nevertheless ensure that every public utility 
 22.16  operate one or more programs under periodic review by the 
 22.17  department.  Load management may be used to meet the 
 22.18  requirements for energy conservation improvements under this 
 22.19  section if it results in a demonstrable reduction in consumption 
 22.20  of energy.  Each public utility subject to subdivision 1a may 
 22.21  spend and invest annually up to 15 percent of the total amount 
 22.22  required to be spent and invested on energy conservation 
 22.23  improvements under this section by the utility on research and 
 22.24  development projects that meet the definition of energy 
 22.25  conservation improvement in subdivision 1 and that are funded 
 22.26  directly by the public utility.  A public utility may not spend 
 22.27  for or invest in energy conservation improvements that directly 
 22.28  benefit a large electric customer facility for which 
 22.29  the commissioner commission has issued an exemption pursuant to 
 22.30  subdivision 1a, paragraph (b).  The commissioner commission 
 22.31  shall consider and may require a utility to undertake a program 
 22.32  suggested by an outside source, including a political 
 22.33  subdivision or a nonprofit or community organization.  
 22.34     (c) No utility may make an energy conservation improvement 
 22.35  under this section to a building envelope unless: 
 22.36     (1) it is the primary supplier of energy used for either 
 23.1   space heating or cooling in the building; 
 23.2      (2) the commissioner commission determines that special 
 23.3   circumstances, that would unduly restrict the availability of 
 23.4   conservation programs, warrant otherwise; or 
 23.5      (3) the utility has been awarded a contract under 
 23.6   subdivision 2a. 
 23.7      (d) The commissioner commission shall ensure that a portion 
 23.8   of the money spent on residential conservation improvement 
 23.9   programs is devoted to programs that directly address the needs 
 23.10  of renters and low-income persons unless an insufficient number 
 23.11  of appropriate programs are available. 
 23.12     (e) A utility, a political subdivision, or a nonprofit or 
 23.13  community organization that has suggested a program, the 
 23.14  attorney general acting on behalf of consumers and small 
 23.15  business interests, or a utility customer that has suggested a 
 23.16  program and is not represented by the attorney general under 
 23.17  section 8.33 may petition the commission to modify or revoke a 
 23.18  department reconsider a decision under this section, and the 
 23.19  commission may do so revoke or modify its decision if it 
 23.20  determines that the program is not cost-effective, does not 
 23.21  adequately address the residential conservation improvement 
 23.22  needs of low-income persons, has a long-range negative effect on 
 23.23  one or more classes of customers, or is otherwise not in the 
 23.24  public interest.  The person petitioning for commission review 
 23.25  has the burden of proof.  The commission shall reject a petition 
 23.26  that, on its face, fails to make a reasonable argument that a 
 23.27  program is not in the public interest. 
 23.28     Sec. 28.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
 23.29  216B.241, subdivision 2a, is amended to read: 
 23.30     Subd. 2a.  [ENERGY AND CONSERVATION ACCOUNT.] The 
 23.31  commissioner commission must deposit money contributed under 
 23.32  subdivisions 1a and 1b in the energy and conservation account in 
 23.33  the general fund.  Money in the account is appropriated to 
 23.34  the department commission for programs designed to meet the 
 23.35  energy conservation needs of low-income persons and to make 
 23.36  energy conservation improvements in areas not adequately served 
 24.1   under subdivision 2, including research and development projects 
 24.2   included in the definition of energy conservation improvement in 
 24.3   subdivision 1.  Interest on money in the account accrues to the 
 24.4   account.  Using information collected under section 216C.02, 
 24.5   subdivision 1, paragraph (b), the commissioner commission must, 
 24.6   to the extent possible, allocate enough money to programs for 
 24.7   low-income persons to assure that their needs are being 
 24.8   adequately addressed.  The commissioner commission must request 
 24.9   the commissioner of finance to transfer money from the account 
 24.10  to the commissioner of children, families, and learning for an 
 24.11  energy conservation program for low-income persons.  In 
 24.12  establishing programs, the commissioner commission must consult 
 24.13  political subdivisions and nonprofit and community 
 24.14  organizations, especially organizations engaged in providing 
 24.15  energy and weatherization assistance to low-income persons.  At 
 24.16  least one program must address the need for energy conservation 
 24.17  improvements in areas in which a high percentage of residents 
 24.18  use fuel oil or propane to fuel their source of home heating.  
 24.19  The commissioner commission may contract with a political 
 24.20  subdivision, a nonprofit or community organization, a public 
 24.21  utility, a municipality, or a cooperative electric association 
 24.22  to implement its programs.  The commissioner commission may 
 24.23  provide grants to any person to conduct research and development 
 24.24  projects in accordance with this section. 
