Jackson Free Press

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi Supreme Court says state utility regulators don't have the power to set a rule affecting rural water associations.

The 5-3 ruling came Thursday in a dispute over a rule the Public Service Commission set in 2014. The rule said utility companies must give verified victims of domestic violence a 60-day delay to make deposits when starting utility services.

The Mississippi Rural Water Association challenged the rule in Hinds County Chancery Court, and a judge sided with the state regulators.

But, a majority of Supreme Court justices ruled that the Public Service Commission lacks the power to set rules for nonprofit water utility associations and corporations.

Justice Leslie King wrote for the three dissenting justices that the commission had acted within its power under state law.