How do utilities pay off some regulators?

Consumer advocates like the Citizen Utilities Board's former director Martin Cohen are a rarity on PUCs, a survey by the Center for Public Integrity found.
     Only eight appointees in the last year have had consumer affairs backgrounds, the survey found (www.publicintegrity.org/telecom/iys.aspx).
     Cohen's nomination to head the Illinois Commerce Commission was defeated by two votes this month.
     Most commonly commissioners are politically well connected with 42% having served as state legislators, legislative staffers or governors' appointees.
     The next biggest group (13%) held jobs in the industries they regulate.
     More than one-fifth of those who filed financial disclosure forms revealed they received income from energy or communications companies, the survey found.
     Twenty-five commissioners reported accepting $69,000-worth of travel, gifts and speaking fees from outside sources, including regulated utilities.
     These jobs are "nice work if you can get it," the Center found, with an average salary of $92,561 -- more than legislators' average pay.
     Annual pay ranges from $30,000 at the Delaware PSC to $135,297 at the Virginia State Corporation Commission though one Connecticut commissioner gets $138,043.
     All states ban or limit income commissioners can earn from regulated companies but financial reporting and public disclosure rules vary widely.
     The Center flunked more than half the states on its financial disclosure test that measured whether commissioners are required to disclose their financial interests and make the data available to the public.
     Only Washington State scored an "A" grade.
     Texas, Arizona and New Jersey earned Bs.
     States getting Cs were Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island.
     Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota and Wisconsin squeaked by with Ds on public disclosure.
     The rest flunked.
     Some states that require financial disclosures scored low because they make it difficult for the public to look at them.
     Massachusetts and Wisconsin tell commissioners the names of those wanting to examine their financial filings while Maryland commissioners can ask for more information about data seekers.
     New Yorkers have to copy information by hand since they aren't allowed to photocopy forms they can see only by traveling to Albany.
     The Center is an independent, non-profit group that researches and reports on public policy issues.
     Originally published in Restructuring Today on November 21, 2005

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