54-1-6 - Employment of staff -- Status and compensation -- Employees not to be parties or witnesses and may not appeal commission decisions. - Utah Statutes

54-1-6. Employment of staff -- Status and compensation -- Employees not to beparties or witnesses and may not appeal commission decisions.
(1) The annual budget of the Public Service Commission shall provide sufficient fundsfor the commission to hire, develop, and organize an advisory staff to assist the commission inperforming the powers, duties, and functions committed to it by statute.
(a) The commission may hire:
(i) economists, accountants, engineers, statisticians, lawyers, law clerks, and otherprofessional and technical experts;
(ii) court reporters, transcribers of tape recordings, clerks, secretaries, and otheradministrative and support staff;
(iii) additional experts as required for a particular matter; and
(iv) administrative law judges, who shall be members of the Utah State Bar, andconstitute a separate organizational unit reporting directly to the commission.
(b) The commission may provide for funds in the annual budget to acquire suitableelectronic recording equipment to maintain a verbatim record of proceedings before thecommission, any commissioner, or any administrative law judge.
(2) (a) With the exception of clerical workers in nonconfidential positions, all staff of thePublic Service Commission are exempt employees under the State Personnel Management Actand serve at the pleasure of the commission.
(b) Administrative law judges are exempt employees under the State PersonnelManagement Act and may only be removed from office upon due notice and by a unanimousvote of the commission.
(c) (i) The Department of Human Resource Management shall determine pay schedulesusing standard techniques for determining compensation.
(ii) The Department of Human Resource Management may make its compensationdeterminations based upon compensation practices common to utility companies throughout theUnited States.
(3) (a) The staff or other employees of the commission may not appear as parties orwitnesses in any proceeding before the commission, any commissioner, or any administrative lawjudge.
(b) The staff or other employees of the commission may not appeal any finding, order, ordecision of the commission.

Amended by Chapter 139, 2006 General Session