tion and payment of dividends by public utilities in the District of Columbia. The proposal is largely based on the Illinois statute, and it is believed that the enactment of such a bill may be a safeguard in the public interest.

The committee believe that the proposed restriction on dividends. limits the ordinary rights of management only when an overriding public interest, in maintenance of adequate service, is present.

It is specifically provided that no public utility shall declare or pay any dividend upon its stock unless (1) its earnings and earned surplus are sufficient to declare and pay such a dividend after provision is made for reasonable and proper reserves; and (2) the dividend proposed to be paid upon common stock can reasonably be declared and paid without impairment of the ability of the public utility to perform its duty to render reasonable and adequate service at reasonable rates. The membership of the Public Utilities Commission agree that this is proper general legislation.

The bill contains a penalty clause for the violation of any provision of the act.

No witnesses appeared in opposition to the bill.

O

$3D CONGRESS 2d Session

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SENATE

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REPORT No. 1385

REGULATING THE SALE OF SHELL EGGS IN THE
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

MAY 21 (legislative day, MAY 13), 1954.-Ordered to be printed

Mr. PAYNE, from the Committee on the District of Columbia, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany S. 2661]

The Committee on the District of Columbia, to whom was referred the bill (S. 2661) to regulate the sale of shell eggs in the District of Columbia, after full consideration report favorably thereon with amendments and recommend that the bill, as amended, do pass. The amendments are as follows:

Page 3, on line 2, strike the words "similar to, but not", and strike all of lines 3, 4, and 5, and in lieu thereof insert the words "which shall conform to the United States Standards, Grades, and Weight Classes for".

Page 4, strike out lines 7, 8, 9, and 10, and in lieu thereof insert the following:

for the first offense, by a fine not to exceed $25, and for the second or subsequent Offenses, by a fine not to exceed $300.

Page 4, line 15, renumber section 6 as section 7, and insert a new section 6 as follows:

SEC. 6. No person subject to this Act selling shell eggs to a retailer shall be Viable to prosecution under Section 4 if such person establishes a contract entered into in good faith under which the retailer agrees to grade the eggs purchased into consumer grades established under this Act before sale thereof to consumers.

The purpose of this bill is to authorize the Commissioners to establish regulations concerning the sale of shell eggs in the District of Columbia, such regulations to specify the grade and size standards for shell eggs sold or offered for sale at retail in the District. The Commissioners would be authorized to establish grade and size standards for shell eggs which shall conform to the United States standards, grades, and weight classes for shell eggs, as the same may from time to time be established by the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States.

Although it has been held by the Municipal Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia that the sale of eggs in the District of Columbia is governed by the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the proposed legislation is considered appropriate in view of the fact that the neighboring and nearby States of the District of Columbia— i. e., Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, have similar laws regulating the sale of shell eggs. It may be assumed that eggs which fail to conform with the standards of those States may be sent into the District for sale. Enactment of this legislation, therefore, would offer the residents of the District some protection against being sold inferior eggs.

The bill has certain exemptions. For example, it provides that persons who own and maintain henneries are allowed, under the bill, to offer eggs for sale which do not comply with the requirement of identifying the eggs as to size and quality. The bill also exempts from the requirement of identifying eggs as to size and quality, such eggs which are in containers or packages distinctly marked or labeled as storage, ungraded or unclassified. The primary purpose of this exemption is to allow the shipment into the District of eggs by producers, shippers, and others who do not grade the eggs at the point of shipment or at the point of production, and would allow the eggs to come into the District to be graded by persons who then sell them to retailers or to consumers.

The bill has a provision in it that the act shall not be considered as a repeal of any provision of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, but shall be construed as supplemental thereto.

The bill was requested by and has the approval of the Board of Commissioners, and was recommended by the Director of Public Health of the District of Columbia.

83D CONGRESS 2d Session

}

SENATE

{

REPORT No. 1386

MAKING CERTAIN CHANGES IN THE REGULATION OF PUBLIC UTILITIES IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

MAY 21 (legislative day, MAY 13), 1954.-Ordered to be printed

Mr. PAYNE, from the Committee on the District of Columbia, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany S. 3387]

The Committee on the District of Columbia, to whom was referred the bill (S. 3387) to make certain changes in the regulation of public utilities in the District of Columbia, and for other purposes, after full consideration, report favorably thereon with amendments, and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.