 24.25     Sec. 29.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
 24.26  216B.241, subdivision 2b, is amended to read: 
 24.27     Subd. 2b.  [RECOVERY OF EXPENSES.] The commission shall 
 24.28  allow a utility to recover expenses resulting from a 
 24.29  conservation improvement program required by the department 
 24.30  commission and contributions to the energy and conservation 
 24.31  account, unless the recovery would be inconsistent with a 
 24.32  financial incentive proposal approved by the commission.  In 
 24.33  addition, a utility may file annually, or the public utilities 
 24.34  commission may require the utility to file, and the commission 
 24.35  may approve, rate schedules containing provisions for the 
 24.36  automatic adjustment of charges for utility service in direct 
 25.1   relation to changes in the expenses of the utility for real and 
 25.2   personal property taxes, fees, and permits, the amounts of which 
 25.3   the utility cannot control.  A public utility is eligible to 
 25.4   file for adjustment for real and personal property taxes, fees, 
 25.5   and permits under this subdivision only if, in the year previous 
 25.6   to the year in which it files for adjustment, it has spent or 
 25.7   invested at least 1.75 percent of its gross revenues from 
 25.8   provision of electric service, excluding gross operating 
 25.9   revenues from electric service provided in the state to large 
 25.10  electric customer facilities for which the commissioner of 
 25.11  public service commission has issued an exemption under 
 25.12  subdivision 1a, paragraph (b), and 0.6 percent of its gross 
 25.13  revenues from provision of gas service, excluding gross 
 25.14  operating revenues from gas services provided in the state to 
 25.15  large electric customer facilities for which the commissioner of 
 25.16  public service commission has issued an exemption under 
 25.17  subdivision 1a, paragraph (b), for that year for energy 
 25.18  conservation improvements under this section. 
 25.19     Sec. 30.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 216C.01, 
 25.20  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
 25.21     Subd. 2.  [COMMISSIONER DIRECTOR.] "Commissioner" 
 25.22  "Director" means the commissioner of the department of public 
 25.23  service director of the office of strategic and long-range 
 25.24  planning. 
 25.25     Sec. 31.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 216C.01, 
 25.26  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
 25.27     Subd. 3.  [DEPARTMENT OFFICE.] "Department" "Office" means 
 25.28  the department of public service office of strategic and 
 25.29  long-range planning. 
 25.30     Sec. 32.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 216C.09, is 
 25.31  amended to read: 
 25.32     216C.09 [COMMISSIONER DIRECTOR DUTIES.] 
 25.33     The commissioner director shall: 
 25.34     (a) manage the department office as the central repository 
 25.35  within the state government for the collection of data on 
 25.36  energy; 
 26.1      (b) prepare and adopt an emergency allocation plan 
 26.2   specifying actions to be taken in the event of an impending 
 26.3   serious shortage of energy, or a threat to public health, 
 26.4   safety, or welfare; 
 26.5      (c) undertake a continuing assessment of trends in the 
 26.6   consumption of all forms of energy and analyze the social, 
 26.7   economic, and environmental consequences of these trends; 
 26.8      (d) carry out energy conservation measures as specified by 
 26.9   the legislature and recommend to the governor and the 
 26.10  legislature additional energy policies and conservation measures 
 26.11  as required to meet the objectives of sections 216C.05 to 
 26.12  216C.30; 
 26.13     (e) collect and analyze data relating to present and future 
 26.14  demands and resources for all sources of energy; 
 26.15     (f) evaluate policies governing the establishment of rates 
 26.16  and prices for energy as related to energy conservation, and 
 26.17  other goals and policies of sections 216C.05 to 216C.30, and 
 26.18  make recommendations for changes in energy pricing policies and 
 26.19  rate schedules; 
 26.20     (g) study the impact and relationship of the state energy 
 26.21  policies to international, national, and regional energy 
 26.22  policies; 
 26.23     (h) design and implement a state program for the 
 26.24  conservation of energy; this program shall include but not be 
 26.25  limited to, general commercial, industrial, and residential, and 
 26.26  transportation areas; such program shall also provide for the 
 26.27  evaluation of energy systems as they relate to lighting, 
 26.28  heating, refrigeration, air conditioning, building design and 
 26.29  operation, and appliance manufacturing and operation; 
 26.30     (i) inform and educate the public about the sources and 
 26.31  uses of energy and the ways in which persons can conserve 
 26.32  energy; 
 26.33     (j) dispense funds made available for the purpose of 
 26.34  research studies and projects of professional and civic 
 26.35  orientation, which are related to either energy conservation, 
 26.36  resource recovery, or the development of alternative energy 
 27.1   technologies which conserve nonrenewable energy resources while 
 27.2   creating minimum environmental impact; 
 27.3      (k) charge other governmental departments and agencies 
 27.4   involved in energy-related activities with specific information 
 27.5   gathering goals and require that those goals be met; 
 27.6      (l) design a comprehensive program for the development of 
 27.7   indigenous energy resources.  The program shall include, but not 
 27.8   be limited to, providing technical, informational, educational, 
 27.9   and financial services and materials to persons, businesses, 
 27.10  municipalities, and organizations involved in the development of 
 27.11  solar, wind, hydropower, peat, fiber fuels, biomass, and other 
 27.12  alternative energy resources.  The program shall be evaluated by 
 27.13  the alternative energy technical activity; and 
 27.14     (m) dispense loans, grants, or other financial aid from 
 27.15  money received from litigation or settlement of alleged 
 27.16  violations of federal petroleum pricing regulations made 
 27.17  available to the department office for that purpose.  The 
 27.18  commissioner director shall adopt rules under chapter 14 for 
 27.19  this purpose.  Money dispersed under this clause must not 
 27.20  include money received as a result of the settlement of the 
 27.21  parties and order of the United States District Court for the 
 27.22  District of Kansas in the case of In Re Department of Energy 
 27.23  Stripper Well Exemption Litigation, 578 F. Supp. 586 (D.Kan. 
 27.24  1983) and all money received after August 1, 1988, by the 
 27.25  governor, the commissioner of finance, or any other state agency 
 27.26  resulting from overcharges by oil companies in violation of 
 27.27  federal law.  
