Might have missed this article if it weren't for my trusty google news alerts. The Journal is reporting that though Qwest agreed to a deal with the Guv and the AG, the company is still petitioning the State Supreme Court for a rehearing, putting the Guv's deal in "limbo."
This thing is a ticking stinker. Now we just have to figure out why.
ABQjournal: PRC Says Its Hands Are Tied in Qwest Case:
SANTA FE— Qwest, Gov. Bill Richardson and Attorney General Patricia Madrid had asked state regulators for an expedited review and adoption of the Baby Bell's proposed $265 million settlement so it could begin benefiting New Mexicans.
But Public Regulation Commission members said Thursday that nothing can legally happen about the proposal until Qwest Communications drops its petition for a rehearing with the state Supreme Court or gets a ruling.
Typically, the court takes weeks or months to make such a ruling.
"We're not supposed to do anything substantive on a case that's still proceeding through the Supreme Court," PRC Chairman Ben Lujan said during the first scheduled day of hearings on the proposal. "If Qwest is serious about moving forward in service of New Mexico, I would ask that Qwest ask the Supreme Court to drop its motion. This commission's hands are tied."
Qwest did not respond during the hearing.
The PRC last year found Qwest was short about $220 million that it had promised in a regulatory deal in 2001 to invest in New Mexico by early this year. Regulators then ordered Qwest to refund the money to customers. Qwest asked the state Supreme Court to overturn the order, but the court in June said the PRC was within its authority.
In the meantime, Qwest negotiated a proposal with two agencies outside the PRC to spend $265 million in something more than three years if it gets approved. Richardson held a news conference in his office with Madrid touting the proposal and asking regulators to review and approve it quickly.
But Qwest, on July 14, asked the state Supreme Court for a rehearing, throwing the process into limbo.
Company spokesman Bill Myers told the Journal on Thursday that the court has yet to take action on Qwest's petition. He did not comment on whether Qwest planned to drop the petition.
The PRC on Tuesday said it would begin formally considering the settlement proposal but on Thursday said the ongoing court case precluded further discussion.
At least four parties, including two consumer groups, have filed objections with the PRC about the proposal.
"We eagerly await the decision of the court," Lujan said.
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