BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — Two high-ranking officials ousted from the Idaho Public Utilities Commission have sued the state agency, saying it is “politicized” and “not independent.”

The

lawsuit, filed in October in Ada County District Court, accuses PUC commissioners and a senior staff member of violating the state’s open meeting law, having ex-parte communications with officials from companies with open rate cases, creating a hostile work environment, misusing public funds and retaliating against the two employees for reporting such misconduct.

Ex parte refers to a one-sided discussion about the substance of a pending case.

Maria Barratt-Riley, the former executive director of the PUC, who had worked at the agency since 2012, and Joshua Haver, a former policy strategist, who moved thro

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