“Are You Not Entertained?” – actor Russell Crowe as Maximus in the film “Gladiator”

Getting to write about bills like Senate Bill 268 is the type of opportunity that makes my geeky little government-studying heart sing.

The bill has a little bit of everything: elections, the role of government institutions versus the role of the people, and no truly obvious solution to the problem.

Heck, the drama built even further last week when one of the bill’s Senate cosponsors wavered in her support and an expected vote in the House was suddenly cancelled.

Still not excited? Let’s see if I can change your mind.

Senate Bill 268 and its identical companion bill, House Bill 392, would change the Alabama Public Service Commission from being elected by the state’s voters to appointed positions after this year’s election cycle. Both bills have some bipartisan support.

The PSC is in charge of setting the state’s policies for heavily regulated industries such as electricity, natural gas, railroads and some telecommunications, among other areas.

Since the amount of private business competition is limited by law in these areas, the public elects the PSC to serve on its behalf and monitor issues like the prices charged for services provided, safety regulations and impacts on the environment and the economy.

Given that the three PSC commissioners serve as something of a watchdog for the public, it makes sense that they have been elected by that same public for decades, but that way of thinking might be changing.

While not directly challenging the PSC, U.S. Sen. Katie Britt was quoted by 1819 News reporter Caleb Taylor saying, “We have the highest power rates in the Southeast. I think that is unacceptable.”

Britt went on to say if the national and state governments are lessening regulations, then consumers need to see that reflected in their bills.

Gov. Kay Ivey and Britt’s Senate cohort Tommy Tuberville, who is running for governor, have been more full-throated in their support of the bill to appoint, rather than elect, PSC commissioners.

Tuberville points out Alabama is one of only 10 states to elect its commission and even accused commissioners of being more interested in advancing their political careers than public service, according to the Alabama Political Reporter’s Josh Moon.

The bills allow the governor, the speaker of the House and the president pro tem of the Senate to make the appointments to the commission, though an amendment is under consideration that would allow the governor to make all three appointments.

The Senate and House leaders would each provide a list of candidates from which the governor would make an appointment for two of the three positions under this alternative.

Opponents believe the appointment process might lead to even more influence over the PSC by the utility companies themselves, according to Claire Harrison of the Alabama Daily News.

The bills would create a system where the people in charge of the appointment process can and often do accept campaign donations from utility industries. The commissioners are not allowed to do the same for their own election campaigns.

Also, there is the issue of taking away the people’s right to choose their government leaders.

AL.com’s Ruth Serven Smith quoted State Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison, D-Birmingham, saying her change of heart to oppose the bill after earlier signing on as a cosponsor, “was in response to the outcry from the public who felt that something was being taken away from them.”

That brings us to the crux of the issue. In a perfect world, the voters should be in charge of deciding, to the greatest extent possible, the government leaders who will watch out for their best interests. That seems prudent.

You might have already guessed my next sentence. The problem is we live in an imperfect world. We have jobs and kids and social events and “Real Housewives” episodes that demand our attention.

This election season you could vote in upwards of 25 to 30 races. While I would like to think everyone studies all the candidates and their positions on the issues, I do live in the real world.

So that’s my reasoning as to why I think it would be better to appoint PSC commissioners. Maybe with fewer races, voters could make more-educated decisions in those races instead of feeling overwhelmed when looking at a massive ballot.

What’s more is we seem to have little to lose if our power bills are already the highest in the region anyway.

Now if all that don’t light your fire, the PSC may need to check your natural gas connection.