Full Commission Review of the Assigned Commissioner's Ruling

The effect of an Assigned Commissioner ruling is set forth in Public Utilities Code Section 310:

"Every finding, opinion, and order made by the commissioner or commissioners so designated, pursuant to the investigation, inquiry, or hearing, when approved or confirmed by the commission and ordered filed in its office, is the finding, opinion, and order of the commission."

The ruling issued in November 1, 2001, thus does not have the effect of a Commission order until it is confirmed by the Commission. In this instance, the Commission declines to approve or confirm the assigned commissioner's November 1, 2001 ruling.

Approval of the applications is a discretionary act on the part of this Commission, requiring at a minimum, that we address all relevant environmental and safety issues. Our review of these matters is ongoing. Any action now to authorize construction of all crossings prejudges that careful review and circumscribes our decision-making options, and there is no legal mechanism by which we can approve construction before that review is completed. This cannot further the public interest, which is best served by our development of a full evidentiary record and careful review, as responsible agency, of the environmental issues raised by these applications. Thus, the Assigned Commissioner's Ruling should be vacated and will not become a final order of the Commission. The legal result of this action is to confirm that the Blue Line, at no time prior to this order to this order, had authority to construct.