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Sub. H. B. No. 9As Passed by the SenateAs Passed by the Senate
124th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2001-2002 |
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REPRESENTATIVES Setzer, Olman, Manning, Hollister, Goodman, Niehaus, Hagan, Schmidt, Womer Benjamin, Metzger, Carey, Kilbane, Peterson, Evans, Jolivette, Salerno
SENATORS Blessing, Spada, Fingerhut, Prentiss, White, DiDonato, Mead, Brady, Johnson, Coughlin, Harris, Espy, Mumper, Furney
A BILL
To amend sections 4719.01, 4905.10, 4905.302,
4911.18,
4929.01, 4929.02, 4929.14,
4935.03,
5727.01, and 5727.02 and
to enact
sections 4929.20
to 4929.30
of the
Revised Code and to amend
Section 37 of Am. Sub. H.B. 283 of the 123rd
General Assembly, as subsequently amended, to
require certain
governmental aggregators and
retail
natural gas
suppliers to be certified
by
the
Public Utilities
Commission;
to authorize
governmental aggregation
for
competitive retail
natural gas services under
specified
circumstances; to
authorize the
Commission to
require large natural gas
companies
to provide
distribution service on a
fully
open,
equal, and
nondiscriminatory basis to its
nonmercantile
distribution customers
upon
Commission approval
of an application of a retail
gas supplier, or of
a governmental aggregator
within
the
area of a
governmental aggregation; to
consolidate consumer
protection enforcement
authority with respect to
natural gas
transactions; to
authorize Project
Temporary
Heating Assistance for
Warmth; and to
make an
appropriation.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 4719.01, 4905.10, 4905.302, 4911.18,
4929.01, 4929.02, 4929.14,
4935.03, 5727.01, and 5727.02 be
amended and
sections 4929.20, 4929.21,
4929.22, 4929.23, 4929.24,
4929.25,
4929.26, 4929.27, 4929.28,
4929.29, and 4929.30 of the
Revised
Code be
enacted to read as
follows:
Sec. 4719.01. (A) As used in sections 4719.01 to 4719.18 of
the Revised
Code: (1)
"Affiliate" means a business entity that is owned by,
operated by,
controlled by, or under common control with another
business entity. (2)
"Communication" means a written or oral notification or
advertisement
that meets both of the following criteria, as
applicable: (a) The notification or advertisement is transmitted by or
on behalf of the
seller of goods or services and by or through any
printed, audio, video,
cinematic, telephonic, or electronic means. (b) In the case of a notification or advertisement other
than by
telephone, either of the following conditions is met: (i) The notification or advertisement is followed by a
telephone call from a
telephone solicitor or salesperson. (ii) The notification or advertisement invites a response by
telephone, and,
during the course of that response, a telephone
solicitor or salesperson attempts to make or makes a sale of goods
or
services. As used in division (A)(2)(b)(ii) of this section,
"invites a
response by telephone" excludes the mere listing or
inclusion of a telephone
number in a notification or
advertisement. (3)
"Gift, award, or prize" means
anything of value that is
offered or purportedly offered, or given or
purportedly given by
chance, at no cost to the receiver and with no
obligation to
purchase goods or services. As used in this division,
"chance"
includes a situation in which a person is
guaranteed to receive an
item and, at the time of the offer or purported
offer, the
telephone solicitor does not identify the specific item that the
person will receive. (4)
"Goods or services" means any real
property or any
tangible or intangible personal property, or services of any
kind
provided or offered to a person.
"Goods or services" includes,
but
is
not limited to, advertising; labor performed for the
benefit of
a person;
personal property intended to be attached to
or
installed in any real
property, regardless of whether it is so
attached or installed; timeshare
estates or licenses; and extended
service contracts. (5)
"Purchaser" means a person that is
solicited to become
or
does become financially obligated as a result of a
telephone
solicitation. (6)
"Salesperson" means an individual who is employed,
appointed, or
authorized by a telephone solicitor
to make
telephone solicitations but does not mean any of the following: (a) An individual who comes within one of the exemptions in
division (B) of this section; (b) An individual employed, appointed, or authorized by a
person
who comes within one of the exemptions in division (B) of
this
section; (c) An individual under a written contract with a person who
comes within one of the exemptions in division (B) of this
section,
if liability for all transactions with purchasers is
assumed by the person so
exempted. (7)
"Telephone solicitation" means a communication to a
person that meets
both of the following criteria: (a) The communication is initiated by or on behalf of a
telephone solicitor
or by a salesperson. (b) The communication either represents a price or the
quality or
availability of goods or services or is used to induce
the person to purchase
goods or services, including, but not
limited to, inducement through the
offering of a gift, award, or
prize. (8)
"Telephone solicitor" means a person that engages in
telephone
solicitation directly or through one or more
salespersons either from a location in this state, or from a
location
outside
this state to persons in this state.
"Telephone
solicitor" includes, but is
not limited to, any such person that
is an owner, operator, officer, or
director of, partner in, or
other individual engaged in the management
activities of, a
business. (B) A telephone solicitor is exempt from the
provisions of
sections 4719.02 to 4719.18 and section 4719.99 of the Revised
Code if the telephone solicitor is any one of the following: (1) A person engaging in a telephone solicitation that is a
one-time or
infrequent transaction not done in the course of a
pattern of repeated
transactions of a like nature; (2) A person engaged in telephone solicitation solely for
religious or
political purposes; a charitable organization,
fund-raising counsel, or
professional solicitor in compliance with
the registration and reporting
requirements of Chapter 1716. of
the
Revised Code; or any person or other entity exempt under
section 1716.03 of
the Revised Code from filing a registration
statement under section 1716.02 of
the Revised Code; (3) A person, making a telephone solicitation involving a
home
solicitation sale as defined in section 1345.21 of the
Revised Code, that makes the sales presentation and completes the
sale at a
later,
face-to-face meeting between the seller and the
purchaser rather than during
the telephone solicitation. However,
if the person, following the telephone
solicitation, causes
another person to collect the
payment of any money, this exemption
does not apply. (4) A licensed securities, commodities, or investment
broker, dealer,
investment advisor, or associated person when
making a telephone solicitation
within the scope of the person's
license. As used in division
(B)(4) of this section,
"licensed
securities,
commodities, or investment broker, dealer, investment
advisor, or associated
person" means a person subject to licensure
or registration as such by the
securities and exchange commission;
the National Association of Securities
Dealers or other
self-regulatory organization, as defined by 15
U.S.C.A. 78c; by
the division of
securities under Chapter 1707. of the Revised
Code; or by an
official or agency of any other state of the United
States. (5)(a) A person primarily engaged in soliciting the sale of
a
newspaper of general circulation; (b) As used in division (B)(5)(a) of this section,
"newspaper of general
circulation" includes, but is not limited
to, both of the following: (i) A newspaper that is a daily law journal designated as an
official
publisher of court calendars pursuant to section 2701.09
of the Revised Code; (ii) A newspaper or publication that has at least
twenty-five per cent
editorial, non-advertising content, exclusive
of inserts, measured relative to
total publication space, and an
audited circulation to at least fifty per cent
of the households
in the newspaper's retail trade zone as defined by the
audit. (6)(a) An issuer, or its subsidiary, that has a class of
securities to which all of the following apply: (i) The class of securities is subject to section 12 of the
"Securities Exchange Act of 1934," 15 U.S.C.A. 78l, and is
registered or is
exempt from registration under 15
U.S.C.A.
78l(g)(2)(A), (B), (C), (E), (F), (G), or (H); (ii) The class of securities is listed on the
New York stock
exchange, the American stock exchange,
or the NASDAQ national
market system; (iii) The class of securities is a reported security as
defined
in 17 C.F.R. 240.11Aa3-1(a)(4). (b) An issuer, or its subsidiary, that formerly had a class
of
securities that met the criteria set forth in division
(B)(6)(a) of this section
if the issuer, or its subsidiary, has a
net worth in excess of one hundred
million dollars, files or its
parent files with the securities and exchange
commission an S.E.C.
form 10-K, and has continued in substantially
the same business
since it had a class of securities that met the criteria in
division (B)(6)(a) of this section. As used in division
(B)(6)(b)
of this section,
"issuer" and
"subsidiary" include the successor
to
an issuer or
subsidiary. (7) A person soliciting a transaction regulated by the
commodity futures
trading commission, if the person is registered
or temporarily
registered for that activity with the commission
under 7 U.S.C.A. 1 et. seq.
and the registration or temporary
registration
has not expired or been suspended or revoked; (8) A person soliciting the sale of any book, record, audio
tape,
compact disc, or video, if the person allows the
purchaser
to review the
merchandise for at least seven days and provides
a
full refund within thirty days to a purchaser who returns the
merchandise or
if the person solicits the sale on
behalf of a
membership club operating in compliance with regulations adopted
by the federal trade commission in 16 C.F.R. 425; (9) A supervised financial institution or its subsidiary.
As
used in
division (B)(9) of this section,
"supervised
financial
institution" means a bank, trust company, savings and
loan
association, savings bank, credit union, industrial loan company,
consumer finance lender, commercial finance lender, or institution
described
in section 2(c)(2)(F) of the
"Bank Holding Company Act
of 1956," 12 U.S.C.A.
