PREPROPOSAL STATEMENT OF INQUIRY
COMMISSION
Subject of Possible Rule Making: To consider eliminating the requirement that large telecommunications companies and water companies file annual budgets with the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission according to WAC 480-140-020, UT-051261 and UW-051287.
Statutes Authorizing the Agency to Adopt Rules on this Subject: RCW 80.01.040, 80.04.160, 80.04.320.
Reasons Why Rules on this Subject may be Needed and What They Might Accomplish: The Utilities and Transportation Commission is committed to the elimination of regulatory requirements that become unnecessary due to changes in regulatory methods or market conditions. The requirement that telecommunications companies and water companies file budget reports may be obsolete, and the agency may fulfill its responsibility to ensure fair, just and reasonable rates without this reporting requirement.
Other Federal and State Agencies that Regulate this Subject and the Process Coordinating the Rule with These Agencies: None.
Process for Developing New Rule: Agency study; and the commission will ask for initial written comments, and will provide the opportunity for additional comments. The commission will conduct a workshop if there is stakeholder interest or disagreement.
Interested parties can participate in the decision to adopt the new rule and formulation of the proposed rule before publication by contacting the Secretary, Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, P.O. Box 47250, 1300 South Evergreen Park Drive S.W., Olympia, WA 98504-7250, phone (360) 664-1174, fax (360) 586-1150. Interested persons may file written comments on the CR-101 by October 20, 2005.
WRITTEN COMMENTS: Written comments may be submitted to the commission at the address given above and should be filed with the commission no later than October 20, 2005. Please submit comments in Word format to facilitate creation by commission staff of summaries.
Electronic copies. The commission requests that comments be provided in electronic format to enhance public access, for ease of providing comments, to reduce the need for paper copies, and to facilitate quotations from the comments. Please provide electronic files in .pdf (Adobe Acrobat) and in .doc (MS Word 97 or later) to make them most useful to the commission. Comments may be submitted by electronic mail to the commission's records center at records@wutc.wa.gov. Please include:
• The docket numbers of this proceeding (UT-051261 and UW-051287).
• The commenting party's name.
• The title and date of the comment or comments.
An alternative method for submitting electronic comments is by mailing/delivering an electronic copy on a 3 1/2 inch, IBM-formatted, high-density disk. Include all of the information requested above. The commission will post on the commission's web site all comments that are provided in electronic format. The web site is located at http://www.wutc.wa.gov/051261 and http://www.wutc.wa.gov/051287.
If you are unable to file your comments electronically or to submit them on a disk, the commission will always accept a paper document.
Opportunity for further comment is anticipated. Information about the schedule and other aspects of the rule making, including comments, will be posted on the commission's web site as it becomes available. If you wish to receive further information on this rule making you may (1) call the commission's records center at (360) 664-1234, (2) e-mail the commission at <records@wutc.wa.gov>, or (3) mail written comments to the address above to the attention of Carole Washburn, Executive Secretary. When contacting the commission, please refer to Docket No. UT-051261 and UW-051287 to ensure that you are placed on the appropriate service list. Questions may be addressed to Betty Erdahl by phone at (360) 664-1283 or e-mail at berdahl@wutc.wa.gov.
September 7, 2005
Carole J. Washburn
Executive Secretary