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Senate Bill 583 |
Senate Author: Carona et al. |
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Effective: 6-1-13 |
House Sponsor: Cook |
Current law sets out provisions that establish the universal service fund to assist telecommunications providers in providing basic local telecommunications service at reasonable rates in high cost rural areas under the Texas high cost universal service plan and under the small and rural incumbent local exchange company universal service plan. Senate Bill 583 amends the Utilities Code to revise provisions relating to eligibility for support from the universal service fund. Among other provisions, the bill establishes eligibility requirements for an incumbent local exchange company, an electric cooperative, or a successor to either provider to receive distributions from the universal service fund plans based on whether the provider is regulated or unregulated and serves greater than 31,000 access lines in Texas on September 1, 2013. For each category of provider that serves greater than 31,000 access lines, the bill gradually reduces, on specified dates, the amount of support from the fund, calculated by applying specified percentages of the level of support the provider is eligible to receive on December 31, 2016. If an incumbent local exchange company or cooperative is ineligible for support under an established plan described above, the plan is prohibited from providing support to any other telecommunications providers for services in that exchange, except that an eligible telecommunications provider that is receiving support under the Texas high cost universal service plan in that exchange continues to receive support for a 24-month period following the date the incumbent local exchange provider or cooperative ceases receiving support in that exchange. The bill entitles an electric cooperative or affiliate of a cooperative to receive continued support through December 31, 2017, at which time the entitlement expires.