 27.28     Further, the commissioner director may participate fully in 
 27.29  hearings before the public utilities commission on matters 
 27.30  pertaining to rate design, cost allocation, efficient resource 
 27.31  utilization, utility conservation investments, small power 
 27.32  production, cogeneration, and other rate issues.  The 
 27.33  commissioner director shall support the policies stated in 
 27.34  section 216C.05 and shall prepare and defend testimony proposed 
 27.35  to encourage energy conservation improvements as defined in 
 27.36  section 216B.241. 
 28.1      Sec. 33.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 237.075, 
 28.2   subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
 28.3      Subd. 2.  [SUSPENSION OF PROPOSED RATE; HEARING; FINAL 
 28.4   DETERMINATION DEFINED.] (a) Whenever there is filed with the 
 28.5   commission as provided in subdivision 1 a schedule modifying or 
 28.6   resulting in a change in any rate then in force, the commission 
 28.7   may suspend the operation of the schedule by filing with the 
 28.8   schedule of rates and delivering to the affected telephone 
 28.9   company a statement in writing of its reasons for the suspension 
 28.10  at any time before the rates become effective.  The suspension 
 28.11  shall not be for a longer period than ten months beyond the 
 28.12  initial filing date except as provided in paragraph (b).  During 
 28.13  the suspension the commission shall determine whether all 
 28.14  questions of the reasonableness of the rates requested raised by 
 28.15  persons deemed interested or by the administrative division of 
 28.16  the department of public service the office of strategic and 
 28.17  long-range planning can be resolved to the satisfaction of the 
 28.18  commission.  If the commission finds that all significant issues 
 28.19  raised have not been resolved to its satisfaction, or upon 
 28.20  petition by ten percent of the affected customers or 250 
 28.21  affected customers, whichever is less, it shall refer the matter 
 28.22  to the office of administrative hearings with instructions for a 
 28.23  public hearing as a contested case pursuant to chapter 14, 
 28.24  except as otherwise provided in this section.  The commission 
 28.25  may order that the issues presented by the proposed rate changes 
 28.26  be bifurcated into two separate hearings as follows:  (1) 
 28.27  determination of the telephone company's revenue requirements 
 28.28  and (2) determination of the rate design.  Upon issuance of both 
 28.29  administrative law judge reports, the issues shall again be 
 28.30  joined for consideration and final determination by the 
 28.31  commission.  All prehearing discovery activities of state agency 
 28.32  intervenors shall be consolidated and conducted by 
 28.33  the department of public service office of strategic and 
 28.34  long-range planning.  If the commission does not make a final 
 28.35  determination concerning a schedule of rates within ten months 
 28.36  after the initial filing date, the schedule shall be deemed to 
 29.1   have been approved by the commission; except if a settlement has 
 29.2   been submitted to and rejected by the commission, the schedule 
 29.3   is deemed to have been approved 12 months after the initial 
 29.4   filing. 
 29.5      (b) If the commission finds that it has insufficient time 
 29.6   during the suspension period to make a final determination of a 
 29.7   case involving changes in general rates because of the need to 
 29.8   make final determinations of other previously filed cases 
 29.9   involving changes in general rates under this section or section 
 29.10  216B.16, the commission may extend the suspension period to the 
 29.11  extent necessary to allow itself 20 working days to make the 
 29.12  final determination after it has made final determinations in 
 29.13  the previously filed cases.  An extension of the suspension 
 29.14  period under this paragraph does not alter the setting of 
 29.15  interim rates under subdivision 3. 
 29.16     (c) For the purposes of this section, "final determination" 
 29.17  means the initial decision of the commission and not any order 
 29.18  which may be entered by the commission in response to a petition 
 29.19  for rehearing or other further relief.  The commission may 
 29.20  further suspend rates until it determines all those petitions. 
 29.21     Sec. 34.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 237.11, is 
 29.22  amended to read: 
 29.23     237.11 [INSPECTING RECORDS AND PROPERTY; REPORTS REQUIRED.] 
 29.24     Every telephone company subject to the provisions of this 
 29.25  chapter, wherever organized, shall keep an office in this state, 
 29.26  and make such reports to the department commission as it shall 
 29.27  from time to time require.  All books, records, and files, 
 29.28  whether they relate to competitive or noncompetitive services, 
 29.29  and all of its property shall be at all times subject to 
 29.30  inspection by the commission and the department office of 
 29.31  strategic and long-range planning.  It shall close its accounts 
 29.32  and take therefrom a balance sheet on December 31 of each year, 
 29.33  and on or before May 1 following, such balance sheet, together 
 29.34  with such other information as the department commission shall 
 29.35  require, verified by an officer of the telephone company, shall 
 29.36  be filed with the commission and the department office of 
 30.1   strategic and long-range planning. 
 30.2      In the event that any telephone company shall fail to file 
 30.3   its annual report, as provided by this section, the department 
 30.4   commission is authorized to make such an examination of the 
 30.5   books, records, and vouchers of the company as is necessary to 
 30.6   procure the necessary data for the annual report and cause the 
 30.7   same to be prepared.  The expense of procuring this data and 
 30.8   preparing this report shall be paid by the telephone company 
 30.9   failing to report, and the amount paid shall be credited by the 
 30.10  state treasurer to funds appropriated for the expense of 
 30.11  the department commission.  
