US West Communications12/13/1999
Certification from the District Court of Laramie County The Honorable Nicholas G. Kalokathis, Judge
* Retired November 2, 1998.
TAYLOR, Justice, Retired.
In this appeal, we are asked to determine whether the Wyoming Public Service Commission (PSC) exceeded its statutory authority in adopting rules for the pricing of telecommunications services which set the floor price for certain services higher than the price required by statute. We find the PSC exceeded its authority, and, accordingly, hold that the Rules for Total Service Long-Run Incremental Costs ' 547, Toll Price Floors, and ' 548, Price Floors B Other Services, are null and void.
I. ISSUES
Appellant, U S West Communications, Inc. (U S West), presents the following issues:
I. Has the Public Service Commission of Wyoming exceeded its statutory authority by promulgating rules that establish price floors for telecommunications services different from price floors established by statute for the same services?
II. Has the Public Service Commission of Wyoming exceeded its statutory authority by utilizing rule making to regulate retail prices?
Appellees, the PSC and Intervening Respondent AT&T;Communications of the Mountain States, Inc. (AT&T;, frame the issues in essentially the same way.
II. FACTS
Following the fundamental changes for the regulation of telecommunication companies embodied in the Wyoming Telecommunications Act of 1995, the PSC initiated the rule-making process to facilitate the change from traditional, monopoly provision of local telecommunications service to competitive provisions of those services. The rules that are challenged in this appeal, ' 547, Toll Price Floors, and ' 548, Price Floors B Other Services, relate to the annual studies which must be conducted by the companies to establish Atotal service long-run incremental costs@ (TSLRIC), the floor price for services.
The PSC issued draft rules on February 9, 1996, and a notice of proposed rule making was issued on February 23, 1996. A public hearing occurred on April 11, 1996, and public deliberations on May 7 and 9, 1996. The PSC solicited further public comment with the introduction of TSLRIC ' 548, and deliberations regarding that section were held on July 7, 1997. The final order adopting the TSLRIC rules, including ' 547 and ' 548, issued on August 28, 1997.
U S West brought a petition for review in the district court for the First Judicial District, claiming ' 547 and ' 548 of the TSLRIC rules contravene clear, specific statutory standards for establishing price floors, thus unlawfully exceeding the authority granted to the PSC. The district court then certified this case pursuant to W.R.A.P. 12.09(b).
III. STANDARD OF REVIEW
Interpreting statutory provisions to determine an agency=s authority to promulgate rules is a question of law, and the reviewing court will determine the issue de novo. If the agency action is in accordance with law, it is affirmed; if not, it is corrected. Parker Land and Cattle Co. v. Wyoming Game and Fish Com=n, 845 P.2d 1040, 1042 (Wyo. 1993). When determining the authority of an agency to promulgate rules, we look to the statute as a whole, reading each component part in pari materia. Sheneman v. Division of Workers= Safety and Compensation Internal Hearing Unit, 956 P.2d 344, 349 (Wyo. 1998) (quoting Painter v. State ex rel. Wyoming Workers= Compensation Div., 931 P.2d 953, 955 (Wyo. 1997)). Administrative agencies have only those powers expressly conferred by statute. U S West Communications, Inc. v. Wyoming Public Service Com=n, 907 P.2d 343, 346 (Wyo.
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