[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6383150,"mediaKeyId","2125188-c5534783429f9ecc79b232e134300b8a","parentId",2125188,"title","Public Service Commission seeks about $1M increase, 2.5 staff and $200,000 one‑time contract in HB2 request","audioSeconds",643,"startMs",81725,"endMs",725175,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2125188-c5534783429f9ecc79b232e134300b8a&start=81&end=725","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2125188-c5534783429f9ecc79b232e134300b8a/thumbnail_81725.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6383150/Montana/Public-Service-Commission-seeks-about-1M-increase-25-staff-and-200000-onetime-contract-in-HB2-request","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6383150-e57c9312789304bc2be01661fecd201f/orig.mp4?Expires=1771182981&Signature=jotxeWJRrE1mOzC-jzAqIz69HPbTswy9O5K3DgPPpqOQrKWY8He1BkSs~VcIqU-wAW4H2p3Q8eETMVfp9C8fV7uQnUASG1GW9l0nTMr-U-X2VZnqc~WqxrAMRmw4Sctm6ZDqK4w1jltL4tIarMSOaTsLQRXb9oB4Af9Y-OJkjoTOjIwtA2zK0S4SlZdURpDnUDdqQNXDLzwSdLZS0nwZbF7EqbZm1uGaR-mX17QbIv8gVGIpxhizEbm~IA3yWn~TBG~aRezJkuw67EmjqPVHUzbBcHUsbABIdEb3HwBgpBizo8DbrvUaGJqoC~tp1Of~cDgebUWi9rGtIkisd0QW8w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Montana Legislature","date","2025-01-13T00:00:00Z","article","The Montana Public Service Commission told the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday that it is seeking roughly $1,000,000 more in its House Bill 2 budget for the 2027 biennium, including funding for 2.5 new positions and a $200,000 one‑time contract to support review and implementation work on integrated resource plans, Legislative Fiscal Division and commission officials said.

“The house bill 2 budget that is being requested by the public service commission for this upcoming 20 27 biennium is about $1,000,000 higher than it is for the current biennium,” said Mr. Walker, Legislative Fiscal Division analyst, summarizing the LFD’s budget analysis. He said about half of the requested increase is attributable to statewide present‑law adjustments for personal services and fixed costs.

The LFD analysis breaks out the agency’s request as including approximately $316,000 to fund 2.5 budgeted positions (one accounting technician 2 and 1.5 administrative assistant FTE) and a $200,000 one‑time request for a technical contract to review integrated resource plans (IRPs) that investor‑owned utilities submit every three years. “There is a request for $316,000 to fund 2.5 new positions budgeted for the 20 27 bienium… and then there’s a 1 time only request for $200,000… for the review and implementation plan for an integrated resource plan,” Mr. Walker said.

Brad Molnar, executive officer of the Montana Public Service Commission, described the agency’s role in overseeing monopolistic utilities and in auditing utility costs. “Our job is to take a look almost like a forensic audit…the money that was spent … we disallow what we disagree on and we allow what we do agree on,” Molnar said. He and other PSC staff emphasized that the agency’s budget is funded largely by a state special revenue account — fees assessed on regulated utilities that are ultimately borne by ratepayers. “At the end of the day, the PSC is rate payer funded,” Molnar said.

The LFD analysis showed the PSC’s fund receives nearly all of its operating revenue from state special revenue (fees set after the Legislature appropriates spending authority), with small federal amounts for pipeline and railway programs. The LFD noted projected revenues in the state special revenue account at just under $5,000,000 per year and projected expenditures a little over $5,000,000 per year, producing a modest projected decline in fund balance for the 2027 biennium.

Agency officials described staffing and workload: the PSC currently has 33 permanent‑position (PB) authorizations plus five commissioner PBs (38 total), with 33 positions staffed. The requested positions were framed as backfill and operational support: the accounting technician 2 would provide backup for accounting, payroll and accounts payable functions; the administrative assistant requests would provide support for increased public comment processing and front‑desk coverage. Molnar said public engagement around energy dockets has grown (one recent climate petition produced more than 900 public comments), increasing the administrative burden of docket intake and data entry.

Fiscal performance data cited in the hearing showed the agency expended about 85.2 percent of its modified House Bill 2 budget in fiscal 2024; personal services were almost 94 percent expended while operating expenses were about 51 percent expended in that year, the LFD analyst said.

Committee members asked how the new positions would be funded; Molnar and LFD staff said the positions would be paid from the PSC’s state special revenue account and would be covered by the fee assessed to regulated utilities. The committee did not take formal action on the PSC’s budget request at the hearing; staff said the appropriations process for House Bill 2 will continue and that some LFD follow‑up was planned to clarify reporting‑level details and fund projections.

The hearing included a brief review of decision‑package categories common across agencies (DP1 personal services, DP2 fixed costs, DP3 inflation adjustments, etc.), and the LFD noted that the $200,000 IRP contract is requested as one‑time only funding and would not become base funding if approved only for the 2027 biennium.

No committee vote was taken during the session on the PSC budget request; the committee asked staff and the agency for additional budget detail and for clarifications on reporting levels and fund projections.

