The newest member of the Arizona Corporation Commission said it’s too soon to come up with new ethics and transparency rules.
Commissioner Boyd Dunn said the time isn’t right to develop new rules aimed at increasing disclosure by utilities and others that come before the commission, according to a filing from earlier this month.
That may not go over well with Commissioner Bob Burns, who continues to face resistance to his efforts to uncover any inappropriate, outside influence over the powerful regulatory body.
This week, the commission, including Dunn, voted to stop funding Burns’ legal fight with the utility over its alleged dark money spending on elections in 2014. Burns has sued Arizona Public Service and its parent company to obtain those records.
But Dunn said the commission should wait until all the legal proceedings are resolved, since it’s still unclear whether the state's constitution grants the authority to make utilities hand over the information.
Burns, however, had pointed to a recent attorney general’s opinion that he believes gives him the power.
Burns' lawyers will work pro-bono on the case, he said, and he may consider suing the commission to pay for the legal fight.
