Candidate Files Lawsuit Against ‘Sneaky Tax’
by Christine Stuart | Oct 18, 2010 5:00am
(4) Comments | Commenting has expired
Posted to: Election 2010, Legal, State Budget
Former State Senator Joe Markley of Southington filed a lawsuit last week challenging the Department of Public Utility Control’s ability to continue to collect a portion of consumers’ electrical bills to pay off the $989 million Economic Recovery Notes the state legislature borrowed to help balance the state budget.
Markley, who is running again this year for his old state senate seat, filed a Writ of Mandamus against the DPUC claiming its continuance of the charge is an inappropriate use of its power and “a terrible precedent.”
“It’s a hypocritical continuance of high electrical rates,” Markley said Wednesday outside New Britain Superior Court. He said the Competitive Transition Assessment, a charge on consumers electrical bills to help the utilities through deregulation in 1998, has become an additional tax on everyone’s electrical bill that would have disappeared if they hadn’t extended it.
The DPUC declined comment on the lawsuit saying it’s their policy not to comment on pending litigation and lawmakers from both the Republican and Democratic party refused to comment on the lawsuit.
“If they had done nothing, it would have lowered our bill $6 or $7 a month. Instead they saw a chance to grab a tax and the only reason they seized on this was the hope that nobody would notice,” Markley said.
However, Markley is not suing the legislature or Gov. M. Jodi Rell, who signed the budget, which included this provision.
“The legislature has mandated that the DPUC impose this tax, but in fact they do not have the authority to do so,“ Markley opined. “ As I state in the writ filed this morning, the statutes governing the DPUC limit its authority to ‘rates and charges, services, accounting practices, safety and the conduct of operations generally.’ It is not a taxing body, and we must not allow it to become one.”
Markley has asked the court to halt imposition of the tax until final disposition of his challenge.
Markley filed the lawsuit without the help of an attorney.
Back in May when the plan to continue the Competitive Transition Assessment was finalized lawmakers said ratepayers will still see that charge go down by an average of $2.47 per month. The average monthly charge is currently about $7.50 per month for customers of the two largest utilities in the state.
Asked if this lawsuit amounts to sour grapes or political posturing, Markley said “ There was opposition to it at the time it was in the legislature. But there was not the kind of public outcry there would have been if it was a more obvious tax. This is again the sneaky aspect of this.”
He said the legislature consciously picked something people wouldn’t notice. In fact, Markley argued there are people who still don’t understand what they’ve done.
“They snuck this tax by us,” Markley added.
A hearing has been scheduled in the matter after the Election.
(4) Comments
posted by: hawkeye | October 18, 2010 7:31pm
HATS OFF TO JOE MARKLEY!
Kudos to former Sen. Joe Markley, for his law suit challenging the Department of Public Utility Controls ability to collect a portion pf consumer’s bills to pay off the $989. million dollar economic recover notes, the state legislature borrowed to help balance the state budget.
This represents TAXATION, WITHOUT REPRESENTATION. We must remove current BAD ACTOR members of the General Assembly, who have SOLD US DOWN THE RIVER, and replace them with public serving candidates like Joe Markley!
posted by: A Rational American | October 19, 2010 10:53am
“‘The Legislature has mandated that the DPUC impose ...’ the competitive transition assessment.” Sounds to me that the imposition of the so-called “tax” came from the Legislature, not the DPUC. So, instead of suing the Legislature that appears to have some authority, Markley is going after the DPUC that has been directed to implement the law passed by the Legislature. This does look a lot like political posturing, not to mention a waste of court time.
Look, I’d rather have the $6 in my pocket each month, but I also don’t want to live in a bankrupt state.
posted by: gompers | October 22, 2010 4:51pm
This is a frivilous, politically motivated lawsuit filed on election eve. This will cost the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of hard earned dollars for Markley’s campaign stunt. Markley is protecting sleazy utility companies with this suit. Shame on Joe Markley. Didn’t he used to complain vociferously about such suits?