Three state legislators fighting an Oklahoma Gas and Electric fight because of a vote by Corporation Commissioner Todd Hiett have responded to a Supreme Court request to show cause why their case should not be dismissed.
Reps. Tom Gann, Kevin West and Rick West informed justices their “Interlocutory” filing was made as such because “form 5 did not seem to accommodate citing a constitutional basis for appeal.” They said it also seemed most appropriate among the available options.
“Appellants apologize to the Court if they should have checked the “Other” option in Section 1. of Form 5 and instead appealed the OCC’s Ordere as an “Interim Order of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission,” they stated in their response.
Justices raised a question whether the original challenge by the three legislators last December was an interlocutory order which is a temporary order issued during litigation.
The Representatives still pressed their claim that because Commissioner Hiett’s participation violated state State Ethics rules and because the commission failed to provide a lawsful audit of OGE’s winter storm bonds, the rate hike allowed OG&E was “void.”
The trio also brought to the Court’s attention of the Corporation Commission’s 2-0 vote last week to approve a $120 million rate hike for PSO customers, citing “no lawful audit of PSO’s bonds; Hiett casting the deciding vote when he should not have participated.”
The legislators also took a previous challenge of Hiett’s vote to the Supreme Court, contending his alleged criminal violations involving drunkenness and groping of a man at a public bar last year should result in him being barred from voting on rate cases for the utility. They later stated they had filed a complaint with the Oklahoma Ethics Commission. It is not known whether the Commission started an investigation.
OG&E responded by stating the legislators “failed to show cause why this appeal of an Interim Order should not be dismissed.”