49-01 Public Service Commission
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<![CDATA[TITLE 49PUBLIC UTILITIESCHAPTER 49-01PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION49-01-01.Definitions.In this title, unless the context or subject matter otherwiserequires:1."Commission" means the public service commission.2."Commissioner" means one of the members of the public service commission.3."Public utility" includes any association, person, firm, corporation, limited liability<br>company, or agency engaged or employed in any business enumerated in this title.4."Rate" means and includes every compensation, charge, fare, toll, rental, and<br>classification, or any of them, demanded, observed, charged, or collected by any<br>public utility for any service, product, or commodity, offered by it to the public, and<br>any rules, regulations, practices, or contracts affecting any such compensation,<br>charge, fare, toll, rental, or classification.49-01-02. Public service commission - How constituted. The three persons electedpublic service commissioners, pursuant to the provisions of article V, section 2, of the<br>Constitution of North Dakota, constitute and shall be known and designated as the public service<br>commission of the state of North Dakota. They shall elect one of their number chairman of the<br>commission and shall appoint a secretary.49-01-03. Oath of public service commissioners. Each commissioner before enteringupon the duties of the office shall take the oath required of civil officers.49-01-04. Offices of public service commission. The commissioners shall keep theiroffice at the seat of government and shall be provided with a suitable room, necessary office<br>furniture, stationery, books, and maps, the expense thereof to be paid out of the state treasury<br>pursuant to the appropriation for such purpose.49-01-05.Salary of commissioners.The annual salary of a commissioner iseighty-five thousand eight hundred thirty dollars through June 30, 2010, and ninety thousand one<br>hundred twenty-two dollars thereafter. All fees received or charged by any commissioner for any<br>act or service rendered in any official capacity must be accounted for and paid over by the<br>commissioner monthly to the state treasurer and must be credited to the general fund of the<br>state.49-01-06.Public service commission - Majority vote.All questions arising inconnection with the action of the commissioners shall be decided by a majority vote.49-01-07. Proceedings of public service commission. The commission in all casesmay conduct its proceedings, when not otherwise particularly prescribed by law, in a manner<br>most conducive to the proper dispatch of business and to the ends of justice. A majority of the<br>commission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, but a commissioner shall<br>not participate in any hearing or proceeding in which that commissioner has any direct personal<br>pecuniary interest. The commission from time to time may make or amend such general rules or<br>orders as may be requisite for the orderly regulation of proceedings before it, including forms of<br>notice and the service thereof, which shall conform as nearly as possible to those in use in the<br>courts of this state. Any party may appear before the commission and may be heard in person or<br>by attorney. Every vote and official action of the commission shall be entered of record and its<br>proceedings shall be public upon the request of any person interested. The commission shallPage No. 1have an official seal, which shall be judicially noticed, and every commissioner shall have the<br>right to administer oaths and affirmations in any proceeding pending before the commission.49-01-08.Appointment of examiners by public service commission.Thecommission may designate any special assistant attorney general appointed by the attorney<br>general as commerce counsel or counsel to the commission, the director of auto transportation,<br>the chief statistician, the chief engineer, or any other person qualified in the law or possessing<br>knowledge or expertise in the subject matter of the hearing to act as examiner for the purpose of<br>holding any hearing which the commission, or any member thereof, has power or authority to<br>hold.49-01-09.Attorneys for public service commission - Attorney general - State'sattorney - Duties - Additional counsel - Compensation.The attorney general shall beex officio attorney for the commission and personally or through commerce counsel shall:1.Give to the commission such counsel, advice, and assistance necessary for the<br>proper discharge of its powers and duties.2.Appear for, and represent, the state at all hearings of the commission or appeals<br>therefrom when necessary.3.Institute, prosecute, or defend any action or proceeding which the commission may<br>deem proper and expedient.The state's attorney in any county, on request of the commission, shall institute, prosecute,<br>appear in, and defend for the commission any and all actions and proceedings which the<br>commission may institute and prosecute or to which the commission is a party. The commission<br>may employ additional counsel to assist such attorney general or state's attorney, when in its<br>judgment the exigencies of the case may require. The fee of such additional counsel shall be<br>determined by the commission and approved by the office of management and budget and paid<br>out of funds appropriated for such purpose.49-01-10.Assistants - Authority of public service commission to appoint.Thecommission may employ stenographers, rate experts, and such other employees as may be<br>deemed necessary in the discharge of its official duties.49-01-11. Enforcement of orders of commission - Costs and expenses. All costsand expenses actually incurred by or upon the order of the attorney general incident to any<br>litigation arising in connection with the enforcement of orders of the commission or other litigation<br>commenced by or in charge of the attorney general shall be paid out of the general fund of the<br>state upon vouchers to be approved by the office of the budget.49-01-12. Disposition of penalties. Except as otherwise provided, any penalty whichshall be collected for violation of any provision of this title shall be paid into the state treasury for<br>the general fund.49-01-13. Biennial report. The commission shall submit a report to the governor andthe secretary of state in accordance with section 54-06-04.49-01-14.When copies of official documents are evidence. Copies of all officialdocuments and orders filed or deposited according to law in the office of the commission,<br>certified by a commissioner or by the secretary or assistant secretary of the commission under its<br>official seal to be true copies of the originals, shall be evidence in like manner as the originals.49-01-15.Charges for copies and records determined by the public servicecommission. The commission shall determine and fix all charges for furnishing copies, records,<br>reports, and evidence.All fees charged and collected under this section, except those fortranscripts of evidence which shall be paid to the person preparing such transcripts, shall be paid<br>into the general fund of the state treasury.Page No. 2Document Outlinechapter 49-01 public service commission]]>