The state's newest utility regulator, Andy Tobin, will get to vote on efforts by Arizona utilities to change what they charge customers who generate their own power.
Gov. Doug Ducey signed legislation Tuesday to reshape state law around what constitutes conflicts of interest that can prevent public officials from voting on certain matters.
Officially, the new law affects all elected and appointed officials. But sponsors of the bill have made no secret it is designed largely to benefit Corporation Commissioner Andy Tobin by overriding existing law.
"People shouldn't be prohibited in their ability to serve because of a very remote connection to someone,'' said gubernatorial press aide Daniel Scarpinato.
Ducey appointed Tobin in January to the Arizona Corporation Commission following the resignation of Susan Bitter Smith. She had been accused of having an illegal conflict of interest because of her outside employment with cable television providers and Cox Communications, both of which also provide telephone services that are regulated by the commission.
What Ducey apparently did not know at the time is that Tobin's son-in-law works for SolarCity as an inventory control specialist. That firm is embroiled in battles with various electric companies over their efforts to change the rates that are paid by customers who also have rooftop solar units.
A commission attorney said that connection created a potential conflict, as any decision Tobin made could affect the ability of SolarCity to continue to operate in Arizona and, by extension, the employment of the man married to his daughter.
Tobin's brother also works for Cox Communications, though Tobin said he's employed by the division of the company that handles cable television which is not regulated by the commission.
This new law spells out that it is not a legal conflict if a relative is employed by a company that may have some interest in an issue before the commission as long as the company has at least 25 employees in Arizona and the relative "does not assert control or decision-making authority over the entity's management or budget decisions.''
The commission has had its own conflict of interest laws based at least in part on the fact that the regulators act in a quasi-judicial fashion.
For example, much like judges, they cannot have off-the-record conversations with any of the parties involved in cases before the panel. That differs from lawmakers who are free to chat with lobbyists and special interests at any time.
But Scarpinato said the parallel ends there. "They're commissioners, they're public servants, they're elected officials,'' he said. "They're not judges.''
And Scarpinato said the new rules still prevent all public officials or someone close to them from financially benefiting in any way from the decisions reached by the commission.
But Sen. Martin Quezada, D-Phoenix, in voting against the measure earlier this month, said he thinks the law is being changed to deal with one person's problems, something he said is wrong. "Conflicts of interest can't be amended away simply by changing a definition in statute or simply by running a bill and making that conflict of interest magically disappear,'' he said.
Tobin is one of several candidates seeking to fill one of the three seats up for grabs this year.