1841(c)(2)(F), as amended, supervised by
an
official or agency of the United States, this state, or
any other
state of the United States; or a licensee or registrant under
sections 1321.01 to 1321.19, 1321.51 to 1321.60, or 1321.71 to
1321.83 of the
Revised Code. (10)(a) An insurance company, association, or other
organization
that is licensed or authorized to conduct business in
this state by the
superintendent of insurance pursuant to Title
XXXIX of the
Revised Code or Chapter 1751. of the Revised Code,
when soliciting
within the scope of its license or authorization. (b) A licensed insurance broker, agent, or
solicitor when
soliciting within the scope of the person's license. As used
in
division (B)(10)(b) of this section,
"licensed
insurance broker,
agent, or solicitor" means any
person licensed as an insurance
broker, agent, or solicitor by the
superintendent of insurance
pursuant to Title XXXIX of the Revised Code. (11) A person soliciting the sale of services provided by a
cable
television system operating under authority of a
governmental franchise or
permit; (12) A person soliciting a business-to-business sale under
which any of
the following conditions are met: (a) The telephone solicitor has been operating
continuously
for at least three years under the same business name under which
it solicits purchasers, and at least fifty-one per cent of its
gross dollar
volume of sales consists of repeat sales to existing
customers to whom it
has made sales under the same business name. (b) The purchaser business intends to resell the
goods
purchased. (c) The purchaser business intends to use the goods
or
services purchased in a recycling, reuse, manufacturing, or
remanufacturing
process. (d) The telephone solicitor is a publisher of a periodical
or of
magazines distributed as controlled circulation publications
as
defined in
division (CC) of section 5739.01 of the Revised Code
and is soliciting sales of advertising, subscriptions, reprints,
lists,
information databases, conference participation or
sponsorships, trade shows
or media products related to the
periodical or magazine, or other publishing
services provided by
the controlled circulation publication. (13) A person that, not less often than once each year,
publishes and
delivers to potential purchasers a catalog that
complies with both of the
following: (a) It includes all of the following: (i) The business address of the seller; (ii) A written description or illustration of each good
or
service offered for sale; (iii) A clear and conspicuous disclosure of the sale price
of
each good or service; shipping, handling, and
other charges;
and return policy; (b) One of the following applies: (i) The catalog includes at least twenty-four pages of
written
material and illustrations, is distributed in more than
one state, and has an
annual postage-paid mail circulation of not
less than two hundred fifty
thousand households; (ii) The catalog includes at least ten pages of written
material
or an equivalent amount of material in electronic form on
the internet or an
on-line computer service, the person does not
solicit customers by telephone
but solely receives telephone calls
made in response to the catalog, and
during
the calls the person
takes orders but does not engage in further solicitation
of the
purchaser. As used in division (B)(13)(b)(ii) of this section,
"further solicitation" does not include providing the purchaser
with
information about, or attempting to sell, any other item in
the
catalog that prompted the purchaser's call or in a
substantially similar
catalog issued by the seller. (14) A political subdivision or instrumentality of the
United States, this state, or any state of the
United States; (15) A college or university or any other public or private
institution of
higher education in this state; (16) A public utility, as defined in section 4905.02 of the
Revised Code
or a retail natural gas supplier as defined in
section 4929.01 of the Revised Code,
that
if the utility or
supplier is subject to regulation by the public
utilities
commission, or
its
the affiliate
of the utility or supplier; (17) A travel agency or tour promoter that is registered in
compliance
with section 1333.96 of the Revised Code when
soliciting
within the scope of the agency's or promoter's
registration; (18) A person that solicits sales through a television
program or
advertisement that is presented in the same market area
no fewer than twenty
days per month or offers for sale no fewer
than ten distinct items of goods or
services; and offers to the
purchaser an unconditional right
to return any good or service
purchased within a period of at least seven days
and to receive a
full refund within thirty days after the purchaser returns
the
good or cancels the service; (19)(a) A person that, for at least one year, has been
operating
a retail business under the same name as that used in
connection with
telephone solicitation and both of the following
occur on a continuing
basis: (i) The person either displays goods and offers them for
retail
sale at the person's business premises or offers services
for sale and
provides them at the person's business premises. (ii) At least fifty-one per cent of the person's
gross
dollar volume of retail sales involves purchases of goods or
services at
the person's business premises. (b) An affiliate of a person that meets the requirements in
division (B)(19)(a) of
this section if the affiliate meets all of
the following requirements: (i) The affiliate has operated a retail business for a
period of
less than one year; (ii) The affiliate either displays goods and offers them for
retail sale at the affiliate's business premises or offers
services for sale
and provides them at the affiliate's business
premises; (iii) At least fifty-one per cent of the affiliate's gross
dollar
volume of retail sales involves purchases of goods or
services at the
affiliate's business premises. (c) A person that, for a period of less than one year, has
been
operating a retail business in this state under the same name
as that used in
connection with telephone solicitation, as long as
all of the following
requirements are met: (i) The person either displays goods and offers them for
retail
sale at the person's business premises or offers services
for sale and
provides them at the person's business premises; (ii) The goods or services that are the subject of telephone
solicitation are sold at the person's business premises, and at
least
sixty-five per cent of the person's gross dollar volume of
retail sales
involves purchases of goods or services at the
person's business premises; (iii) The person conducts all telephone solicitation
activities
according to sections 310.3, 310.4, and 310.5 of the
telemarketing sales rule
adopted by the federal trade commission
in 16 C.F.R. part 310. (20) A person who performs telephone solicitation sales
services on behalf
of other persons and to whom one of the
following applies: (a) The person has operated under the same ownership,
control, and business
name for at least five years, and the person
receives at least seventy-five
per cent of its gross revenues from
written telephone solicitation contracts
with persons who come
within one of the exemptions in division (B) of this
section. (b) The person is an affiliate of one or more exempt persons
and
makes telephone solicitations on behalf of only the exempt
persons of which it
is an affiliate. (c) The person makes telephone solicitations on behalf of
only
exempt persons, the person and each exempt person on whose
behalf telephone
solicitations are made have entered into a
written contract that specifies the
manner in which the telephone
solicitations are to be conducted and that at a
minimum requires
compliance with the telemarketing sales rule adopted by the
federal trade commission in 16 C.F.R.
part 310, and the person
conducts the telephone solicitations in the manner
specified in
the written contract. (d) The person performs telephone solicitation for religious
or
political purposes, a charitable organization, a fund-raising
council, or a
professional solicitor in compliance with the
registration and reporting
requirements of Chapter 1716. of the
Revised Code; and meets all of the
following requirements: (i) The person has operated under the same ownership,
control, and
business name for at least five years, and the person
receives at least
fifty-one per cent of its gross revenues from
written telephone solicitation
contracts with persons who come
within the exemption in division
(B)(2) of this section; (ii) The person does not conduct a prize promotion or offer
the
sale of an investment opportunity; and (iii) The person conducts all telephone solicitation
activities
according to sections 310.3, 310.4, and 310.5 of the
telemarketing sales rules
adopted by the federal trade commission
in 16 C.F.R. part 310. (21) A person that is a licensed real estate salesperson or
broker under
Chapter 4735. of the Revised Code when soliciting
within the scope of the person's license; (22)(a) Either of the following: (i) A publisher that solicits the sale of the publisher's
periodical or magazine of general, paid circulation, or a person
that solicits
a sale of that nature on behalf of a publisher
under
a written agreement
directly between the publisher and the person. (ii) A publisher that solicits the sale of the publisher's
periodical or magazine of general, paid circulation, or a person
that solicits
a sale of that nature as authorized by a publisher
under a written agreement
directly
with a publisher's
clearinghouse provided the person is a resident of
Ohio for more
than three years and initiates all telephone
solicitations from
Ohio and the person conducts the solicitation and
sale in
compliance with 16 C.F.R. Part
310, as adopted by the federal
trade commission. (b) As used in division (B)(22) of this section,
"periodical
or
magazine of general, paid circulation" excludes a periodical or
magazine
circulated only as part of a membership package or given
as a free gift or
prize from the publisher or person. (23) A person that solicits the sale of food, as defined in
section 3715.01
of the Revised Code, or the sale of products of
horticulture, as defined in
section 5739.01 of the Revised Code,
if the person does not intend the
solicitation to result in, or
the solicitation actually does not result in, a
sale that costs
the purchaser an amount greater than five hundred dollars. (24) A funeral director licensed pursuant to Chapter 4717.
of the Revised
Code when soliciting within the scope of that
license, if both of the
following apply: (a) The solicitation and sale are conducted in compliance
with 16 C.F.R. part
453, as adopted by the federal trade
commission, and with sections 1107.33 and
1345.21 to 1345.28 of
the Revised Code; (b) The person provides to the purchaser of any preneed
funeral
contract a notice that clearly and conspicuously sets
forth the cancellation
rights specified in division (G) of section
1107.33 of the Revised Code, and
retains a copy of the notice
signed by the purchaser. (25) A person, or affiliate thereof, licensed to sell or
issue
Ohio instruments designated as travelers checks pursuant to
sections
1315.01 to 1315.11 of the Revised Code. (26) A person that solicits sales from its previous
purchasers and meets
all of the following requirements: (a) The solicitation is made under the same business name
that
was previously used to sell goods or services to the
purchaser; (b) The person has, for a period of not less than three
years,
operated a business under the same business name as that
used in connection
with telephone solicitation; (c) The person does not conduct a prize promotion or offer
the
sale of an investment opportunity; (d) The person conducts all telephone solicitation
activities
according to sections 310.3, 310.4, and 310.5 of the
telemarketing sales rules
adopted by the federal trade commission
in 16 C.F.R. part 310; (e) Neither the person nor any of its principals has been
convicted of, pleaded guilty to, or has entered a plea of no
contest for a
felony or a theft offense as defined in sections
2901.02 and 2913.01 of the
Revised Code or similar law of another
state or of the United States; (f) Neither the person nor any of its principals has had
entered
against them an injunction or a final judgment or order,
including an agreed
judgment or order, an assurance of voluntary
compliance, or any similar
instrument, in any civil or
administrative action involving engaging in a
pattern of corrupt
practices, fraud, theft, embezzlement, fraudulent
conversion, or
misappropriation of property; the use of any untrue, deceptive,
or
misleading representation; or the use of any unfair, unlawful,
deceptive,
or unconscionable trade act or practice. (27) An institution defined as a home health agency in
section 3701.88
of the Revised Code, that conducts all telephone
solicitation activities according to
sections 310.3, 310.4, and
310.5 of the telemarketing sales rules adopted by
the federal
trade commission in 16 C.F.R. part 310,
and engages in telephone
solicitation only within the scope of the
institution's
certification, accreditation, contract with the department of
aging, or status as a home health agency; and that meets one of
the following
requirements: (a) The institution is certified as a provider of home
health
services under Title XVIII of the Social
Security Act, 49
Stat. 620, 42
U.S.C. 301, as amended; and is registered with the
department of health pursuant to division (B) of section 3701.88
of the Revised Code; (b) The institution is accredited by either the joint
commission
on accreditation of health care organizations or the
community health
accreditation program; (c) The institution is providing PASSPORT services
under the
direction of the Ohio department of aging under section
173.40 of
the Revised Code; (d) An affiliate of an institution that meets the
requirements of
division (B)(27)(a), (b), or
(c) of this section
when offering for sale substantially the same
goods and services
as those that are offered by the institution that meets the
requirements of division (B)(27)(a), (b),
or (c) of this section. (28) A person licensed to provide a hospice care program by
the department
of health pursuant to section 3712.04 of the
Revised Code when conducting
telephone
solicitations within the
scope of the person's license and according to
sections 310.3,
310.4, and 310.5 of the telemarketing sales rules adopted by
the
federal trade commission in 16 C.F.R. part 310.
Sec. 4905.10. (A) For the sole purpose of maintaining and
administering the public utilities commission and exercising its
supervision and jurisdiction over the railroads and public
utilities of
the
this state, an amount equivalent to the
appropriation
from the public utilities fund created under
division (B) of this
section to the public utilities commission
for
railroad and public utilities regulation in each
fiscal year
shall be apportioned among
and assessed against each railroad and
public
utility within
the
this state by the commission by first
computing an assessment as
though it were to be made in proportion
to the intrastate gross
earnings or receipts, excluding earnings
or receipts from sales
to other public utilities for resale, of
the railroad
or public
utility for the calendar year next
preceding that in
which the
assessment is made. The commission
may
include in that first computation any amount of
a railroad's
or public utility's intrastate gross earnings or receipts
that
were underreported in a prior year. In addition to whatever
penalties apply under the Revised Code to such
underreporting, the
commission shall assess the railroad or public utility interest at
the
rate stated in division (A) of section 1343.01 of the
Revised
Code. The
commission shall deposit any interest so collected into
the public
utilities fund. The
final computation of
the assessment
shall consist of
imposing upon each railroad and public utility
whose assessment
under the first computation would have been
fifty dollars or less
an assessment of fifty dollars and
recomputing the assessments of
the remaining
railroads and public
utilities by apportioning an
amount equal to the appropriation to
the public utilities
commission for administration of the
utilities division in each
fiscal year less the total amount to
be recovered from those
paying the minimum assessment, in
proportion to the intrastate
gross earnings or receipts of the
remaining railroads and public
utilities for the calendar year
next preceding that in which the
assessments are made. In the case of an assessment based on intrastate gross
receipts
under this section against a public utility that is an
electric
utility as defined in section 4928.01 of the Revised
Code, or an electric
services company,
electric cooperative, or
governmental aggregator subject to certification under section
4928.08 of the Revised Code, such receipts shall be those
specified in the utility's, company's, cooperative's, or
aggregator's most
recent report of intrastate gross receipts and
sales of kilowatt hours of
electricity, filed with the commission
pursuant to division (F) of
section 4928.06 of the Revised Code,
and verified by the
commission.
In the case of an assessment based on intrastate gross
receipts under this section against a retail natural gas supplier
or governmental aggregator subject to certification under section
4929.20 of the Revised Code, such receipts shall be those
specified in the supplier's or aggregator's most recent report of
intrastate gross receipts and sales of hundred cubic feet of
natural gas, filed with the commission pursuant to division (B) of
section 4929.23 of the Revised Code, and verified by the
commission. However, no such retail natural gas supplier or such
governmental aggregator serving or proposing to serve customers of
a particular natural gas company, as defined in section 4929.01 of
the Revised Code, shall be assessed under this section until
after
the commission, pursuant to section
4905.26 or 4909.18 of
the
Revised Code, has removed from the base
rates of the natural
gas
company the amount of assessment under
this
section that is
attributable to the value of commodity sales service, as defined
in section 4929.01 of the Revised Code, in
the
base rates paid by
those customers of the company that do not purchase
that service
from the natural gas company. (B) On or before the first day of October in each year,
the
commission shall notify each such railroad and public utility
of
the sum assessed against it, whereupon payment shall be made
to
the commission, which shall deposit it into the state treasury
to
the credit of the public utilities
fund, which is hereby created.
