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Alaska Regulatory Commission
| Alaska Regulatory Commission | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Office Type: | Non-partisan |
| Office website: | Official Link |
| Total Seats: | 5 |
| Term limits: | None |
| Structure | |
| Length of term: | Six years |
| Authority: | Alaska Statutes, Title 42, Chapter 4, Section 20 |
| Leadership: | T.W. Patch |
| Selection Method: | Appointed by the governor |
| Other Alaska Executive Offices | |
| Governor•Lieutenant Governor•Attorney General•Comptroller•Education Commissioner•Revenue Commissioner•Agriculture Director•Insurance Director•Natural Resources Commissioner•Labor Commissioner•Regulatory Commission | |
Contents |
Current officeholder
The current commissioners are Robert Pickett, Jan Wilson, T.W. Patch (Chair), Paul F. Lisankie, and Norman Rokeberg. Wilson was appointed in 2006, Pickett in 2008, Lisankie in 2009, Patch in 2010, and Rokeberg in 2013.[1]
Authority
The authority of the commission derives from state statute.[2]
Alaska Statutes, Title 42, Chapter 4, Section 10
| (a) There is created within the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development as an independent agency of the state the Regulatory Commission of Alaska.
(b) The commission shall annually elect one of its members to serve as chair for the following fiscal year. |
Qualifications
Alaska law does not set any particular requirements for regulatory commission members. Commissioners must be a member of the Alaska Bar Association or have a degree from an accredited college with a major in one of several fields. In lieu of a degree in a required field, commissioners may substitute five years of work experience in law, engineering, finance, or several other disciplines.[3]
Alaska Statutes, Title 42, Chapter 4, Section 20
| To qualify for appointment as a commissioner, a person must be a member in good standing of the Alaska Bar Association or have a degree from an accredited college or university with a major in engineering, finance, economics, accounting, business administration, or public administration. Actual experience for a period of five years in the practice of law or in the field of engineering, finance, economics, accounting, business administration, or public administration is equivalent to a degree. |
Appointments
Commissioners are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the legislature in joint session.[4] Commissioners serve six year terms.
Alaska Statutes, Title 42, Chapter 4, Section 20
| The commission consists of five commissioners appointed by the governor and confirmed by the legislature in joint session. |
Term limits
There are no term limits associated with the office of regulatory commissioner.
Vacancies
In the case of a vacancy, the commissioners elect one of their number to serve the remainder of the term.[2]
Alaska Statutes, Title 42, Chapter 4, Section 10
| When a vacancy occurs in the office of chair, the commission shall elect one of its members to serve the remaining term as chair. |
Duties
The chairman's duties are largely managerial; he coordinates the other members of the commission and supervises the commission's staff. Title 42 of the Alaska statutes set out the chair's duties in detail:
Alaska Statutes, Title 42, Chapter 4, Section 70
| (a) The chair of the commission shall
(1) employ the commission staff; (2) establish and implement a time management system for the commission; (3) assign the work of the commission to members and staff of the commission so that matters before the commission are resolved as expeditiously and competently as possible; when assigning a matter, the chair shall also set a date by which time the matter should be completed. (b) The chair of the commission may appoint a hearing examiner or an administrative law judge to hear a matter that has come before the commission; a member of the commission may serve as hearing examiner or, if qualified, as an administrative law judge. (c) The chair of the commission shall request the attorney general to participate as a party in a matter when the commission believes that it is in the public interest for the attorney general to do so. |
More broadly, the Regulatory Commission of Alaska licenses and regulates utility companies in the state of Alaska. The commission may mandate rates, practices and facilities, prescribe the system of accounts of a utility and investigate complaints. It also determines the subsidy support provided for low-income energy consumers under Alaska's Power Cost Equalization program.
The commission holds quasi-judicial hearings regarding proposed regulations or investigations where representatives of various stakeholder groups are allowed to testify and bring witnesses.
Divisions
The Regulatory Commission of Alaska includes a number of divisions:
- Common Carrier
- Administrative Law
- Advisory
- Consumer Protection and Information
- Commissioners
- Commissioner Support
- Tariffs
- Records and Filing
- Engineering
Compensation
- See also: Compensation of state executive officers
In 2012, the Alaska regulatory commissioners were paid an estimated $107,280. This figure comes from the Council of State Governments.
The chair of the commission receives a monthly salary equal to Step C, Range 27 in Alaska's governmental salary schedule, while ordinary commissioners are paid based on Step C, Range 26.[5]
Contact info
Physical address:
701 West Eight Avenue, Suite 300
Anchorage, AL 99501
Phone: (907) 276-6222
Fax: (907) 276-0160
See also
External links
References
- ↑ Regulatory Commission of Alaska "Commissioner Kate Giard," accessed February 4, 2013
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Alaska Legal Resource Center, "Alaska Statutes 42.04.010," accessed June 6, 2010.
- ↑ Alaska Legal Resource Center, "Alaska Statutes 42.04.020," accessed June 6, 2011.
- ↑ Alaska Legal Resource Center, "Alaska Statutes 42.04.020," accessed June 6, 2011.
- ↑ Alaska Legal Resource Center, "Alaska Statutes 42.04.020," accessed June 6, 2011.
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