---
title: HB 1443. Public Service Commission; allow designee of a member of the General Assembly to intervene in certain cases
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb1443
cite_as: HB 1443, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1443
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1443.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1443/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73576
date: 2026-02-26
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1443.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 1443
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-02-24
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
- Don Parsons
- Jordan Ridley
- Spencer Frye
- Charles Martin
- Mary Williams
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1443/2025
upstream_id: 2123602
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- Public Service Commission
- utility regulation
- state legislature powers
- intervention rights
---
# HB 1443. Public Service Commission; allow designee of a member of the General Assembly to intervene in certain cases
## Text
House Bill 1443
By: Representatives Parsons of the 44th, Ridley of the 22nd, Frye of the 122nd, Martin of the
49th, and Williams of the 37th
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Code Section 46-2-59 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
permissible parties in proceedings before commission, intervention in proceedings generally,
limited appearances, and procedure for granting leave to intervene, so as to allow the
designee of a member of the General Assembly to intervene in certain cases before the Public
Service Commission; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Code Section 46-2-59 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to permissible
parties in proceedings before commission, intervention in proceedings generally, limited
appearances, and procedure for granting leave to intervene, is amended as follows:
"46-2-59.
(a) In all proceedings before the commission, the parties to such proceeding shall consist
of the affected applicant, any person who is permitted to intervene as provided in this Code
section, and the Utility Finance Section established pursuant to Article 2A of this chapter.
(b) Any person on whom a statute confers an unconditional right to intervene may
intervene by filing a notice of intervention with the commission or hearing officer, as
appropriate.
(c) Any other person desiring to intervene must file an application for leave to intervene
within 30 days following the first published notice of the proceeding. Any such application
shall be in writing, shall be verified either by the party intervening or by his or her attorney
on information and belief, shall identify the party requesting the intervention, and shall set
forth with particularity the facts pertaining to his or her interest and the grounds upon
which his or her application for intervention are based. Such application shall be served on
all other parties in the proceeding, including those who have previously applied for leave
to intervene. No untimely application for leave to intervene shall be granted by the
presiding authority except for good cause shown.
(d) Any party or person who has previously applied for leave to intervene in a proceeding
in which leave to intervene is sought by another person may file a response to the
application for leave to intervene within 15 days after the application is served.
(e) The commission or hearing officer shall permit only the following persons to intervene:
(1) A person upon whom a statute confers an unconditional right to intervene;
(2) A person who demonstrates a legal, property, or other interest in the proceeding. In
determining whether to permit intervention, the hearing officer may consider whether the
person's interest is adequately represented by other parties and whether the intervention
will unduly delay the proceedings or prejudice the rights of other parties; and
(3) Any member of the General Assembly of the State of Georgia or his or her designee,
who may without fee intervene on behalf of his or her constituents with the full rights and
privileges of a designated party.
(f) The commission or hearing officer may condition any order permitting intervention so
as to assure the orderly conduct of the proceeding.
(g) A person who is not a party may make a limited appearance by making an oral or
written statement of his or her position on the issues within such limits and on such
conditions as may be fixed by the hearing officer; but he or she may not otherwise
participate in the proceeding.
(h) A party granted leave to intervene shall be present, absent good cause shown, during
that portion of the proceedings for which that party has indicated a desire to be heard.
(i) An order by a hearing officer denying or conditioning an application for leave to
intervene shall be immediately reviewable by the commission. An order by the commission
denying or conditioning an application for leave to intervene shall be immediately
reviewable as provided by law for the judicial review of final commission orders.
(j) Nothing in this Code section shall be construed to prohibit the commission from taking
any action prior to the expiration of the 30 day period during which persons are permitted
to file applications for leave to intervene."
SECTION 2.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
## Summaries written by Georgia Commons
The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.
A Georgia House bill would let a member of the General Assembly send a designee to intervene in Public Service Commission cases on behalf of constituents, a right currently limited to the legislator personally.
### Plain-language summary
Under current Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 46-2-59), a member of the General Assembly can step into a proceeding before the Public Service Commission, the state body that regulates utilities like electricity, gas, and some transportation services, and intervene on behalf of constituents without paying a fee. That right belongs only to the legislator personally.
This bill would change the law so that a legislator's designee, someone the legislator names to act in their place, could also exercise that right to intervene without a fee, with the same full rights and privileges as any other party formally admitted to the case. The bill also makes small wording updates elsewhere in the section, replacing references to "his" with "his or her." The change would take effect once enacted, since the bill contains no separate effective date and simply repeals conflicting laws.
### What it does
- Amends O.C.G.A. § 46-2-59 to let a designee named by a member of the General Assembly intervene in Public Service Commission cases, not just the legislator personally.
- Preserves the existing fee-free intervention right and extends it so the designee can act with full rights and privileges of a party.
- Updates gender-neutral language throughout the section (changing "his" to "his or her") without altering the underlying substantive rules.
- Leaves unchanged the 30-day deadline for other parties to apply for leave to intervene and the standards the commission uses to evaluate such applications.
### Who it affects
Members of the Georgia General Assembly and the people they might designate to act on their behalf, Georgia constituents whose interests are represented in Public Service Commission cases, the Public Service Commission itself, and other parties (such as utilities) involved in commission proceedings.
### Why it matters
Legislators are often unavailable to personally attend Public Service Commission hearings on utility rates or services. Allowing a designee to intervene means a legislator's constituent interests could still be represented in these cases even when the lawmaker cannot appear, without that designee needing to meet the general interest-based intervention test.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 46-2-59(e)(3) to add "or his or her designee" after "member of the General Assembly," allowing the designee to intervene without a fee on behalf of constituents.
- The amended provision gives the designee "the full rights and privileges of a designated party," the same standing as any formally admitted party.
- Other subsections, including the 30-day deadline for intervention applications and the criteria for granting leave to intervene, remain unchanged.
- Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws, a standard closing provision.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2026-02-24)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2026-02-26)
- Sponsors: Don Parsons, Jordan Ridley, Spencer Frye, Charles Martin, Mary Williams
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73576
> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1443.md?full=1