§ 22. Tax to finance Department and Commission

(a) For the purpose of maintaining the Department of Public Service and Public Utility Commission, including expenses related to maintaining an adequate engineering, legal, and administrative force in the Department of Public Service and paying all the expenses incident thereof, including rents, each person, partnership, association, or private or municipal corporation conducting a business subject to the supervision of the Department of Public Service and Public Utility Commission, including electric cooperatives, shall pay into the State Treasury on or before April 15 annually, in addition to the taxes now required by law to be paid, a tax, at the rate hereinafter named, according to the nature of the public service business engaged in by such person, partnership, association, or private or municipal corporation, based on the gross operating revenue received by such person, partnership, association, or private or municipal corporation in the conduct of such business in the State during the year next preceding, as shown by the annual report filed on or before such date with the Department of Public Service on the form prescribed by it and containing such information as may be necessary to enable the Department to determine the amount of the tax payable.

(1) The rate of tax for each type of public service company, for the purpose of maintaining the Department of Public Service, shall be the following:

(A) for companies, cooperative, municipal or privately owned, generating, distributing, selling, or transmitting electric energy, 0.00320 of gross operating revenue;

(B) for telephone companies, 0.003 of gross operating revenue or $300.00, whichever is greater;

(C) for gas companies, 0.00320 of gross operating revenue;

(D) for water companies, 0.0006 of gross operating revenue or $3.00, whichever is greater;

(E) for companies owning or operating a cable television system, 0.003 of gross operating revenue or $15.00, whichever is greater, $25,000.00 of which shall be used each year by the Department for special planning functions relating to cable television systems;

(F) for companies whose sole telephone business consists of owning customer-owned, coin-operated telephones with total annual revenues of less than $5,000.00, the choice of either 0.003 of gross operating revenue from telephone revenues or the amount of $12.00; and

(G) for all other companies named in section 203 of this title, 0.0006 of gross operating revenues.

(2) The rate of tax for each type of public service company, for the purpose of maintaining the Public Utility Commission, shall be the following:

(A) for companies, cooperative, municipal or privately owned, generating, distributing, selling, or transmitting electric energy, 0.00205 of gross operating revenue;

(B) for telephone companies, 0.002 of gross operating revenue or $200.00, whichever is greater;

(C) for gas companies, 0.00205 of gross operating revenue;

(D) for water companies, 0.0004 of gross operating revenue or $2.00, whichever is greater;

(E) for companies owning or operating a cable television system, 0.002 of gross operating revenue or $10.00, whichever is greater;

(F) for companies whose sole telephone business consists of owning customer-owned, coin-operated telephones with total annual revenues of less than $5,000.00, the choice of either 0.002 of gross operating revenue from telephone revenues or the amount of $8.00; and

(G) for all other companies named in section 203 of this title, 0.0004 of gross operating revenues.

(b) The taxes levied under this section shall not apply to sales of electrical power for resale.

(c) [Repealed.]

(d)(1) On June 30 of each year, any balance in the amount received by the Public Utility Commission from the special fund for the maintenance of engineering and accounting forces, after accounting for expenditures and encumbrances, in excess of 20 percent of the funds received by the Commission for that year shall be used in the manner provided by subdivision (3) of this subsection.

(2) On June 30 of each year, any balance in the amount received by the Department of Public Service from the special fund for the maintenance of engineering and accounting forces, after accounting for expenditures and encumbrances, in excess of 20 percent of the funds received by the Department for that year shall be used in the manner provided by subdivision (3) of this subsection.

(3) The excess balances determined under subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection shall be used in the next succeeding year to directly reduce the rates otherwise collected from the ratepayers of this State for the costs of the telephone Lifeline program authorized by subsection 218(c) of this title. (Amended 1959, No. 329 (Adj. Sess.), § 39(b), eff. March 1, 1961; 1961, No. 258, § 2, eff. July 31, 1961; 1973, No. 247 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 1979, No. 204 (Adj. Sess.), § 8, eff. Feb. 1, 1981; 1985, No. 115 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 1985, No. 224 (Adj. Sess.), § 8; 1987, No. 272 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 1989, No. 254 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 1, 2; 1991, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 1, 2; 1995, No. 182 (Adj. Sess.), § 24; 1995, No. 182 (Adj. Sess.), § 24a, eff. July 1, 1998; 1995, No. 182 (Adj. Sess.), § 25, eff. May 22, 1996; 1997, No. 155 (Adj. Sess.), § 10; 2009, No. 33, § 58; 2019, No. 70, § 9.)