Looking ahead, the PSC said it would appear again in the appropriations process as House Bill 2 is considered; committee staff and PSC staff agreed to follow up with additional fund‑balance and reporting‑level detail.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Joint Subcommittee on Judicial Branch, Law Enforcement, and Justice 2025-01-13","oneSentenceSummary","The Montana Public Service Commission told the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday that it is seeking roughly $1,000,000 more in its House Bill 2 budget for the 2027 biennium, including funding for 2.5 new positions and a $200,000 one‑time contract to support review and implementation of integrated resource plans, Legislative Fiscal Division and commission officials said.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature MT, Montana","taxId",77694,"location","Montana","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6383146,"Bill would sweep portion of railcar tax to fund expanded state rail inspections; PSC and rail program argue staffing shortfall",3442,2370380,5812910,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2125188-c5534783429f9ecc79b232e134300b8a&start=2370&end=5812","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2125188-c5534783429f9ecc79b232e134300b8a/thumbnail_2370380.jpg","/articles/6383146/Montana/Bill-would-sweep-portion-of-railcar-tax-to-fund-expanded-state-rail-inspections-PSC-and-rail-program-argue-staffing-shortfall","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6383146-3affd3f1e50c659769fa2d2715c07f00/orig.mp4?Expires=1771182981&Signature=Rba5DzrEobmDPCPd24OsVqavUuG96dJoF79jHaOWB7RFavy68FmP4eqqBRbM2AzhN8EaA2bj7oRRzTQQQw4vXvvjpas0-8tftKBT7o-yfMFW4t1yCK5EoOFKIZtgf5DM2wpsE3Ea~2-Lk~iHB44qt951eomhK4WbjPLWTSykx1tSObXeHsmYl7jogas7RUqzRSnDSWB4WFDpHZSRsargNkEF0TDys1cwU80a5AqYwoeQc~J-g4FjbtGr0eLZq-ib9Sei86GasFc78ORYdjvSlzy4ydaRfxQ4N4g8FpbJl3Dhd0u~AuVP82ssu3-hXHrU4NmtotUWyQh~~s1u0ttGWw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","A bill introduced in the interim would transfer a portion of Montana’s railcar tax into a statutory special‑revenue account to fund an expanded state railroad inspection program, Public Service Commission and railroad program officials told the appropriations committee on Wednesday, and LFD staff said the revenue available would be a small share of current railcar tax collections.

“The difference this time is the energy and telecommunications interim committee brought a bill to address the problem… House Bill 103 will be heard in House Energy on Wednesday,” Brad Molnar, executive officer of the Montana Public Service Commission, told the committee. The bill’s funding mechanism, as drafted in the version shown to the committee, would sweep 8 percent annually of the railcar tax into a statutory state special revenue account to be used by the PSC for railroad inspections, Molnar said.

Dan Sherwood, the PSC’s railroad program manager, said Montana’s state program currently enforces federal railroad safety rules under a multiyear agreement with the Federal Railroad Administration and participates in 49 C.F.R. part 212 state safety participation. “We primarily operate enforcing federal regulations due to preemption from the Railroad Safety Act of 1970,” Sherwood said. He described the current Montana program as limited to the motive, power and equipment (MP&E) discipline with two inspectors (an eastern and a western inspector) and urged expansion across additional disciplines.

Sherwood told the committee that Montana has roughly 3,680 track miles — a large and geographically dispersed rail network — and that most neighboring states participating in the federal state‑participation program enforce multiple inspection disciplines. He described priorities for state inspections as focusing on mechanical defects that can cause derailments, brake and draft‑gear issues, and compliance with blue‑signal worker protections. “The number one cause of derailments both in Montana and nationally… is track,” Sherwood said when asked about causes of derailments.

Under the bill as discussed before the committee, the draft would fund additional inspectors and program staff. LFD staff told the committee the railcar tax has produced about $3.8 million to $4.0 million per year in recent years; an 8 percent sweep of that revenue would produce roughly $340,000 annually to fund positions, LFD staff said. Committee staff and PSC witnesses noted that railcar tax receipts have fluctuated and that using a portion of a volatile revenue source to fund ongoing personnel carries risk.

Sherwood and Molnar said the Federal Railroad Administration currently assigns two MP&E inspectors to Montana but that FRA staff cover multiple states and are stretched thin; state participation is intended to supplement federal coverage. Sherwood described the state program’s enforcement options (comments, defect orders that prevent movement of equipment until repaired, civil penalties, special notice for repair and individual liability) and described the training and certification that state inspectors receive through the FRA.

Committee members asked for data comparing Montana’s inspection program and derailment history with neighboring states (Washington, Idaho) and for a recent trend analysis of railcar tax receipts. LFD staff agreed to provide a follow‑up on the railcar‑tax trend and on comparisons of program size and derailment rates between Montana and other states. The committee did not take formal action on House Bill 103 at the hearing; Molnar said the bill will proceed to a hearing in the House Energy Committee.","House Bill 103 would create a statutory special‑revenue appropriation from a portion of the railcar tax to fund expansion of Montana’s railroad inspection program, adding inspectors to address a broad rail network and perceived coverage gaps, agency and railroad program staff told the committee.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Public Service Commission seeks about $1M increase, 2.5 staff and $200,000 one‑time contract in HB2 request

Bill would sweep portion of railcar tax to fund expanded state rail inspections; PSC and rail program argue staffing shortfall