Show MAY REGULATE 7 ALL County Attorney Rules Corn Com Commissioners j missioners May Control Public Service Companies I BASED ON POLICE POWER 11 Under It I Board May Require Corporations to Give SatI Satisfactory Satisfactory Sat Sat- I Service Holding that that under the police powers powers pow pow- ers era of or the thc State of oC Utah as delegated to the count county commissioners that lod body has the tIme right t to pass pass a n public utilities bill bi under the terms of oC which It Jt may regulate public utilities operating operating within with with- in the county to such extent as is not in conflict with the general State laws the thc county count attorneys attorney's s office yesterday ay directed an opinion to the commissioners commission commission- ers er advising acl them that the they have power pow pow- er to regulate the telephone company compan or companies In the country countr and require them to to give satisfactory service to patrons The opinion was written by Herbel Van Dam deputy deput r county attorney and approved b by H H. H L L. L county count atI att at at- t torney torner 0 r n ey I Course I I Undecided What action the commissioners will wil take tale under acton the opinion In relation to tho the telephone company or other public utilities which It ma may desire to regulate regulate regulate regu regu- late has not been determined The Tue opinion was rendered in re response re- re to a request from Crom the commission commission commis commis- sion slon fo for foy Information as to its Is powers to re regulate ula to the time Mountain tn I n States Tele Te Telephone le- le phone Telegraph company complaint having been made to some of oC the commissioners com corn ml missioners that that tho time company compan has put more than half hulf hal a dozen lozen subscribers bers on onono one ono party part line In several se instances The commission lne wanted to know lenow if t It had authority under the franchise of or orthe the company or otherwise to compel the company to limit the number of subscribers on on a party part line and to give gle satisfactory service The opinion lon of the count county attorney I says say in part Gentlemen After After careful consideration consider consider- atlon aton of ot this matter matei we have formed tho the opinion that public service corporations corporations corpora corpora- ions ma may be lie regulated where the franchise franchise fran fran- chise is granted contains the necessary provisions reserving that right in the municipality which grants th the tho franchises franchises franchises fran fran- or that where the franchise is silent upon the subject then the they ma may maybe maybe be regulated under the police power Based c nu aim 01 ht Porter It J is un under er this police power powel that state statA legislatures have enacted public utilities bills lle There is no question queston in our minds but that public service corporations cor car are subject to regulation l by bythe the tue state tate through appropriate legislative legisla legisla- the tive action acton and anti we wo are therefore of or I Ithe the opinion that In this state tho the legislature legislature legIslature legIs- legIs legis legis- lature has conferred upon count county commissioners commissioners com corn missioners time the necessary police power to do the time same in so long as there is no general law on the IonA subject Under a n similar provision by the Utah law the supreme court of oC Call Call- Cal Cal- th n nn u Il L. L e f upon p n ih the a authorities ih r of at the the municipality mu mu- a a a. police power to the same extent that the tho state could e exercise ercse It f and the only onh limitation on that power lis is that regulations shall not conflict with general laws It I is our OUI opinion therefore that the count county commissioners of Salt Lake county have the power to enact a a public pub pub- lic lc utilities bill bi if l they choose to do so Such a bil bill If Ir enacted must he be reasonable reason reason- able not oppressive and must not impose Im Impose Impose Im- Im pose unreasonably burdensome restrictions restrictions Hons If I it Is to be sustained b by ty the courts |