Any such amounts paid
into the fund but not expended by the
commission shall be credited ratably, after first deducting any
deficits accumulated from prior years, by the commission to
railroads and public utilities that pay more than the minimum
assessment, according to the respective portions of such sum
assessable against them for the ensuing calendar year. The
assessments for such calendar year shall be reduced
correspondingly. (C) Within five days after the beginning of each fiscal
year,
the director of budget and management shall transfer from
the
general revenue fund to the public utilities fund an amount
sufficient for maintaining and administering the public
utilities
commission and exercising its supervision and
jurisdiction over
the railroads and public utilities of the
state during the first
four months of the fiscal year. The director shall
transfer the
same amount back to the general revenue
fund from the public
utilities fund at such time as the
director determines that the
balance of the public utilities
fund is sufficient to support the
appropriations from the fund
for the fiscal year. The director
may transfer less than that
amount if the director determines that
the revenues of the
public utilities fund during the fiscal year
will be
insufficient to support the appropriations from the fund
for the
fiscal year, in which case the amount not paid back to the
general revenue fund shall be payable to the general revenue
fund
in future fiscal years. (D) For the purpose of this section only,
"public
utility"
includes, in: (1) In addition to an
electric utility as defined in section
4928.01 of the Revised Code, an electric services
company, an
electric cooperative, or a
governmental aggregator subject to
certification under section 4928.08
of the
Revised Code, to the
extent of the company's, cooperative's,
or aggregator's
engagement
in the business of supplying or arranging
for the supply in this
state of any retail electric service for which it must
be so
certified; (2) In addition to a natural gas company as defined in
section 4929.01 of the Revised Code, a retail natural gas supplier
or governmental aggregator subject to certification under section
4929.20 of the Revised Code, to the extent of the supplier's or
aggregator's engagement in the business of supplying or arranging
for the supply in this state of any competitive retail natural gas
service for which it must be certified. (E) Each public utilities commissioner shall receive a
salary fixed at the level set by pay range 49 under schedule E-2
of section 124.152 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 4905.302. (A)(1) For the purpose of this section,
the
term "purchased gas adjustment clause" means: (a) A provision in a schedule of a gas company or natural
gas company that requires or allows the company to, without
adherence to section 4909.18 or 4909.19 of the Revised Code,
adjust the rates that it charges to its customers in accordance
with any fluctuation in the cost to the company of obtaining the
gas that it sells, that has occurred since the time any order has
been issued by the public utilities commission establishing rates
for the company pertaining to those customers; (b) A provision in an ordinance adopted pursuant to
section
743.26 or 4909.34 of the Revised Code or Section 4 of
Article
XVIII
of the, Ohio Constitution, with respect to which a
gas
company or natural gas company is required or allowed to
adjust
the rates it charges under such an ordinance in accordance
with
any fluctuation in the cost to the company of obtaining the
gas
that it sells, that has occurred since the time of the
adoption of
the ordinance. (2) For the purpose of this section, the term "special
purchase" means any purchase of interstate natural gas, any
purchase of liquified natural gas, and any purchase of synthetic
natural gas from any source developed after the effective date of
this section, April 27, 1976, provided that this purchase be of
less than one hundred twenty days duration and the price for this
purchase is not regulated by the federal power commission. For
the purpose of this division, the expansion or enlargement of a
synthetic natural gas plant existing at such date shall be
considered a source so developed. (3) For the purpose of this section, the term "residential
customer" means urban, suburban, and rural patrons of gas
companies and natural gas companies insofar as their needs for
gas
are limited to their residence. Such term includes those
patrons
whose rates have been set under an ordinance adopted
pursuant to
sections 743.26 and 4909.34 of the Revised Code or
Section 4 of
Article XVIII
of the, Ohio Constitution. (B) A purchased gas adjustment clause may not allow, and
no
such clause may be interpreted to allow, a gas company or
natural
gas company that has obtained an order from the public
utilities
commission permitting the company to curtail the
service of any
customer or class of customers other than
residential customers,
such order being based on the company's
inability to secure a
sufficient quantity of natural gas, to
distribute the cost of any
special purchase made subsequent to
the effective date of such
order, to the extent that such
purchase decreases the level of
curtailment of any such customer
or class of customers, to any
class of customers of the company
that was not curtailed, to any
class of residential customers of
the company, or to any class of
customers of the company whose
level of curtailment was not
decreased and whose consumption
increased as a result of, or in
connection with, the special
purchase. (C)(1) The commission shall promulgate a
purchased gas
adjustment rule, consistent with this section, that
establishes a
uniform purchased gas adjustment clause to be
included in the
schedule of gas companies and natural gas
companies subject to the
jurisdiction of the public utilities
commission and that
establishes investigative procedures and
proceedings including,
but not limited to, periodic reports,
audits, and hearings. (2) Unless otherwise ordered by the commission for good
cause
shown: (a) The commission's staff shall conduct any audit or other
investigation of a natural gas company having fifteen thousand or
fewer
customers in this state that may be required under the
purchased gas
adjustment
rule. (b) Except as provided in section 4905.10 of the
Revised
Code,
the commission shall not impose upon such company any fee,
expense, or cost of
such audit or other investigation or any
related hearing under this
section. (3) Unless otherwise ordered by the commission for good
cause shown
either by an interested party or by the commission on
its own motion, no
natural gas company having fifteen thousand or
fewer customers in this state
shall be subject under the purchased
gas adjustment rule to any audit or other
investigation or any
related hearing, other than a financial audit or, as
necessary,
any hearing related to a financial audit.
(4) In issuing an order under division
(C)(2) or (3) of this
section, the commission
shall file a written opinion setting forth
the reasons showing good cause
under
such division and the
specific matters to be audited, investigated, or
subjected to
hearing. Nothing in division (C)(2) or (3) of this
section
relieves such a natural gas
company from the duty to file such
information as the commission may require
under the rule for the
purpose of showing that a company has charged its
customers
accurately for the cost of gas obtained. (D) Nothing in this section or any other provision of law
shall be construed to mean that the commission, in the event of
any cost
distribution allowed under this
section, may issue an
order pursuant to which the prudent and
reasonable cost of gas to
a gas company or natural gas company of
any special purchase may
not be recovered by the company. For
the purpose of this
division, such cost of gas neither includes
any applicable
franchise taxes nor the ordinary losses of gas
experienced by the
company in the process of transmission and
distribution. (E) The commission shall not at any
time
prevent or restrain
such costs as are distributable under this
section from being so
distributed, unless the commission has
reason to believe that an
arithmetic or accounting inaccuracy
exists with respect to such a
distribution or that the company
has not accurately represented
the amount of the cost of a
special purchase, or has followed
imprudent or unreasonable
procurement policies and practices, has
made errors in the
estimation of cubic feet sold, or has employed
such other
practices, policies, or factors as the commission
considers
inappropriate.
(F) The cost of natural gas under this
section shall not
include any cost recovered by a natural gas
company pursuant to
section 4929.25 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 4911.18. (A) For the sole purpose of maintaining and
administering the office of the consumers' counsel and exercising
the powers of the consumers' counsel under this chapter, an
amount
equal to the appropriation to the office of the consumers'
counsel
in each fiscal year shall be apportioned among and
assessed
against each public utility
within
the
this state, as
defined in
section 4911.01 of the Revised Code, by first
computing an
assessment as though it were to be made in
proportion to the
intrastate gross earnings or receipts of the
public utility for
the calendar year next
preceding that in which the assessment is
made, excluding
earnings or
receipts from sales to other public
utilities for resale. The office
may include in that first
computation any amount of a
public utility's intrastate gross
earnings or receipts
underreported in a prior year. In addition
to whatever penalties apply
under the Revised Code to such
underreporting, the office
shall assess the public utility
interest at the rate stated
in
division (A) of section 1343.01 of
the Revised
Code. The office shall
deposit any interest so
collected into the consumers' counsel operating
fund. The final computation of the assessment shall consist of
imposing upon each public utility whose assessment under
the first
computation would have been fifty dollars or less an assessment
of
fifty dollars and recomputing the assessment of the remaining
companies by apportioning an amount equal to the appropriation to
the office of consumers' counsel in each fiscal year less the
total amount to be recovered from those paying the minimum
assessment, in proportion to the intrastate gross earnings or
receipts of the remaining companies for the calendar year next
preceding that in which the assessments are made, excluding
earnings or receipts from sales to other public utilities for
resale. In the case of an assessment based on intrastate gross
receipts
under this section against a public utility that is an
electric utility as
defined in section 4928.01 of the Revised
Code,
or an electric services company, electric cooperative, or
governmental
aggregator subject to certification under section
4928.08 of the
Revised
Code, such receipts shall be those
specified in the utility's,
company's, cooperative's, or
aggregator's most recent report of intrastate
gross receipts and
sales
of kilowatt hours of electricity, filed with the public
utilities
commission pursuant to division (F) of section 4928.06
of the
Revised Code, and verified by the commission. In the case of an assessment based on intrastate gross
receipts under this section against a retail natural gas supplier
or governmental aggregator subject to certification under section
4929.20 of the Revised Code, such receipts shall be those
specified in the supplier's or aggregator's most recent report of
intrastate gross receipts and sales of hundred cubic feet of
natural gas, filed with the commission pursuant to division (B) of
section 4929.23 of the Revised Code, and verified by the
commission. However, no such retail natural gas supplier or such
governmental aggregator serving or proposing to serve customers of
a particular natural gas company, as defined in section 4929.01 of
the Revised Code, shall be assessed under this section until
after
the commission, pursuant to section
4905.26 or 4909.18 of
the
Revised Code, has removed from the base
rates of the natural
gas
company the amount of assessment under
this
section that is
attributable to the value of commodity sales service, as defined
in section 4929.01 of the Revised Code, in
the
base rates paid by
those customers of the company that do not purchase
that service
from the natural gas company. (B) On or before the first day of October in each year, the
office of consumers' counsel shall notify each public utility
of
the sum
assessed against it, whereupon payment shall be made to
the
counsel, who shall deposit it into the state treasury to the
credit of the
consumers' counsel operating fund, which is hereby
created. Any such amounts paid into
the fund but not expended by
the
office shall be credited ratably by the office to the public
utilities that pay more than the minimum
assessment, according
to
the respective portions of such sum assessable against them
for
the ensuing calendar year, after first deducting any deficits
accumulated from prior years. The assessments for such calendar
year shall be reduced correspondingly. (C) Within five days after the beginning of each fiscal
year,
the director of budget and management shall transfer from
the
general revenue fund to the consumers' counsel operating fund
an
amount sufficient for maintaining and administering the office
of the consumers' counsel and exercising the powers of the
consumers' counsel under this chapter during the first four
months
of the fiscal year. Not later than the thirty-first day
of
December of the fiscal year,
the same amount shall be transferred
back to the general revenue
fund from the consumers' counsel
operating fund. (D) As used in this section,
"public utility" includes, in: (1) In
addition to an electric utility as defined in section
4928.01 of the Revised
Code, an electric services
company, an
electric cooperative, or a governmental aggregator subject to
certification under section 4928.08 of the Revised Code, to
the
extent of the company's, cooperative's, or aggregator's engagement
in the
business of supplying or arranging for the supply in this
state of any retail
electric service for which it must be so
certified; (2) In addition to a natural gas company as defined in
section 4929.01 of the Revised Code, a retail natural gas supplier
or governmental aggregator subject to certification under section
4929.20 of the Revised Code, to the extent of the supplier's or
aggregator's engagement in the business of supplying or arranging
for the supply in this state of any competitive retail natural gas
service for which it must be certified.
