26RS SB 8

Senate Bill 8

Actions

Last Action	03/02/26: to Natural Resources & Energy (S)
Title	AN ACT relating to public utilities and declaring an emergency.
Bill Documents	Introduced
Bill Request Number	1957
Sponsor	B. Smith
Summary of Original Version	Create new sections of KRS Chapter 278 to establish the membership of the Public Service Commission; provide for the appointment, confirmation, and replacement of commissioners; establish the qualifications of the commissioners; provide for the election of the chair and the delegation of his or her duties; set the terms and term limits for commissioners; set qualifications for intervenors in cases before the commission; provide that in cases in which the Attorney General intervenes, he or she shall be the sole advocate for residential consumers; amend KRS 278.020 to increase the minimum voltage and length of electric transmission lines for which a certificate of public convenience and necessity is required for construction; amend KRS 278.040 to provide that the commission is an independent department of state government that is administratively attached to the Auditor of Public Accounts only for the limited functions and purposes that the commission requests; allow the commission, in its sole discretion, to conduct procurements under KRS Chapter 45A, identify and determine the compensation for categories of its professional employees, and engage hearing officers and other entities on a contractual basis; prohibit the commission from being reorganized under KRS Chapter 12; amend KRS 278.060 to prohibit the immediate family members of commissioners from having any official relationship to any utility; allow for a commissioner or an immediate family member to have a pension or a retirement savings account with utility as long as no contributions have been made to it for at least 1 year prior to the commissioner's appointment; amend KRS 278.070 to allow the officer who appointed a commissioner to remove the commissioner for cause; amend KRS 278.100 and 278.120 to allow the commission to appoint and have sole discretion in fixing the compensation of the executive director; require the executive director to be subject to confirmation by the Senate; amend KRS 278.702, 12.020, 43.015, 64.640, 160.617, and 224.10-022 to conform; repeal KRS 278.050, relating to membership of the Public Service Commission; require the Auditor of Public Accounts to make initial appointments to the commission on or before July 1, 2026, and provide for the staggering of the appointments; allow current members of the commission to serve out the remainders of their terms provided that they meet the qualification requirements of the Act; terminate the terms of current commissioners who do not meet the qualification requirements of the Act and provide for their replacement; direct the transfer of all records, files, or documents associated with functions previously performed by the Energy and Environment Cabinet to the Auditor of Public Accounts; EMERGENCY.
Index Headings of Original Version	Administrative Regulations And Proceedings - Public Service Commission, cases, intervenors, qualifications, standing, requirements Attorney General - Public Service Commission, cases, intervention, sole intervenor for residential consumers Auditor Of Public Accounts - Public Service Commission, administrative attachment Auditor Of Public Accounts - Public Service Commission, membership, appointments Boards And Commissions - Public Service Commission, membership, qualifications, appointments Confirmation Of Appointments - Public Service Commission, executive director, Senate confirmation required Effective Dates, Emergency - Public Service Commission, membership, authority, administrative attachment Public Officers And Employees - Public Service Commission, categories of employees, compensation set solely by commission Public Utilities - Electric transmission line construction, minimum voltage and length threshold, PSC approval Public Utilities - Public Service Commission, cases, intervenors, qualifications, standing, requirements Public Utilities - Public Service Commission, membership, qualifications, appointments State Agencies - Public Service Commission, membership, qualifications, appointments State Employees - Public Service Commission, categories of employees, compensation set solely by commission