House Bill 1008 Summary

• Appropriates $19.89 million total funds ($6.43 million general fund) to the Public Service Commission for the 2021-23 biennium, including salaries, operating expenses, and specialized legal services.

• Establishes a Public Service Commission Program Fund to collect fees from utility assessments (max $300,000 per biennium), siting administrative fees, weighing/measuring device testing, and registered service company licensing, with balances exceeding $1.1 million transferred to the general fund.

• Increases commissioner salaries from $115,829 to $117,610 annually and raises fees for testing weighing and measuring devices (e.g., overhead scales from $53 to $95, fuel devices from $11 to $20).

• Authorizes the Bank of North Dakota to transfer $900,000 from the beginning farmer revolving loan fund to cover rail rate complaint case costs, with repayment from any successful case recovery.

• Changes the deposit destination for all weighing/measuring device fees, registered service company fees, and railroad fuel tax revenues from the general fund to the Public Service Commission Program Fund.