The Florida Senate

350.06  Place of meeting; expenditures; employment of personnel; records availability and fees.--

(1)  The offices of said commissioners shall be in the vicinity of Tallahassee, but the commissioners may hold sessions anywhere in the state at their discretion.

(2)  All sums of money authorized to be paid on account of said commissioners shall be paid out of the State Treasury only on the order of the Chief Financial Officer.

(3)  The commissioners may employ clerical, technical, and professional personnel reasonably necessary for the performance of their duties. The commissioners may also employ one or more persons capable of stenographic court reporting, to be known as the official reporters of the commission, and fix the compensation of each not to exceed $28,000 annually. The official reporters shall furnish only to the commission transcripts of all testimony taken by them, and the commission may make and sell certified copies of such testimony and charge therefor the same fees as are allowed clerks of the circuit courts of the state, subject to such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the commission.

(4)  When needed, the commission may engage supplementary qualified reporters at their usual rate of compensation; however, the supplementary reporters shall furnish the commission the original certified transcripts of testimony taken by them, but such reporters shall have the right to sell copies of such transcripts subject to rules and regulations of the commission. The commission may make copies of the transcripts for internal use without further compensation. When supplementary reporters are unable to provide copies within a reasonable time, the commission may, upon request, sell copies at its usual rate and shall deposit the proceeds in the Public Service Regulatory Trust Fund.

(5)  Upon request by the governing body of a municipal or county government within 7 days after completion of the transcript and its delivery to the commission, the commission shall provide copies of the transcripts of testimony at the cost of reproduction and mailing, but such copies need not be certified unless specifically requested.

(6)  The commission shall make available to the public counsel the original copy of all transcripts for use and study in the commission offices. If the commission makes any copies of transcripts for internal use and if the public counsel has so requested in writing to the clerk of the commission at the time of his or her intervention, the commission shall supply the public counsel with a copy of the transcript at no charge. In all other cases, the public counsel may obtain a copy of the transcript from the commission for the cost of reproduction.

(7)  The commission shall collect for copying, examining, comparing, correcting, verifying, certifying, or furnishing orders, records, transcripts of testimony, papers, or other instruments the same fees that are allowed clerks of the circuit courts of Florida. In cases where the fee would amount to less than $1, no fee shall be charged.

(8)  Copies of commission orders furnished to public officials, newspapers, periodical publications, federal agencies, state officials of other states, and parties to the proceeding in which the order was entered and their attorneys shall be without charge. However, the commission may in its discretion charge fees for the furnishing of more than one copy of any order to any of the foregoing.

(9)  The commission shall keep a book in which all fees collected by it as provided for herein shall be recorded, together with the amount and purpose for which collected. This book shall be a public record. The commission shall prepare a statement of these fees in duplicate each month and remit one copy of the statement, together with all fees collected by it, to the Chief Financial Officer. All moneys collected pursuant to this section by the commission shall be deposited in the State Treasury to the credit of the Florida Public Service Regulatory Trust Fund.

History.--s. 2, ch. 4700, 1899; GS 2887; s. 1, ch. 5625, 1907; s. 1, ch. 7811, 1919; RGS 4612; s. 1, ch. 11365, 1925; s. 2, ch. 12218, 1927; CGL 6697; s. 1, ch. 15720, 1931; s. 2, ch. 75-109; s. 2, ch. 81-318; s. 9, ch. 85-61; s. 6, ch. 87-50; s. 23, ch. 87-225; s. 534, ch. 95-148; s. 377, ch. 2003-261.