308 - Bureaus and offices.
§ 308. Bureaus and offices. (a) Enumeration.--There shall be established within the commission the following bureaus and functions: (1) Law Bureau. (2) (Deleted by amendment). (3) Bureau of Consumer Services. (4) (Deleted by amendment). (b) Law Bureau.--The Law Bureau shall be a multifunction legal staff, consisting of a prosecutory function, an advisory function, a representational function and an enforcement function. The Director of the Law Bureau shall be the chief counsel of the commission and shall serve at the pleasure of the commission. The commission may also, from time to time, appoint such assistant counsel to the commission as may be required for the proper conduct of the work of the Law Bureau. Assistant counsel may be removed by the commission only for good cause. The Law Bureau shall advise the commission on any and all matters. No counsel shall in the same case or a factually related case perform duties in the prosecutory and advisory functions, if such performance would represent a conflict of interest. Except for litigation referred to the Attorney General or other appropriate outside counsel, the Law Bureau solely shall be responsible to represent the commission upon appeals and other hearings in the courts of common pleas and in the Commonwealth Court, Supreme Court or other courts of this Commonwealth or in any Federal court or agency and in actions instituted to recover penalties and to enforce regulations and orders of the commission. If necessary to protect the public interest, the Law Bureau, pursuant to its prosecutorial function, may initiate and participate in proceedings before the commission unless directed by the commission to do so in a proceeding involving transportation, safety, eminent domain, siting, service issues having no impact on rates or ability to pay or assist the Office of Trial Staff in carrying out the duties of the Office of Trial Staff, nor shall any member of the Law Bureau receive assistance from the Office of Trial Staff in the performance of his duties. Except as provided in this section, the Law Bureau may receive assistance from any other bureau or office of the commission as determined to be necessary. (c) Bureau of Conservation, Economics and Energy Planning.-- (Deleted by amendment). (d) Bureau of Consumer Services.-- (1) The Bureau of Consumer Services shall investigate and issue final determinations on all informal consumer complaints and shall advise the commission as to the need for formal commission action on any matters brought to its attention by the complaints. Any party may appeal a final determination issued by the Bureau of Consumer Services and seek review by an administrative law judge or special agent subject to the procedures in section 335 (relating to initial decisions). The bureau shall on behalf of the commission keep records of all complaints received, the matter complained of, the utility involved, and the disposition thereof and shall at least annually report to the commission on such matters. The commission may take official notice of all complaints and the nature thereof in any proceeding before the commission in which the utility is a party. The commission shall adopt, publish and generally make available rules by which a consumer may make informal complaints. The bureau shall also assist and advise the commission on matters of safety compliance by public utilities. (2) Annually on or before April 15, the commission shall submit a report to the Governor and to the Business and Commerce Committee of the House and the Community and Economic Development Committee of the Senate. The report shall compare all nonresidential categories of ratepayers for all electric and gas public utilities so that reasonably accurate comparisons of rates can be made between similar individuals or groups of nonresidential ratepayers receiving services in different service areas. (e) Office of Special Assistants.--(Deleted by amendment). (f) Other bureaus and offices.--(Deleted by amendment). (g) Staff testimony.--(Deleted by amendment). (Oct. 15, 1980, P.L.950, No.164, eff. Jan. 20, 1981; Dec. 18, 1980, P.L.1247, No.226, eff. Jan. 20, 1981; July 10, 1986, P.L.1238, No.114; Oct. 15, 2008, P.L.1592, No.129, eff. 30 days) 2008 Amendment. Act 129 amended subsec. (b) and deleted subsecs. (a)(2) and (4), (c), (e), (f) and (g). 1986 Amendment. Act 114 amended the entire section, effective in 60 days as to subsecs. (a), (b), (e) and (g) and immediately as to the remainder of the section.