Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, March 15, 2024
(1) This rule applies to every public
utility, as defined in section
386.020, RSMo, and to
all persons employed by the public utilities.
(2) Every public utility shall have an office
in this state in which its accounts, records, memoranda, books and papers
carried in pursuance of a statute of this state or rules of this commission
shall be kept, except as provided in this rule. Accounts, records, memoranda,
books and papers carried in pursuance to the requirements of law mean the
general records of the utility carried in pursuance of a statute of this state
or the rules of this commission. All general records shall be kept in a
fireproof place. No accounts, records, memoranda, books and papers, at any
time, shall be removed from or kept outside the state except upon conditions as
are prescribed.
(3) The following
denotes the conditions under which any part of the accounts, records,
memoranda, books and papers will be permitted to be removed from their domicile
in this state, or kept outside the state, if domiciled in another state and
doing business in Missouri:
(A) Every public
utility doing business in Missouri shall maintain and keep accounts, records,
memoranda, books and papers in conformity with the rules prescribed by this
commission;
(B) If a public utility
should desire to remove its general records from its office in this state, it
shall notify the commission of any such intention thirty (30) days in advance
of the removal, setting forth the exact address of the general office where the
general records will be kept;
(C)
If a public utility doing business in Missouri maintains its general records
outside the state, the utility shall notify the commission, in writing, thirty
(30) days in advance of any relocation, setting forth the exact address of the
general office where the general records will be kept;
(D) Every public utility or its successors or
assigns shall hold itself ready and willing to produce any of its books and
records to the commission at any time the commission shall so order or request,
and shall permit the commission, or any of its officers or employees, to
inspect these accounts, records, memoranda, books and papers;
(E) Every public utility shall permit the
commission, or any of its officers or employees, to examine and inspect any of
the accounts, records, memoranda, books and papers at any reasonable time at
the office where these accounts, records, memoranda, books and papers are kept,
the same as if the books and papers were kept within Missouri;
(F) If the commission deems it necessary to
send one (1) or more of its officers or employees to examine any of the
accounts, records, memoranda, books and papers of the public utility at the
office where these books and records are kept, this being an extraordinary
function of regulation not ordinarily contemplated in intrastate regulations of
utilities, which are normally domiciled in Missouri and keep their books in
this state, all reasonable expenses incurred by the officers and employees, if
so ordered by the commission, shall be borne and paid by the public utility;
provided, however, that before any such expense shall be incurred by the
commission, the public utility shall be given reasonable notice to produce its
accounts, records, memoranda, books and papers designated by the commission for
inspection and examination of the commission or its officers and employees, at
the office of the commission at Jefferson City, Missouri, or at an office of
the public utility in Missouri, or at such other point in Missouri, as may be
mutually agreed, in which case the public utility also shall make available at
that place, at the time of the examination, a person(s), who is acquainted with
the records;
(G) Every public
utility, upon removal of any of its general records from Missouri, to an office
in another state, shall keep the general records as are maintained in its
office in the designated sister state, relative to its business operations in
Missouri, in a fireproof place, when stored or not in use, or in the
alternative, provide an original, duplicate or true copy of the records, which
shall be kept in a fireproof place in one (1) of its offices in Missouri;
and
(H) All public utilities shall
file with the secretary of the Public Service Commission, if they have not
previously done so, and include in their annual report, the address of the
office(s) in which its general records are kept.
*Original authority: 393.140, RSMo 1939, amended 1947,
1967.State ex rel Kansas City Transit, Inc. v. Public Service Commission, 406
SW2d 5 (Mo. banc 1966). Commission is an administrative body of powers limited
to those expressly granted by statute or necessary or proper to effectuate
statutory purpose. Commission's authority to regulate does not include right to
dictate manner in which company conducts its business.
