6. Annual Reports

General Order (GO) 104-A requires every public utility (which includes PSCs) to file an annual report of its operations in such form and content as the Commission may prescribe. Applicant seeks a waiver from GO 104-A. It states that the members will continue to comply with the annual report filing requirement.

Operations by the members of Xpress at the LAX concession will technically be as charter-party subcarriers to Xpress pursuant to the provisions of Part 3.03 of GO 158-A. A passenger carrier which holds only TCP authority is not required to file an annual report. However, the members will continue to hold PSC authority to operate independently of Xpress at places other than LAX. They therefore will still be required to file an annual report containing information regarding all of their passenger carrier operations, both passenger stage and charter-party.

In the Blue Van decision, the Commission granted such an exemption because the Blue Van joint venturers would report the LAX concession operations in their respective PSC annual reports and thus the Commission would receive all the information. There, the Commission also required Blue Van's managing partner to certify annually by letter to the Commission that the joint venturers had in fact filed the requisite reports containing the financial information that Blue Van would otherwise be required to report on its own pursuant to GO 104-A. The Commission also placed Blue Van on notice that if it files an application with the Commission for a future fare increase, it will be expected to file a single financial statement of its operations to support the request.

We agree that in these circumstances, Xpress should be granted the requested relief with the same requirements as adopted for Blue Van.

6.1 Reimbursement Fee

Section 421 et seq. of the Public Utilities Code requires PSCs and other transportation companies regulated by the Commission to pay a fee to the Commission to fund its regulatory activities. Fees collected are deposited in the Public Utilities Commission Transportation Reimbursement Account (PUCTRA). The fee level is determined annually by the Commission. PSCs currently pay a PUCTRA fee of ½ of 1% of gross revenue plus a minimum quarterly fee of $10 or an annual fee of $25. (Carriers are required to file a PUCTRA report quarterly unless their annual gross revenue is $100,000 or less, in which case the report is filed on an annual basis.)

Applicant requests relief from payment of PUCTRA fees for the same reason it seeks relief from the annual report filing requirement, that is, the individual members will continue to comply with the requirement.

In the Blue Van decision, we required Blue Van to submit a quarterly PUCTRA report, but to remit only the minimum fee of $10. Although the joint venturers are responsible for payment of the percentage fee on passenger revenue generated under the LAX concession arrangement, Blue Van is required to attach to each of its own quarterly reports a statement signed by its manager certifying that the PUCTRA fees due on the concession revenue have been reported and paid by the joint venturers. Blue Van was also placed on notice that in the event one or more of the joint venturers fails to timely submit a quarterly PUCTRA report, Blue Van's PSC certificate, after notice, will be subject to suspension and revocation in accordance with established Commission procedures. We will impose the same limitations on Xpress' operations.