Public Utility Ombudsman,Office of the; established, effective date.
Summary
Office of the Public Utility Ombudsman; established. Requires the State Corporation Commission to establish the Office of the Public Utility Ombudsman to protect the interests of residential customers of public utilities. The Office of the Public Utility Ombudsman shall serve (i) residential customers of public utilities that are jurisdictional or of limited jurisdiction and (ii) residential customers who cannot be assisted by other Commission staff due to a potential conflict of interest. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026.
Bill status
vetoed
4 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2025
Committee Review
Feb 2025
House of Delegates Passage
Mar 2025
Senate Passage
Mar 2025
Vetoed
Mar 2025
Introduced Jan 7, 2025
Vetoed Mar 24, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons
What changed between versions
Labor and Commerce Substitute
→
Enrolled
·
3 edits
·
Mar 10, 2025
MINOR
The bill was finalized and enrolled, moving from a draft substitute version to an official act. The most significant policy change is a correction in the scope of the new Office of the Public Utility Ombudsman, which now serves customers of 'jurisdictional' utilities instead of 'nonjurisdictional' ones, ensuring the office can assist with a broader range of utility providers. The act also includes a new provision setting the effective date for these changes to July 1, 2026.
Scope change
The scope of the Office of the Public Utility Ombudsman was expanded to include residential customers of 'jurisdictional' public utilities, whereas the draft version limited the office to 'nonjurisdictional' utilities.
SCOPE
The eligibility criteria for the Ombudsman was changed from serving 'nonjurisdictional' public utilities to serving 'jurisdictional' public utilities, significantly broadening the types of utility companies the office can assist.
TIMELINE
A new section was added to specify that the provisions of the act become effective on July 1, 2026.
TECHNICAL
The bill status was updated from 'House Substitute' to 'Enrolled' and the bill number was updated to reflect the final enrolled version.
Floor votes · Senate Feb 17, 2025 · House of Delegates Feb 4, 2025
How they voted
39–0
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 40
Feb 17, 2025
D
Democratic21
100% Yea
R
Republican19
94% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
40
Key actions
15
Committee
9
Amendments
5
Apr 2, 2025
Vetoed
House sustained Governor's veto
lower
Mar 24, 2025
Vetoed
Vetoed by Governor
executive
Mar 10, 2025
Upper · Passed
Signed by President
upper
Mar 7, 2025
Lower · Passed
Signed by Speaker
lower
Mar 7, 2025
Lower · Passed
Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB2136ER)
lower
Feb 20, 2025
Lower · Passed
Senate Amendments agreed to by House (56-Y 42-N)
lower
Feb 19, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate with amendments (23-Y 17-N)
upper
Feb 19, 2025
Introduced
Engrossed by Senate as amended
upper
Feb 19, 2025
Upper · Passed
Finance and Appropriations Amendment agreed to
upper
Feb 19, 2025
Upper · Passed
Commerce and Labor Amendment agreed to
upper
Feb 19, 2025
Introduced
Reading of amendment waived
upper
Feb 18, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day
upper
Feb 17, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day
upper
Feb 14, 2025
Upper · Passed
Reported from Finance and Appropriations with amendment (10-Y 4-N)
upper
Feb 10, 2025
Upper · Passed
Reported from Commerce and Labor with amendment and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (9-Y 6-N)
upper
Feb 5, 2025
Committee
Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor
upper
Feb 4, 2025
Lower · Passed
Read third time and passed House (56-Y 43-N)
lower
Jan 29, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported from Appropriations (17-Y 4-N)
lower
Jan 27, 2025
Lower · Passed
Subcommittee recommends reporting (6-Y 2-N)
lower
Jan 24, 2025
Committee
Assigned Approps sub: General Government and Capital Outlay
lower
Jan 23, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported from Labor and Commerce with substitute and referred to Appropriations (12-Y 10-N)
lower
Jan 16, 2025
Committee
Assigned L & C sub: Subcommittee #3
lower
Jan 7, 2025
Committee
Referred to Committee on Labor and Commerce
lower
1 primary · 8 co-sponsors
Sponsors
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