Public Law 74–742

That section 8 of the Act entitled “An Act to provide for the expenses of the government of the District of Columbia for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1914, and for other purposes, approved March 4, 1913”, be, and the same is hereby, amended by striking therefrom all of paragraph 52, and all of paragraph 64, after the first sentence thereof, and inserting in lieu of the matter stricken the following:

Application for rehearing on Commission’s order, allowed.

Limitations.

“That any public utility or any other person or corporation affected by any final order or decision of the Commission may, within thirty days after the publication thereof, file with the Commission an application in writing requesting a reconsideration of the matters involved, and stating specifically the errors claimed as grounds for such reconsideration. No public utility, or other person or corporation shall in any court urge or rely on any ground not so

Commission’s decision.

set forth in said application. The Commission, within thirty days after the filing of such application, shall either grant or deny it. Failure by the Commission to act upon such application within such period shall be deemed a denial thereof. If such application be granted, the Commission, after giving notice thereof to all interested parties, shall, either with or without hearing, rescind, modify,

Application to act as stay on order’s execution.

or affirm its order or decision. The filing of such an application shall act as a stay upon the execution of the order or decision of the Commission until the final action of the Commission upon the application:

Proviso.

Exception.

Provided, That upon written consent of the utility such order or decision shall not be stayed unless otherwise ordered by the Commission.

Appeal restriction.

No appeal shall lie from any order of the Commission unless an application for reconsideration shall have been first made and determined.”

Sec. 2.

That said section 8 be, and the same hereby is, further amended by striking therefrom paragraphs 65, 66, 67, 68, and 69 and inserting in lieu of the matter stricken the following:

“Par. 65.

The Supreme Court of the District of Columbia shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine any appeal from an order

Court jurisdiction over.

or decision of the Commission. Any public utility, or any other person or corporation affected by any final order or decision of the Commission, other than an order fixing or determining the value of the property of a public utility in a proceeding solely for that purpose, may, within sixty days after final action by the Commission

Petition to be filed.

upon the petition for reconsideration, file with the clerk of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia a petition of appeal setting forth the reasons for such appeal and the relief sought; at the same time such appellant shall file with the Commission notice in writing of the appeal together with a copy of the petition. Within twenty days of the receipt of such notice of appeal the Commission shall file with the clerk of the said court the record, including a transcript of all proceedings had and testimony taken before

Transcript of record, etc., to be transmitted.

the Commission, duly certified, upon which the said order or decision of the Commission was based, together with a statement of its findings of fact and conclusions upon the said record, and a copy of the application for reconsideration and the orders entered thereon: Provided, That the parties, with the consent and approval

Proviso.

Record may be abridged.

of the Commission, may stipulate in writing that only certain portions of the record be transcribed and transmitted. Within this period the Commission or any other interested party shall answer, demur, or otherwise move or plead. Thereupon the appeal shall be at issue and ready for hearing. All such proceedings shall have

Precedence to be given.

precedence over any civil cause of a different nature pending in said court, and the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia shall always be deemed open for the hearing thereof. Any such appeal shall be heard upon the record before the Commission, and no new or additional evidence shall be received by the said court. The said court, or any justice or justices thereof, before whom any such appeal shall be heard, may require and direct the Commission to

Evidence improperly excluded at hearing may be admitted.

receive additional evidence upon any subject related to the issues on said appeal concerning which evidence was improperly excluded in the hearing before the Commission or upon which the record may contain no substantial evidence. Upon receipt of such requirement and direction the Commission shall receive such evidence and with-out unreasonable delay shall transmit to the said court the findings of fact made thereon by the Commission and the conclusions of the Commission upon the said facts.

“Upon the conclusion of its hearing of any such appeal the court

Court findings.

shall either dismiss the said appeal and affirm the order or decision of the Commission or sustain the appeal and vacate the Commission’s order or decision. In either event the court shall accompany its

Reasons to be stated.

order by a statement of its reasons for its action, and in the case of the vacation of an order or decision of the Commission the statement shall relate the particulars in and the extent to which such order or decision was defective.

“Any party, including said Commission, may appeal from the order

Appeal allowed to Court of Appeals.

or decree of said court to the Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia, which shall thereupon have and take jurisdiction in every such appeal. Thereafter the Supreme Court of the United States

Certiorari to U. S. Supreme Court.

may, upon a petition for certiorari granted in its discretion, review the said case.

“Said Commission shall not, nor shall any of its members, officers,

No liability upon Commission for official acts, etc.

agents, or employees, be taxed with any costs, nor shall they or any of them be required to give any supersedeas bond or security for costs or damages on any appeal whatsoever. Said Commission, or any of its members, officers, agents, or employees, shall not be liable to suit or action or for any judgment or decree for any damages, loss, or injury claimed by any public utility or person, nor required in any case to make any deposit for costs or pay for any service to the clerks of any court or to the marshal of the United States.

