Georgia CommonsHB 1443: Public Service Commission; allow designee of a member of the General Assembly to intervene in certain cases
Introduced version, the latest LegiScan holds · Last action February 26, 2026 · Introduced
The text as LegiScan holds it, read from the PDF the legislature publishes with its margin line numbers, running heads, and page footers removed. Line breaks are joined into paragraphs here; no word is changed.
Underlined words are what the bill adds to current law and struck-through words are what it removes, as the printed bill shows them.
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.