Oregon Statutes - Chapter 756 - Public Utility Commission

756.010 Definitions.
As used in ORS chapters 756, 757, 758 and 759, except as otherwise specifically provided or unless the context requires otherwise: (1) �Commission� means the...
756.014 Public Utility Commission; appointment; confirmation; term; removal.
(1) There is created the Public Utility Commission of Oregon. The commission shall be composed of three members appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation...
756.016 Quorum; seal; individual commissioner authorized to act for commission.
(1) A majority of the commissioners shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of any business, for the performance of any duty or for the...
756.020 [Amended by 1973 c.792 §48; 1983 c.540 §1; repealed by 1985 c.834 §12]
756.022 Oath of office.
Before entering upon the duties of office, each commissioner shall take and subscribe to an oath or affirmation to support the Constitution of the United...
756.026 Prohibited interests of commissioner and family.
(1) No member of the Public Utility Commission shall: (a) Hold any other office of profit; (b) Hold any office or position under any political...
756.028 Employee statements regarding prohibited interests.
Each employee of the Public Utility Commission shall file with the commission a statement regarding holdings of the employee and the holdings of the employee�s...
756.030 [Repealed by 1971 c.655 §250]
756.032 Employee dismissal for retention of prohibited interests or failure to file statements.
(1) The Public Utility Commission shall dismiss an employee: (a) Who fails to file the statement required by ORS 756.028 before the 11th day after...
756.034 Intent of prohibited interest provisions.
Nothing in ORS 756.022 to 756.032 is intended to authorize any act otherwise prohibited by law. [1971 c.655 §7]
756.036 Duties and functions.
(1) The Public Utility Commission may: (a) Organize and reorganize the office of the Public Utility Commission in the manner that it considers necessary to...
756.037 Commission authority to provide assistance, information, resources and advice to Legislative Assembly.
The Public Utility Commission and commission staff may provide such assistance to the Legislative Assembly and its committees as required by the Legislative Assembly for...
756.040 General powers.
(1) In addition to the powers and duties now or hereafter transferred to or vested in the Public Utility Commission, the commission shall represent the...
756.045 Employing legal counsel.
Upon request by the Public Utility Commission, the Attorney General shall furnish to the commission such attorneys as the commission finds necessary. [Formerly 756.150]
756.047 Authority of commission to require fingerprints.
For the purpose of requesting a state or nationwide criminal records check under ORS 181.534, the Public Utility Commission may require the fingerprints of a...
756.050 Office, office supplies and sessions of commission.
(1) The Public Utility Commission shall keep office at the capital and shall be provided with suitable office quarters under ORS 276.004. Necessary office furniture,...
756.055 Delegation of authority.
(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the Public Utility Commission may designate by order or rule any commissioner or any named...
756.060 Authority to adopt rules and regulations.
The Public Utility Commission may adopt and amend reasonable and proper rules and regulations relative to all statutes administered by the commission and may adopt...
756.062 Substantial compliance with laws adequate for commission activities; construction of laws generally.
(1) A substantial compliance with the requirements of the laws administered by the Public Utility Commission is sufficient to give effect to all the rules,...
756.064 [1971 c.655 §15; 1973 c.776 §18; repealed by 1975 c.605 §33]
756.068 Service of notice or other legal process.
The service or delivery of any notice, order, form or other document or legal process required to be made by the Public Utility Commission may...
756.070 Investigating management of utilities.
The Public Utility Commission may inquire into the management of the business of all public utilities and telecommunications utilities and shall keep informed as to...
756.075 Right of entry for examination of equipment, records or employees; use of findings.
(1) The Public Utility Commission or authorized representatives may enter upon any premises, or any equipment or facilities operated or occupied by any public utility...
756.080 [Repealed by 1971 c.655 §250]
756.090 Maintaining and producing records; expenses of examining out-of-state records.
(1) The Public Utility Commission may require by rule, or by order or subpoena to be served on any public utility or telecommunications utility the...
756.100 [Repealed by 1953 c.25 §2]
756.105 Duty to furnish information to commission.
(1) Every public utility or telecommunications utility shall furnish to the Public Utility Commission all information required by the commission to carry into effect the...
756.110 [Repealed by 1953 c.25 §2]
756.115 Failure to furnish requested information.
No officer, agent or employee of any public utility, or telecommunications utility shall: (1) Fail or refuse to fill out and return any forms required...
