draftrules_dh.doc

August 5, 1999

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Re: Draft Amendment to the Commission’s Rules of Procedure, IDAPA 31.01.01.000

Dear Counsel:

Enclosed for your review are draft amendments to the Commission’s Rules of Procedure, IDAPA 31.01.01.000, et seq. It has been nearly seven years since the Commission’s Procedural Rules were last updated. The reasons these rules are being updated at this time include:

Repeal of the Idaho Motor Carrier Act, Chapter 8, Title 61. There are approximately 15 rules that need to delete references and provisions to the repealed Motor Carrier Act.

Public Records Act: This year the Legislature also restructured the Public Records Act that list the types of documents exempt from public inspection. More specifically, Idaho Code § 9-340 was restructured into six major categories, Idaho Code §§ 9-340A through 9-340F. The Commission’s Rules of Procedure contain several references to the old Public Records Citations. In addition, the Commission’s Public Records Rules found that IDAPA 31.02.01.000 will also be updated to reflect the new citations.

As enacted in 1997, Idaho Code § 61-909 allows the Commission to exempt certain classes of securities or utilities from the securities procedures found in Chapter 9, Title 61. The Commission has amended its Security Rules 141 and 147 to reflect this exemption.

Several of the rules have been amended to address the procedures regarding trade secrets and other confidential information held by the Commission. See Rules 67, 233, 243, 267, 282, and 287.

Finally, the Commission is initiating efforts to implement electronic filing. As the Commission has noted in Case No. GNR-U-99-1, electronic filing will first begin with tariffs and price lists. Eventually, I believe that most documents will be filed electronically. The enclosed draft amendments address this issue.

Given the bulk of the suggested amendments, I am forwarding for your review only those rules or portions of rules which are substantive in nature. I would appreciate any suggestions or comments you have regarding these rules. If you have any suggested changes, please fax them to me no later than Friday, August 13, 1999. The Commission intends to take these rules up on August 16 so that it may submit the proposed rules to meet the Rules Coordinator’s deadline of August 26, 1999.

I will be out of the office from August 5 through 12, but I will be checking my voice mail messages periodically. My telephone number is [phone].

Sincerely yours,

Donald L. Howell, II
Deputy Attorney General

DLH:v

Enclosures

L:merge letter_dh

August 5, 1999
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