Sec. 4929.01. As used in this chapter: (A)
"Alternative rate plan" means a method, alternate to the
method of section 4909.15 of the Revised Code, for establishing
rates and
charges, under
which rates and charges may be
established for a commodity sales service or
ancillary service
that
is not exempt pursuant to section 4929.04 of the Revised Code
or for a distribution service.
Alternative rate plans may
include, but are not
limited to, methods that provide adequate and
reliable natural gas services
and goods in this state; minimize
the costs and time expended in the
regulatory process; tend to
assess the costs of any natural gas service or
goods to the
entity, service, or goods that cause such costs to be incurred;
afford rate stability; promote and reward efficiency, quality of
service, or
cost containment by a natural gas company; or provide
sufficient flexibility
and incentives to the natural gas industry
to achieve high quality,
technologically advanced, and readily
available natural gas services and goods
at just and reasonable
rates and charges. Alternative rate plans also may
include, but
are not limited to, automatic adjustments based on a specified
index or changes in a specified cost or costs. (B)
"Ancillary service" means a service that is ancillary to
the
receipt or delivery of natural gas to consumers, including,
but not limited
to, storage, pooling, balancing, and transmission. (C)
"Commodity sales service" means the sale of natural gas
to
consumers, exclusive of any distribution or ancillary service. (D)
"Comparable service" means any regulated service or
goods
whose availability, quality, price, terms, and conditions
are the
same as or
better than those of the services or goods that
the
natural gas company
provides to a person with which it is
affiliated or which it controls, or, as
to any consumer, that the
natural gas company offers to that consumer as part
of a bundled
service that includes both regulated and exempt services or
goods. (E)
"Consumer" means any person or association of persons
purchasing, delivering, storing, or transporting, or seeking to
purchase,
deliver, store, or transport, natural gas, including
industrial consumers,
commercial consumers, and residential
consumers, but not including natural gas
companies. (F)
"Distribution service" means the delivery of natural gas
to a
consumer at the consumer's facilities, by and through the
instrumentalities
and facilities of a natural gas company,
regardless of the party having title
to the natural gas. (G)
"Natural gas company" means a natural gas company, as
defined
in section 4905.03 of the Revised Code, that is a public
utility as defined in
section
4905.02 of the Revised Code
and
excludes a retail natural gas supplier. (H) "Person," except as provided in division (N) of this
section, has the same meaning as in section 1.59 of the Revised
Code, and
includes this state and any political subdivision,
agency, or other
instrumentality of this state and includes the
United States
and any agency or other instrumentality of the
United
States. (I)
"Billing or collection agent" means a fully independent
agent, not affiliated with or otherwise controlled by a retail
natural gas supplier or governmental aggregator subject to
certification under section
4929.20 of the Revised Code, to the
extent that the agent is under
contract with such supplier or
aggregator solely to provide billing and
collection for
competitive retail natural gas service on behalf of
the supplier
or aggregator. (J)
"Competitive retail natural gas service" means any
retail
natural gas service that may be competitively offered to
consumers in this state as a result of revised schedules approved
under division (C)
of section 4929.29 of the Revised Code, a rule
or
order adopted or issued by the public utilities commission
under
Chapter 4905. of the Revised Code, or an exemption granted
by the
commission under sections 4929.04 to 4929.08 of the Revised
Code. (K)
"Governmental aggregator" means either of the following: (1) A legislative authority
of a municipal corporation, a
board of township trustees, or a
board of county commissioners
acting exclusively under section 4929.26 or 4929.27 of the Revised
Code as an aggregator for the
provision of competitive retail
natural gas service; (2) A municipal corporation acting exclusively under Section
4 of Article XVIII, Ohio Constitution, as an aggregator for the
provision of competitive retail natural gas service. (L)(1)
"Mercantile customer" means a customer that consumes,
other than for residential use, more than five hundred thousand
cubic feet of natural gas per year at a single location within
this state or consumes natural gas, other than for residential
use, as part of an undertaking having more than three
locations
within or outside of this state.
"Mercantile customer"
excludes a
customer for which a declaration under division (L)(2)
of this
section is in effect pursuant to that division.
(2) A not-for-profit customer that consumes, other than for
residential use, more than five hundred thousand cubic feet of
natural gas per year at a single location within this state or
consumes natural gas, other than for residential use, as
part of
an undertaking having more than three locations within or
outside
this state may file a declaration under division (L)(2) of
this
section with the public utilities commission. The
declaration
shall take effect upon the date of filing, and by
virtue of the
declaration, the customer is not a mercantile
customer for the
purposes of this section and sections 4929.20 to
4929.29 of the
Revised Code or the purposes of a governmental
natural gas
aggregation or arrangement or other contract entered
into after
the declaration's effective date for the supply or
arranging of
the supply of natural gas to the customer to a
location within
this state. The customer may file a rescission of
the declaration
with the commission at any time. The rescission
shall not affect
any governmental natural gas aggregation or
arrangement or other
contract entered into by the customer prior
to the date of the
filing of the rescission and shall have effect
only with respect
to any subsequent such aggregation or
arrangement or other
contract. The commission shall prescribe
rules under section
4929.10 of the Revised Code specifying the
form of the declaration
or a rescission and procedures by which a
declaration or
rescission may be filed.
(M)
"Retail natural gas service" means commodity sales
service, ancillary service, natural gas aggregation service,
natural gas marketing service, or natural gas brokerage service. (N)
"Retail natural gas supplier" means any person, as
defined in section 1.59 of the Revised Code, that is engaged on a
for-profit or
not-for-profit basis in the business of supplying or
arranging for
the supply of a competitive retail natural gas
service to
consumers in this state that are not mercantile
customers.
"Retail natural gas supplier" includes a
marketer,
broker, or aggregator, but excludes a natural gas
company, a
governmental aggregator as defined in division (K)(1) or (2) of
this section, an entity described in division (B) or
(C) of
section 4905.02 of the Revised Code, or a billing or
collection
agent, and excludes a producer or gatherer of gas to
the extent
such producer or gatherer is not a natural gas company
under
section 4905.03 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 4929.02. (A) It is the policy of this state to,
throughout
this state: (1) Promote the availability to consumers of adequate,
reliable, and
reasonably priced natural gas services and goods; (2) Promote the availability of unbundled and comparable
natural gas
services and goods that provide wholesale and retail
consumers with the
supplier, price, terms, conditions, and quality
options they elect to meet
their respective needs; (3) Promote diversity of natural gas supplies and suppliers,
by giving
consumers effective choices over the selection of those
supplies and
suppliers; (4) Encourage innovation and market access for
cost-effective supply- and
demand-side natural gas services and
goods; (5) Encourage cost-effective and efficient access to
information regarding
the operation of the distribution systems of
natural gas companies in order to
promote effective customer
choice of natural gas services and goods; (6) Recognize the continuing emergence of competitive
natural gas markets
through the development and implementation of
flexible regulatory treatment; (7) Promote an expeditious transition to the provision of
natural gas
services and goods in a manner that achieves effective
competition and
transactions between willing buyers and willing
sellers to reduce or eliminate
the need for regulation of natural
gas services and goods under
Chapters 4905. and 4909. of the
Revised Code; (8) Promote effective competition in the provision of
natural gas services
and goods by avoiding subsidies flowing to or
from regulated natural gas
services and goods; (9) Ensure that the risks and rewards of a natural gas
company's offering
of nonjurisdictional and exempt services and
goods do not affect the rates,
prices, terms, or conditions of
nonexempt, regulated services and goods of a
natural gas company
and do not affect the financial capability of a natural
gas
company to comply with the policy of this state specified in this
section; (10) Facilitate the state's competitiveness in the global
economy; (11) Facilitate additional choices for the supply of natural
gas for residential consumers, including aggregation. (B) The public utilities commission shall follow the policy
specified in this section in carrying out sections 4929.03 to
4929.10
4929.30 of the Revised Code. (C) Nothing in Chapter 4929. of the Revised Code shall be
construed to
alter the public utilities commission's construction
or application of
division (A)(6) of section 4905.03 of the
Revised Code.
Sec. 4929.14.
(A) Subject to division (B) of this
section,
sections
Sections 1345.01 to 1345.13 of the Revised Code shall
apply to transactions between
a natural gas company and its
customers that involve
natural gas services or goods that are
exempt from or otherwise not subject to
the jurisdiction of the
public utilities commission pursuant to section 4929.03 to 4929.05
of the
Revised Code. (B) For purposes of investigating and enforcing division
(A)
of this section:
(1) The attorney general, except as provided in division
(B)(2)
of this section, shall have the responsibilities and powers
set forth in
Chapter 1345. of the Revised Code.
(2) With respect to consumer transactions described in
division
(A) of this section, the consumers' counsel shall have
the
investigatory and
enforcement powers set forth in sections
1345.06 and 1345.07 of the Revised
Code.
Sec. 4929.20. (A) No governmental aggregator as defined in
division (K)(1) of section 4929.01 of the Revised Code or no
retail natural gas supplier shall provide a competitive retail
natural
gas service on or after thirteen months following the
effective
date of this section
to a consumer in this state without
first
being certified by the
public utilities commission regarding
its
managerial, technical,
and financial capability to provide
that
service and providing reasonable
financial assurances
sufficient to protect
customers and natural
gas companies from
default. In addition, a retail natural gas supplier may be
required
to provide a performance bond sufficient to protect
customers and
natural gas companies from default. Certification
shall be
granted
pursuant to procedures and
standards the
commission shall
prescribe in accordance with rules
adopted under
section 4929.10
of the Revised Code. However,
certification or
certification
renewal shall be deemed approved
thirty days after
the filing of
an application with the commission
unless the
commission suspends
that approval for good cause shown.
In the
case of such a
suspension, the commission shall act to
approve or
deny
certification or certification renewal to the
applicant not
later
than ninety days after the date of the
suspension.
(B) Capability standards adopted in rules pursuant to
division (A) of this section shall be sufficient to ensure
compliance with section 4929.22 of the Revised Code and with the
minimum service requirements established under
section 4929.23 of
the Revised Code. The standards shall allow flexibility for
voluntary aggregation, to encourage market creativity in
responding to consumer needs and demands. The rules shall include
procedures for biennially renewing certification.
(C)(1) The commission may suspend, rescind, or conditionally
rescind the certification of any retail natural gas supplier or
governmental aggregator issued under this section if the
commission determines, after reasonable notice and opportunity for
hearing, that the retail natural gas supplier or governmental
aggregator has failed to comply with any applicable certification
standards prescribed in rules adopted pursuant to this section or
section 4929.22 of the Revised Code. (2) An affected natural gas company may file an application
with the commission for approval of authority to recover in
accordance with division (C)(2) of this section incremental costs
reasonably and prudently incurred by the company in connection
with the commission's continuation, suspension, rescission, or
conditional rescission of a particular retail natural gas
supplier's certification
under division (C)(1) of this section.
Upon the filing of such an
application, the commission shall
conduct an audit of such
incremental costs as are specified in the
application. Cost
recovery shall be through a rider on the base
rates of customers of the company
for which there is a choice of
supplier of commodity sales service
as a result of revised
schedules approved under division (C) of
section 4929.29 of the
Revised Code, a rule or order adopted or
issued by the commission
under Chapter 4905. of the Revised Code,
or an exemption granted
by the commission under sections 4929.04
to 4929.08 of the Revised
Code. The rider shall take effect
ninety days after the date of
the application's filing unless the
commission, based on the audit
results and for good cause shown,
sets the matter for hearing.
