HB 446: Public Service Commission; discovery rights in proceedings; revise provisions

Current Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 46-2-57) lets Public Service Commission staff and, in a narrow set of cases involving gas company rate applications, intervenors and the gas company itself use the discovery procedures found in Georgia's civil litigation rules to gather evidence, such as depositions and document requests. This bill removes that narrow limitation and instead grants discovery rights to all parties in any proceeding before the commission, including anyone who has been granted intervenor status. The bill also broadens who can ask the Superior Court of Fulton County for help enforcing discovery, from just the commission and gas companies to any party in a PSC proceeding. It similarly widens which applications or petitions must be heard within 20 days, removing wording that limited that fast-track hearing rule to requests filed by the commission itself. The bill does not change the underlying discovery rules themselves, found in Chapter 11 of Title 9, or the sanctions available for noncompliance.

• Expands discovery rights under Chapter 11 of Title 9 (Georgia's civil discovery rules) to all parties in any Public Service Commission proceeding, not just gas rate cases.
• Removes the specific carve-out that previously limited full discovery rights to gas companies and intervenors in gas rate applications under O.C.G.A. §§ 46-2-23.1 or 46-4-154.
• Allows any party to a commission proceeding, including intervenors, to petition the Superior Court of Fulton County for orders, injunctions, or subpoenas to enforce discovery.
• Broadens the 20-day expedited hearing requirement to cover any application or petition filed under the discovery enforcement provision, not just ones filed by the commission.

The Public Service Commission and its staff, regulated utilities such as electric, gas, and telephone companies, and any individuals or groups granted intervenor status in commission proceedings, such as advocacy groups or competing businesses involved in rate cases.

Utilities and other parties involved in Public Service Commission cases, such as electric rate reviews or certificate applications, would gain broader tools to gather evidence from each other, potentially making proceedings more adversarial but also more transparent, beyond the current limits that mostly apply to gas rate cases.

• Section 1 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 46-2-57(a) to extend full civil-style discovery rights to all parties in any commission proceeding rather than only gas rate cases.
• Section 1 revises subsection (b) so that any party granted discovery rights, not just the commission or gas companies, can petition the Superior Court of Fulton County for enforcement orders.
• Subsection (c) is unchanged and still lets that court extend a rate suspension period if a utility completely fails to respond to a valid discovery request.
• Section 1 revises subsection (d) to require a hearing within 20 days for any application or petition under the enforcement provision, removing the prior limit to filings by the commission.
• Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2025-02-19House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-02-18House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-02-13House Hopper (House)

• Jordan Ridley (R, HD-022)Primary sponsor
• William Werkheiser (R, HD-157)
• Matt Barton (R, HD-005)
• Don Parsons (R, HD-044)
• Mitchell Horner (R, HD-003)
• Eric Gisler (D, HD-121)

• Public Service Commission
• utility regulation
• discovery rights
• gas and electric rates