{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-17-17-180.11","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 17, § 17-180.11","heading":"Assessment upon public utilities","body":"A. The Corporation Commission is hereby authorized to assess a\n\nfee upon each public utility to provide adequate funding to the\n\nPublic Utility Division of the Corporation Commission for the\n\nregulation of public utilities in this state and for providing for\n\ntimely and expeditious reviews and completion of rate cases, and\n\nincreased responsiveness to the needs of consumers and the regulated\n\ncommunity.\n\nB. 1. The assessment authorized by this section may, after\n\nexcluding the amount allocated to interexchange telecommunications\n\ncompanies, resellers, pay phone service providers and operator\n\nservice providers in paragraph 2 of this subsection, be borne by the\n\naffected public utilities as follows:\n\na. one-half (1/2) shall be allocated based on that\n\nproportion which the total regulated Oklahoma\n\njurisdictional gross operating revenues of each public\n\nutility bear to the total regulated Oklahoma\n\njurisdictional gross operating revenues of all public\n\nutilities, and\n\nb. one-half (1/2) shall be allocated based on that\n\nproportion which the total number of regulated\n\nOklahoma jurisdictional customers of each public\n\nutility bears to the total number of regulated\n\nOklahoma jurisdictional customers of all public\n\nutilities.\n\n2. For interexchange telecommunications companies, resellers,\n\npay phone service providers and operator service providers, the\n\nallocation may be based on the total regulated Oklahoma\n\njurisdictional gross operating revenues that each interexchange\n\ntelecommunications company, reseller or operator service provider\n\nbears in proportion to the total regulated Oklahoma jurisdictional\n\ngross operating revenue of all public utilities as applied to the\n\ntotal amount of the assessment to be collected from all public\n\nutilities for each year.\n\nC. Any assessment levied pursuant to this section shall be\n\nrecoverable as an operating expense to the public utility and shall\n\nbe included in a utility's base rates or basic monthly service\n\ncharge. The Corporation Commission shall take such action necessary\n\nto ensure recovery of the assessment by a public utility during the\n\nperiod for which it is levied.\n\nD. The Corporation Commission may provide that each public\n\nutility shall pay any assessment levied pursuant to this section on\n\na quarterly basis. Notice of the annual assessment shall be sent by\n\ncertified mail, return receipt requested, to each public utility.\n\nEach public utility shall pay the amount assessed to the Commission\n\nfor deposit to the Public Utility Regulation Revolving Fund created\n\nin subsection E of this section. A public utility may, at its\n\ndiscretion, pay its annual assessment prior to the due date of the\n\nquarterly payments.\n\nE. Any assessment collected by the Commission pursuant to this\n\nsection shall be deposited in the Public Utility Regulation\n\nRevolving Fund hereby created. The fund shall be a continuing fund\n\nnot subject to fiscal year limitations and shall consist of the\n\nmonies received by the Commission from any assessment levied\n\npursuant to the provisions of this section. All monies accruing to\n\nthe credit of the fund are hereby appropriated and may be budgeted\n\nand expended by the Commission to pay the costs, both direct and\n\nindirect, of the Public Utilities Division incurred to regulate\n\npublic utilities. Expenditures from said fund shall be made upon\n\nwarrants issued by the State Treasurer against claims filed as\n\nprescribed by law with the Director of the Office of Management and\n\nEnterprise Services for approval and payment.\n\nF. The Legislature shall establish budgetary limits for the\n\nPublic Utility Division of the Corporation Commission. Any\n\nassessment levied pursuant to this section shall not exceed the\n\namount of the budgetary limits and indirect costs for related\n\nsupport functions established by the Legislature for any fiscal\nr approval and payment.\n\nF. The Legislature shall establish budgetary limits for the\n\nPublic Utility Division of the Corporation Commission. Any\n\nassessment levied pursuant to this section shall not exceed the\n\namount of the budgetary limits and indirect costs for related\n\nsupport functions established by the Legislature for any fiscal\n\nyear. Budgetary limits will stay in effect until superseded by\n\nfurther action of the Legislature.\n\nG. For purposes of this section, \"public utility\" means:\n\n1. A public utility as defined by Section 151 of this title,\n\nexcluding those companies encompassed by paragraph (d) of Section\n\n151 of this title;\n\n2. Any telephone or telecommunications company subject to\n\nSection 131 et seq. of this title, including interexchange\n\ntelecommunications companies or such other telecommunications\n\ncompanies as defined by OCC Rule OAC 165:55-1-4, resellers as\n\ndefined by OCC Rule OAC 165:56-1-4 and operator service providers as\n\ndefined by OCC Rule OAC 165:57-1-4; and\n\n3. Any association or cooperative corporation doing business\n\nunder the Rural Electric Cooperative Act except for generation and\n\ntransmission associations or cooperative corporations, or\n\ntransmission associations or cooperative corporations.\n\nH. It is the intention of the Legislature that this entire\n\nsection is an amendment to and alteration of Sections 18 through 34,\n\ninclusive, of Article IX of the Constitution of the State of\n\nOklahoma, as authorized by Section 35 of Article IX of said\n\nConstitution.","path":["OK Code","Title 17"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os17.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"60e191b9eb02a9e23110475ae393b25ca766d72e6d107ac9c058a198019b116e","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-17-17-180.10","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-17-17-180.12"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}