Legislator pushes for rural water groups openness
Legislation designed “to clarify” that the Public Service Commission does not have authority over rural water associations has been amended to also mandate that the meetings of the utilities are open to their members.
House Accountability, Efficiency and Transparency Chair Jerry Turner, R-Baldwyn, amended the legislation before it passed his committee Monday afternoon to require the rural water associations’ meetings to be open to their customers and to require that the customers receive notice of meetings where boards of directors are elected.
“I am a firm believer that as long as you have transparency that will solve just about any problem you have,” Turner said. “If you have open meetings and the members are informed, they will sort out the problems.”
Northern District Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley praised Turner’s open meetings proposal, but said he still opposed the original intent of the bill, which is to take oversight authority away from the Public Service Commission.
Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal
3/4/13
Magnolia Tribune