756.120 [Repealed by 1971 c.655 §250]
756.125 Interference with commission�s equipment.
No person shall destroy, injure or interfere with any apparatus or appliance owned or operated by or in charge of the Public Utility Commission, or...
756.130 [Repealed by 1971 c.655 §250]
756.140 [Repealed by 1971 c.655 §250]
756.150 [Amended by 1971 c.655 §10; renumbered 756.045]
756.160 Enforcement of statutes and ordinances relating to utilities.
(1) The Public Utility Commission shall inquire into any neglect or violation of any law of this state or any law or ordinance of any...
756.170 [Repealed by 1971 c.655 §250]
756.180 Enforcing utility laws.
(1) Whenever it appears to the Public Utility Commission that any public utility or telecommunications utility or any other person subject to the jurisdiction of...
756.185 Right to recover for wrongs and omissions; treble damages.
(1) Any public utility which does, or causes or permits to be done, any matter, act or thing prohibited by ORS chapter 756, 757 or...
756.190 [Repealed by 1971 c.655 §250]
756.200 Effect of utility laws on common law and other statutory rights of action, duties and liabilities.
(1) The remedies and enforcement procedures provided in ORS chapters 756, 757, 758 and 759 do not release or waive any right of action by...
756.305 Public Utility Commission Account.
(1) There hereby is established in the General Fund an account to be known as the Public Utility Commission Account. Except as limited by ORS...
756.310 Annual fees payable by utilities and telecommunications providers.
(1) Subject to the provisions of subsections (3) and (4) of this section, each public utility and telecommunications provider shall pay a fee to the...
756.315 [1989 c.1041 §2; repealed by 1991 c.841 §4]
756.320 Statements accompanying fees; audit and refunding by commission.
Payment of each fee or portion thereof provided for in ORS 756.310 shall be accompanied by a statement verified by the public utility or telecommunications...
756.325 Distribution of information filed with commission; fees; rules.
(1) The Public Utility Commission may by rule prescribe for the free distribution for public information or educational purposes or applicable charge for any blank...
756.330 [Amended by 1965 c.288 §1; repealed by 1971 c.655 §250]
756.340 [Repealed by 1971 c.655 §250]
756.350 Penalty for failure to pay fees; action to collect unpaid fees and penalties.
Every person who fails to pay any fees provided for in ORS 756.310 or 756.320 after they are due and payable shall, in addition to...
756.360 Disposal and use of fees and penalties collected.
All fees, fines, penalties and other moneys collected by the Public Utility Commission under ORS 756.310, 756.320, 756.350, 758.015, 758.400 to 758.475 and ORS chapter...
756.370 [Formerly 757.065; repealed by 1983 c.40 §1]
756.375 [Formerly 757.070; repealed by 1983 c.40 §1]
756.380 [Formerly 757.080; 1995 c.306 §42; renumbered 823.071 in 1995]
756.385 [Formerly 757.085; 1995 c.733 §67a; renumbered 823.073 in 1995]
756.390 [Formerly 757.090; 1983 c.78 §1; 1995 c.733 §67b; renumbered 823.075 in 1995]
756.400 [1971 c.655 §31; repealed by 1983 c.540 §10]
756.410 [1971 c.655 §32; 1977 c.253 §1; repealed by 1983 c.540 §10]
756.420 [1971 c.655 §33; repealed by 1983 c.540 §10]
756.430 [1971 c.655 §34; repealed by 1983 c.540 §10]
756.440 [1971 c.655 §35; repealed by 1983 c.540 §10]
756.450 Declaratory rulings.
On petition of any interested person, the Public Utility Commission may issue a declaratory ruling with respect to the applicability to any person, property, or...
756.500 Complaint; persons entitled to file; contents; amendments.
(1) Any person may file a complaint before the Public Utility Commission, or the commission may, on the commission�s own initiative, file such complaint. The...
756.505 [Repealed by 1971 c.655 §250]
756.510 [Amended by 1971 c.655 §40; renumbered 756.518]
756.512 Notice of complaint to defendant; responsive pleadings; setting cause for hearing.
(1) The Public Utility Commission shall serve a copy of the complaint upon the defendant, and shall give the defendant at least 10 days within...