#

“Par. 66.

In the determination of any appeal from an order or

Court review limited to questions of law.

decision of the Commission the review by the court shall be limited to questions of law, including constitutional questions; and the findings

Commission’s findings of fact.

of fact by the Commission shall be conclusive unless it shall appear that such findings of the Commission are unreasonable, arbitrary or capricious.

#

“Par. 67.

All orders and decisions of the Commission shall remain in full effect, except as provided in paragraph 64, unless and until they are suspended, superseded or rescinded by the Commission or are vacated by lawful order of the Supreme Court of the District of

Proviso.

Suspending order for alleged irreparable loss.

Columbia: Provided, That if in any petition made to the said court appealing from an order or decision of the Commission it be alleged that substantial and irreparable property loss would be occasioned to the petitioner by the operation of the said order pending the determination of the said appeal, the court shall set a time and place for hearing upon the said allegation after not less than three days’ notice to the Commission (during which period the execution of the order or decision shall be stayed), and the said court may then, upon a clear showing of the irreparable and substantial property loss as

Period.

alleged, suspend the effective date of the said order. No such suspension shall be for a greater period than sixty days without further

Provisions included in court order.

order after notice or hearing by the court. In the event of the issuance of an order suspending the operation of any order of the Commission, the court may include therein such provision as it deems advisable for the preservation of records or accounts and the impounding or otherwise securing of moneys necessary to give effect to the order of the Commission in the event the said order is sustained.

#

“Par. 68.

The Supreme Court of the District of Columbia, or any justice thereof before whom an appeal from an order of the Commission is pending, may certify to the Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia any questions or propositions of law concerning which

Court order.

instructions are desired for the proper disposition of the appeal; and thereupon the court of appeals may either give binding instructions on the questions and propositions certified or may require that the entire record in the cause be sent up for its consideration, and thereupon shall decide the whole matter in controversy in the same manner as if it had been brought there by writ of error or appeal.

#

“Par. 69.

That the Commission may at any time rescind, alter, modify, or amend its order. That if, after appeal is filed, the Commission shall rescind the order or decision appealed from, the appeal shall be dismissed; if it shall alter, modify, or amend the same, such altered, modified, or amended order or decision shall take the place of the original order and the court shall proceed thereon as though the late order had been made by the Commission in the first instance.

#

“Par. 69a.

The method of review of the orders and decisions of the Commission provided by paragraphs 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, and 69, herein, shall be exclusive.”

#

Sec. 3.

That the said section 8 is hereby further amended by striking all of paragraphs 42 and 42a thereof and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

“Par. 42.

That the expenses of any investigation, valuation, revaluation, or proceeding of any nature by the Public Utilities Commission of or concerning any public utility operating in the District of Columbia, and all expenses of any litigation, including appeals, arising from any such investigation, valuation, revaluation, or proceeding, or from any order or action of the said Commission, snail be borne by the public utility investigated, valued, revalued, or otherwise affected as a special franchise tax in addition to all other taxes

Interest added.

imposed by law, and such expenses with interest at 6 per centum per annum may be charged to operating expenses and amortized over such period as the Public Utilities Commission shall deem proper and be allowed for in the rates to be charged by such utility. When

Deposit may be required.

any such investigation, valuation, revaluation, or other proceeding is begun the said Public Utilities Commission may call upon the utility in question for the deposit of such reasonable sum or sums as in the opinion of said Commission, it may deem necessary’ from time to time until the said proceeding or the litigation arising therefrom is completed, the money so paid to be deposited in the Treasury of the

Accounting.

United States to the credit of the appropriation account known as ‘Miscellaneous trust fund deposit, District of Columbia’ and to be disbursed in the manner provided for by law for other expenditures of tile government of the District of Columbia, for such purposes as may be approved by the Public Utilities Commission. Any unexpended balance of such sum or sums so deposited shall be returned to the utility depositing the same: Provided, That the amount

Proviso.

Limitation on expenditure.

expended by the Commission in any valuation or rate case shall not exceed one-half of 1 per centum of the existing valuation of the company investigated, and that the amount expended in all other investigations shall not exceed one-tenth of 1 per centum of the existing valuation for any one company for any one year.”

#

Sec. 4.

If any provision of this Act or the application to any person

Saving provision.

or circumstances is held invalid, the validity of the remainder of the Act and of the application, of such provision to other persons and circumstances shall not be affected thereby.

Sec. 5.

No proceeding or litigation, except a proceeding involving

Pending proceedings not affected.

solely the valuation of the property of any public utility, pending in any court in the District of Columbia on the date of the approval of this Act, shall be affected by any of the provisions hereof.