After the hearing, the commission
shall approve the application,
and authorize such cost recovery
rider effective on the date
specified in the order, only for such
incremental costs as the
commission determines were reasonably
and
prudently incurred by
the company in connection with the
continuation, suspension,
rescission, or conditional rescission of
a retail natural gas
supplier's certification under division
(C)(1) of this section.
Any proceeding under division (C)(2) of
this section shall
be
governed by Chapter 4903. of the Revised
Code.
(D) No natural gas company, on and after thirteen months
following the effective date of this section, shall knowingly
distribute
natural gas, to a retail consumer in this state, for
any governmental aggregator, as defined in division (K)(1) of
section 4929.01 of the Revised Code, or retail
natural gas
supplier, that
has not been
certified by the commission pursuant
to this section.
Sec. 4929.21. (A)(1) Beginning on the effective date of
initial rules adopted pursuant to division (A) of section 4929.20
of the Revised Code, no person
shall operate in this state as a
retail natural gas supplier,
unless that person first does both of
the following: (a) Consents irrevocably to the jurisdiction of the courts of
this state and service of process in this state, including,
without limitation, service of summonses and subpoenas, for any
civil or criminal proceeding arising out of or relating to such
operation, by providing that irrevocable consent in accordance
with division (A)(4) of this section;
(b) Designates an agent authorized to receive that service of
process in this state, by filing with the public utilities
commission a document
designating that agent.
(2) Beginning on the effective date of initial rules
adopted
pursuant to division (A) of section 4929.20 of the Revised
Code,
no person shall continue
to operate
as such retail natural gas
supplier unless that person
continues
to consent to such
jurisdiction and service of process
in this
state and continues to
designate an agent as provided
under this
division, by refiling in
accordance with division
(A)(4) of this
section the appropriate
documents filed under
division (A)(1) of
this section or, as
applicable, the appropriate
amended documents
filed under division
(A)(3) of this section.
Such refiling shall
occur during the month
of December of every
fourth year after the
initial filing of a
document under division
(A)(1) of this
section.
(3) If the address of the person filing a document under
division (A)(1) or (2) of this section changes, or if a person's
agent or the address of the agent changes, from that listed on the
most recently filed of such documents, the person shall file an
amended document containing the new information. (4) The consent and designation required by divisions
(A)(1), (2), and (3) of this section shall be in writing, on forms
prescribed by the commission. The original of each such document
or amended document shall be legible and shall be filed with the
commission, with a copy filed with the office of the consumers'
counsel and with the attorney general's office.
(B) A person who enters this state pursuant to a summons,
subpoena, or other form of process authorized by this section
is
not subject to arrest or service of process, whether civil or
criminal, in connection with other matters that arose before the
person's entrance into this state pursuant to such summons,
subpoena, or other form of process.
(C) Divisions (A) and (B) of this section do not apply to any
of the following:
(1) A corporation incorporated under the laws of this state
that has appointed a statutory agent pursuant to section 1701.07
or 1702.06 of the Revised Code;
(2) A foreign corporation licensed to transact business in
this state that has appointed a designated agent pursuant to
section 1703.041 of the Revised Code;
(3) Any other person that is a resident of this state or
that files consent to service of process and designates a
statutory
agent pursuant to other laws of this state.
Sec. 4929.22. For the protection of consumers in this state,
the public utilities commission shall adopt rules under section
4929.10 of the Revised Code specifying the necessary minimum
service requirements of a retail natural gas supplier or
governmental aggregator subject to certification under section
4929.20 of the Revised Code regarding the marketing, solicitation,
sale, or provision, directly or
through its billing and collection
agent, of any competitive
retail natural gas service for which it
is subject to
certification. Rules adopted under this section
shall include additional
consumer protections concerning all of
the following:
(A) Contract disclosure. The rules shall include
requirements that a retail natural gas supplier or governmental
aggregator subject to certification under section 4929.20 of the
Revised Code do both of the following:
(1) Provide consumers with adequate, accurate, and
understandable pricing and terms and conditions of service,
including any switching fees, and with a document containing the
terms and conditions of pricing and service before the consumer
enters into the contract for service;
(2) Disclose the conditions under which a customer may
rescind a contract without penalty.
(B) Service qualification and termination. The rules shall
include
a requirement that, before a consumer is eligible for
service from a retail natural gas supplier or governmental
aggregator subject to certification under section 4929.20 of the
Revised Code, the consumer shall discharge, or enter into a plan
to
discharge, all existing arrearages owed to or being billed by
the
natural gas company from which the consumer presently is
receiving
service. The rules also shall provide for disclosure
of
the terms
identifying how customers may switch or terminate
service,
including any required notice and any penalties.
(C) Minimum content of customer bills. The rules shall
include all of the following requirements, which shall be
standardized: (1) Price disclosure and disclosures of total billing units
for the billing period and historical annual usage;
(2) To the maximum extent practicable, separate listing of
each service component to enable a customer to recalculate its
bill for accuracy;
(3) Identification of the supplier of each service;
(4) Statement of where and how payment may be made and
provision of a toll-free or local customer assistance and
complaint number for the retail natural gas supplier or
governmental aggregator, as well as a consumer assistance
telephone number or numbers for state agencies, such as the
commission, the office of the consumers' counsel, and the attorney
general's office, with the available hours noted; (5) Other than for the first billing after the effective
date of initial rules adopted pursuant to division (A) of section
4929.20 of the Revised Code,
highlighting and clear explanation on
each customer bill, for two
consecutive billing periods, of any
changes in the rates, terms,
and conditions of
service.
(D) Disconnection and service termination, including
requirements with respect to master-metered buildings. The rules
shall include policies and procedures that are consistent with
sections 4933.12 and 4933.122 of the Revised Code and the
commission's rules adopted under those sections, and that provide
for all of the following:
(1) Coordination between suppliers for the purpose of
maintaining service; (2) The allocation of partial payments between suppliers when
service components are jointly billed; (3) A prohibition against switching, or authorizing the
switching of, a customer's supplier of competitive retail natural
gas service without the prior consent of the customer in
accordance with appropriate confirmation practices, which may
include independent, third-party verification procedures;
(4) A requirement of disclosure of the conditions under which
a customer may rescind a decision to switch its supplier without
penalty; (5) Specification of any required notice and any penalty for
early termination of contract. (E) Minimum service quality, safety, and reliability. (F) Customer information. The rules shall include
requirements that a natural gas company make generic customer load
pattern information
available to a retail natural gas supplier or
governmental
aggregator as defined in division (K)(1) or (2) of
section 4929.01 of the Revised Code on a comparable and
nondiscriminatory
basis, and make customer information
available
to a retail natural
gas supplier or governmental
aggregator as
defined in division (K)(1) or (2) of section 4929.01 of the
Revised Code on a comparable and
nondiscriminatory basis unless,
as to customer
information, the
customer objects. The rules shall
ensure that
each natural gas
company
provide clear and frequent
notice to its
customers of the
right to
object and of applicable
procedures. The
rules shall
establish the
exact language that
shall be used in all
such
notices. The rules also shall require
that, upon the request of a
governmental aggregator defined in
division (K)(1) of section 4929.01 of the Revised Code, solely for
purposes of the disclosure
required by division (D) of
section
4929.26 of the Revised Code, or for purposes of a
governmental
aggregator defined in division (K)(2) of section
4929.01 of the
Revised Code, a natural gas company or
retail
natural gas supplier
must provide the governmental
aggregator, in
a timely
manner and
at such cost as the commission
shall provide
for in the
rules,
with the billing names and
addresses of the
customers of
the
company or supplier whose retail
natural gas
loads are to be
included in the governmental
aggregation. (G) Ohio office. The rules shall require that a retail
natural gas supplier maintain an office and an employee in this
state.
Sec. 4929.23. (A) A retail natural gas supplier or
governmental aggregator subject to certification under section
4929.20 of the Revised Code shall provide the public utilities
commission with such information, regarding a competitive retail
natural gas service for which it is subject to certification, as
the commission considers necessary to carry out sections 4929.20
to 4929.24 of the Revised Code. The commission shall take such
measures as it considers necessary to protect the confidentiality
of any such information. (B) The commission shall require each retail natural gas
supplier or governmental aggregator subject to certification under
section 4929.20 of the Revised Code to file an annual report of
such receipts and sales from the provision of those competitive
retail natural gas services for which it is subject to
certification. For the purpose of the reports, sales of hundred
cubic feet of natural gas are deemed to occur at the meter of the
retail customer.
Sec. 4929.24. (A)(1) The public utilities commission has
jurisdiction under section 4905.26 of the Revised Code, upon
complaint of any person or complaint or initiative of the
commission regarding the provision by a retail natural gas
supplier subject to certification under
section 4929.20 of the
Revised Code of any service for which it is
subject to
certification. (2) The commission also has jurisdiction under section
4905.26 of the Revised Code, upon complaint of any person or
complaint or initiative of the commission to determine whether a
retail natural gas supplier subject to
certification under
section 4929.20 of the Revised Code has
violated or failed to
comply with any provision of sections
4929.20 to 4929.23 of the
Revised Code regarding a competitive
retail natural gas service
for which it is subject to
certification or any rule or order
adopted or issued by the
commission for purposes of those
sections. (B) In addition to its authority under division (C)(1) of
section 4929.20 of the Revised Code and to any other remedies
provided by law, the commission, after reasonable notice and
opportunity for hearing in accordance with section 4905.26 of the
Revised Code, may do any of the following: (1) Order rescission of a contract, or restitution to
customers, in any complaint brought pursuant to division (A)(1) or
(2) of this section; (2) Order any remedy or forfeiture provided under sections
4905.54 to 4905.60 and 4905.64 of the Revised Code upon a finding
under division (A)(2) of this section that the retail natural gas
supplier subject to certification under
section 4929.20 of the
Revised Code has violated or failed to
comply, regarding a
competitive retail natural gas service for
which it is subject to
certification, with any provision of
sections 4929.20 to 4929.23
of the Revised Code or any rule or
order adopted or issued under
those sections. (C)(1) In addition to the authority conferred under section
4911.15 of the Revised Code, the consumers' counsel may file a
complaint under division (A)(1) or (2) of this section on behalf
of residential consumers in this state or appear before the
commission as a representative of those consumers pursuant to any
complaint filed under division (A)(1) or (2) of this section. (2) In addition to the authority conferred under section
4911.19 of the Revised Code, the consumers' counsel, upon
reasonable grounds, may file with the commission under section
4905.26 of the Revised Code a complaint for discovery if the
recipient of an inquiry under section 4911.19 of the Revised Code
fails to provide a response within the time specified in that
section.
(D) The commission's jurisdiction with respect to a natural
gas company under Chapter 4905. of the Revised Code extends to any
violation of division (D) of section 4929.20 or any failure to
comply with division (C) of section 4929.29 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 4929.25. (A) Upon the filing of an application
by a
natural gas company in such form and pursuant to such
procedures
as shall be prescribed by rule of the commission under
section
4929.10 of the Revised Code for the purpose of this
division, the
commission shall determine the total allowable
amount of capacity
and commodity costs, and costs incidental thereto, of the company
to be
received as revenues
under this division. Such amount shall
be
the just and reasonable
costs of the company that the
commission
by order determines meet
all of the
following criteria:
(1) The costs were prudently incurred.
(2) The costs are legitimate, net, verifiable, and directly
due to capacity and commodity obligations entered into by the
natural gas company on behalf of consumers that take commodity
sales service from other than the natural gas company.
(3) The costs are otherwise unrecoverable.
(4) The company would otherwise be entitled to an
opportunity
to recover those costs.
The commission shall not authorize such revenue opportunity
for a company under this division without first setting the matter
for hearing, giving notice of the hearing date to the company,
and
publishing notice of the hearing one time in a newspaper of
general circulation in each county affected by the application.
At
the hearing, the company shall have the burden of
demonstrating
allowable costs under this division.