 30.12     The department commission is authorized to force collection 
 30.13  of such sum by an action at law in the name of the department 
 30.14  commission. 
 30.15     Sec. 35.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 237.16, 
 30.16  subdivision 12, is amended to read: 
 30.17     Subd. 12.  [EXTENSION OF INTEREXCHANGE FACILITY.] In order 
 30.18  to promote the development of competitive interexchange services 
 30.19  and facilities, any interexchange facility that is owned by a 
 30.20  certified telephone company, independent telephone company, 
 30.21  telecommunications carrier or an affiliate and that is used to 
 30.22  provide service to customers located in areas for which it has 
 30.23  been previously certified to provide service may be extended to 
 30.24  meet and interconnect with the facility of another telephone 
 30.25  company, small telephone company, or telecommunications carrier, 
 30.26  whether at a point inside or outside of its territories, without 
 30.27  further proceeding, order, or determination of current or future 
 30.28  public convenience and necessity, upon mutual consent with the 
 30.29  other telephone company, small telephone company, or 
 30.30  telecommunications carrier whose facilities will be met and 
 30.31  interconnected.  Written notice of the extension and 
 30.32  interconnection must be provided to the public utilities 
 30.33  commission and department of public safety within 30 days after 
 30.34  completion.  The written notice must be served on all local 
 30.35  exchange companies certified before January 1, 1988, in all 
 30.36  areas where the facilities are located. 
 31.1      Sec. 36.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 237.55, is 
 31.2   amended to read: 
 31.3      237.55 [ANNUAL REPORT ON COMMUNICATION ACCESS.] 
 31.4      The department of public service public utilities 
 31.5   commission must prepare a report for presentation to 
 31.6   the commission chairs of the house and senate committees and 
 31.7   subcommittees with jurisdiction over telephone service by 
 31.8   January 31 of each year.  Each report must review the 
 31.9   accessibility of the telephone system to communication-impaired 
 31.10  persons, review the ability of non-communication-impaired 
 31.11  persons to communicate with communication-impaired persons via 
 31.12  the telephone system, describe services provided, account for 
 31.13  money received and disbursed annually for each aspect of the 
 31.14  program to date, and include predicted future operation. 
 31.15     Sec. 37.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 237.63, 
 31.16  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
 31.17     Subd. 3.  [COST INCREASE.] If the actual costs of providing 
 31.18  a particular service have increased since the last proceeding 
 31.19  under section 237.075, the rate for that service may be 
 31.20  increased to recover those costs.  The company requesting this 
 31.21  rate increase shall file with its request the cost data it 
 31.22  relies upon for the increase.  The department shall review the 
 31.23  request and make a recommendation to the commission regarding 
 31.24  the appropriateness of the request within 20 calendar days of 
 31.25  filing the request by the telephone company.  If the department 
 31.26  notifies the company within 15 days of the filing that 
 31.27  additional information is required, the department shall make 
 31.28  its recommendation to the commission within 20 calendar days 
 31.29  after receipt of that additional information.  If the company 
 31.30  fails to provide adequate information within 20 calendar days of 
 31.31  the department request, the department shall recommend denial of 
 31.32  the company request on the basis of failure to provide adequate 
 31.33  information.  The commission shall either approve or reject the 
 31.34  request under this subdivision within 20 40 calendar days of the 
 31.35  receipt of the department recommendation request.  In order to 
 31.36  qualify as a change in costs, it must be a cost change related 
 32.1   to a particular service rather than a general overall increase 
 32.2   applicable to most of the company's services, and an actual 
 32.3   change in costs must have occurred rather than the discovery of 
 32.4   a change in costs as a result of conducting a new cost study.  
 32.5      Sec. 38.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 237.70, 
 32.6   subdivision 7, is amended to read: 
 32.7      Subd. 7.  [ADMINISTRATION.] The telephone assistance plan 
 32.8   must be administered jointly by the commission, the department 
 32.9   of human services, and the telephone companies in accordance 
 32.10  with the following guidelines: 
 32.11     (a) The commission and the department of human services 
 32.12  shall develop an application form that must be completed by the 
 32.13  subscriber for the purpose of certifying eligibility for 
 32.14  telephone assistance plan credits to the department of human 
 32.15  services.  The application must contain the applicant's social 
 32.16  security number.  Applicants who refuse to provide a social 
 32.17  security number will be denied telephone assistance plan 
 32.18  credits.  The application form must include provisions for the 
 32.19  applicant to show the name of the applicant's telephone 
 32.20  company.  The application must also advise the applicant to 
 32.21  submit the required proof of age or disability, and income and 
 32.22  must provide examples of acceptable proof.  The application must 
 32.23  state that failure to submit proof with the application will 
 32.24  result in the applicant being found ineligible.  Each telephone 
 32.25  company shall annually mail a notice of the availability of the 
 32.26  telephone assistance plan to each residential subscriber in a 
 32.27  regular billing and shall mail the application form to customers 
 32.28  when requested.  
 32.29     The notice must state the following: 
 32.30     YOU MAY BE ELIGIBLE FOR ASSISTANCE IN PAYING YOUR TELEPHONE 
 32.31  BILL IF YOU ARE 65 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER OR ARE DISABLED AND IF 
 32.32  YOU MEET CERTAIN HOUSEHOLD INCOME LIMITS.  FOR MORE INFORMATION 
 32.33  OR AN APPLICATION FORM PLEASE CONTACT ......... 
 32.34     (b) The department of human services shall determine the 
 32.35  eligibility for telephone assistance plan credits at least 
 32.36  annually according to the criteria contained in subdivision 4a.  
