Alabama Public Service Commission

Authorities:

Alabama Official and Statistical Register, 1979.

Alabama Government Manual, 1982.

Code of Alabama 1923, Sec. 9877-9900.

Code of Alabama, 1975.

Acts of Alabama 1880-1881, Statute No. 91.

Acts of Alabama 1907, Statute No. 69.

The Alabama Public Service Commission is a statutory body whose jurisdiction, powers, and duties are delegated to it by the Alabama Legislature. The Commission has been charged with responsibility for the regulation of public utilities and the intrastate rates and services of transportation companies doing buisiness within the State of Alabama. These include privately-owned corporations providing electric, gas, water, telephone, telegraph, and radio utility service to the public and railroads, motor buses, truck lines, and taxis operating outside police jurisdictions.

The Commission is an independent quasi-judicial regulatory body whose jurisdiction, powers, and duties, as was previously stated, are delegated to it by the Alabama Legislature. The Commission supervises and regulates public transportation and utilities in the state that reasonable service and facilities are made available at rates that are reasonable and just. The law prohibits variation from the established rates or discrimination. The quasi-judicial status of the Commission requires conducting public hearings on applications, petitions and complaints, the rendering of Commission decisions subsequent to these proceedings. (Alabama Government Manual, 1982)

The three elected public service commissioners, a president and two associates, administer and supervise all functions of the Alabama Public Service Commission. Members must be qualified electors and competent persons. No person may serve on the Commission who owns stock or who has an interest in any public utility. No two members may come from the same congressional district, but this provision does not render ineligible for election any person holding office on the effective date of a statute changing district boundaries. (Alabama Government Manual, 1982)

Members serve four-year staggered terms and may be removed by impeachment. Commissioners are required to devote full time to their duties. Meetings are held on the first Monday in each month and continue until all business is completed. No quorum is specified. (Alabama Government Manual, 1982)

In 1880, the General Assembly authorized the establishment of the Railroad Commissioners of Ala. The Commission originally consisted of a president and two associate commissioners. Legal concessions were made for the commission, impeachment - if neccessary - and replacement of the said commissioners. Furthermore, the originating act emphatically forbade any persons employed by the Commissioners or under consideration for employment, from owning stock in, being employed by, or otherwise associated with any railroad corporation operating within the State of Ala. Additionally the act stated that any commissioner who accepted any gift, gratuity, emolument, or employment from any person or corporation owning or operating a railroad in the State, during his continuance in office, except a permit for himself to pass over the railroad of such person or corporation, may have been impeached and removed from office for that offense. (Acts of Alabama 1880-1881, Statute No. 91, Sec. 13-14)

The original commission was empowered to consider and carefully revise all tariffs or charges for transportation submitted to the commission by any person or corporation owning or operating a railroad in this State, to hear all complaints made by any person against any such tariff or rates so approved, to exercise general supervision over the railroads of the State, to examine the railroads periodically in order to more adequately expedite the aforementioned process, and to give notice of needed repairs on railroads. In a literal sense, the Commission served as a regulatory agency, exercising exclusive rights over the State's railways. (Acts of Alabama 1880-1881, Statute No. 91, Sec. 15-21)

In 1907, the previously authorized Railroad Commissioners were renamed and their legally authorized and legislatively allocated duties and functions were reorganized. As had previously been the case with the now defunct Railroad Commissioners, the newly authorized Railroad Commission consisted of a president and two associates. Furthermore, legal concessions again were made for the commission, impeachment, and replacement of the officers constituting the Commission. The newly created and authorized Commission was legally empowered to adopt and publish rules to govern its proceedings, to regulate the mode and manner of all investigations and hearing before it, to regulate railroad freight and passenger tariffs, to inquire into the management of the business of all transportation companies, and, while in the performance of their duties, to pass free of charge on all railroads of the State. Furthermore, the Commission was authorized to employ and freely transport any number of persons deemed pertinent and expedient to the administration of their (Commission) legislatively allocated duties. (Acts of Alabama 1907, Statute No. 69)