(B) Upon the issuance of an order under division (A) of
this section determining any allowable capacity and commodity
costs, and costs incidental thereto, of a natural gas company, the
company shall file with the
commission under section 4905.30 of
the Revised Code revised
schedules allowing the recovery of such
costs as the commission
authorized in the order, and containing
such necessary and
appropriate cost recovery mechanism or
mechanisms as the
commission prescribes in the order. The
commission shall act
promptly to approve such revised
schedules as
it determines comply
with the order.
Sec. 4929.26. (A)(1) The legislative authority of a
municipal corporation may adopt an
ordinance, or the board of
township trustees of a township or the
board of county
commissioners of a county may adopt a resolution,
under which, in
accordance with this section and except as
otherwise provided in
division (A)(2) of this section, the
legislative authority or
board may aggregate automatically,
subject to the opt-out
requirements of division (D) of this
section, competitive retail
natural gas service for the retail
natural gas loads that are
located, respectively, within the
municipal corporation, township,
or unincorporated area of the
county and for which there is a
choice of supplier of that service
as a result of revised
schedules approved under division (C) of
section 4929.29 of the
Revised Code, a rule or order adopted or
issued by the commission
under Chapter 4905. of the Revised Code,
or an exemption granted
by the commission under sections 4929.04
to 4929.08 of the Revised
Code. An ordinance or a resolution adopted under this section
shall expressly state that it is adopted pursuant to the authority
conferred by this section.
The legislative authority or board
also
may exercise its authority
under this section jointly with
any
other such legislative
authority or board. For the purpose of
the
aggregation, the
legislative authority or board may enter into
service agreements
to facilitate the sale and purchase of the
service for the retail
natural gas loads.
(2)(a) No aggregation under an ordinance or resolution
adopted under division (A)(1) of this section shall include the
retail natural gas load of any person that meets any of the
following criteria:
(i) The person is both a distribution service customer and
a mercantile customer on the date of commencement of service to
the aggregated load, or the person becomes a distribution service
customer after that date and also is a mercantile customer.
(ii) The person is supplied with commodity sales service
pursuant to a contract with a retail natural gas supplier that is
in effect on the effective date of the ordinance or resolution.
(iii) The person is supplied with commodity sales service
as part of a retail natural gas load aggregation provided for
pursuant to a rule or order adopted or issued by the commission
under this chapter or Chapter 4905. of the Revised Code.
(b) Nothing in division (A)(2)(a) of this section precludes
a governmental aggregation under this section from permitting the
retail natural gas load of a person described in division
(A)(2)(a) of this section from being included in the aggregation
upon the expiration of any contract or aggregation as described in
division (A)(2)(a)(ii) or (iii) of this section or upon the person
no longer being a customer as described in division (A)(2)(a)(i)
of this section or qualifying to be included in an aggregation
described under division (A)(2)(a)(iii) of this section.
(B) An ordinance or resolution adopted under division (A) of
this section shall direct the board of elections to submit the
question of the authority to aggregate to the electors of the
respective municipal corporation, township, or unincorporated area
of a county at a special election on the day of the next primary
or general election in the municipal corporation, township, or
county. The legislative authority or board shall certify a copy of
the ordinance or resolution to the board of elections not less
than seventy-five days before the day of the special election. No
ordinance or resolution adopted under division (A) of this section
that provides for an election under this division shall take
effect unless approved by a majority of the electors voting upon
the ordinance or resolution at the election held pursuant to this
division.
(C) Upon the applicable requisite authority under divisions
(A) and (B) of this section, the legislative authority or board
shall develop a plan of operation and governance for the
aggregation program so authorized. Before adopting a plan under
this division, the legislative authority or board shall hold at
least two public hearings on the plan. Before the first hearing,
the legislative authority or board shall publish notice of the
hearings once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of
general circulation in the jurisdiction. The notice shall
summarize the plan and state the date, time, and location of each
hearing.
(D) No legislative authority or board, pursuant to an
ordinance or resolution under divisions (A) and (B) of this
section, shall aggregate any retail natural gas load located
within its jurisdiction unless it in advance clearly discloses to
the person whose retail natural gas load is to be so aggregated
that the person will be enrolled automatically in the aggregation
and will remain so enrolled unless the person affirmatively elects
by a stated procedure not to be so enrolled. The disclosure shall
state prominently the rates, charges, and other terms and
conditions of enrollment. The stated procedure shall allow any
person enrolled in the aggregation the opportunity to opt out of
the aggregation every two years, without paying a switching fee.
Any such person that opts out of the aggregation pursuant to the
stated procedure shall default to the natural gas company
providing distribution service for the person's retail natural gas
load, until the person chooses an alternative supplier.
(E)(1) With respect to a governmental aggregation for a
municipal corporation that is authorized pursuant to divisions (A)
to (D) of this section, resolutions may be proposed by initiative
or referendum petitions in accordance with sections 731.28 to
731.41 of the Revised Code.
(2) With respect to a governmental aggregation for a
township or the unincorporated area of a county, which aggregation
is authorized pursuant to divisions (A) to (D) of this section,
resolutions may be proposed by initiative or referendum petitions
in accordance with sections 731.28 to 731.40 of the Revised Code,
except that:
(a) The petitions shall be filed, respectively, with the
township clerk or the board of county commissioners, who shall
perform those duties imposed under those sections upon the city
auditor or village clerk.
(b) The petitions shall contain the signatures of not less
than ten per cent of the total number of electors in the township
or the unincorporated area of the county, respectively, who voted
for the office of governor at the preceding general election for
that office in that area.
(F) A governmental aggregator under division (A) of this
section is not a public utility engaging in the wholesale purchase
and resale of natural gas, and provision of the aggregated service
is not a wholesale utility transaction. A governmental aggregator
shall be subject to supervision and regulation by the public
utilities commission only to the extent of any competitive retail
natural gas service it provides and commission authority under
this chapter.
Sec. 4929.27. (A)(1) The legislative authority of a
municipal
corporation may adopt an ordinance, or the board of
township
trustees of a township or the board of county
commissioners of a
county may adopt a resolution, under which, in
accordance with
this section and except as otherwise provided in
division (A)(2)
of this section, the legislative authority or
board may aggregate,
with the prior consent of each person whose
retail natural gas
load is proposed to be aggregated, competitive
retail natural gas
service for any such retail natural gas load
that is located,
respectively, within the municipal corporation,
township, or
unincorporated area of the county and for which there
is a choice
of supplier of that service as a result of revised
schedules
approved under division (C) of section 4929.29 of the
Revised
Code, a rule or order adopted or issued by the commission
under
Chapter 4905. of the Revised Code, or an exemption granted
by the
commission under sections 4929.04 to 4929.08 of the Revised
Code.
An ordinance or a resolution adopted under this section
shall expressly state that it is adopted pursuant to the authority
conferred by this section.
The legislative authority or board also
may exercise such
authority jointly with any other such
legislative authority or
board. For the purpose of the
aggregation, the legislative
authority or board may enter into
service agreements to facilitate
the sale and purchase of the
service for the retail natural gas
loads.
(2)(a) No aggregation under an ordinance or resolution
adopted
under
division (A)(1) of this section shall include the
retail
natural
gas load of any person that meets either of the
following
criteria:
(i) The person is supplied with commodity sales service
pursuant to a contract with a retail natural gas supplier that is
in effect on the effective date of the ordinance or resolution.
(ii) The person is supplied with commodity sales service as
part of a retail natural gas load aggregation provided for
pursuant to a rule or order adopted or issued by the commission
under this chapter or Chapter 4905. of the Revised Code.
(b) Nothing in division (A)(2)(a) of this section precludes
a governmental aggregation under this section from permitting the
retail natural gas load of a person described in division
(A)(2)(a) of this section from being included in the aggregation
upon the expiration of any contract or aggregation as described in
division (A)(2)(a)(i) or (ii) of this section or upon the person
no longer qualifying to be included in such an aggregation.
(B) Upon the applicable requisite authority under division
(A) of this section, the legislative authority or board shall
develop a plan of operation and governance for the aggregation
program so authorized. Before adopting a plan under this division,
the legislative authority or board shall hold at least two public
hearings on the plan. Before the first hearing, the legislative
authority or board shall publish notice of the hearings once a
week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general
circulation in the jurisdiction. The notice shall summarize the
plan and state the date, time, and location of each hearing.
(C)(1) With respect to a governmental aggregation for a
municipal corporation that is authorized pursuant to division (A)
of this section, resolutions may be proposed by initiative or
referendum petitions in accordance with sections 731.28 to 731.41
of the Revised Code.
(2) With respect to a governmental aggregation for a
township or the unincorporated area of a county, which aggregation
is authorized pursuant to division (A) of this section,
resolutions may be proposed by initiative or referendum petitions
in accordance with sections 731.28 to 731.40 of the Revised Code,
except that:
(a) The petitions shall be filed, respectively, with the
township clerk or the board of county commissioners, who shall
perform those duties imposed under those sections upon the city
auditor or village clerk.
(b) The petitions shall contain the signatures of not less
than ten per cent of the total number of electors in the township
or the unincorporated area of the county, respectively, who voted
for the office of governor at the preceding general election for
that office in that area.
(D) A governmental aggregator under division (A) of this
section is not a public utility engaging in the wholesale purchase
and resale of natural gas, and provision of the aggregated service
is not a wholesale utility transaction. A governmental aggregator
shall be subject to supervision and regulation by the public
utilities commission only to the extent of any competitive retail
natural gas service it provides and commission authority under
this chapter.
Sec. 4929.28. Any governmental aggregator as defined in
division (K)(1) or (2) of section 4929.01 of the Revised Code or
retail natural gas supplier shall act in good faith with a natural
gas company to resolve any issues regarding an aggregation prior
to the date of commencement of service to the aggregated load. In
the event agreement cannot be reached, either party may petition
the public utilities commission to resolve the issues.
Sec. 4929.29. (A)(1) The legislative authority of a
municipal
corporation described in division (K)(1) of section
4929.01 of the Revised Code, the board of township trustees of a
township, or the
board of county commissioners of a county may
petition the public
utilities commission to require a natural gas
company with fifteen
thousand or more customers in this state to
provide,
upon the
effective date of an ordinance or resolution
authorized
and
adopted under section 4929.26 or 4929.27 of the
Revised Code,
distribution service on a fully open, equal, and
nondiscriminatory
basis to consumers that are not mercantile
customers and are
within the area of the governmental aggregation
and to which the
company provides distribution service through
distribution
facilities it singly or jointly owns or operates. (2) The legislative authority of a municipal corporation
described in division (K)(2) of section 4929.01 of the Revised
Code may petition the commission to require a natural gas company
with fifteen thousand or more customers in this state to provide,
upon the effective date of an ordinance adopted under Section 5 of
Article XVIII, Ohio Constitution, distribution service on a fully
open, equal, and nondiscriminatory basis to consumers that are
within the area of the governmental aggregation and to which the
company provides distribution service through distribution
facilities it singly or jointly owns or operates.
(3) A
retail
natural gas supplier may
petition the
commission to require a
natural gas company with fifteen thousand
or more customers in
this state to so provide such fully open,
equal, and
nondiscriminatory service
to all consumers that are not
mercantile
customers and to which the company provides
distribution service
through distribution facilities it singly or
jointly owns or
operates. (B) Upon petition under division (A)(1), (2), or (3) of this
section, the commission, after notice and
opportunity for
hearing
and by order, may require that the natural gas company
provide the
service within the area specified in the petition,
provided that
the commission finds that the provision of the
service within the
area is in the public interest. The applicant
shall have the
burden of proof under this division. Chapter 4903.
of the Revised
Code shall apply to a proceeding under this
division. (C) Upon the issuance of an order under division (B) of this
section requiring distribution service on a comparable and
nondiscriminatory basis within the area specified in the order,
the natural gas company shall file with the commission under
section 4905.30
of the Revised Code revised schedules under which
the company
shall provide the service so ordered. The commission
shall act
promptly to approve the schedules.