 33.1      (c) An application may be made by the subscriber, the 
 33.2   subscriber's spouse, or a person authorized by the subscriber to 
 33.3   act on the subscriber's behalf.  On completing the application 
 33.4   certifying that the statutory criteria for eligibility are 
 33.5   satisfied, the applicant must return the application to an 
 33.6   office of the department of human services specially designated 
 33.7   to process telephone assistance plan applications.  On receiving 
 33.8   a completed application from an applicant, the department of 
 33.9   human services shall determine the applicant's eligibility or 
 33.10  ineligibility within 120 days.  If the department fails to do 
 33.11  so, it shall within three working days provide written notice to 
 33.12  the applicant's telephone company that the company shall provide 
 33.13  telephone assistance plan credits against monthly charges in the 
 33.14  earliest possible month following receipt of the written 
 33.15  notice.  The applicant must receive telephone assistance plan 
 33.16  credits until the earliest possible month following the 
 33.17  company's receipt of notice from the department that the 
 33.18  applicant is ineligible. 
 33.19     If the department of human services determines that an 
 33.20  applicant is not eligible to receive telephone assistance plan 
 33.21  credits, it shall notify the applicant within ten working days 
 33.22  of that determination. 
 33.23     Within ten working days of determining that an applicant is 
 33.24  eligible to receive telephone assistance plan credits, the 
 33.25  department of human services shall provide written notification 
 33.26  to the telephone company that serves the applicant.  The notice 
 33.27  must include the applicant's name, address, and telephone number.
 33.28     Each telephone company shall provide telephone assistance 
 33.29  plan credits against monthly charges in the earliest possible 
 33.30  month following receipt of notice from the department of human 
 33.31  services. 
 33.32     By December 31 of each year, the department of human 
 33.33  services shall redetermine eligibility of each person receiving 
 33.34  telephone assistance plan credits, as required in paragraph (b). 
 33.35  The department of human services shall submit an annual report 
 33.36  to the commission by January 15 of each year showing that the 
 34.1   department has determined the eligibility for telephone 
 34.2   assistance plan credits of each person receiving the credits or 
 34.3   explaining why the determination has not been made and showing 
 34.4   how and when the determination will be completed.  
 34.5      If the department of human services determines that a 
 34.6   current recipient of telephone assistance plan credits is not 
 34.7   eligible to receive the credits, it shall notify, in writing, 
 34.8   the recipient within ten working days and the telephone company 
 34.9   serving the recipient within 20 working days of the 
 34.10  determination.  The notice must include the recipient's name, 
 34.11  address, and telephone number. 
 34.12     Each telephone company shall remove telephone assistance 
 34.13  plan credits against monthly charges in the earliest possible 
 34.14  month following receipt of notice from the department of human 
 34.15  services. 
 34.16     Each telephone company that disconnects a subscriber 
 34.17  receiving the telephone assistance plan credit shall report the 
 34.18  disconnection to the department of human services.  The reports 
 34.19  must be submitted monthly, identifying the subscribers 
 34.20  disconnected.  Telephone companies that do not disconnect a 
 34.21  subscriber receiving the telephone assistance plan credit are 
 34.22  not required to report.  
 34.23     If the telephone assistance plan credit is not itemized on 
 34.24  the subscriber's monthly charges bill for local telephone 
 34.25  service, the telephone company must notify the subscriber of the 
 34.26  approval for the telephone assistance plan credit. 
 34.27     (d) The commission shall serve as the coordinator of the 
 34.28  telephone assistance plan and be reimbursed for its 
 34.29  administrative expenses from the surcharge revenue pool.  As the 
 34.30  coordinator, the commission shall: 
 34.31     (1) establish a uniform statewide surcharge in accordance 
 34.32  with subdivision 6; 
 34.33     (2) establish a uniform statewide level of telephone 
 34.34  assistance plan credit that each telephone company shall extend 
 34.35  to each eligible household in its service area; 
 34.36     (3) require each telephone company to account to the 
 35.1   commission on a periodic basis for surcharge revenues collected 
 35.2   by the company, expenses incurred by the company, not to include 
 35.3   expenses of collecting surcharges, and credits extended by the 
 35.4   company under the telephone assistance plan; 
 35.5      (4) require each telephone company to remit surcharge 
 35.6   revenues to the department of administration for deposit in the 
 35.7   fund; and 
 35.8      (5) remit to each telephone company from the surcharge 
 35.9   revenue pool the amount necessary to compensate the company for 
 35.10  expenses, not including expenses of collecting the surcharges, 
 35.11  and telephone assistance plan credits.  When it appears that the 
 35.12  revenue generated by the maximum surcharge permitted under 
 35.13  subdivision 6 will be inadequate to fund any particular 
 35.14  established level of telephone assistance plan credits, the 
 35.15  commission shall reduce the credits to a level that can be 
 35.16  adequately funded by the maximum surcharge.  Similarly, the 
 35.17  commission may increase the level of the telephone assistance 
 35.18  plan credit that is available or reduce the surcharge to a level 
 35.19  and for a period of time that will prevent an unreasonable 
 35.20  overcollection of surcharge revenues. 
