PSC broke state law, attorney general says

The state Public Service Commission violated state law last month when it changed the way it chooses a chairman, Attorney General Thurbert Baker said Monday.

Baker said the three commissioners who voted for the change had no right to disregard a state law that lays out the selection method.

Baker’s legal opinion was sought by PSC member Chuck Eaton, one of two commissioners who opposed the change. “I’m not sure how this comes to a head now,” Eaton said Monday.

In May, current chairman Doug Everett and members Stan Wise and Lauren McDonald voted to elect chairmen for two-year, repeatable terms. They chose Wise as the first longer-term chairman, as of next month.

State law calls for the chairmanship to rotate among commissioners every January. Everett, Wise and McDonald lobbied unsuccessfully to have the law changed last winter.

Everett argues the change would boost continuity.

But consumer groups, at odds with Wise in the past, have opposed the idea. The new process makes it unlikely Robert Baker, the PSC’s best-known watchdog, would be chairman again, as the three-man majority isn’t likely to elect him.

Attorney general opinions are binding on state offices. Everett said Monday he didn’t know whether the PSC will relent or “let the courts decide this.” Wise said in May that the PSC should act “in its own interest.” Noting that Thurbert Baker is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor, Wise said the attorney general is “just another lawyer.” All five PSC members are Republicans.

Baker spokesman Russ Willard said the attorney general’s office expects the commission to abide by the opinion.