House Bill 1529, which would have allowed state regulators to review mergers of Indiana utilities and impose fines on violators, hit a dead end after Sen. James Merritt, R-Indianapolis, chairman of the Senate Utility and Regulatory Affairs Committee, said he would not allow a vote on the bill.

Instead, he suggested the Regulatory Flexibility Committee study the bill's complex issues this summer and reintroduce it with its recommendations next year.

The bill had sailed through the House 62-36, fueling hopes that the issue -- which has been debated in the legislature for four years -- would be settled in this session.

"The commission is disappointed," said Beth Herriman, spokeswoman for the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, which had lobbied for the bill. "We continue to be concerned about not having authority over mergers, but we are appreciative of the time and effort that the Senate has put into these issues this session."

Some dissenting politicians and a consumer advocacy group had strongly opposed the bill, calling it unfair to customers. At the root of their complaints was a clause that would have allowed electric, water and gas utilities to recover all government-mandated costs -- such as taxes and legal fees -- from customers through automatic rate increases, without filing formal rate cases with the IURC.

"It's good that the bill has died. It was so outrageously anti- consumer," said Grant Smith of Citizens Action Coalition. "We were surprised that the IURC would support it.

"We congratulate Sen. Merritt. He's taking all interests into account and not just thinking of any one side. He's trying to figure out issues that are very complicated, and he wants to have a fair resolution."

On March 26, House Bill 1627 -- which would have increased by as much as 75 percent the wholesale rate charged by SBC to lease its network to competitors such as AT&T and MCI WorldCom -- met a similar fate after Merritt decided not to call a vote on it.

Instead, he offered a resolution, asking the IURC to quickly deal with the outstanding issues such as anti-competitive behavior, high-speed Internet access and how much SBC can charge competitors.

"The resolution does not fully address the problems," said Rep. Ed Mahern, D-Indianapolis, who authored the bill. "It sends the bill back to the same commission. If the results are similar as before, I'll come back next year with the same issue."

Call Star reporter Gargi Chakrabarty at 1-317-444-6019.

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