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SB360 ENGROSSED
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SB360
4UBJT33-2
By Senators Chambliss, Coleman-Madison, Givhan, Gudger,
Roberts, Livingston, Shelnutt, Sessions, Weaver, Waggoner,
Butler, Williams, Chesteen, Allen, Kitchens, Bell, Woods,
Hovey, Elliott, Price, Kelley, Stutts, Carnley, Jones, Melson,
Albritton, Orr, Barfoot, Singleton, Smitherman, Figures,
Beasley, Stewart, Hatcher, Coleman
RFD: Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development
First Read: 10-Mar-26
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First Read: 10-Mar-26
A BILL
TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
Relating to the Public Service Commission; to establish
the Power to the People Act; to amend Sections 37-1-1, 37-1-3,
37-1-5, and 37-1-12, Code of Alabama 1975; to revise the
membership and terms of the public service commissioners; to
establish the Secretary of Energy as a cabinet member
appointed by the Governor and provide for the duties of the
secretary; to add Sections 37-1-81.1 and 37-1-81.2 to the Code
of Alabama 1975, to prohibit an increase in electric retail
base rates for a certain period and thereafter prohibit
electric utilities from including certain costs in the
calculation or determination of rates or service regulations;
to require the commission to hold a public meeting at least
annually; to amend Sections 17-14-2, 17-14-3, and 36-3-1, Code
of Alabama 1975, to make conforming changes; to repeal Section
37-1-9, Code of Alabama 1975, relating to public service
commissioners; and to make nonsubstantive, technical revisions
to update the existing code language to current style.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as
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Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as
the Power to the People Act.
Section 2. Sections 37-1-1, 37-1-3, 37-1-5, and
37-1-12, Code of Alabama 1975, are amended to read as follows:
"§37-1-1
A commission to be known as the Public Service
Commission , consisting of a president and two associates who
shall be competent persons and qualified electors of this
state, is established with seven commissioners as provided
under Section 37-1-3 ."
"§37-1-3
(a)(1) The terms of office of the commissioners shall
be for four years ; at the election to be held in the state on
the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, for all
commissioners serving on or before the effective date of this
act.
(2) At the general election held in November 1940, and
every four years thereafter until the general election held in
November 2028 , a president of the commission shall be elected
by the qualified electors of this state; and at the general
election to be held in the state on the first Tuesday after
the first Monday held in November , 1942, and every four years
thereafter until the general election held in November 2026 ,
two associates, who, with the president, shall constitute the
commission, shall be elected by the qualified electors of the
state. The result of such election shall be ascertained and
declared by the same authority and in the same manner as are
the results of election for Chief Justice and associate
justices of the Supreme Court.
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justices of the Supreme Court.
(b) The persons elected to fill the offices shall enter
upon the discharge of their respective duties on the day after
the general election at which they are elected and expire on
the day after the general election held in the fourth year
after their election.
(b)(1) Beginning after the effective date of this act,
the membership of the commission shall be expanded so that
each commissioner shall represent and serve a geographical
district that shall be identical to a corresponding
congressional district, as fixed and established by Section
17-14-70 or pursuant to any map ordered by a court to be used
in lieu thereof. Each commissioner must have been a resident
of the state for a period of seven years immediately before
taking office and reside in the state while in office. The
Secretary of State and Governor shall ensure that
commissioners are phased in so that each of the seven
congressional districts are represented by the terms beginning
in January 2031.
(2) No later than July 15, 2026, the Governor shall
appoint four commissioners to serve initial terms, two of whom
shall serve a two-year term and two of whom shall serve a
four-year term. When making appointments, the Governor shall
choose one individual from a list of three names submitted for
each position. The lists shall be jointly submitted by the
Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate.
The lists shall be provided to the Governor no later than June
1, 2026.
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1, 2026.
(3) The elections of commissioners shall be phased in
and staggered as follows:
a. At the general election held in November 2026, two
commissioners shall be elected.
b. At the general election held in November 2028, one
commissioner shall be elected to replace the commissioner
previously known as president of the commission and two
commissioners shall be elected to replace the two
commissioners who were appointed to serve a two-year term,
including one commissioner representing the Seventh
Congressional District.
c. At the general election held in November 2030, two
commissioners shall be elected to replace the two
commissioners who were appointed to serve a four-year term,
including one commissioner representing the Second
Congressional District.
