A BICAMERAL conference committee on Thursday approved a new version of House Bill 23-97, which would create a revolving fund for the Commonwealth Public Utilities Commission.
All the Senate and House conferees present voted to adopt a substitute version of H.B. 23-97.
The Senate conferees were Sen. Paul A. Manglona, chair of the Senate Committee on Public Utilities, Transportation and Communications, Senate Floor Leader Corina Magofna and Sen. Jude U. Hofschneider.
The House conferees were Rep. Vincent S. Aldan, chair of the House PUTC committee and the author of the bill, Reps. Marissa Flores, Diego Vincent Camacho and Manny Gregory T. Castro.
It took the conferees nearly the entire day to agree on a new version of the bill.
They also adopted an amendment offered by Hofschneider, to include the Finance secretary as an ex-officio, non-voting member of the CPUC, who “shall provide financial oversight as necessary.”
The conference committee report is expected to be submitted to the Senate and the House for action next week.
Last month, Senate President Edith Deleon Guerrero and House Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez formed the bicameral panel to draft a version of the bill acceptable to both chambers after the House rejected the version passed by the Senate.
The bill also proposes to compensate the CPUC chair $1,000 a month, and each of the commissioners $800 a month. The five-seat CPUC would also be allowed to hire an executive director and staff members.
CPUC Chair James Sirok, member Jack Angello and Commonwealth Utilities Corp. grant writer Candice Muna testified in support of the bill while CUC Board Chair Janice Tenorio testified against it. She said the expansion of the CPUC bureaucracy with the appointment of an executive director and staff members “runs counter to the notion of streamlined and efficient governance.”
Vincent S. Aldan