Sec. 4929.30. (A) Nothing in sections 4929.20 to 4929.29 of
the Revised Code affects any arrangement
or other contract to
supply or arrange for the supply of commodity
sales service or
ancillary service to a consumer in this
state, which arrangement
or contract was entered into prior to the
effective date of
initial rules adopted pursuant to division (A)
of section 4929.20
of the Revised Code,
and
was authorized as a result of a rule or
order adopted or
issued by
the public utilities commission under
Chapter 4905. of
the Revised
Code; and nothing in sections 4929.20
to 4929.29 of the Revised Code affects any rights or
duties of any
person under such an arrangement or contract for the
term of the
arrangement or contract. (B) Nothing in sections 4929.20 to 4929.29 of the Revised
Code applies to a community aggregation program that is designed
and operated to avoid gaps in the cumulative coverage of the
aggregation and under which more than fifty per cent of a natural
gas company's customers were enrolled in the program as of January
1, 2001. A municipal corporation served under such a program by
the facilities of a natural gas company may continue
to provide
competitive retail natural gas service to customers in
the
aggregation, including school districts and customers outside
the
boundaries of the municipal corporation.
Sec. 4935.03. (A) The public utilities commission shall
adopt, and may amend or rescind, rules in accordance with section
111.15 of the Revised Code, with the approval of the governor,
defining various foreseen types and levels of energy emergency
conditions for critical shortages or interruptions in the supply
of electric power, natural gas, coal, or individual petroleum
fuels and specifying appropriate measures to be taken at each
level or for each type of energy emergency as necessary to
protect
the public health or safety or prevent unnecessary or
avoidable
damage to property. The rules may prescribe different
measures
for each different type or level of declared energy
emergency, and
for any type or level shall empower the governor
to: (1) Restrict the energy consumption of state and local
government offices and industrial and commercial establishments; (2) Restrict or curtail public or private transportation
or
require or encourage the use of car pools or mass transit
systems; (3) Order, during a declared energy emergency, any
electric
light, natural gas or gas, or pipeline company; any supplier
subject to certification under section 4928.08
or 4929.20 of the
Revised
Code; electric
power or gas utility that is owned by a
municipal corporation or
not for profit; coal producer or
supplier; electric power producer or
marketer; or petroleum fuel
producer, refiner, wholesale distributor, or retail dealer to
sell
electricity, gas, coal, or petroleum fuel in order to
alleviate
hardship, or if possible to acquire or produce
emergency supplies
to meet emergency needs; (4) Order, during a declared energy emergency, other
energy
conservation or emergency energy production or
distribution
measures to be taken in order to alleviate hardship; (5) Mobilize emergency management, national guard, law
enforcement, or emergency medical services. The rules shall be designed to protect the public health
and
safety and prevent unnecessary or avoidable damage to
property.
They shall encourage the equitable distribution of
available
electric power and fuel supplies among all geographic
regions in
the state. (B) The governor may, after consultation with the
chairman
chairperson
of the commission, declare an energy emergency by
filing with the
secretary of state a written declaration of an
energy emergency
at any time
he
the governor finds that the
health, safety, or
welfare of the
residents of this state or of
one or more counties of this state
is so imminently and
substantially threatened by an energy
shortage that immediate
action of state government is necessary
to prevent loss of life,
protect the public health or safety, and
prevent unnecessary or
avoidable damage to property. The
declaration shall state the
counties, utility service areas, or
fuel market areas affected, or
its statewide effect, and what
fuels or forms of energy are in
critically short supply. An
energy emergency goes into immediate
effect upon filing and
continues in effect for the period
prescribed in the declaration,
but not more than thirty days. At
the end of any thirty-day or
shorter energy emergency, the
governor may issue another
declaration extending the emergency.
The general assembly may by
concurrent resolution terminate any
declaration of an energy
emergency. The emergency is terminated
at the time of filing of
the concurrent resolution with the
secretary of state. When an
energy emergency is declared, the
commission shall implement the
measures which it determines are
appropriate for the type and
level of emergency in effect. (C) Energy emergency orders issued by the governor
pursuant
to this section shall take effect immediately upon
issuance, and
the person to whom the order is directed shall
initiate compliance
measures immediately upon receiving the
order. During an energy
emergency the attorney general or the
prosecuting attorney of the
county where violation of a rule
adopted or order issued under
this section occurs may bring an
action for immediate injunction
or other appropriate relief to
secure prompt compliance. The
court may issue an ex parte
temporary order without notice which
shall enforce the
prohibitions, restrictions, or actions that are
necessary to
secure compliance with the rule or order. Compliance
with rules
or orders issued under this section is a matter of
statewide
concern. (D) During a declared energy emergency the governor may
use
the services, equipment, supplies, and facilities of existing
departments, offices, and agencies of the state and of the
political subdivisions thereof to the maximum extent practicable
and necessary to meet the energy emergency, and the officers and
personnel of all such departments, offices, and agencies shall
cooperate with and extend such services and facilities to the
governor upon request. (E) During an energy emergency declared under this
section,
no person shall violate any rule adopted or order issued
under
this section. Whoever violates this division is guilty of
a minor
misdemeanor on a first offense, and a misdemeanor of the
first
degree upon subsequent offenses or if the violation was
purposely
committed.
Sec. 5727.01. As used in this chapter: (A)
"Public utility" means each person referred to as a
telephone company, telegraph company, electric company, natural
gas company, pipe-line company, water-works company, water
transportation company, heating company, rural electric company,
railroad company, or combined company. (B)
"Gross receipts" means the entire receipts for
business
done by any person from operations as a public utility,
or
incidental thereto, or in connection therewith, including any
receipts received under Chapter 4928. of the Revised Code. The
gross
receipts for business done by an incorporated company
engaged in
operation as a public utility includes the entire
receipts for
business done by such company under the exercise of
its corporate
powers, whether from the operation as a public
utility or from
any other business. (C)
"Rural electric company" means any nonprofit
corporation,
organization, association, or cooperative engaged in
the business
of supplying electricity to its members or persons
owning an
interest therein in an area the major portion of which
is rural. (1) Is a telegraph company when engaged in the business of
transmitting telegraphic messages to, from, through, or in this
state; (2) Is a telephone company when primarily engaged in the
business of providing local exchange telephone service, excluding
cellular radio service, in this state; (3) Is an electric company when engaged in the business of
generating, transmitting, or distributing electricity within this
state for use by others, but excludes a rural electric company; (4) Is a natural gas company when engaged in the business
of
supplying
or distributing natural gas for lighting, power, or
heating purposes
to consumers within this state, excluding a
person that is a governmental aggregator or retail natural gas
supplier as defined in section 4929.01 of the Revised Code; (5) Is a pipe-line company when engaged in the business of
transporting natural gas, oil, or coal or its derivatives through
pipes or tubing, either wholly or partially within this state; (6) Is a water-works company when engaged in the business
of
supplying water through pipes or tubing, or in a similar
manner,
to consumers within this state; (7) Is a water transportation company when engaged in the
transportation of passengers or property, by boat or other
watercraft, over any waterway, whether natural or artificial,
from
one point within this state to another point within this
state, or
between points within this state and points without
this state; (8) Is a heating company when engaged in the business of
supplying water, steam, or air through pipes or tubing to
consumers within this state for heating purposes; (9) Is a railroad company when engaged in the business of
owning or operating a railroad either wholly or partially within
this state on rights-of-way acquired and held exclusively by
such
company, or otherwise, and includes a passenger, street,
suburban,
or interurban railroad company. As used in division (D)(2) of this section,
"local exchange
telephone service" means making available or furnishing access
and
a dial tone to all persons within a local calling area for
use in
originating and receiving voice grade communications over
a
switched network operated by the provider of the service within
the area and for gaining access to other telecommunication
services. (E)
"Taxable property" means the property required by
section
5727.06 of the Revised Code to be assessed by the tax
commissioner, but does not include either of the following: (1) An item of tangible personal property that for the
period subsequent to the effective date of an air, water, or
noise
pollution control certificate and continuing so long as the
certificate is in force, has been certified as part of the
pollution control facility with respect to which the certificate
has been issued; (2) An item of tangible personal property that during the
construction of a plant or facility and until the item is first
capable of operation, whether actually used in operation or not,
is incorporated in or being held exclusively for incorporation in
that plant or facility. (F)
"Taxing district" means a municipal corporation of
township, or part thereof, in which the aggregate rate of
taxation
is uniform. (G)
"Telecommunications service" has the same meaning as
in
division (AA) of section 5739.01 of the Revised Code. (H)
"Interexchange telecommunications company" means a
person
that is engaged in the business of transmitting telephonic
messages to, from, through, or in this state, but that is not a
telephone company. (I)
"Sale and leaseback transaction" means a transaction
in
which a public utility or interexchange telecommunications
company
sells any tangible personal property to a person other
than a
public utility or interexchange telecommunications company
and
leases that property back from the buyer. (J)
"Production equipment" means all taxable steam, nuclear,
hydraulic, and other production plant equipment used to generate
electricity.
For tax years prior to 2001,
"production equipment"
includes
taxable station equipment that is located at a production
plant. (K)
"Tax year" means the year for which property or gross
receipts are subject to assessment under this chapter. This
division does not
limit the tax commissioner's ability to assess
and value property or gross
receipts outside the tax year. (L)
"Combined company" means any person engaged in the
activity
of an electric company or rural electric company that is
also engaged in the
activity of a heating company or a natural gas
company, or any combination
thereof.
Sec. 5727.02. As used in this chapter, "public utility,"
"electric company," "natural gas company," "pipe-line company,"
"water-works company," "water transportation company" or "heating
company" does not include any of the following: (A) Any person that is engaged in some other primary
business to which the supplying of electricity, heat, natural
gas,
water, water transportation, steam, or air to others is
incidental. As used in this division, "supplying of
electricity"
means generating, transmitting, or distributing electricity. (B) Any person that supplies electricity, natural gas,
water, water transportation, steam, or air to its tenants,
whether
for a separate charge or otherwise; (C) Any person whose primary business in this state
consists
of producing, refining, or marketing petroleum or its
products.
(D) Any person whose primary business in this state consists
of producing or gathering natural gas rather than supplying or
distributing natural gas to consumers.
Section 2. That existing sections 4719.01, 4905.10, 4905.302,
4911.18,
4929.01, 4929.02, 4929.14, 4935.03, 5727.01, and 5727.02
of the
Revised Code are hereby
repealed.
Section 3. Any person, as defined in section 4929.01 of the
Revised Code, as amended by this act, that, prior to the effective
date of section 4929.20
of the Revised
Code, as enacted by this
act, is
engaged in
supplying or
arranging for the supply of
commodity sales service to
consumers in
this state as authorized
by law, may
continue to so engage until the person's initial
application for certification under division (A) of section
4929.20 of the Revised Code,
as enacted
by this act, is approved
or
denied pursuant to that division.
Section 4. All items in this section are hereby appropriated
as designated out of any moneys in the state treasury to the
credit of the General Revenue Fund. For all appropriations made in
this act, those in the first column are for fiscal year 2000 and
those in the second column are for fiscal year 2001. The
appropriations made in this act are in addition to any other
appropriations made for the 1999-2001 biennium. JFS DEPARTMENT OF JOB AND FAMILY SERVICES
GRF |
600-437 |
|
Temporary Heating Assistance for Warmth |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
20,000,000 |
TOTAL GRF General Revenue Fund |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
20,000,000 |
TOTAL ALL BUDGET FUND GROUPS |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
20,000,000 |
TEMPORARY HEATING ASSISTANCE FOR WARMTH The foregoing appropriation item 600-437, Temporary Heating
Assistance for Warmth, shall be used for Project Temporary Heating
Assistance for Warmth, which is a program hereby authorized to
provide assistance with the payment of winter heating expenses for
persons not eligible for assistance under Title IV-A of the Social
Security Act, and whose gross monthly income does not exceed 200
per cent of the federal poverty guidelines, as established by the
United States Secretary of Health and Human Services. The
Department of Job and Family Services may provide funds for this
program from this appropriation to county departments of job and
family services to provide assistance on behalf of eligible
households. Each eligible household may receive a one-time
benefit of 50 per cent of one primary heating bill for any heating
fuel,
including any arrearages that arose due to primary heating
bills incurred between December 1, 2000, and April 1, 2001, not to
exceed $250. No assistance shall be provided for fuel purchased
prior to October 1, 2000, or after March 31, 2001. The Department
of Job and Family
Services may
issue guidelines for the
implementation of this
program. Total
expenditures for this
program shall not exceed
$20,000,000.