(c) All commissioners who are elected after June 1,
2026, shall serve terms of six years that begin on the first
Monday after the second Tuesday in January following the
general election.
(c)(d) If any vacancy should occur occurs in any one of
the offices, caused by death, resignation , or otherwise, the
same office shall be filled by appointment by the Governor ,
the appointee holding for the balance to serve for the
remainder of the unexpired term. If any person individual
elected to the office of public service commissioner shall
fail or refuse fails or refuses for 30 days to qualify, such
the failure or refusal shall be held to create deemed a
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the failure or refusal shall be held to create deemed a
vacancy in the office ., which vacancy shall be filled by
appointment by the Governor, the appointee to hold for the
term for which the person so failing or refusing to qualify
was elected When making an appointment to fill a vacancy, the
Governor shall choose one individual from a list of three
names jointly submitted by the Lieutenant Governor, the
Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the President Pro
Tempore of the Senate .
(e) At the beginning of each term, starting with the
term elected in November 2028, the commissioners shall elect a
president and vice-president from among the membership of
commissioners.
(d)(f) The provisions of this section shall not
diminish the current term of any member elected to the Public
Service Commission."
"§37-1-5
(a) No public service commissioner or clerk Public
service commissioners, the Secretary of Energy, the spouse and
children of any commissioner or the secretary, and employees
of the commission shall, during his continuance in office ,
personally or through any partner or agent, may not render any
professional paid service for public utilities.
(b) A utility regulated by the Public Service
Commission may not make a contribution to any candidate
running for the office of a public service commissioner.
(c) The commissioners shall be subject to the ethics
laws under Chapter 25 of Title 36.
(d) No commissioner, for a fee, reward, or other
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(d) No commissioner, for a fee, reward, or other
compensation, in addition to that received in his or her
official capacity, shall represent any person before the
Legislature or any executive department or agency. "
"§37-1-12
(a)(1) Beginning January 19, 2027, the position of
Secretary of Energy is created as a member of the Governor's
cabinet. The secretary shall be appointed by and serve at the
pleasure of the Governor. The secretary's salary shall be
fixed by the Governor and shall not be subject to Section
36-6-6. The secretary must have experience in utility
regulation or energy policy or a related field.
(2) The Secretary of Energy shall direct the activities
of the commission and shall set the agendas for all meetings
of the commissioners, provided a meeting agenda may be amended
by the affirmative vote of at least five commissioners.
(3) The Secretary of Energy shall have authority over
personnel and administrative functions of the commission.
(4) The Secretary of Energy shall be subject to the
ethics laws under Chapter 25 of Title 36.
(b) The commission secretary , under the provisions of
the merit system Merit System , shall have the authority to
appoint or employ professional and administrative employees,
including attorneys, officers, and such accountants,
engineers, experts, inspectors, and other clerks and other
employees as are necessary or expedient to carry out the
duties conferred by law upon the commission ., and the salaries
therefor The salaries of all employees shall be fixed according
to the provisions of the merit system Merit System . The
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to the provisions of the merit system Merit System . The
commission secretary shall also, by and with the approval of
the Governor, have authority to employ and discharge special
counsel or attorneys as it may be deemed necessary for such
purpose.
(c) Any unclassified employee who is employed by the
commission on the effective date of this act and was appointed
by a commissioner shall continue to be employed without regard
to his or her appointing authority. The Secretary of Energy
shall, in consultation with the State Personnel Board, work to
transfer these unclassified employees into classified
service. "
Section 3. Sections 37-1-81.1 and 31-1-81.2 are added
to the Code of Alabama 1975 to read as follows:
§37-1-81.1
(a) The retail base rates established and in place on
October 1, 2026 for each utility that is regulated by the
commission and that provides retail electric service may not
be increased before January 1, 2029.
