MONTGOMERY – Support for passing legislation changing the members of the Public Service Commission from elected to appointed is currently lacking, according to State Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur).
Members of the Senate Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development Committee passed two bills concerning data centers in the "Alabama Affordability Protection Plan" on Wednesday. However, the third and most controversial bill in the package, changing the Public Service Commission (PSC) from elected to appointed, wasn't on the committee's agenda and didn't receive a vote.
All three House versions of the bills sailed through a House committee on Tuesday and were on the House calendar for a vote on Thursday morning. However, all three bills were taken off the calendar without a vote on Thursday.
“Yeah, I was told the House removed it from their (calendar today),” Orr told reporters on Thursday. “Up here, support has certainly not gelled around it. Right now it's one big maybe. If that, that's probably being generous. Things can change. I haven't read the bill, but conceptually, I've got some issues and some real concerns about it.”
He continued, “I think the news just started getting out to the public last week and heard from some people late last week about the legislation and heard some more this week from people that have similar concerns.”
“It's primarily around the changing of the composition of the PSC and how they're selected or elected. Well, I think that, you know, number one, first and foremost, taking away the people's right to vote, potentially on that particular body on those particular positions,” Orr said. “Secondly, I think they see, the perception is, is that the PSC serves as a public watchdog for the public. And so that's: who are those people going to be if they were to be appointed? How's that going to work? I think that autonomy that's perceived by the public is a pretty strong perception that they have, and that's being reflected in the Senate’s lack of desire to take up the legislation, unless there's a concrete resolve to pass it.”
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