If the balance in the General Revenue Fund is not sufficient
to fund the foregoing appropriation item 600-437, Temporary
Heating Assistance for Warmth, the Director of Budget and
Management is authorized to reduce other General Revenue Fund
appropriations for fiscal year 2001 proportionately to fund this
appropriation item. Within the limits set forth in this act, the Director of
Budget and Management shall establish accounts indicating the
source and amount of funds for each appropriation made in this
act, and shall determine the form and manner in which
appropriation accounts shall be maintained. Expenditures from
appropriations contained in this act shall be accounted for as
though made in Am. Sub. H.B. 283 of the 123rd General Assembly.
The appropriations made in this act are subject to all provisions
of Am. Sub. H.B. 283 of the 123rd General Assembly that are
generally applicable to such appropriations.
Section 5. That Section 37 of Am. Sub. H.B. 283 of the
123rd
General Assembly, as most recently amended by Am. Sub. H.B.
640 of
the 123rd General Assembly, be amended to read as follows: "
Sec. 37. DEV DEPARTMENT OF DEVELOPMENT
GRF |
195-100 |
|
Personal Services |
|
$ |
2,578,880 |
|
$ |
2,583,300 |
GRF |
195-200 |
|
Maintenance |
|
$ |
608,000 |
|
$ |
608,000 |
GRF |
195-300 |
|
Equipment |
|
$ |
111,550 |
|
$ |
111,550 |
GRF |
195-401 |
|
Thomas Edison Program |
|
$ |
25,553,540 |
|
$ |
25,528,749 |
GRF |
195-404 |
|
Small Business Development |
|
$ |
2,445,388 |
|
$ |
2,465,504 |
GRF |
195-405 |
|
Minority Business Development Division |
|
$ |
2,323,570 |
|
$ |
2,324,418 |
GRF |
195-406 |
|
Transitional and Permanent Housing |
|
$ |
2,760,270 |
|
$ |
2,826,679 |
GRF |
195-407 |
|
Travel and Tourism |
|
$ |
6,300,000 |
|
$ |
6,327,600 |
GRF |
195-408 |
|
Coal Research Development |
|
$ |
588,465 |
|
$ |
587,907 |
GRF |
195-409 |
|
Energy Credit Administration |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
694,814 |
GRF |
195-410 |
|
Defense Conversion Assistance Program |
|
$ |
740,000 |
|
$ |
500,000 |
GRF |
195-412 |
|
Business Development Grants |
|
$ |
15,005,000 |
|
$ |
10,005,000 |
GRF |
195-414 |
|
First Frontier Match |
|
$ |
485,000 |
|
$ |
496,628 |
GRF |
195-415 |
|
Regional Offices and Economic Development |
|
$ |
6,414,854 |
|
$ |
6,338,038 |
GRF |
195-416 |
|
Governor's Office of Appalachia |
|
$ |
1,628,800 |
|
$ |
5,059,376 |
GRF |
195-417 |
|
Urban/Rural Initiative |
|
$ |
1,000,000 |
|
$ |
1,000,000 |
GRF |
195-422 |
|
Technology Action |
|
$ |
15,100,000 |
|
$ |
15,100,000 |
GRF |
195-428 |
|
Project 100 |
|
$ |
2,000,000 |
|
$ |
2,000,000 |
GRF |
195-429 |
|
Y2K Compliance |
|
$ |
10,000,000 |
|
$ |
0 |
GRF |
195-431 |
|
Community Development Corporation Grants |
|
$ |
2,520,386 |
|
$ |
2,582,510 |
GRF |
195-432 |
|
International Trade |
|
$ |
5,291,540 |
|
$ |
5,416,621 |
GRF |
195-434 |
|
Industrial Training Grants |
|
$ |
18,000,000 |
|
$ |
20,000,000 |
GRF |
195-436 |
|
Labor/Management Cooperation |
|
$ |
1,164,000 |
|
$ |
1,164,000 |
GRF |
195-440 |
|
Emergency Shelter Housing Grants |
|
$ |
2,930,029 |
|
$ |
2,999,139 |
GRF |
195-441 |
|
Low and Moderate Income Housing |
|
$ |
7,760,000 |
|
$ |
7,760,000 |
GRF |
195-497 |
|
CDBG Operating Match |
|
$ |
1,147,067 |
|
$ |
1,176,608 |
GRF |
195-498 |
|
State Energy Match |
|
$ |
147,221 |
|
$ |
151,299 |
GRF |
195-501 |
|
Appalachian Local Development Districts |
|
$ |
452,370 |
|
$ |
463,227 |
GRF |
195-502 |
|
Appalachian Regional Commission Dues |
|
$ |
190,000 |
|
$ |
194,400 |
GRF |
195-505 |
|
Utility Bill Credits |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
7,500,000 |
GRF |
195-507 |
|
Travel
& Tourism Grants |
|
$ |
1,795,000 |
|
$ |
1,640,000 |
GRF |
195-513 |
|
Empowerment Zones/Enterprise Communities |
|
$ |
2,000,000 |
|
$ |
0 |
TOTAL GRF General Revenue Fund |
|
$ |
139,040,930 |
|
$ |
135,605,367 |
General Services Fund Group
135 |
195-605 |
|
Supportive Services |
|
$ |
7,463,030 |
|
$ |
7,472,165 |
136 |
195-621 |
|
International Trade |
|
$ |
75,000 |
|
$ |
0 |
685 |
195-636 |
|
General Reimbursements |
|
$ |
1,199,500 |
|
$ |
1,222,233 |
TOTAL GSF General Services Fund |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Group |
|
$ |
8,737,530 |
|
$ |
8,694,398 |
Federal Special Revenue Fund Group
3K8 |
195-613 |
|
Community Development Block Grant |
|
$ |
65,000,000 |
|
$ |
65,000,000 |
3K9 |
195-611 |
|
Home Energy Assistance
|
|
$ |
55,000,000 |
|
$ |
55,000,000 |
|
|
|
Block Grant |
|
|
|
|
|
75,000,000 |
3K9 |
195-614 |
|
HEAP Weatherization |
|
$ |
10,421,000 |
|
$ |
10,412,041 |
3L0 |
195-612 |
|
Community Services Block Grant |
|
$ |
20,090,000 |
|
$ |
20,090,000 |
308 |
195-602 |
|
Appalachian Regional Commission |
|
$ |
650,000 |
|
$ |
650,000 |
308 |
195-603 |
|
Housing and Urban Development |
|
$ |
34,895,700 |
|
$ |
34,895,700 |
308 |
195-605 |
|
Federal Projects |
|
$ |
7,871,000 |
|
$ |
7,855,501 |
308 |
195-609 |
|
Small Business Administration |
|
$ |
3,701,900 |
|
$ |
3,701,900 |
308 |
195-616 |
|
Technology Programs |
|
$ |
117,700 |
|
$ |
0 |
308 |
195-618 |
|
Energy Federal Grants |
|
$ |
2,832,325 |
|
$ |
2,803,560 |
335 |
195-610 |
|
Oil Overcharge |
|
$ |
8,500,000 |
|
$ |
8,500,000 |
380 |
195-622 |
|
Housing Development Operating |
|
$ |
3,711,800 |
|
$ |
3,938,200 |
TOTAL FED Federal Special Revenue |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fund Group |
|
$ |
212,791,425 |
|
$ |
212,846,902 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
232,846,902 |
State Special Revenue Fund Group
4F2 |
195-639 |
|
State Special Projects |
|
$ |
1,530,000 |
|
$ |
1,030,100 |
4H4 |
195-641 |
|
First Frontier |
|
$ |
1,000,000 |
|
$ |
1,000,000 |
4S0 |
195-630 |
|
Enterprise Zone Operating |
|
$ |
323,079 |
|
$ |
323,355 |
4S1 |
195-634 |
|
Job Creation Tax Credit Operating |
|
$ |
251,856 |
|
$ |
258,422 |
4W1 |
195-646 |
|
Minority Business Enterprise Loan |
|
$ |
3,898,213 |
|
$ |
3,972,954 |
444 |
195-607 |
|
Water and Sewer Commission Loans |
|
$ |
500,000 |
|
$ |
500,000 |
445 |
195-617 |
|
Housing Finance Agency |
|
$ |
3,669,522 |
|
$ |
3,532,181 |
450 |
195-624 |
|
Minority Business Bonding Program Administration |
|
$ |
12,644 |
|
$ |
12,947 |
451 |
195-625 |
|
Economic Development Financing Operating |
|
$ |
1,906,075 |
|
$ |
1,970,014 |
586 |
195-653 |
|
Scrap Tire Loans and Grants |
|
$ |
1,000,000 |
|
$ |
1,000,000 |
5F7 |
195-658 |
|
Local Government Y2K Loan Program |
|
$ |
10,000,000 |
|
$ |
0 |
611 |
195-631 |
|
Water and Sewer Administration |
|
$ |
15,000 |
|
$ |
15,000 |
617 |
195-654 |
|
Volume Cap Administration |
|
$ |
200,000 |
|
$ |
196,640 |
646 |
195-638 |
|
Low and Moderate Income Housing Trust Fund |
|
$ |
20,445,200 |
|
$ |
21,034,500 |
TOTAL SSR State Special Revenue |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fund Group |
|
$ |
44,751,589 |
|
$ |
34,846,113 |
Facilities Establishment Fund
037 |
195-615 |
|
Facilities Establishment |
|
$ |
53,970,000 |
|
$ |
55,481,100 |
4Z6 |
195-647 |
|
Rural Industrial Park Loan |
|
$ |
3,000,000 |
|
$ |
5,000,000 |
5D1 |
195-649 |
|
Port Authority Bond Reserves |
|
$ |
2,500,000 |
|
$ |
2,500,000 |
5D2 |
195-650 |
|
Urban Redevelopment Loans |
|
$ |
10,000,000 |
|
$ |
10,000,000 |
5H1 |
195-652 |
|
Family Farm Loan |
|
$ |
2,246,375 |
|
$ |
2,246,375 |
TOTAL 037 Facilities |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Establishment Fund |
|
$ |
71,716,375 |
|
$ |
75,227,475 |
Coal Research/Development Fund
046 |
195-632 |
|
Coal Research and Development Fund |
|
$ |
12,276,000 |
|
$ |
12,570,624 |
TOTAL 046 Coal Research/ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Development Fund |
|
$ |
12,276,000 |
|
$ |
12,570,624 |
TOTAL ALL BUDGET FUND GROUPS |
|
$ |
489,313,849 |
|
$ |
479,790,879 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
499,790,879" |
Section 6. That existing Section 37 of Am. Sub. H.B. 283 of
the 123rd General Assembly, as most recently amended by Am. Sub.
H.B. 640 of the 123rd General Assembly, is hereby repealed.
Section 7. Sections 4, 5, 6, and 7 of this act are not
subject to
the referendum. Therefore, under Ohio Constitution,
Article II,
Section 1d and section 1.471 of the Revised Code,
Sections 4, 5, 6, and 7
of this act go into immediate effect when
this act becomes law.
|
|