(b) On and after January 1, 2029, a utility that
provides retail electric service may not factor the following
costs into the calculation or determination of a new rate or
service regulation or a change to an existing rate or service
regulation charged to customers of the utility:
(1) Costs incurred due to the utility providing funding
or grants that impact rates to other persons or organizations.
(2) Costs incurred due to the hiring of persons for the
purpose of lobbying the Legislature or any other political
office or subdivision of the state.
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office or subdivision of the state.
(3) Costs incurred due to advertisement of the utility
other than public safety advertising approved by the
commission.
(c)(1) When an electric utility files a new schedule to
put in operation a new rate or service regulation or to change
an existing rate or service regulation, the utility shall
affirm that the utility has not included the prohibited costs
under subsection (b) in the calculation or determination of
the rate or service regulation.
(2) If the electric utility fails to make the
affirmation, the rate or service regulation shall be void.
(d) If the commission discovers that a utility has
included the prohibited cost under subsection (b) in the
calculation or determination of rates or service regulations,
the commission shall investigate the determination pursuant to
Section 37-1-83 and other powers of investigation granted to
the commission pursuant to this division.
§37-1-81.2
The commissioners and staff of the commission shall
convene at least one public meeting per calendar year with
utility representatives to provide information to the public
on cost trends, reliability, resilience, general
infrastructure investment plans, economic development impacts,
security of the power grid, national trends in energy
production, and other regulatory issues the Secretary of
Energy deems relevant. The public meetings shall be conducted
in a manner that gives residents the opportunity to
participate, addresses concerns voiced by the public, and
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participate, addresses concerns voiced by the public, and
provides a review of key issues that the secretary believes
will be helpful to the public in understanding issues that
impact services under its jurisdiction.
Section 4. Sections 17-14-2, 17-14-3, and 36-3-1, Code
of Alabama 1975, are amended to make conforming changes to
read as follows:
"§17-14-2
General elections throughout the state shall be held
for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Auditor,
Secretary of State, Treasurer, Commissioner of Agriculture and
Industries, three public service commissioners , no two of whom
shall be elected from the same from each congressional
district, Chief Justice and associate justices of the Supreme
Court, judges of the courts of appeals, electors for President
and Vice President of the United States, United States
senators, and such other officers as may be required by law to
be elected by the voters of the entire state; for a member of
Congress in each congressional district; judges of the circuit
court in each judicial circuit; judges of the district courts
in each district; district attorneys in each judicial circuit;
a senator in each senatorial district; a representative in the
Legislature in each house district; a judge of the probate
court, sheriff, clerks of the circuit courts, tax assessor,
tax collector, a county treasurer in counties of more than
56,000 population, as provided by law, coroner, and members of
the county commission in each county, and constables in each
precinct of the county."
"§17-14-3
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"§17-14-3
The Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General,
Auditor, Secretary of State, Treasurer, Commissioner of
Agriculture and Industries, senators and representatives in
the Legislature, a sheriff in each county, one coroner in all
counties having a coroner, and other officers not otherwise
provided for, shall be elected on the first Tuesday after the
first Monday in November 2006, and every fourth year
thereafter. A president of the Public Service Commission shall
be elected on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in
November 2008, and every fourth year thereafter. Two associate
public service commissioners shall be elected on the first
Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2006, and every
fourth year thereafter. "
"§36-3-1
The Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General,
Auditor, Secretary of State, Treasurer, and Commissioner of
Agriculture and Industries, the President of the Public
Service Commission and two associate public service
commissioners shall hold their respective offices for the term
of four years from the time of their installation in office
and until their successors shall be elected and qualified,
such installation to take place on the first Monday after the
second Tuesday in January next after their election."
Section 5. Section 37-1-9, Code of Alabama 1975,
providing further for the public service commissioners, is
repealed.
Section 6. This act shall become effective on June 1,
2026.
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2026.
Senate
Read for the first time and referred
to the Senate committee on Fiscal
Responsibility and Economic
Development
................10-Mar-26
Read for the second time and placed
on the calendar:
0 amendments
................11-Mar-26
Read for the third time and passed
as amended
Yeas 32
Nays 0
Abstains 0
................12-Mar-26
Patrick Harris,
Secretary.
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