Senate Bill No. 453
(By Senators Green, White, Laird, Chafin, Yost, Minard, Unger,
Kessler, Bowman, K. Facemyer, D. Facemire and Plymale)
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[Introduced March 4, 2009; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §24-1-9 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to the Public Service Commission;
recommended decisions by hearing commissioner, examiner or
panel; and service of decisions on parties, including by
electronic transmission.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §24-1-9 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS.
§24-1-9. Recommended decision by hearing commissioner, hearing
examiner or panel.
(a) Any order recommended by a single hearing commissioner,
a hearing examiner or a panel consisting of a hearing examiner
and a single commissioner with respect to any matter referred for
hearing shall be in writing and shall set forth separately
findings of fact and conclusions of law, which findings of fact shall make specific reference to the evidence in the record which
supports such findings, and shall be filed with the commission.
A copy of such recommended order shall be served upon the parties
who have appeared in the proceeding.
The Commission may serve a
copy of the recommended order by certified mail or first class
mail. As an alternative to service by mail, the Commission may
serve a party by electronic transmission when the party has the
capability to receive the electronic transmission and has
furnished an electronic address. Any such electronic
transmission shall contain a "return receipt" mechanism to assure
the Commission that a recommended order was received. Service is
complete by mail when the recommended order is placed in the mail
to the address furnished by the party. Service is complete by
electronic transmission when the recommended order is sent to the
electronic address provided by the party.
(b) Before any order is recommended, the parties shall be
afforded an opportunity to submit, within the time prescribed by
the hearing commissioner, hearing examiner or panel proposed
findings of fact and conclusions of law and briefs.
(c) Within the time prescribed, the parties shall be
afforded an opportunity to file exceptions to the recommended
order and a brief in support thereof, provided the time so fixed
shall be not less than fifteen days from the date of mailing by
certified mail service of such recommended order to the parties.
(d) In all proceedings in which exceptions have been filed
to a recommended order, the commission, before issuing its final
order, may afford the parties an opportunity for oral argument.
When exceptions are filed, as herein provided, it shall be the
duty of the commission to consider the same and if sufficient
reason appears therefor, to grant such review or make such order
or hold or authorize such further hearing or proceeding as may be
necessary or proper to carry out the purposes of this chapter.
The commission, after review, upon the whole record, or as
supplemented by a further hearing, shall decide the matter in
controversy and make appropriate order thereon.
(e) When no exceptions are filed within the time specified,
such recommended order shall become the order of the commission
five days following the expiration of the period for filing
exceptions unless the order is stayed or postponed by the
commission: Provided, That the commission may, on its own motion
before such order becomes the order of the commission, review any
such matter and take action thereon as if exceptions thereto had
been filed.
(f) The commission, a hearing commissioner, a hearing
examiner or panel to whom a matter is referred may expedite the
hearing and decision of any case if the public interest so
requires by the use of pre-trial conferences, stipulations and
agreements, prepared testimony, depositions, daily transcripts of evidence, trial briefs and oral argument in lieu of briefs, as
appropriate.
NOTE: The purpose of this amendment is to delete the
requirement of the Commission to serve recommended decisions by
certified mail and to allow a service by electronic transmission,
when available to the parties.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.