§271G-17  Tariffs of water carriers. (a)  Every water carrier shall file with the public utilities commission, andprint, and keep open to public inspection, tariffs showing all the rates,fares, and charges for transportation, and all services in connectiontherewith, of passengers or property.  The rates, fares, and charges shall bestated in terms of lawful money of the United States.  The tariffs required bythis section shall be published, filed, and posted in such form and manner, andshall contain such information as the commission by regulations shallprescribe; and the commission may reject any tariff filed with it which is notin consonance with this section and with the regulations.  Any tariff sorejected by the commission shall be void and its use shall be unlawful.

(b)  No change shall be made in any rate, fare,charge, or classification, or any rule, regulation, or practice affecting therate, fare, charge, or classification, or the value of the service thereunder,specified in any effective tariff of a water carrier, except after forty-fivedays' notice of the proposed change filed and posted in accordance withsubsection (a); provided that changes to a fuel surcharge approved by thecommission may be made after thirty days' notice of the proposed change filedand posted in accordance with subsection (a).  The notice shall plainly statethe change proposed to be made and the time when it will take effect.  Thecommission may in its discretion and for good cause shown allow the change uponnotice less than that herein specified or modify the requirements of thissection with respect to posting and filing of tariffs either in particularinstances or by general order applicable to special or peculiar circumstancesor conditions.

(c)  No water carrier shall engage in thetransportation of passengers or property unless the rates, fares, and chargesupon which the same are transported by the carrier have been filed andpublished in accordance with this chapter.

(d)  Whenever there is filed with thecommission any schedule stating a new rate, fare, or charge, for thetransportation of passengers or property by a water carrier or any rule,regulation, or practice affecting such rate, fare, or charge, or the value ofthe service thereunder, the carrier may on its own initiative, or shall byorder of the commission served prior to the effective date of the schedule,concurrently file a pro forma statement of account which shall be preparedunder the same form and in the same manner as prescribed by the commission'suniform system of accounts.

The commission may upon complaint of anyinterested person or upon its own initiative at once and, if it so orders,without answer or other formal pleading by the interested carrier or carriers,but upon reasonable notice, enter upon a hearing concerning the lawfulness ofthe rate, fare, or charge, or the rule, regulation, or practice, and pendingthe hearing and the decision thereon the commission, by delivering to thecarrier or carriers affected thereby a statement in writing of its reasonstherefor, may suspend the operation of the schedule and defer the use of therate, fare, or charge, or the rule, regulation, or practice.  From the date ofordering a hearing to investigate the lawfulness of the rate, fare, or charge,the commission shall have up to six months to complete its investigation.  Ifthe commission fails to issue a final order within the six-month period thenthe changes proposed by the carrier shall go into effect.  At any hearinginvolving a change in a rate, fare, charge, or classification, or in a rule,regulation, or practice, the burden of proof shall be upon the carrier to showthat the proposed changed rate, fare, charge, classification, rule, regulation,or practice, is just and reasonable.

(e)  When a rate increase application is filed,the commission may in its discretion and after public notice, and upon showingby a water carrier of probable entitlement and financial need, authorizetemporary increases in rates, fares, and charges; provided that the commissionshall by order require the carrier to keep accurate account in detail of allamounts received by reason of such increase, specifying by whom and in whosebehalf such amounts are paid, and upon completion of the hearing and decision byfurther order require the interested carrier to refund, with interest, to thepersons in whose behalf such amounts were paid, such portion of such increasedrates or charges by its decision shall be found not justified.  The interest tobe paid shall be the rate of return authorized in the last general rate caseproceedings. [L 1974, c 94, pt of §1; am L 1980, c 202, §1]