SB 425-FN – AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE

03/03/10 0793s

2010 SESSION

10-2813

06/01

SENATE BILL 425-FN

AN ACT relative to exemptions to the right-to-know law.

SPONSORS: Sen. Cilley, Dist 6; Sen. Letourneau, Dist 19; Sen. DeVries, Dist 18; Sen. Fuller Clark, Dist 24; Rep. Cali-Pitts, Rock 16; Rep. Remick, Coos 2; Rep. P. Preston, Graf 8; Rep. Keans, Straf 1

COMMITTEE: Judiciary

AMENDED ANALYSIS

This bill repeals a provision exempting certain information provided by a telephone utility to the public utilities commission from the right-to-know law and permits information that is exempt from public disclosure in an adjudicative proceeding to be considered in a nonpublic session.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

03/03/10 0793s

10-2813

06/01

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Ten

AN ACT relative to exemptions to the right-to-know law.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 New Subparagraph; Nonpublic Session. Amend RSA 91-A:3, II by inserting after subparagraph (i) the following new subparagraph:

(j) Consideration of confidential, commercial, or financial information that is exempt from public disclosure under RSA 91-A:5, IV in an adjudicative proceeding pursuant to RSA 541 or RSA 541-A.

2 New Paragraph; Public Utilities; Proceedings Before the Commission; Rulemaking. Amend RSA 365:8 by inserting after paragraph XIII the following new paragraph:

XIV. Standards and procedures for public utilities to request protection of routine filings that contain confidential commercial or financial information.

3 Repeal. RSA 378:43, relative to information not subject to the right-to-know law, is repealed.

4 Effective Date.

I. Section 3 of this act shall take effect 180 days after its passage.

II. The remainder of this act shall take effect upon its passage.

LBAO

10-2813

01/13/10

SB 425-FN - FISCAL NOTE

AN ACT relative to telephone utilities exemptions to the right-to-know law.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The Public Utilities Commission states this bill will increase state restricted expenditures and state restricted revenue by $70,727 in FY 2011, $70,756 in FY 2012, $74,453 in FY 2013 and $78,246 in FY 2014. The Commission also states this bill may increase state, county and local expenditures in FY 2011 and each year thereafter. There is no fiscal impact on county and local revenue.

METHODOLOGY:

The Public Utilities Commission states this bill repeals RSA 378:43 that grants regulated telephone companies an automatic presumption that a document is exempt from public disclosure and adds RSA 363:25-a to require the Commission to post to its website all information provided to the Commission or its staff. The Commission states the repeal of RSA 378:43 will have no fiscal impact as any additional work will be absorbed with existing resources. The requirement to post documents on its website will require the addition of one tech support II position (labor grade 21) to gather, categorize, scan, label, upload and manage the Commission’s website. The Commission assumes it will not require an additional position until FY 2011.The position costs are as follows:

	FY 2011	FY 2012	FY 2013	FY 2014
Salary (LG 21)	$37,850	$39,390	$41,087	$42,744
Benefits	21,727	23,371	25,171	27,103
Current Expenses	2,550	2,614	2,679	2,745
Equipment	3,350	0	0	0
Office Space	5,250	5,381	5,516	5,654
Total	$70,727	$70,756	$74,453	$78,246

LBAO

10-2813

01/13/10

The Commission states it is funded by assessments on regulated entities. Annual assessments are levied on each utility based on the proportion of its respective revenues to the total of all utility revenues. The Commission states the addition of one employee would increase the Commission’s annual budget by less than one percent or less than one half cent for each $100 of utility bills a customer pays. The Commission has no information on the utility bills paid by state, county or local governments to estimate the potential increase in expenditures for those entities.

This bill does not contain authorization or appropriation for a position.