Session of 1999
         
HOUSE BILL No. 2119
         
By Committee on Utilities
          
1-26
          
  9             AN  ACT concerning the state corporation commission; amending K.S.A.
10             1998 Supp. 66-117 and repealing the existing section.
11      
12       Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
13             Section  1. K.S.A. 1998 Supp. 66-117 is hereby amended to read as
14       follows: 66-117. (a) Unless the state corporation commission otherwise
15       orders, no common carrier or public utility over which the commission
16       has control shall make effective any changed rate, joint rate, toll, charge
17       or classification or schedule of charges, or any rule or regulation or prac-
18       tice pertaining to the service or rates of such public utility or common
19       carrier except by filing the same with the commission at least 30 days
20       prior to the proposed effective date. The commission, for good cause,
21       may allow such changed rate, joint rate, toll, charge or classification or
22       schedule of charges, or rule or regulation or practice pertaining to the
23       service or rates of any such public utility or common carrier to become
24       effective on less than 30 days' notice. If the commission allows a change
25       to become effective on less than 30 days' notice, the effective date of the
26       allowed change shall be the date established in the commission order
27       approving such change, or the date of the order if no effective date is
28       otherwise established. Any such proposed change shall be shown by filing
29       with the state corporation commission a schedule showing the changes,
30       and such changes shall be plainly indicated by proper reference marks in
31       amendments or supplements to existing tariffs, schedules or classifica-
32       tions, or in new issues thereof.
33             (b) Whenever any common carrier or public utility governed by the
34       provisions of this act files with the state corporation commission a sched-
35       ule showing the changes desired to be made and put in force by such
36       public utility or common carrier, the commission either upon complaint
37       or upon its own motion, may give notice and hold a hearing upon such
38       proposed changes. Pending such hearing, the commission may suspend
39       the operation of such schedule and defer the effective date of such change
40       in rate, joint rate, toll, charge or classification or schedule of charges, or
41       any rule or regulation or practice pertaining to the service or rates of any
42       such public utility or common carrier by delivering to such public utility
43       or common carrier a statement in writing of its reasons for such

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  1       suspension.
  2             (c) The commission shall not delay the effective date of the proposed
  3       change in rate, joint rate, toll, charge or classification or schedule of
  4       charges, or in any rule or regulation or practice pertaining to the service
  5       or rates of any such public utility or common carrier, more than 240 180
  6       days beyond the date the public utility or common carrier filed its appli-
  7       cation requesting the proposed change. If the commission does not sus-
  8       pend the proposed schedule within 30 days of the date the same is filed
  9       by the public utility or common carrier, such proposed schedule shall be
10       deemed approved by the commission and shall take effect on the pro-
11       posed effective date. If the commission has not issued a final order on
12       the proposed change in any rate, joint rate, toll, charge or classification
13       or schedule of charges, or any rule or regulation or practice pertaining to
14       the service or rates of any such public utility or common carrier, within
15       240 180 days after the carrier or utility files its application requesting the
16       proposed change, then the schedule shall be deemed approved by the
17       commission and the proposed change shall be effective immediately, ex-
18       cept that: (1) For purposes of the foregoing provisions regarding the pe-
19       riod of time within which the commission shall act on an application, any
20       amendment to an application for a proposed change in any rate, which
21       increases the amount sought by the public utility or common carrier or
22       substantially alters the facts used as a basis for such requested change of
23       rate, shall, at the option of the commission, be deemed a new application
24       and the 240-day 180-day period shall begin again from the date of the
25       filing of the amendment,; and (2) if hearings are in process before the
26       commission on a proposed change requested by the public utility or com-
27       mon carrier on the last day of such 240-day 180-day period, such period
28       shall be extended to the end of such hearings plus 20 30 days to allow
29       the commission to prepare and issue its final order, and, (3) nothing in
30       this subsection shall preclude the public utility or common carrier and
31       the commission from agreeing to a. No waiver or an extension of the 240-
32       day 180-day period shall be allowed.
33             (d) Except as provided in subsection (c), no change shall be made in
34       any rate, toll, charge, classification or schedule of charges or joint rates,
35       or in any rule or regulation or practice pertaining to the service or rates
36       of any such public utility or common carrier, without the consent of the
37       commission. Within 30 days after such changes have been authorized by
38       the state corporation commission or become effective as provided in sub-
39       section (c), copies of all tariffs, schedules and classifications, and all rules
40       and regulations, except those determined to be confidential under rules
41       and regulations adopted by the commission, shall be filed in every station,
42       office or depot of every such public utility and every common carrier in
43       this state, for public inspection.

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  1             (e) Upon a showing by a public utility before the state corporation
  2       commission at a public hearing and a finding by the commission that such
  3       utility has invested in projects or systems that can be reasonably expected
  4       (1) to produce energy from a renewable resource other than nuclear for
  5       the use of its customers, (2) to cause the conservation of energy used by
  6       its customers, or (3) to bring about the more efficient use of energy by
  7       its customers, the commission may allow a return on such investment
  8       equal to an increment of from 12% to 2% plus an amount equal to the
  9       rate of return fixed for the utility's other investment in property found
10       by the commission to be used or required to be used in its services to the
11       public. The commission may also allow such higher rate of return on
12       investments by a public utility in experimental projects, such as load man-
13       agement devices, which it determines after public hearing to be reason-
14       ably designed to cause more efficient utilization of energy and in energy
15       conservation programs or measures which it determines after public hear-
16       ing provides a reduction in energy usage by its customers in a cost-effec-
17       tive manner.
18             (f) Whenever, after the effective date of this act, an electric public
19       utility, a natural gas public utility or a combination thereof, files tariffs
20       reflecting a surcharge on the utility's bills for utility service designed to
21       collect the annual increase in expense charged on its books and records
22       for ad valorem taxes, such utility shall report annually to the state cor-
23       poration commission the changes in expense charged for ad valorem taxes.
24       For purposes of this section, such amounts charged to expense on the
25       books and records of the utility may be estimated once the total property
26       tax payment is known. If found necessary by the commission or the utility,
27       the utility shall file tariffs which reflect the change as a revision to the
28       surcharge. Upon a showing that the surcharge is applied to bills in a
29       reasonable manner and is calculated to substantially collect the increase
30       in ad valorem tax expense charged on the books and records of the utility,
31       or reduce any existing surcharge based upon a decrease in ad valorem tax
32       expense incurred on the books and records of the utility, the commission
33       shall approve such tariffs within 30 days of the filing. Any over or under
34       collection of the actual ad valorem tax increase charged to expense on
35       the books of the utility shall be either credited or collected through the
36       surcharge in subsequent periods. The establishment of a surcharge under
37       this section shall not be deemed to be a rate increase for purposes of this
38       act. The net effect of any surcharges established under this section shall
39       be included by the commission in the establishment of base rates in any
40       subsequent rate case filed by the utility.
41             (g) Except as to the time limits prescribed in subsection (c), pro-
42       ceedings under this section shall be conducted in accordance with the
43       provisions of the Kansas administrative procedure act. 

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  1       Sec.  2. K.S.A. 1998 Supp. 66-117 is hereby repealed.
  2        Sec.  3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
  3       publication in the statute book.