Chapter 350 — Chapter 350

The Florida Public Service Commission has been and shall continue to be an arm of the legislative branch of government. The Public Service Commission shall perform its duties independently. It is the desire of the Legislature that the Governor participate in the appointment proce…

(1) The Florida Public Service Commission shall consist of five commissioners appointed pursuant to s. 350.031.(2)(a) Each commissioner serving on July 1, 1978, shall be permitted to remain in office until the completion of his or her current term. Upon the expiration of the term…

The state regulatory agency heretofore known as the Florida Railroad and Public Utilities Commission or Florida Public Utilities Commission shall be known and hereafter called Florida Public Service Commission, and all rights, powers, duties, responsibilities, jurisdiction, and j…

The Governor shall have the same power to remove, suspend, or appoint to fill vacancies in the office of commissioners as in other offices, as set forth in s. 7, Art. IV of the State Constitution.

(1)(a) There is created a Florida Public Service Commission Nominating Council consisting of 12 members. At least one member of the council must be 60 years of age or older. Six members, including three members of the House of Representatives, one of whom shall be a member of the…

A commissioner may not, at the time of appointment or during his or her term of office:(1) Have any financial interest, other than ownership of shares in a mutual fund, in any business entity which, either directly or indirectly, owns or controls any public utility regulated by t…

(1) STATEMENT OF INTENT.—In addition to the provisions of part III of chapter 112, which are applicable to public service commissioners by virtue of their being public officers and full-time employees of the legislative branch of government, the conduct of public service commissi…

(1) A commissioner should accord to every person who is legally interested in a proceeding, or the person’s lawyer, full right to be heard according to law, and, except as authorized by law, shall neither initiate nor consider ex parte communications concerning the merits, threat…

Any violation of s. 350.031, s. 350.04, s. 350.041, s. 350.042, or s. 350.0605 by a commissioner, former commissioner, former employee, or Public Service Commission Nominating Council member shall be punishable as provided in ss. 112.317 and 112.324. The Commission on Ethics is h…

Before entering upon the duties of his or her office each commissioner shall subscribe to the following oath: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support, protect and defend the Constitution and Government of the United States and of the State of Florida; that I am quali…

(1) The offices of said commissioners shall be in the vicinity of Tallahassee, but the commissioners may hold sessions anywhere in the state at their discretion.(2) All sums of money authorized to be paid on account of said commissioners shall be paid out of the State Treasury on…

The Florida Public Service Commission may adopt rules and procedures for purchases of commodities and services, including procurement of vehicles, office space, and contractual services necessary for efficient operation. These procedures must recognize that fair and open competit…

(1) Any former commissioner of the Public Service Commission is prohibited from appearing before the commission representing any client or any industry regulated by the Public Service Commission for a period of 2 years following termination of service on the commission.(2) Any fo…

(1) The committee designated by joint rule of the Legislature or by agreement between the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives as the Committee on Public Counsel Oversight shall appoint a Public Counsel to represent the general public of Florida…

It shall be the duty of the Public Counsel to provide legal representation for the people of the state in proceedings before the commission and in proceedings before counties pursuant to s. 367.171(8). The Public Counsel shall have such powers as are necessary to carry out the du…

The Public Counsel shall maintain his or her office in Leon County on the premises of the commission or, if suitable space there cannot be provided, at such other place convenient to the offices of the commissioners as will enable him or her to carry out expeditiously the duties …

The committee may authorize the Public Counsel to employ clerical and technical assistants whose qualifications, duties, and responsibilities the committee shall from time to time prescribe. The committee may from time to time authorize retention of the services of additional att…

(1) The salaries and expenses of the Public Counsel and his or her employees shall be allocated by the committee only from moneys appropriated to the Public Counsel by the Legislature.(2) The Legislature declares and determines that the Public Counsel is under the legislative bra…

As used in ss. 350.111-350.117 and ss. 350.121-350.128, “regulated company” means any public utility as defined in s. 366.02 or any person holding a valid and current certificate from the commission under chapter 351, chapter 364, chapter 365, or chapter 367.

(1) There is hereby created in the State Treasury a special fund to be designated as the “Florida Public Service Regulatory Trust Fund” which shall be used in the operation of the commission in the performance of the various functions and duties required of it by law.(2) All fees…

The commission may prescribe by rule uniform systems and classifications of accounts for each type of regulated company and approve or establish adequate, fair, and reasonable depreciation rates and charges.

(1) The commission may require such regular or emergency reports, including, but not limited to, financial reports, as the commission deems necessary to fulfill its obligations under the law.(2) The commission may perform management and operation audits of any regulated company. …

If the commission undertakes an inquiry, any records, documents, papers, maps, books, tapes, photographs, files, sound recordings, or other business material, regardless of form or characteristics, obtained by the commission incident to the inquiry are considered confidential and…

The commission may administer oaths, take depositions, issue protective orders, issue subpoenas, and compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of books, papers, documents, and other evidence necessary for the purpose of any investigation or proceeding. Challenges to, …

If any person called to testify in a commission proceeding shall refuse to testify because of a claim of possible self-incrimination, the commission, after consultation with the appropriate state attorney, may apply to the chief judge of the appropriate judicial circuit for a jud…

Any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, the commission shall utilize administrative law judges of the Division of Administrative Hearings of the Department of Management Services to conduct hearings of the commission not assigned to members of the commission.

(1) The commission may impose upon any regulated company that is found to have refused to comply with or willfully violated any lawful rule or order of the commission, or any statute administered by the commission, a penalty for each such offense of not more than $5,000, to be fi…

(1) As authorized by s. 3(b)(2), Art. V of the State Constitution, the Supreme Court shall, upon petition, review any action of the commission relating to rates or service of utilities providing electric, gas, or telephone service. The District Court of Appeal, First District, sh…

(1) As used in this section, the term:(a) “Advanced service” means high-speed-Internet-access-service capability in excess of 200 kilobits per second in the upstream or the downstream direction, including any service application provided over the high-speed-access service or any …