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 <ins>or her</ins> attorney
on information and belief, shall identify the party requesting the intervention, and shall set
forth with particularity the facts pertaining to his <ins>or her</ins> interest and the grounds upon
which his <ins>or her</ins> 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; <ins>and
</ins> (3) Any member of the General Assembly of the State of Georgia <ins>or his or her designee,
</ins> who may without fee intervene on behalf of his <ins>or her</ins> 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 <ins>or her</ins> position on the issues within such limits and on such
conditions as may be fixed by the hearing officer; but he <ins>or she</ins> 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.