386.370. Estimate of expenses--assessments against utilities--public service commission fund. - Missouri Statutes

Estimate of expenses--assessments against utilities--public servicecommission fund.

386.370. 1. The commission shall, prior to the beginning of eachfiscal year beginning with the fiscal year commencing on July 1, 1947, makean estimate of the expenses to be incurred by it during such fiscal yearreasonably attributable to the regulation of public utilities as providedin chapters 386, 392 and 393, RSMo, and shall also separately estimate theamount of such expenses directly attributable to such regulation of each ofthe following groups of public utilities: Electrical corporations, gascorporations, water corporations, heating companies and telephonecorporations, telegraph corporations, sewer corporations, and any otherpublic utility as defined in section 386.020, as well as the amount of suchexpenses not directly attributable to any such group.

2. The commission shall allocate to each such group of publicutilities the estimated expenses directly attributable to the regulation ofsuch group and an amount equal to such proportion of the estimated expensesnot directly attributable to any group as the gross intrastate operatingrevenues of such group during the preceding calendar year bears to thetotal gross intrastate operating revenues of all public utilities subjectto the jurisdiction of the commission, as aforesaid, during such calendaryear. The commission shall then assess the amount so allocated to eachgroup of public utilities, subject to reduction as herein provided, to thepublic utilities in such group in proportion to their respective grossintrastate operating revenues during the preceding calendar year, exceptthat the total amount so assessed to all such public utilities shall notexceed one-fourth of one percent of the total gross intrastate operatingrevenues of all utilities subject to the jurisdiction of the commission.

3. The commission shall render a statement of such assessment to eachsuch public utility on or before July first and the amount so assessed toeach such public utility shall be paid by it to the director of revenue infull on or before July fifteenth next following the rendition of suchstatement, except that any such public utility may at its election pay suchassessment in four equal installments not later than the following datesnext following the rendition of said statement, to wit: July fifteenth,October fifteenth, January fifteenth and April fifteenth. The director ofrevenue shall remit such payments to the state treasurer.

4. The state treasurer shall credit such payments to a special fund,which is hereby created, to be known as "The Public Service CommissionFund", which fund, or its successor fund created pursuant to section33.571, RSMo, shall be devoted solely to the payment of expendituresactually incurred by the commission and attributable to the regulation ofsuch public utilities subject to the jurisdiction of the commission, asaforesaid. Any amount remaining in such special fund or its successor fundat the end of any fiscal year shall not revert to the general revenue fund,but shall be applicable by appropriation of the general assembly to thepayment of such expenditures of the commission in the succeeding fiscalyear and shall be applied by the commission to the reduction of the amountto be assessed to such public utilities in such succeeding fiscal year,such reduction to be allocated to each group of public utilities inproportion to the respective gross intrastate operating revenues of therespective groups during the preceding calendar year.

5. In order to enable the commission to make the allocations andassessments herein provided for, each public utility subject to thejurisdiction of the commission as aforesaid shall file with the commission,within ten days after August 28, 1996, and thereafter on or before Marchthirty-first of each year, a statement under oath showing its grossintrastate operating revenues for the preceding calendar year, and if anypublic utility shall fail to file such statement within the time aforesaidthe commission shall estimate such revenue which estimate shall be bindingon such public utility for the purpose of this section.

(RSMo 1939 § 5706, A.L. 1947 V. I p. 469, A.L. 1957 p. 507, A.L. 1965 p. 588, A.L. 1967 p. 578, A.L. 1990 H.B. 1078, A.L. 1996 S.B. 780)

Prior revision: 1929 § 5250

CROSS REFERENCE:

Public service commission fund abolished subject to exemption, RSMo 33.571