Joe Markley v. Department of Public Utility Control

Summary

The court affirmed dismissal of the plaintiff's action challenging a financing order that continued certain electric charges and directed proceeds to the state general fund. Although the court rejected administrative exhaustion as a basis for dismissal, it held that sovereign immunity barred the plaintiff's constitutional and statutory claims because neither established a substantial claim of unconstitutional or unauthorized state action. The court concluded that the challenged classifications had a rational basis and that the governing legislation authorized the financing order.