THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	477
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2023		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII		H.D. 1

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION.

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

SECTION 1. Section 269-19, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§269-19 Merger and consolidation of public utilities. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), no public utility shall sell, lease, assign, mortgage, or otherwise dispose of or encumber the whole or any part of its road, line, plant, system, or other property necessary or useful in the performance of its duties to the public, or any franchise or permit, or any right thereunder, nor by any means, directly or indirectly, merge or consolidate with any other public utility without first having secured from the public utilities commission an order authorizing it so to do. Every [such] sale, lease, assignment, mortgage, disposition, encumbrance, merger, or consolidation[,] made other than in accordance with the order of the commission shall be void.

(b) A public utility, under circumstances that it deems exigent and in its judgment require a response that rapidly restores one of its customers to normal, or near normal, operating status in order to prevent serious disruption of essential public services, or avoid serious risk to public safety, or to mitigate severe economic losses to that customer, may transfer, assign, or otherwise dispose of its property without prior approval from the public utilities commission as required in subsection (a); provided that in so doing[:], the public utility:

(1) [The public utility does] Does not unduly hinder or degrade the public utility's operation with respect to its services or other customers;

(2) [The public utility is] Is duly compensated for its property; and

(3) [The public utility reports] Reports in detail to the public utilities commission within thirty days of any [such] action unless otherwise approved by the public utilities commission for good cause shown.

[For purposes of] As used in this subsection, "property" does not include real property.

(c) With respect to mergers, consolidations, acquisitions, or other changes of control under subsection (a), the public utilities commission shall make every effort to complete its review and issue a decision within nine months from the date that the public utility, other than an investor-owned electric utility company, files its completed application seeking an order of authorization.

With respect to mergers, consolidations, acquisitions, or other changes of control under subsection (a) for which an investor-owned electric utility company seeks an order of authorization from the public utilities commission, the commission shall make every effort to complete its review and issue a decision within twelve months from the date that the investor-owned electric utility company files its completed application.

The nine-month period or twelve-month period in this subsection shall begin only after a completed application has been filed with the commission and a paper or an electronic copy served on the consumer advocate. The commission shall establish standards concerning the data required to be set forth in the application in order for it to be deemed a completed application. The consumer advocate may, within twenty-one days after receipt, object to the sufficiency of any application, and the commission shall hear and determine any objection within twenty-one days after it is filed. If the commission finds that the objections are without merit, the application shall be deemed to have been completed upon original filing. If the commission finds the application to be incomplete, the commission shall require the applicant to submit an amended application consistent with its findings, and the nine-month period or twelve-month period shall not commence until the amended application is filed.

Applicants may waive the applicable nine-month period or twelve-month period at any time during consideration of the application. Upon mutual agreement by the parties on the docket, the time limit may be extended to accommodate delays in filings or an extended procedural schedule.

If a decision is rendered after the relevant nine-month period or twelve-month period, the public utilities commission shall submit a report to the legislature in writing, on paper or electronically, detailing the reasons for failing to meet the prescribed period within thirty days after rendering the decision.

As used in this subsection, an "investor-owned electric utility company" means a for-profit electric utility company that issues stock owned by shareholders."

SECTION 2. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.

SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on June 30, 3000.

Report Title:

PUC; Deadlines; Merger, Consolidation, Acquisition, or Other Change of Control; Applications; Report

Description:

Requires the public utilities commission to make every effort to complete its review for a merger, consolidation, acquisition, or other change of control and issue a decision within nine months or twelve months from the date of a completed application. Requires the public utilities commission to establish standards for deeming an application complete. Specifies the process for objections and amendments to submitted applications. Allows for waiver or extension of the applicable time period. Requires the public utilities commission to submit a report to the legislature if those timelines are not met. Effective 6/30/3000. (HD1)

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.