 35.21     (e) Each telephone company shall maintain adequate records 
 35.22  of surcharge revenues, expenses, and credits related to the 
 35.23  telephone assistance plan and shall, as part of its annual 
 35.24  report or separately, provide the commission and the department 
 35.25  of public service office of strategic and long-range planning 
 35.26  with a financial report of its experience under the telephone 
 35.27  assistance plan for the previous year.  That report must also be 
 35.28  adequate to satisfy the reporting requirements of the federal 
 35.29  matching plan.  
 35.30     (f) The department of public service commission shall 
 35.31  investigate complaints against telephone companies with regard 
 35.32  to the telephone assistance plan and shall report the results of 
 35.33  its investigation to the commission.  
 35.34     Sec. 39.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 237.763, is 
 35.35  amended to read: 
 35.36     237.763 [EXEMPTION FROM RATE-OF-RETURN REGULATION AND RATE 
 36.1   INVESTIGATION.] 
 36.2      Except as provided in the plan and any subsequent plans, a 
 36.3   company that has an alternative regulation plan approved under 
 36.4   section 237.764, is not subject to the rate-of-return regulation 
 36.5   or earnings investigations provisions of section 237.075 or 
 36.6   237.081 during the term of the plan.  A company with an approved 
 36.7   plan is not subject to the provisions of section 237.57; 237.58; 
 36.8   237.59; 237.60, subdivisions 1, 2, 4, and 5; 237.62; 237.625; 
 36.9   237.63; or 237.65, during the term of the plan.  Except as 
 36.10  specifically provided in this section or in the approved plan, 
 36.11  the commission retains all of its authority under section 
 36.12  237.081 to investigate other matters and to issue appropriate 
 36.13  orders, and the department office of strategic and long-range 
 36.14  planning retains its authority under sections 216A.07 and 237.15 
 36.15  to investigate matters other than the earnings of the company. 
 36.16     Sec. 40.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 237.768, is 
 36.17  amended to read: 
 36.18     237.768 [PERIODIC FINANCIAL REPORT.] 
 36.19     In addition to the reports required under section 237.766, 
 36.20  an alternative regulation plan may require a telephone company 
 36.21  to file with the department commission an annual report of 
 36.22  financial matters for the previous calendar year on or before 
 36.23  May 1 of each year on report forms furnished by the department 
 36.24  of public service commission in the same manner as is required 
 36.25  of other telephone companies on August 1, 1995.  In addition, 
 36.26  any company subject to a plan shall file with the commission and 
 36.27  department a copy of any filings it has made to the Federal 
 36.28  Communications Commission regarding the provisions of video 
 36.29  programming provided through a video dial tone facility in 
 36.30  Minnesota.  An alternative regulation plan may require a 
 36.31  telephone company to maintain its accounts in accordance with 
 36.32  the system of accounts prescribed for the company by the 
 36.33  commission under section 237.10. 
 36.34     Sec. 41.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 237.773, 
 36.35  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
 36.36     Subd. 3.  [LOCAL RATE.] (a) Except as provided in paragraph 
 37.1   (b), a small telephone company shall not implement a rate 
 37.2   increase for any service listed in section 237.761, subdivision 
 37.3   3, beyond the level in effect 60 days prior to an election under 
 37.4   subdivision 2, until the later of January 1, 1998, or two years 
 37.5   after making an election.  However, a small telephone company 
 37.6   may implement any new service and establish rates for any new 
 37.7   service and may change rates for any other service at any time 
 37.8   subject to the requirements of section 237.761, subdivision 4. 
 37.9      A small company shall provide to its customers the ability 
 37.10  to block, at no extra charge, any new service which it offers, 
 37.11  provides, or bills.  This requirement shall not apply to 
 37.12  services that require affirmative subscription by the customer.  
 37.13  Nothing in this section shall prevent the commission from 
 37.14  requiring blocking or other privacy or safety protections for 
 37.15  other types of telecommunications services under section 237.081.
 37.16     (b) At any time following one year after electing under 
 37.17  subdivision 2, a small telephone company may change rates for 
 37.18  local services except switched network access services, listed 
 37.19  in section 237.761, subdivision 3, to reflect: 
 37.20     (1) changes in state and federal taxes; 
 37.21     (2) changes in jurisdictional allocations from the Federal 
 37.22  Communications Commission, the amount of which the small 
 37.23  telephone company cannot control and for which equal and 
 37.24  opposite exogenous changes are made on the federal level; 
 37.25     (3) substantial financial impacts of investments in network 
 37.26  upgrades which are made; or 
 37.27     (i) if the investment exceeds 20 percent of the gross plant 
 37.28  investment of the company; or 
 37.29     (ii) as the result of government mandates to construct 
 37.30  specific telephone infrastructure, if the mandate applies to 
 37.31  local telephone companies and the company would not otherwise be 
 37.32  compensated. 
 37.33  A small telephone company may change rates for local services 
 37.34  listed in section 237.761, subdivision 3, at any time, to 
 37.35  implement extended area service or any successor to that service 
 37.36  on an income neutral basis. 
