SENATE BILL NO. 190 "An Act extending the termination date of the Regulatory Commission of Alaska; and providing for an effective date." 9:27:23 AM SENATOR ROBERT MYERS, SPONSOR, spoke to the Sponsor Statement (copy on file): The Senate Bill 190 extends the termination date of the Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA) until June 30, 2027. The Regulatory Commission of Alaska is an independent, quasi-judicial regulatory body that was formed by the legislature in 1999 to replace the Alaska Public Utilities Commission. The RCA is charged with regulating public utilities and pipeline services. Regulation is accomplished by certifying qualified providers and ensuring they provide safe and adequate services and facilities at just and reasonable rates, terms, and conditions. 9:28:25 AM DAWSON MANN, STAFF, ROBERT SENATOR MYERS, discussed the Explanation of Changes (copy on file): Sec. 1 Page 1, Lines 4-9 Adds legislative intent language to uncodified law which states that it is the intent to extend the Regulatory Commission of Alaska every five years to take into account the term length of legislators, providing for awareness of the commission and its purpose through legislative review and debate. Sec. 2 AS 44.66.010(a)(3) Page 1, Lines 10-13 Changes the expiration date for the commission from 2030 to 2027. Mr. Mann looked at the Sectional Analysis (copy on file): Section 1: Page 1, Lines 4-9 This section adds legislative intent language to uncodified law which states that it is the intent to extend the Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA) every five years to take into account the term length of legislators, providing for awareness of the commission and its purpose through legislative review and debate. Section 2: AS 44.66.010(a)(3) Page 1, Lines 10-12 This section extends the termination date for the Regulatory Commission of Alaska until June 30, 2027. Section 3: Page 1, Line 13 This section establishes an immediate effective date. 9:29:55 AM Senator Olson asked whether the sponsor supported the committee substitute. Senator Myers deferred to the Division of Legislative Audit. Senator von Imhof queried the date change from 2030 to 2027. Senator Myers replied that the change had been made in the previous committee out of concern for the size of the RCA and that future legislators might not know what the commission was; the idea was that a more frequent audit would familiarize new legislators with the RCA. Senator von Imhof recalled that legislators were responsible for educating themselves on various boards and commissions. She though that if the auditor made a recommendation, they had good reason to do so. She felt that the auditor recommending a 2030 sunset made sense as long as legislators were keeping up to date on audit findings. Senator Wilson probed the reason for the change. He felt that if there were no findings in the audit, repetitive steps were being taken that drained time and resources. Co-Chair Stedman agreed. He did not believe in increasing the cost to the state by truncating the board reviews. Co-Chair Bishop agreed. 9:33:45 AM KRIS CURTIS, AUDITOR, LEGISLATIVE AUDIT, looked at the "Sunset Review of the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development, Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA)" (copy on file). She read the report findings: REPORT CONCLUSIONS Overall, the audit concluded RCA operated in an effective manner and served the public's interest by: .notdefassessing the capabilities of utility and pipeline companies to safely serve the public; .notdef evaluating tariffs and charges made by regulated entities; .notdef verifying the pass-through charges to consumers from electric and natural gas utilities; .notdef adjudicating disputes between ratepayers and regulated entities; .notdef providing consumer protection services; and .notdef performing financial reviews of utilities for the State's power cost equalization program. Ms. Curtis stated that the recommendation was to extend the sunset 8 years. She shared that that a survey, found on Page 19 of the audit, showed that the positive responses to survey questions outweighed negative responses in the surveyed areas. She spoke to Page 4 of the audit, which showed that Regulatory Commission of Alaska resolved most of their consumer complaints within a 30-day period. She said that Page 5 provided a listing of the types of complaints received from July 2020 through February 2021. She said that Page 4 showed the conclusion that RCA processed tariff filing and dockets within the statutory regulatory timelines, which was the area that received the most review. The audit had one administrative recommendation: Recommendation No. 1: The RCA chair should clarify regulations concerning the cancelation of scheduled public meetings. Ms. Curtis shared that Regulatory Commission of Alaska regulations required two meetings a month and if there was nothing on the agenda meetings were cancelled. She relayed that during the audit timeframe, 25 of 88 meetings were cancelled, 6 consecutively. She related that according to RCA management regulations allowed the commission to modify a requirement by their own motion, but no official motion had been recognized but the auditors. She offered that it was reasonable for the RCA to cancel meetings when there were no agenda items, but that action did not strictly adhere to their regulations. She did not believe that the issue should affect the extension timeline. She shared that the response on Page 23 revealed that both the commissioner of DCCED and the RCA chairman supported the extension. 9:37:57 AM Senator von Imhof recalled that there were some questions about the time the RCA took to review rates and make recommendations. She queried the average timeline. Ms. Curtis replied that the audit background information provided all statutory timelines, which differed for each type of business. She added that the statutory requirements were approved by the legislature and the regulatory through the public comment process She said that it had been found that 9:39:31 AM Senator von Imhof thought that it could be time for the legislature to review the regulatory timelines for the Regulatory Commission of Alaska to complete its work. Co-Chair Bishop agreed. KEITH KURBER, COMMISSIONER, REGULATORY COMMISSION OF ALASKA, FAIRBANKS (via teleconference), noted that in a previous hearing in another committee there had been a question as to whether changing the sunset from 8 years to 5 years would affect the work of legislative auditors. BOB PICKETT, CHAIRMAN, REGULATORY COMMISSION OF ALASKA, ANCHORAGE (via teleconference), supported the original recommendation of an 8-year sunset date. 9:42:04 AM Co-Chair Bishop OPENED and CLOSED public testimony. Co-Chair Bishop set an amendment deadline of March 28, 2022. SB 190 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further consideration.