HB2437

THE CONTEXT: The Arizona Corporation Commission's Powerplant and Transmission Line Siting Committee was created to provide a single public forum for resolving issues related to where electric generating plants and transmission lines will be located ( Laws 1971, Chapter 67 ). To build a transmission line, a utility or private developer must apply for and obtain a certificate of environmental compatibility from the committee and the Arizona Corporation Commission ( A.

WHAT THE BILL DID: The final vetoed version would exempt a proposed transmission line from being required to obtain a certificate of environmental compatibility if the line and its associated right-of-way is on land entirely owned in fee simple by one or more owners of the transmission line, clarify that land held in fee simple by an affiliate of one or more owners of the transmission line is considered held by the "owners of the transmission line" if each owner of the affiliate has an ownership interest in the line, and make technical and conforming changes.

WHY IT MATTERED: The practical reason for this bill was to tailor the rule for transmission lines to a defined circumstance instead of applying one broad standard. It would exempt a proposed transmission line from being required to obtain a certificate of environmental compatibility if the line and its associated right-of-way is on land entirely owned in fee simple by one or more owners of the transmission line, and would also clarify that land held in fee simple by an affiliate of one or more owners of the transmission line is considered held by the "owners of the transmission line" if each owner of the affiliate has an ownership interest in the line, rather than leave the current rule unchanged.