(A) Open meetings.
(1) All meetings of the public utilities commission at which official action is taken and formal deliberation upon official business is conducted shall be opened to the public. All resolutions, rules, or formal action of any kind shall be adopted in an open meeting of the public utilities commission. A majority of the public utilities commission constitutes a quorum for the purpose of conducting business.
(2) The public utilities commission may hold an executive session to consider any matter contained in division (G) of section 121.22 of the Revised Code. An executive session may be held only at a meeting for which notice has been given in accordance with paragraph (C) of this rule and only after a majority of a quorum of the public utilities commission determines, by a roll call vote, to hold such a session.
(B) Types of meetings.
(1) Regular meetings. The public utilities commission regularly meets on Wednesday to discuss issues in individual cases and to vote on orders and entries to be issued in cases. The commission may, in its discretion, schedule meetings on other days to discuss and vote on entries and orders in pending cases. Unless otherwise noticed by the commission, meetings are held at the offices of the public utilities commission, "180 East Broad Street, Columbus, Ohio." The time of the meetings will be shown on the agenda issued for the meetings.
(2) Emergency meetings. An emergency meeting is one that is noticed to the public less than twenty-four hours prior to the start of the meeting. In the event of an emergency meeting, the representatives of the news media who have requested notification of emergency meetings will be notified immediately of the time, place, and purpose of the meeting.
(C) Notice of meetings.
(1) Any person may determine the time, place, and matters on the agenda for a regular meeting scheduled to consider cases or a specific or general topic by calling the commission's legal department at 614-466-6843 during normal business hours or by visiting the commission's docketing division. The meeting agendas are also available on the commission's website (http://www.puco.ohio.gov). The commission will distribute agendas, as they become available, via email. Any person wishing to receive notices or agendas of commission meetings via email may subscribe to the "agendas list" at http://www.puco.ohio.gov/news/sign-up-for-email-updates, or by calling the commission's legal department at 614-466-6843, or by sending a request to legal department, public utilities commission of Ohio, "180 East Broad Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215." The agendas for the regular biweekly meetings are generally available by close of business on the preceding Thursday. Agenda updates are posted to the website and distributed by email as early as possible prior to the meeting.
(2) Copies of the agenda for a special meeting can be obtained in the same manner as prescribed for regular meetings in paragraph (C)(1) of this rule.
(3) Copies of the agenda for an emergency meeting, if time permits for the preparation of an agenda, will be available on the commission's website and distributed by email as early as possible prior to the meeting. Upon scheduling an emergency meeting, the commission will immediately notify all media outlets that have specifically requested notice of the time, place, and purpose of the emergency meeting.
(D) Minutes.
(1) Minutes of commission meetings shall be adopted at the next regularly scheduled meeting at which the commission votes on orders and entries to be issued in cases.
(2) The secretary of the commission is responsible for maintaining the minutes.
Last updated April 11, 2024 at 9:06 AM