The North Dakota Public Service Commission is a constitutional agency that maintains various degrees of statutory authority over utilities, telecommunications, railroads, grain elevators, pipeline safety, and other functions in North Dakota.
Established before North Dakota became a state, the Dakota Territory established a Board of Railroad Commissioners in 1885 to oversee railroads, sleeping car, and express companies. With the state's creation in 1889, the board was known as the North Dakota Board of Railroad Commissioners. The commission gained authority over the telephone companies in 1915, and over all public utilities (water, gas, steam heat, and electricity) in 1919. In 1940, the name was changed to the Public Service Commission. The commission currently consists of three commissioners who are elected on a statewide basis to staggered six-year terms. [1]
All three of the current public service commissioners are from the North Dakota Republican Party.
Sheri Haugen-Hoffart was appointed to the office by Governor Doug Burgum in January 2022.
Julie Fedorchak was appointed to the commission in 2012 by Governor Jack Dalrymple. [2] She was elected to the seat in 2014 for the remainder of the term, and currently serves as chair of the commission. [3]
Randy Christmann was elected to the commission in 2012. He previously had a long career in the North Dakota Senate. [4]
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The North Dakota Republican Party is the North Dakota affiliate of the United States Republican Party.
The Tennessee Public Service Commission, also called Tennessee Railroad and Public Utilities Commission, was a three-member elected body which regulated private utilities, trucking firms, and railroads within the U.S. state of Tennessee. It was dissolved in 1996 when its functions were transferred to the Tennessee Regulatory Authority.
The Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) is the public utilities commission of the state of Kansas run by three Commissioners appointed by the Governor with the approval of the Senate. The Commission has the responsibility of ensuring that natural gas, electricity, telephone, and transportation vendors provide safe, adequate, and reliable services at reasonable rates. Notwithstanding the commission's name, it does not charter corporations; that function is performed by the office of the Secretary of State.
The California Public Utilities Commission is a regulatory agency that regulates privately owned public utilities in the state of California, including electric power, telecommunications, natural gas and water companies. In addition, the CPUC regulates common carriers, including household goods movers, limousines, rideshare services, self-driving cars, and rail crossing safety. The CPUC has headquarters in the Civic Center district of San Francisco, and field offices in Los Angeles and Sacramento.
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission is the public utilities commission of the U.S state of Oklahoma run by three statewide elected commissioners. Authorized to employ more than 400 employees, it regulates oil and gas drilling, utilities and telephone companies.
The Florida Public Service Commission (FPSC) regulates investor-owned electric, natural gas, and water and wastewater utilities. The FPSC facilitates competitive markets in the telecommunications industry, has authority over intercarrier disputes, and oversees pay telephones, the federal Lifeline Assistance Program and Telecommunications Relay Service.
The Alabama Public Service Commission, commonly called the PSC, was established by an act of the Alabama Legislature in 1915 to primarily replace the State Railroad Commission. The PSC's responsibility was expanded in 1920 to include regulating and setting rates that utility companies charge their customers for electricity. The legislature expanded the PSC's responsibilities in later years to include those companies that provide gas, water, and communications, as well as transportation common carriers such as trucking and air carriers. The PSC effectively determines the rate of profits that most of these companies are allowed to earn. However, some of its traditional responsibilities have passed to the federal government with the passage of the Federal Aviation Act of 1994 and the Federal Communications Act of 1996.
The Tennessee Public Utility Commission (TPUC) is the Tennessee governmental unit charged with the responsibility of setting rates and service standards for privately owned telephone, natural gas, electric, and water utilities.
The Arizona Corporation Commission is the Public Utilities Commission of the State of Arizona, established by Article 15 of the Arizona Constitution. Arizona is one of only fourteen states with elected commissioners. The Arizona Constitution explicitly calls for an elected commission, as opposed to a governor-appointed commission, which is the standard in most states, because its drafters feared that governors would appoint industry-friendly officials. They are directly elected statewide and serve staggered four-year terms. Due to its separation from the executive branch, the commission is often referred to as the "fourth branch of government." The characterization of the Commission as the "fourth branch of government" is contradicted, however, by Article III of the Arizona Constitution, which provides that "[t]he powers of the government of the state of Arizona shall be divided into three separate departments, the legislative, the executive, and the judicial".
The Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) is a statutory organ of the state government of Georgia; elected among five commission districts, the board consists of a Chairman, a Vice-chairman, and three Commissioners. PSC regulates telecommunications, transportation, electric and natural gas services in the U.S. state of Georgia. Commissioners are elected in partisan elections statewide, though they must reside in a district.
The Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) is a three-member public utilities commission, with beginnings in 1878. It is a quasi-judicial tribunal, which regulates services and rates of electric, natural gas, water and telecommunication providers, as well as all pipelines and transmission lines in the U.S. state of Iowa and has existed with its present name since 1986.
The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) is the public utilities commission of the state of Indiana, led by five commissioners appointed by the governor.
The Mississippi Public Service Commission is a government agency which regulates telecommunications, electric, gas, water and sewer utilities in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The commission was created in 1884 and in its early history was tasked with regulating various transport and telecommunications industries in the state. It assumed its current name in 1938 and was given jurisdiction over electric, gas, and water utilities in 1956.
The North Carolina Utilities Commission is a government agency that regulates the various utilities of the state of North Carolina. The Commission also regulates household goods transportation, buses, brokers and ferryboats.
Randel Christmann is a Republican politician from North Dakota. He represented the 33rd district in the North Dakota Senate from 1995 to 2013. In 2012, he was elected to the North Dakota Public Service Commission, as one of three members elected statewide.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of North Dakota on November 4, 2014. Five of North Dakota's executive officers were up for election as well as the state's at-large seat in the United States House of Representatives. Primary elections were held on June 10, 2014.
North Dakota held two statewide elections in 2016: a primary election on Tuesday, June 14, and a general election on Tuesday, November 8. In addition, each township elected officers on Tuesday, March 15, and each school district selected a date between April 1 and June 30 to hold their elections. This would have been the first election since the state legislature revoked the ability to use a student or military ID to satisfy state ID voting requirements, but a court ruling in August struck the down the provision, and the election was held under the 2013 rules.
The state of North Dakota held a series of elections on November 6, 2012. In addition to selecting presidential electors, North Dakotan voters selected one of its two United States Senators and its lone United States Representative, as well as seven statewide executive officers and one Supreme Court Justice. Primary elections were held on June 12, 2012.
Julie Fedorchak is an American politician who is a member of the North Dakota Public Service Commission and a candidate for the United States Congress. She was appointed to the commission by Governor Jack Dalrymple in December 2012 and won reelection to that position three times: to a two-year term in 2014, to a six-year term in 2016, and to another six-year term in 2022.
The North Dakota Industrial Commission is the body that oversees the management of several separate programs and resources, including the Bank of North Dakota, North Dakota Mill and Elevator, and the Department of Mineral Resources. By law, it has three members: the Attorney General, the Agriculture Commissioner, and the Governor, who acts as chair.
