Vermont § 3 - Public Utility Commission

§ 3. Public Utility Commission

• (a) The Vermont Public Utility Commission shall consist of a chair and two members. The
  Chair and each member shall not be required to be admitted to the practice of law
  in this State. (b) The Chair shall be nominated, appointed, and confirmed in the manner of a Superior
  judge. (c) Members of the Commission other than the Chair shall be appointed in accordance with
  this subsection. Whenever a vacancy occurs, public announcement of the vacancy shall
  be made. The Governor shall submit at least five names of potential nominees to the
  Judicial Nominating Board for review. The Judicial Nominating Board shall review the
  candidates in respect to judicial criteria and standards only and shall recommend
  to the Governor those candidates the Board considers qualified. The Governor shall
  make the appointment from the list of qualified candidates. The appointment shall
  be subject to the advice and consent of the Senate. (d)(1) The term of each member shall be six years. (2) Any appointment to fill a vacancy shall be for the unexpired portion of the term vacated. (3)(A) A chair wishing to succeed himself or herself in office may seek reappointment under
  the terms of subsection (b) of this section. (B) The Governor may reappoint a member of the Commission other than the Chair at the
  expiration of that member’s term, subject to the advice and consent of the Senate. (e) Notwithstanding 3 V.S.A. § 2004, or any other provision of law, members of the Commission may be removed only for
  cause. When a Commission member who hears all or a substantial part of a case retires
  from office before the case is completed, the member shall remain a member of the
  Commission for the purpose of concluding and deciding the case, and signing the findings,
  orders, decrees, and judgments. A retiring chair shall also remain a member for the
  purpose of certifying questions of law if appeal is taken. For this service, the member
  shall receive a reasonable compensation to be fixed by the remaining members of the
  Commission and necessary expenses while on official business. (f) A case shall be deemed completed when the Commission enters a final order on it even
  though the order is appealed to the Supreme Court and the case remanded by that Court
  to the Commission. Upon remand the Commission then in office may in its discretion
  consider relevant evidence including any part of the transcript of testimony in the
  proceedings prior to appeal. (g) The Chair shall have general charge of the offices and employees of the Commission. (h) The Clerk may appoint and assign a former Commission member to sit on specific Commission
  cases when some or all of the regular members are disqualified or otherwise unable
  to serve. In making assignments, the Clerk shall begin with the former Commissioner
  who left service most recently and then, as needed, proceed to the next most recently
  serving former Commissioner. Former Commissioners shall receive pay in accordance
  with subsection (e) of this section. (Amended 1959, No. 329 (Adj. Sess.), § 39(b), (c), eff. March 1, 1961; 1979, No. 204 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. Feb. 1, 1981; 1985, No. 108 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. March 25, 1986; 1993, No. 21, § 1, eff. May 12, 1993; 2017, No. 53, § 9; 2019, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.), § 13; 2021, No. 42, § 3; 2023, No. 85 (Adj. Sess.), § 336, eff. July 1, 2024.)