The amendments are as follows:

Page 2, strike all of lines 2 through 6, and in lieu thereof insert the following:

to read as follows:

"PAR. 16. That every public utility shall make proper and adequate provision for depreciation. The Commission shall ascertain and determine what are the proper and adequate rates of depreciation for the various classes of property of each public utility. These rates shall be such as will provide the amounts required over and above the expense of maintenance to keep such property in a state of efficiency corresponding to the progress of the industry. Each public utility shall conform its depreciation accounts to such rates ascertained and determined by the Commission. The Commission may make changes in such rates of depreciation from time to time as it may find to be necessary. The Commission shall also prescribe rules, regulations and forms of accounts regarding such depreciation which the public utility is required to carry into effect. The Commission shall provide for such depreciation in fixing the rates, tolls, and charges to be paid by the public."

Page 2, lines 19 and 20, strike the words "organized under the laws of the District of Columbia," and in lieu thereof insert the words "subject to the provisions of this section,".

Page 3, line 6, after the word "acquisition." continue with the following:

In the administration of this paragraph the Commission shall give consideration to (1) the effect of such control on the management of the utility, its financial practices and policies, (2) the effect upon the public interest of a change in control of the utility, including the willingness of the management to recognize the para

58003°-55 S. Repts., 83-2, vol. 3- -28

mount public interest in the exercise of a public franchise, (3) the experience those seeking control in the particular type of utility operation, (4) the relatio 'ship of the person seeking control to associates in other businesses in the Distri of Columbia or elsewhere and his relationship to any other public utility operati in the metropolitan area, and (5) the effect upon the employees of the utili involved.

Page 3, line 18, after the word "times" insert the word "thereafter Page 3, strike all of lines 22, 23, 24, and 25, and all of lines 1 throug *22 on page 4.

Pages 4, 5, and 6, renumber sections 106, 107, and 108, to section 105, 106, and 107, respectively.

Pages 7 and 8, strike all of title II.

Page 8, line 6, renumber title III to title II.

Page 8, line 10, renumber section 301 to section 201...

Page 9, strike line 5, and in lieu thereof insert the following:

TITLE III-SEPARABILITY

Page 9, line 6, renumber section 302 to section 301.

The purpose of this bill is to make certain changes in the regulatio of public utilities in the District of Columbia. It was introduced b Senator Payne (for himself, Senator Beall, and Senator Morse) follow ing the study which was made by those members pursuant to S. Re 140, a resolution to make a full and complete study and investigatio of public transportation serving the District of Columbia.

Section 101 would clarify the meaning of paragraph 16 of the or ganic act (section 8 of the act entitled "An act making appropriation to provide for the expenses of the government of the District o Columbia for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1914, and for othe purposes," approved March 4, 1913, as amended) which has bee considered ambiguous because of its use of the word "fund" in suc manner as to be confused with charges for depreciation. It is doubte that the use of the word "fund" in the last two sentences of paragrap 16 ever was intended to designate or define the proceeds from deprecia tion charges as a specific fund. This section contains languag drafted by the Public Utilities Commission, with a change suggeste by Capital Transit Co. and agreed to by the Commission, to cure th indicated defect.

Section 102 proposes an amendment to paragraph 53 of the organi act. The reason for the suggested language in this section is tha paragraph 52 of the original act was deleted without modifying th language in paragraph 53.

Under an interpretation of the sentence in paragraph 53 proposed t be deleted, the General Counsel of the Commission in the early day of the Commission's existence expressed the opinion that the copy of the transcript referred to was a copy that was to be provided to a part to a proceeding in court. At that time, a proceeding involving th Commission's order was a de novo proceeding in which the cour could issue the order that the Commission should have issued in th first instance. Since the amendment of the law in 1935, trials involv ing the Commission's orders are not de novo but are on certified record, and since the copies of the transcript are certified to the cour there is available a copy of the transcript for a litigant in the court The sentence standing as it is, without the benefit of the origina paragraph 52 and the General Counsel's interpretation of the tw paragraphs, leads to a confusing result.