756.515 Investigations and hearings on commission�s own motion; hearings for aggrieved persons.
(1) Whenever the Public Utility Commission believes that any rate may be unreasonable or unjustly discriminatory, or that any service is unsafe or inadequate, or...
756.518 Procedures applicable to all matters before commission; oral hearing; rules.
(1) Except as otherwise provided the provisions of ORS 756.500 to 756.610 apply to and govern all hearings upon any matter or issue coming before...
756.519 [1977 c.424 §2; 1985 c.59 §1; repealed by 1995 c.733 §74]
756.520 [Amended by 1971 c.655 §37; renumbered 756.500]
756.521 Public hearings; record required; furnishing transcripts.
All hearings shall be open to the public and may be had before the Public Utility Commission, an examiner or any other person authorized to...
756.525 Parties to proceedings.
(1) The Public Utility Commission may permit any person to become a party who might, on the institution of the proceeding, have been such a...
756.528 Segregation of issues.
At any time before the conclusion of the taking of evidence in a proceeding, the Public Utility Commission may segregate the issues involved and order...
756.530 [Amended by 1971 c.655 §38; renumbered 756.512]
756.534 Place of hearings; continuation.
Except as provided in ORS 756.040 (4), the hearing may be held at any place designated by the Public Utility Commission within this state, or...
756.538 Taking and use of depositions; rules.
(1) In any investigation, the Public Utility Commission may take the testimony of any person by deposition upon oral examination or written interrogatories for the...
756.540 [Repealed by 1971 c.655 §250]
756.543 Issuance of subpoenas; failure to comply.
(1) The Public Utility Commission shall issue subpoenas to any party to a proceeding before the commission upon request and proper showing of the general...
756.549 Self-incrimination of witnesses in commission proceedings.
(1) No person shall be excused from testifying or from producing evidence in any proceeding held by the Public Utility Commission on the ground that...
756.550 [Amended by 1957 c.599 §1; 1971 c.655 §50; renumbered 756.558]
756.552 Self-incrimination of witnesses in court proceedings.
No person shall be excused from testifying or from producing books and papers in any court proceeding based upon or growing out of any violation...
756.555 Powers of commission at hearings.
The Public Utility Commission may administer oaths, certify to official acts, issue notices in the name of the commission, issue subpoenas, compel the attendance of...
756.558 Taking of evidence; findings; issuance of orders; providing copies of orders.
(1) At the conclusion of the taking of evidence, the Public Utility Commission shall declare the taking of evidence concluded. Thereafter no additional evidence shall...
756.560 [Amended by 1971 c.655 §44; renumbered 756.534]
756.561 Rehearing; reconsideration.
(1) After an order has been made by the Public Utility Commission in any proceeding, any party thereto may apply for rehearing or reconsideration thereof...
756.565 Prima facie effect of commission actions.
All rates, tariffs, classifications, regulations, practices and service fixed, approved or prescribed by the Public Utility Commission and any order made or entered upon any...
756.568 Rescission, suspension and amendment of orders.
The Public Utility Commission may at any time, upon notice to the public utility or telecommunications utility and after opportunity to be heard as provided...
756.570 [Amended by 1971 c.655 §51; renumbered 756.561]
756.572 Effect of orders on successors in interest.
(1) An order of the Public Utility Commission issued in accordance with the provisions of ORS chapters 756, 757, 758 and 759 is binding upon...
756.575 Notice of acceptance of terms of orders.
The Public Utility Commission may provide by rule that any public utility or telecommunications utility affected by any order shall within a time to be...
756.580 [Amended by 1971 c.655 §56; repealed by 2005 c.638 §21]
756.585 [1971 c.655 §57; repealed by 2005 c.638 §21]
756.590 [Amended by 1971 c.655 §58; 1995 c.781 §46; repealed by 2005 c.638 §21]
756.594 [1971 c.655 §59; repealed by 2005 c.638 §21]
756.598 [1971 c.655 §60; 1979 c.284 §197; repealed by 2005 c.638 §21]
756.600 [Amended by 1971 c.655 §61; 2003 c.576 §558; repealed by 2005 c.638 §21]
756.610 Judicial review.
(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, final orders of the Public Utility Commission are subject to judicial review as orders in...
756.990 Penalties.
(1) Any public utility or telecommunications utility that fails to comply with an order or subpoena issued pursuant to ORS 756.090 shall forfeit, for each...

Last modified: August 7, 2008