(A) The Office of Regulatory Staff must be staffed and equipped to perform the functions described in Section 58-4-50. The expenses of the office must be paid as set forth in Section 58-3-100 and this section. The executive director, within established budgetary limits and as allowed by law, must authorize and approve travel, subsistence, and related necessary expenses of the executive director or regulatory staff incurred while traveling on official business.

(B)(1) The expenses of the Transportation Department of the Office of Regulatory Staff, with the exception of the expenses incurred in its railway jurisdiction, must be borne by the revenues from license fees derived pursuant to Sections 58-23-530 through 58-23-630, assessments to the Transportation Network Companies pursuant to Sections 58-23-1690 and 58-23-1700, and assessments to the carriers of household goods and hazardous waste for disposal carriers. The expenses of the railway section of the Office of Regulatory Staff must be borne by the railroad companies subject to the commission's jurisdiction according to their gross income from operations in this State.

(2) All other expenses of the Office of Regulatory Staff must be borne by the public utilities subject to the jurisdiction of the commission. On or before the first day of July in each year, the Department of Revenue must assess each public utility, railway company, household goods carrier, and hazardous waste for disposal carrier its proportion of the expenses in proportion to its gross income from operation in this State in the year ending on the thirtieth day of June preceding that on which the assessment is made which is due and payable on or before July fifteenth. The assessments must be charged against the companies by the Department of Revenue and collected by the department in the manner provided by law for the collection of taxes from the companies including the enforcement and collection provisions of Article 1, Chapter 54, Title 12 and paid, less the Department of Revenue actual incremental increase in the cost of administration into the state treasury as other taxes collected by the Department of Revenue for the State.

(C) The Office of Regulatory Staff must certify to the Department of Revenue annually on or before May first the amounts to be assessed; however, the deadline shall not apply to the certification made to the Department of Revenue in 2004.

(D) The Office of Regulatory Staff shall operate as an other-funded agency.

(E) The appropriation for the Office of Regulatory Staff shall be advanced by the State until such time as funds have been collected from the corporations liable therefor and, when collected, must be placed in the state treasury.

HISTORY: 2004 Act No. 175, Section 6, eff July 1, 2004; 2005 Act No. 5, Section 6, eff December 3, 2004; 2015 Act No. 88 (H.3525), Section 2, eff June 24, 2015.

Effect of Amendment

2015 Act No. 88, Section 2, in (B), added designators (1) and (2), and in (B)(1), inserted "assessments to the Transportation Network Companies pursuant to Sections 58-23-1690 and 58-23-1700, and".