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South Dakota Public Utilities Commission Meeting
Monday, November 20, 2006, at 2:00 P.M.
Room 412, State Capitol Building
Pierre, South Dakota
MINUTES OF THE AD HOC COMMISSION MEETING
Vice Chairman Dustin Johnson called the meeting to order. Present were Commissioner Gary Hanson; Deputy Executive Director Heather Forney; Commission Advisor Greg Rislov; Commission Attorneys Rolayne Ailts Wiest and John Smith; Staff Attorney Karen Cremer; Staff Analysts Keith Senger, Harlan Best, and Bob Knadle; and Administrative Secretary Tina Douglas.
Also present were: Rich Coit, South Dakota Telecommunication Association (SDTA); Darla Rogers, Riter, Rogers, Wattier & Brown, representing Golden West Telecom and Venture Communications; and Denny Law, Golden West Telecom.
Joining the meeting by telephone were Steve Kolbeck, Commissioner Elect; Dawn Haase, PrairieWave Telecommunications, Inc.; Talbot Wieczorek, Gunderson, Palmer, Goodsell & Nelson, representing Sprint Communications Company L.P., WWC License LLC, and Alltel Communications, Inc.; Randy Houdek, Venture Communications Cooperative; Ron Williams, Alltel Communications, Inc.; and Rebecca DeCook, Holland & Hart LLP, representing AT&T Communications of the Midwest
Leadership
1. Election of a Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson of the Commission. (General Counsel: John Smith.)
South Dakota Codified Law 49-1-8 states in part that, "The members of the Commission shall elect a chairperson by majority vote and prescribe his duties." Traditionally, the three Commissioners have elected a Chairperson and a Vice-Chairperson every two years. SDCL 49-1-12 requires that, "Every vote and official action of the Public Utilities Commission shall be entered of record and its proceedings shall be public upon the request of either party or any person interested." Accordingly, the determination of the Commission's leadership structure shall be made at this public meeting.
Commissioner Hanson moved to elect Dustin Johnson as Chairman. Commissioner Johnson seconded. Motion passed 2-0.
Chairman Johnson moved to elect Gary Hanson as Vice Chairman. Commissioner Hanson seconded. Motion passed 2-0.
Complaints
Ms. Rebecca DeCook, AT&T Communications of the Midwest, Inc. stated that the parties filed a Joint Motion to Close Proceeding as they had reached a settlement of the case. Ms. Karen Cremer recommended the Commission approve the Joint Motion to Close Proceeding and close the docket
Chairman Johnson moved to approve the Joint Motion to Close the Proceeding, dismiss and close Docket CT05-007. Commissioner Hanson seconded. Motion passed 2-0.
Telecommunications
Ms. Darla Rogers, Venture Communications Cooperative, stated it had no objection to the interventions of Rural Cellular Corporation (RCC) and Alltel Communications, Inc. (Alltel). Ms. Karen Cremer recommended granting intervention to RCC and Alltel.
Commissioner Hanson moved to grant intervention to RCC and Alltel in Docket TC06-181. Chairman Johnson seconded. Motion passed 2-0.
Rulemaking
Ms. Rolayne Wiest explained the final changes that were made to the proposed rules. Ms. Wiest stated some of the changes made since the hearing were that whomever files the documentation electronically will receive a confirmation email from the Commission; a person whose filing is made untimely as a result of an electronic or mail delivery failure may seek appropriate relief from the Commission; and the Commission will act on a petition for declaratory ruling within a set period of time.
Chairman Johnson moved to approve the rules in Docket RM06-003. Commissioner Hanson seconded. Motion passed 2-0.
Complaints
See transcript which is available at :
/commission/minutes/minutes_2006/transcripts/transcript112106.pdf
Chairman Johnson moved to defer Docket CT05-001. Commissioner Hanson seconded. Motion passed 2-0.
Meeting adjourned.
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Tina Douglas
Administrative Secretary
