New PUC chairman seeks dismissal of lawsuit keeping proposed decisions secret

Sunday, Aug. 8, 1999 | 9:17 a.m.

Don Soderberg, chairman of the Public Utilities Commission, dropped a 1998 lawsuit that sought to prevent the public from reading preliminary or draft versions of PUC orders.

Soderberg said he has changed the PUC policy of restricting public access to preliminary versions of decisions. Under his administration, the public is allowed to see preliminary orders, he said in an affidavit.

"I think we need to open up our process and make it more accessible," said Soderberg, who took office July 14. "We're complying with the letter and the spirit of the open meeting law."

PUC attorney Renee Lacey said Soderberg had the legal authority as an executive administrator to dismiss the lawsuit without a vote of the three-member Public Utilities Commission.

The lawsuit stems from a complaint made by the Las Vegas Review-Journal to Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa. The newspaper alleged that the PUC refused to disclose copies of the preliminary documents when they were discussed in open meetings.

In March 1998, Del Papa advised the PUC to allow the public to see proposed orders before a vote had been taken - if the proposals had been given to members of the PUC.