ST. PAUL - Public Utilities Commission members would be picked by congressional district under a bill offered by Minnesota state Rep. Dan Fabian.
Fabian, R-Roseau, said that the PUC deals with issues important to all of Minnesota, but commissioners often mostly come from the Twin Cities. The current system does not have residency requirements.
The PUC needs "a greater regional representation," he said.
Each of Minnesota's eight congressional districts has the same population. Three are exclusively outside of the Twin Cities, two have some suburban and some rural residents and three are contained inside the Twin Cities.
Some representatives said they were concerned that the Fabian measure would establish an eight-member board, compared to the current five members, because it could lead to many 4-4 tie votes. Fabian, however, said that since Minnesota is expected to lose a U.S. House member after the 2020 census shows the state did not grow as fast as others states, the number of districts would drop to seven.
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The Fabian legislation received a favorable reception in a House committee Wednesday and will be further considered later this spring.