 38.1      A small telephone company proposing an increase under this 
 38.2   subdivision shall provide 60 days' advance written notice to the 
 38.3   department commission and each of the company's customers 
 38.4   including the individual rates affected and the procedure 
 38.5   necessary for the customers to petition for investigation.  If 
 38.6   the department commission receives a petition within 45 days 
 38.7   after the notice from five percent or 500, whichever is fewer, 
 38.8   of the customers of the small telephone company, the department 
 38.9   commission shall determine if the petition is valid and, if 
 38.10  so, may investigate the rate change to determine shall 
 38.11  investigate the rate change and approve the increase if it 
 38.12  conforms to the limitations of this subdivision. The department 
 38.13  shall report its findings to the commission, which shall either 
 38.14  adopt the report or order changes to conform to this subdivision 
 38.15  or order changes to conform to the limitations of this 
 38.16  subdivision. 
 38.17     (c) On or after the later of January 1998, or two years 
 38.18  after making an election under subdivision 2, a small telephone 
 38.19  company may increase rates for local services, except switched 
 38.20  network access services, listed in section 237.761, subdivision 
 38.21  3.  
 38.22     A small telephone company proposing an increase shall 
 38.23  provide 60 days' advance written notice to its customers 
 38.24  including individual rates affected and the procedure necessary 
 38.25  for the customers to petition for investigation.  If the 
 38.26  commission receives a petition within 45 days after such notice, 
 38.27  from five percent or 500, whichever is fewer, of the customers 
 38.28  of the small telephone company, the department commission shall 
 38.29  determine if the petition is valid and, if so, may investigate 
 38.30  the proposed rate increase to determine if it is appropriate in 
 38.31  light of rates charged by other local exchange telephone 
 38.32  companies for comparable services, taking into account calling 
 38.33  scope, quality of service, the availability of competitive 
 38.34  alternatives, service costs, and the features available to the 
 38.35  customers.  The department shall file a report with the 
 38.36  commission which shall then approve appropriate rates for those 
 39.1   services.  Rates established by the commission under this 
 39.2   paragraph shall not be increased within one year of 
 39.3   implementation. 
 39.4      Sec. 42.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 237.773, 
 39.5   subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
 39.6      Subd. 4.  [ACCESS RATE.] (a) No election by a small 
 39.7   telephone company may in any way change the terms or conditions 
 39.8   of any interexchange access charge settlements approved by the 
 39.9   commission before an election under subdivision 2. 
 39.10     (b) While any interexchange access charge settlement 
 39.11  approved by the commission remains in effect, the commission and 
 39.12  department shall enforce the agreement without further 
 39.13  investigation of interexchange access charges or earnings 
 39.14  relating to the interexchange access service.  Except as 
 39.15  specifically provided in this section, the commission retains 
 39.16  all of its authority under section 237.081 to investigate other 
 39.17  matters relating to interexchange access charges and to issue 
 39.18  appropriate orders, and the department office of strategic and 
 39.19  long-range planning retains its authority under sections 216A.07 
 39.20  and 237.15 to investigate matters relating to interexchange 
 39.21  access charges. 
 39.22     Sec. 43.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 239.101, 
 39.23  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
 39.24     Subd. 2.  [WEIGHTS AND MEASURES FEES.] The director 
 39.25  commissioner of the department of agriculture shall charge a fee 
 39.26  to the owner for inspecting and testing weights and 
 39.27  measures other than petroleum product measuring equipment, and 
 39.28  for providing metrology services and consultation, and providing 
 39.29  petroleum quality assurance tests at the request of a licensed 
 39.30  distributor.  Money collected by the director commissioner must 
 39.31  be paid into the state treasury and credited to the state 
 39.32  general fund. weights and measures fee account created in 
 39.33  subdivision 2a.  Money credited to the weights and measures fee 
 39.34  account is annually appropriated to the department of 
 39.35  agriculture for the costs associated with inspecting and testing 
 39.36  weights and measures other than petroleum product measuring 
 40.1   equipment, providing metrology services and consultation, and 
 40.2   inspecting packaged foods and nonpackaged food commodities. 
 40.3      Sec. 44.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 326.243, is 
 40.4   amended to read: 
 40.5      326.243 [SAFETY STANDARDS.] 
 40.6      All electrical wiring, apparatus and equipment for electric 
 40.7   light, heat and power, alarm and communication systems shall 
 40.8   comply with the rules of the department of public service 
 40.9   commissioner of administration, the commissioner of public 
 40.10  safety, the commissioner of commerce, or the department of labor 
 40.11  and industry, as applicable, and be installed in conformity with 
 40.12  accepted standards of construction for safety to life and 
 40.13  property.  For the purposes of this chapter, the rules and 
 40.14  safety standards stated at the time the work is done in the then 
 40.15  most recently published edition of the National Electrical Code 
 40.16  as adopted by the National Fire Protection Association, Inc. and 
 40.17  approved by the American National Standards Institute, and the 
 40.18  National Electrical Safety Code as published by the Institute of 
 40.19  Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. and approved by the 
 40.20  American National Standards Institute, shall be prima facie 
 40.21  evidence of accepted standards of construction for safety to 
 40.22  life and property; provided further, that in the event a 
 40.23  Minnesota Building Code is formulated pursuant to section 
 40.24  16B.61, containing approved methods of electrical construction 
 40.25  for safety to life and property, compliance with said methods of 
 40.26  electrical construction of said Minnesota Building Code shall 
 40.27  also constitute compliance with this section, and provided 
 40.28  further, that nothing herein contained shall prohibit any 
 40.29  political subdivision from making and enforcing more stringent 
 40.30  requirements than set forth herein and such requirements shall 
 40.31  be complied with by all licensed electricians working within the 
 40.32  jurisdiction of such political subdivisions. 
