Corporation Commissioner Bob Burns has argued that money spent by APS to elect some of his colleagues was done with the intent and in anticipation that they would engender goodwill, allegiance, support and future bias /Howard Fischer/Capitol Media Services
By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services
The state Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether a majority of the Arizona Corporation Commission can block one of its members from seeking access to corporate records to see if the company is funneling “dark money’’ into the campaigns of regulators.
In a brief order, the justices agreed to review a Court of Appeals ruling that denied Bob Burns, who was a member of the panel, the independent right to look at the books of Arizona Public Service and Pinnacle West Capital Corp., its parent. Burns specifically wanted to know about the money it has spent — and may spend in the future — to elect candidates of its choice.
The order, by itself, does not guarantee Burns will win his multi-year battle with the state’s largest electric utility.
It is, however, a setback for APS whose lawyer had urged the justices to leave in place the appellate court ruling which concluded that such investigations require the consent of a majority of the commission. In fact, the remaining commissioners also had asked the Supreme Court to stay out of the fray.
The decision of the justices to weigh in will have no immediate effect. That’s because Burns has left the panel and the APS rate case that was pending at the time has been decided.
But if the court ultimately sides with Burns, that could forever change how the Corporation Commission operates, giving future commissioners more independent license to probe the actions of regulated utilities.
