THE BILL ITSELF
HB 187
Florida Public Service Commission
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A bill to be entitled
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An act relating to the Florida Public Service
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Commission; amending s. 350.01, F.S.; revising the
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membership of the Florida Public Service Commission;
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creating s. 350.129, F.S.; requiring that orders
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issued by the commission contain adequate support and
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rationale for any conclusions made by the commission;
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requiring the commission to provide an explanation and
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a discussion of major elements of the settlement when
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issuing an order accepting or denying certain
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settlement agreements; amending s. 366.06, F.S.;
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requiring the commission to ensure that the allowable
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return on equity does not exceed the national average
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authorized return on equity for comparable public
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utilities; amending s. 366.07, F.S.; requiring the
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commission to establish a schedule by which rate
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change requests may be submitted to the commission by
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each public utility company; creating s. 366.077,
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F.S.; requiring the commission to provide a report to
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the Governor and the Legislature by a specified date
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annually; providing requirements for the report;
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amending s. 377.814, F.S.; conforming a cross-
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reference; providing an effective date.
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 350.01, Florida
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Statutes, is amended to read:
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350.01 Florida Public Service Commission; terms of
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commissioners; vacancies; election and duties of chair; quorum;
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proceedings; public records and public meetings exemptions.—
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(1) The Florida Public Service Commission shall be
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composed consist of seven five commissioners appointed pursuant
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to s. 350.031. One member must be a certified public accountant,
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and one member must be a chartered financial analyst.
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Section 2. Section 350.129, Florida Statutes, is created
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to read:
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350.129 Orders of the Florida Public Service Commission.—
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(1) All orders issued by the commission must contain
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adequate support and rationale for the commission's conclusions,
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including the specific facts and factors on which the
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conclusions are based. While the commission may make conclusions
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based upon the public interest, as provided in chapters 350-368,
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it shall specify in its orders a rationale for such conclusions.
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(2) For commission orders that affect substantial
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interests pursuant to s. 120.569, when issuing an order
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accepting or denying a settlement agreement reached by any of
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the parties to a proceeding, the commission shall provide a
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reasoned explanation, citing the specific facts and factors on
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which it relied. In addition, the commission shall provide in
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its order a discussion of the major elements of the settlement
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and a rationale for its conclusions.
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Section 3. Present subsection (4) of section 366.06,
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Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (5), and a new subsection (4) is added to that section, to read:
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366.06 Rates; procedure for fixing and changing.—
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(4) In order to best meet the needs of Florida households,
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the commission shall ensure that the allowable return on equity
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for public utilities does not exceed the national average
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authorized return on equity for comparable public utilities
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across the country.
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Section 4. Section 366.07, Florida Statutes, is amended to
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read:
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366.07 Rates; adjustment.—
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(1) Whenever the commission, after public hearing either
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upon its own motion or upon complaint, shall find the rates,
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rentals, charges or classifications, or any of them, proposed,
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demanded, observed, charged or collected by any public utility
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for any service, or in connection therewith, or the rules,
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regulations, measurements, practices or contracts, or any of
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them, relating thereto, are unjust, unreasonable, insufficient,
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excessive, or unjustly discriminatory or preferential, or in
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anywise in violation of law, or any service is inadequate or
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cannot be obtained, the commission shall determine and by order
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fix the fair and reasonable rates, rentals, charges or
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classifications, and reasonable rules, regulations,
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measurements, practices, contracts or service, to be imposed,
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observed, furnished or followed in the future.
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(2) The commission shall establish a schedule by which
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rate change requests may be submitted to the commission by each
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public utility company.
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Section 5. Section 366.077, Florida Statutes, is created
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to read:
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366.077 Report on rates.—The commission shall submit an
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annual report to the Governor and the Legislature by March 1.
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(1) The report must include all of the following:
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(a) An investigation of contemporary economic analyses
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related to rate changes in this state.
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(b) An analysis of potential cost impacts to utility
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customers in this state if excess returns on equity have
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occurred and, if such excess returns have not occurred at a
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significant rate, any resulting cost savings to such customers.
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(c) An analysis of returns on equity models presented by
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public utilities and used by the commission to determine
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approved returns on equity for public utilities in this state.
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Such analysis must:
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1. Compare models used by federal agencies and other state
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utility regulatory bodies with those used by the commission;
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2. Determine whether the models used are generally
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financially logical; and
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3. Determine whether the models used comport with
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generally accepted economic theory both inside and outside of
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the utility industry.
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(d) An assessment of long-term impacts, including the
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economic repercussions of rising rates of returns on equity, to
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utilities and their customers in the future.
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(e) A summary providing detailed information regarding the
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compensation of the executive officers of each public utility
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providing service to the residents of this state, or the
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executive officers of a public utility's affiliated companies or
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parent company. Such information must include, but need not be
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limited to, salaries, benefits, stock options, bonuses, stock
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buybacks, and other taxable payments, expressed both as dollar
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amounts and as a percentage of the entity's total revenue. The
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summary must include the profits and losses of each entity as
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reported in its financial statements and highlight any
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compensation that exceeds the industry average. The commission
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shall also include any rationale provided by a public utility
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justifying compensation exceeding the industry average and, for
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each public utility, an explanation as to how specific data
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gathered during the compiling of information informed the
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commission's decisions on the public utility's rate change
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requests.
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(2) The report must provide benchmarking, comparing public
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utilities providing service to the residents of this state with
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public utilities providing service to the residents of other
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states, and include commentary on all findings.
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Section 6. Paragraph (b) of subsection (5) of section
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377.814, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
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377.814 Municipal Solid Waste-to-Energy Program.—
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(5) FUNDING.—
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(b) Funds awarded under the grant programs set forth in
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this section may not be used to support, subsidize, or enable
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the sale of electric power generated by a municipal solid waste-
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to-energy facility to any small electric utility eligible to
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petition the commission under s. 366.06(5) s. 366.06(4).
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Section 7. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.