 40.33     Sec. 45.  [INSTRUCTION TO REVISOR.] 
 40.34     The revisor of statutes, in the next and subsequent 
 40.35  editions of Minnesota Statutes and Minnesota Rules, shall make 
 40.36  the changes in paragraphs (a) to (k), and shall also make any 
 41.1   stylistic and conforming changes necessary to incorporate the 
 41.2   following changes: 
 41.3      (a) Change the term "commissioner of public service" and 
 41.4   all related terms that refer to the commissioner of public 
 41.5   service to "public utilities commission" wherever it appears in 
 41.6   Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 272.0211; Laws 1999, chapter 
 41.7   140, section 8; and Laws 1999, chapter 243, article 5, section 
 41.8   49. 
 41.9      (b) Change the term "department of public service" and all 
 41.10  related terms that refer to the department of public service to 
 41.11  "public utilities commission" wherever it appears in Minnesota 
 41.12  Statutes 1998, sections 116O.06; 161.45; 216B.026, subdivisions 
 41.13  3 and 4; 216B.16, subdivision 12a; 237.04; 237.05; 237.07, 
 41.14  subdivision 1; 237.075, subdivision 9; 237.12, subdivision 2; 
 41.15  237.34; 237.38; 237.39; 237.40; 237.51, subdivisions 1 and 5; 
 41.16  237.52; 237.54; 237.64, subdivision 2; 237.74, subdivisions 1 
 41.17  and 9; 237.768; 308A.210; and 469.164; and Minnesota Statutes 
 41.18  1999 Supplement, section 237.51, subdivision 5a. 
 41.19     (c) Change the term "department of public service" and all 
 41.20  related terms to "department of agriculture" wherever it appears 
 41.21  in Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 17A.04; 17A.10; 93.38; 
 41.22  239.01; 239.05, subdivisions 6c, 7a, and 8; 325E.115; and 
 41.23  325F.733; and Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
 41.24  325E.11. 
 41.25     (d) Change the term "department of public service" and all 
 41.26  related terms to "department of transportation" wherever it 
 41.27  appears in Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 168.61, subdivision 
 41.28  1; and 469.057, subdivisions 1 and 2. 
 41.29     (e) Change the terms "commissioner" to "director" wherever 
 41.30  it appears in Minnesota Statutes 1998, chapter 216C, except 
 41.31  where it refers to a commissioner other than the commissioner of 
 41.32  public service; and Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 123B.65; 
 41.33  216A.035; and 237.295, subdivision 5. 
 41.34     (f) Change the term "commissioner of public service" to 
 41.35  "director of the office of strategic and long-range planning" 
 41.36  wherever it appears in Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 13.68, 
 42.1   subdivision 2; 13.99, subdivision 65; 16B.76; 123B.65; 174.03, 
 42.2   subdivision 7; 216C.37; and Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, 
 42.3   sections 216C.19, subdivision 8; and 216C.195, subdivision 1. 
 42.4      (g) Change the term "department" and all related terms that 
 42.5   refer to the department of public service to "office" wherever 
 42.6   it appears in Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 16B.76; 216A.035; 
 42.7   and chapter 216C. 
 42.8      (h) Change the term "department of public service" and all 
 42.9   related terms to "office of strategic and long-range planning" 
 42.10  wherever it appears in Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 
 42.11  123B.65; 216A.035; 216B.045; 216B.168; 216B.17; 216B.19; 
 42.12  216B.2422; 216B.54; 216B.62, subdivisions 2, 3, 5, and 6; 
 42.13  216B.64; 216B.65; 237.02; 237.07, subdivision 2; 237.082; 
 42.14  237.15; 237.30; 237.59, subdivision 2; 237.626; 237.63, 
 42.15  subdivision 6; 237.64, subdivision 1; 237.67; 237.74, 
 42.16  subdivision 4; 237.295, subdivisions 1, 2, and 5; 237.761; 
 42.17  237.764; 237.773, subdivision 5; and Minnesota Statutes 1999 
 42.18  Supplement, sections 16B.32, subdivision 2; 16B.335, subdivision 
 42.19  4; and 237.462. 
 42.20     (i) Strike the term "department of public service" and all 
 42.21  related terms that refer to the department of public service 
 42.22  wherever it appears in Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 15.01; 
 42.23  17.86, subdivision 3; 216B.16, subdivisions 1 and 12; 237.63, 
 42.24  subdivision 4b; 237.66, subdivision 2; 237.662, subdivision 3; 
 42.25  and 484.50. 
 42.26     (j) Strike the term "commissioner of public service" and 
 42.27  all related terms that refer to the commissioner of public 
 42.28  service wherever it appears in Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 
 42.29  15A.0815; 16B.56; 17.86, subdivision 3; 18.024; and 103F.325. 
 42.30     (k) Renumber Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 13.692, 
 42.31  subdivision 1, as section 13.68, subdivision 3. 
 42.32     Sec. 46.  [REPEALER.] 
 42.33     Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 216A.06; 216A.07, 
 42.34  subdivision 2; 216B.02, subdivision 8; 216B.163, subdivision 8; 
 42.35  and 237.69, subdivision 3 are repealed. 
 42.36     Sec. 47.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
 43.1      Articles 1 and 2 are effective July 1, 2000.