United States v. Alaska Public Utilities Commission

Opinion by Judge T.G. NELSON

T.G. NELSON, Circuit Judge:

I

OVERVIEW

The Alaska Public Utilities Commission (APUC) and the State of Alaska appeal from the district court’s summary judgment in favor of the United States Department of Defense (DOD) in the DOD’s action challenging the APUC’s assessment of costs for two administrative utility rate proceedings in which the DOD had intervened. The district court held that the application of an Alaska statute requiring the APUC to allocate the costs of the hearing among the parties to the federal government is an unconstitutional exercise of state powers…