In 1915, the previously authorized Railroad Commission of Ala. was renamed and reorganized. The newly created Public Service Commission was created and authorized for the purpose of perpetuating the duties and functions of the now defunct Railroad Commission. The newly created Public Service Commission was legally empowered to assume all of the authority, rights, powers, duties, privileges, and jurisdictions of the previously authorized, now defunct Railroad Commission. Furthermore, the newly created Commission was granted general supervision over all persons, firms, and corporations operating public utilities. Furthermore, the Commission was empowered to inquire into the management of the business, keep itself informed as to the manner and method in which the business was conducted, and to examine such public utilities as often as may have been necessary to keep informed as to their general condition, their franchises, capitalization, rates and other charges, and the manner in which their plants, equipments and other property were owned, leased, controlled, managed, conducted, and operated, not only with respect to adequacy, security and accomodation afforded by their service, but also with respect to their compliance with provisions of the creating legislative act and any other law or laws with the orders of the commission and with the character and franchise requirements.

Furthermore, the "originating" act (of the Public Service Commission) stated that all laws, general and special, expressly or impliedly in conflict with the provisions of the said act were thereby expressly repealed. (Acts of Alabama 1915, Statute No. 746)

In 1923, the State Securities Commission was re-structured and the state securities laws rewritten. The newly reorganized commission was placed under the auspices of the Ala. Public Service Commission, which also comprised its membership. The original commission's holdings were removed from the office of the State Superintendent of Banks and placed in the offices of the Public Service Commission (Code of Ala. 1923, Sec. 9877-9900).

Currently the Commission exercises general supervision of all persons, firms, and corporations operating utilities mentioned in section 37-1-32 of the 1975 Ala. Code. It regulates the issuance of Certificates of Public Convenience and Necessity for the construction of new plants or facilities, the sale or lease of the property of a utility to another utility, the abandonment of service of a utility to the public, the issuance or guarantee of security, and payment of common stock dividends. The Commission authorizes the issuance of securities or the assumption of liabilities by telephone companies as lessor, lessee, endorser, surety or otherwise. It is charged with supervising, regulating, and controlling all transportation companies, doing business in the state, as defined in section 37-2-1 of the Ala. Code, which includes railroads, telephone and telegraph lines, pipelines, and waterways. The Commission also controls, supervises, and regulates persons engaged in intrastate air commerce and in radio utilities within the State. In accordance with the National Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968, the Commission is authorized to exercise regulatory jurisdiction over the safety of pipeline systems and the transportation of gas, and to enforce federal safety standards in the State of Ala., in lieu of enforcement by the Department of Transportation. (Alabama Government Manual, 1982)

The Commission is staffed by a Secretary, who receives and enters endorsement of filing on applications, complaints, petitions, and pleadings coming to the Commission. Furthermore, the Secretary determines according to the nature of each case the docket to which it shall be assigned, and supervises registration of the docket. The Secretary maintains the Commission hearing docket book and hearing calendars, and assigns cases for hearing in collaboration with Administrative Law Judges and Commissioners. (Alabama Government Manual, 1982)

The Commission receives annual appropriations from the Legislature and Public Service Commission funds which are derived from inspection and supervision fees and taxes paid by utilities and carriers. (Alabama Government Manual, 1982)

As of 1982, the Administrative Divisions of the Commission were as follows:

Alabama. Public Service Commission. Comptroller Division.

Authority: Alabama Government Manual, 1982.

Alabama. Public Service Commission. Legal Division.

Alabama. Public Service Commission. Public Staff Division.

Alabama. Public Service Commission. Engineering Division.

Alabama. Public Service Commission. Consumer Services Division.

Alabama. Public Service Commission. Tariff Division.

Alabama. Public Service Commission. Transportation Division.