Pennsylvania SB 616: An Act amending the act of April 12, 1951 (P.L.90, No.21), known as the Liquor Code, in licenses and regulations and liquor, alcohol and malt and brewed beverages, further providing for wine expanded permits.

Bill Text

PRINTER'S NO. 627
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No. 616
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY COMITTA, CAPPELLETTI, KEARNEY, COSTA, KANE,
SCHWANK, MILLER, MUTH, L. WILLIAMS AND FLYNN, APRIL 11, 2025
REFERRED TO CONSUMER PROTECTION AND PROFESSIONAL LICENSURE,
APRIL 11, 2025
AN ACT
Amending Title 66 (Public Utilities) of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes, in rates and distribution systems,
further providing for recovery of advertising expenses; and,
in restructuring of electric utility industry, providing for
membership in regional transmission organization.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 1316 of Title 66 of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes is amended to read:
§ 1316. Recovery of [advertising] lobbying and political
activity expenses.
(a) General rule.--For purposes of rate determinations, no
public utility may charge to its consumers as a permissible
operating expense for ratemaking purposes any direct or indirect
expenditure by the utility for [political advertising] lobbying
or political activities or prohibited costs. The commission
shall also disallow as operating expense for ratemaking purposes
expenditures for other advertising, unless and only to the
extent that the commission finds that such advertising is
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19

reasonable and meets one or more of the following criteria:
(1) Is required by law or regulation.
(2) Is in support of the issuance, marketing or
acquisition of securities or other forms of financing.
(3) Encourages energy independence by promoting the wise
development and use of domestic sources of coal, oil or
natural gas and does not promote one method of generating
electricity as preferable to other methods of generating
electricity.
(4) Provides important information to the public
regarding safety, rate changes, means of reducing usage or
bills, load management or energy conservation.
(5) Provides a direct benefit to ratepayers.
(6) Is for the promotion of community service or
economic development.
(b) Charging expenses to stockholders.--Any direct or
indirect expenditure by a public utility for political
advertising, or any other advertising not meeting the criteria
set forth in subsection (a), shall be charged to its
stockholders and shall not be included as an operating expense
for ratemaking purposes.
(c) Filing of information and materials.--
(1) Whenever a public utility proposes a change in rates
under section 1308 (relating to voluntary changes in rates),
the public utility shall file with the commission a listing
of each type of advertising prepared, distributed or
presented by the public utility or to be prepared,
distributed or presented by the public utility during the
test year utilized by the public utility in discharging its
burden of proof, and a listing of each type of advertising
20250SB0616PN0627 - 2 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30

prepared, distributed or presented by the public utility
during the year immediately preceding the test year, as well
as an accounting of the expenditures by the public utility
for such advertising, to the extent such advertising is
proposed to be included as operating expense for ratemaking
purposes.
(2) Not later than December 31 of each year, a public
utility with more than 75,000 customers in this Commonwealth
shall file with the commission a report itemizing the costs
of lobbying or political activities. The report shall
include:
(i) costs spent by the parent company or an
affiliate of the public utility that are directly billed
or allocated to the public utility;
(ii) a list of the title, job description and salary
of any employee of the public utility who performed work
associated with the lobbying or political activity,
including the hours attributed to the work;
(iii) a list of the title, job description and
salary of any employee of the parent company or affiliate
of the public utility who performed work associated with
the lobbying or political activity, including the hours
attributed to the work that were directly billed or
allocated to the public utility;
(iv) a list of payments that the public utility made
to all third-party vendors for expenses associated with
the lobbying or political activity, including unredacted
billing amounts, billing dates, payees and an explanation
of each expenditure in detail sufficient to describe the
purpose of the cost; and
20250SB0616PN0627 - 3 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30

(v) any other information the commission considers
relevant.
(3) The filing requirements imposed by this subsection
shall not be construed to limit the right of any party to
discovery under this or any other provision of law.
(d) [Definition.--As used in this section the term
"political advertising" means any advertising] Definitions.--As
used in this section, the following words and phras