§ 4 — The public service commission

§ 4. The public service commission. 1. There shall be in the\ndepartment of public service a public service commission, which shall\npossess the powers and duties hereinafter specified, and also all powers\nnecessary or proper to enable it to carry out the purposes of this\nchapter. The commission shall consist of five members, to be appointed\nby the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the senate. A\ncommissioner shall be designated as chairman of the commission by the\ngovernor to serve in such capacity at the pleasure of the governor or\nuntil his term as commissioner expires whichever first occurs. At least\none commissioner shall have experience in utility consumer advocacy. No\nmore than three commissioners may be members of the same political party\nunless, pursuant to action taken under subdivision two of this section,\nthe number of commissioners shall exceed five, and in such event no more\nthan four commissioners may be members of the same political party.\n 2. Notwithstanding subdivision one, whenever the commission shall\ncertify to the governor that additional commissioners are needed for the\nproper disposition of the business before it, the governor may increase\nthe membership of the commission to seven members by appointing two\nadditional commissioners by and with the advice and consent of the\nsenate. The terms of office of such additional commissioners and the\nfilling of vacancies during such terms shall be governed by subdivision\nthree, except that upon the expiration of the terms of such additional\ncommissioners, no further appointments or reappointments shall be made\nto such additional offices, unless the commission shall first certify to\nthe governor that the need for additional commissioners continues to\nexist.\n 3. The term of office of a commissioner shall be six years from the\nfirst day of February of the calendar year in which he shall be\nappointed and commissioners shall serve on a full-time basis. Upon a\nvacancy occuring otherwise than by expiration of term in the office of\nany commissioner, the governor, by and with the advice and consent of\nthe senate, shall fill the vacancy by appointment for the unexpired\nterm.\n 4. Any commissioner appointed on or after July first, two thousand\ntwenty-two, pursuant to this section shall have education and training,\nand three or more years of experience in one or more of the following\nfields: economics, engineering, law, accounting, business management,\nutility regulation, public policy, consumer advocacy or environmental\nmanagement.\n