Florida/Georgia Personal Injury & Workers Compensation

...commendations to the Public Service Commission, governor, or legislature concerning matters within the jurisdiction of the commission; in its essentials, these reports and recommendations are informational materials that can be accepted or rejected. § 350.0611, Fla....

...Summaries and responses to Commissioners' inquiries, if any, are made only by the Commission staff and the Office of the Public Counsel. Participation in Commission proceedings by the parties and the public generally is provided for under the provisions of Chapter 25-2, Florida Administrative Code. Specific Authority 350.0611, 350.12(1)(m), 364.20, 364.42, 366.05(1), 367.121(1)(f), 120.53, F.S. Law Implemented 350.0611, 350.12(1)(m), 364.20, 364.42, 366.05(1), 367.121(1)(f), 120.53, F.S....

...The order under review does not purport to pass directly upon the validity of the existing rule. Petitioner does not challenge the order as constituting a refusal by the Commission to exercise its discretion to adopt rules of practice or procedure as required in Section 120.53, Florida Statutes (1975). Petitioner says that Section 350.0611, Florida Statutes (1975) mandates the adoption of his proposed rule amendment verbatim....

...nting a constitutional provision imposing a corporate income tax on utilities. We approved the rule with an "admonition" and "caveats" but recognized the discretion of the Commission in the rule making process. The only question before us is whether Section 350.0611, Florida Statutes, supra, mandates the adoption of the rule....

...olations present in Citizens v. Mayo, 333 So. 2d 1 (Fla. 1976), where the OPC was denied from participating fully in a public hearing that the Commission conducted on an aspect of a utility’s rate increase request. In support, Citizens cites to section 350.0611, Florida Statutes, the OPC’s enabling legislation, and this Court’s opinions in Mayo and South Florida Hospital and Healthcare Ass’n v....

...(2012). As more fully explained below, Citizens’ argument regarding the Commission’s authority to approve a settlement agreement objected to by the OPC is without merit because the Commission independently determines rates for 3. Citizens framed this issue as a question of statutory interpretation of section 350.0611, Florida Statutes (2012), which details the OPC’s duties and powers. -8- utilities, the Commission is authorized by statute to resolve rate-making proceedings by approving negotiated settlements, and nothing in the language of section 350.0611 or this Court’s holdings in Mayo and Jaber supports Citizens’ position that the Commission is precluded by law from authorizing a non- unanimous settlement where the OPC objects to the terms of the settlement. Citizens’ argu...

...ses of customers; and public acceptance of rate structures.” § 366.06(1), Fla. Stat. (2012). - 10 - pertain” when the OPC intervenes on behalf of Citizens in a rate-making proceeding, and language in section 350.0611 operate to preclude the Commission from approving any settlement to which the OPC actively objects. Section 350.0611 is the OPC’s enabling statute and provides that the OPC’s powers include, but are not limited to, the following: (1) To recommend to the commission or the counties, by petition, the commencement of any procee...

...(5) To appear before other state agencies, federal agencies, and state and federal courts in connection with matters under the jurisdiction of the commission, in the name of the state or its citizens. - 11 - § 350.0611, Fla....

...ing that the Commission perform its duties independently and also enacted sections 366.04(1) and 366.06(1), which provide that the Commission has exclusive jurisdiction to fix fair, just, and reasonable rates of electric utilities. Thus, although section 350.0611 does not contain an exhaustive list of the OPC’s specific powers and section 366.01, Florida Statutes (2012), provides that chapter 366 shall be liberally construed for the accomplishment of protecting the public welfare, adopti...

...The PSC has extensive procedures in place for supervising telephone companies, including the presence of Public Counsel appointed by the State legislature "to provide legal representation for the people of the state in proceedings before the commission." See Fla.Stat. § 350.0611; see generally Fla.Stat....

...In my opinion, the rule as written does not allow the PSC to fundamentally alter its application in this manner. NOTES [1] The Public Counsel is responsible for providing legal representation for the people of the state in Florida Public Service Commission proceedings. § 350.0611, Fla....

...In the present case, OPC sought the following declaratory statement: Upon intervention in any proceeding affecting rates or cost of service that the Commission processes under proposed agency action (PAA) procedures, Sections 350.0611(1), 366.093(2), 367.156(2), F.S., and Rule 28-106.206, F.A.C., authorize the Office of Public Counsel to conduct discovery prior to the issuance of the Commission’s written Notice of Proposed Agency...

...ered into a settlement agreement, which rendered all issues between them moot. Id. In contrast, OPC alleged a particular set of circumstances in its petition giving rise to an actual, present need for a declaratory statement. OPC relied on section 350.0611(1), Florida Statutes (2014), which empowers it “to appear, in the name of the state or its citizens, in any proceeding or action before the commission,” and to “utilize therein all forms of discovery available to attorneys in civil actions generally, subject to protective orders of the commission ....

challenge or rebut it. (Emphasis supplied.) Section 350.0611, F.S. (1974 Supp.), provides, inter alia,