By Uher, et al. H.B. No. 1695 Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1695: By Raymond C.S.H.B. No. 1695 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-1 AN ACT 1-2 relating to the service areas of certain public utilities. 1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-4 SECTION 1. Article XIII, The Public Utility Regulatory Act 1-5 (Article 1446c, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes) is amended by adding 1-6 Section 93A to read as follows: 1-7 Section 93A. (a) To address telephone calling needs between 1-8 nearby telephone exchanges, the commission shall initiate a 1-9 rulemaking proceeding to approve rules to provide for an expedited 1-10 hearing to allow the expanding of toll free calling areas according 1-11 to the following criteria: 1-12 (1) Toll free calling boundaries may only be expanded 1-13 under this section after a petition signed by the lesser of 5 per 1-14 cent of the subscribers or 100 subscribers within an exchange. If 1-15 such a petition is filed with the commission, then the commission 1-16 shall order the local exchange company to provide for the balloting 1-17 of its subscribers within the petitioning exchange and, if there is 1-18 an affirmative vote by 70 percent of those responding, the 1-19 commission shall consider the request. 1-20 (2) The commission shall provide for the expansion of 1-21 toll free calling areas for each local exchange customer in the 1-22 petitioning exchange if the petitioning exchange serves not more 1-23 than 10,000 lines, and if: 1-24 (i) the petitioning exchange is located within 2-1 22 miles of the exchange requested for toll free calling service, 2-2 or 2-3 (ii) the petitioning exchange shares a community 2-4 of interest with the exchange requested for toll free calling 2-5 service. For purposes of this section, "community of interest" 2-6 includes areas that have a relationship because of schools, 2-7 hospitals, local governments, business centers and other 2-8 relationships the unavailability of which would cause a hardship to 2-9 the residents of the area; but need not include an area where the 2-10 affected central offices are more than 50 miles apart. 2-11 (3) The local exchange company shall recover all of its 2-12 costs incurred and all loss of revenue from any expansion of toll 2-13 free calling areas under this section through a request other than 2-14 a revenue requirement showing by: 2-15 (i) a monthly fee for toll free calling service 2-16 of not more than $3.50 per line for residential customers nor more 2-17 than $7 per line for business customers, to be collected from all 2-18 of the customers in the petitioning exchange and only until the 2-19 local exchange company's next general rate case, and/or 2-20 (ii) a monthly fee for toll free calling service 2-21 for all of the local exchange company's local exchange service 2-22 customers in the state in addition to the company's current local 2-23 exchange rates. 2-24 A local exchange company may not recover regulatory case expenses 2-25 under this section by surcharging petitioning exchange subscribers. 2-26 (b) The commission and a local exchange company are not 2-27 required to comply with this section with regard to a petitioning 3-1 exchange or petitioned exchange if: 3-2 (1) the commission determines that there has been a 3-3 good and sufficient showing of a geographic or technological 3-4 infeasibility to serve the area, or 3-5 (2) the local exchange company has less than 10,000 3-6 lines, or 3-7 (3) the petitioning or petitioned exchange is served 3-8 by a cooperative, or 3-9 (4) extended area service or extended metropolitan 3-10 service is currently available between the petitioning and 3-11 petitioned exchange(s), or 3-12 (5) the petitioning or petitioned exchange is a 3-13 metropolitan exchange. The commission may expand the toll free 3-14 calling area into an exchange not within a metropolitan exchange 3-15 but within the local calling area contiguous to a metropolitan 3-16 exchange that the commission determines to have a community of 3-17 interest relationship with the petitioning exchange. For the 3-18 purposes of this section, metropolitan exchange, local calling area 3-19 of a metropolitan exchange, and exchange have the same meanings and 3-20 boundaries as currently defined and approved by the commission. 3-21 However, under no circumstances shall a petitioning or petitioned 3-22 exchange be split in the provision of a toll free calling area. 3-23 (c) The commission may, in order to promote the wide 3-24 dispersion of pay telephones, either exempt such telephones from 3-25 the provisions of this section or may change the rates to be 3-26 charged from such telephones in an amount sufficient to promote 3-27 this goal. 4-1 SECTION 2. The importance of this legislation and the 4-2 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 4-3 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 4-4 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 4-5 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended, 4-6 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its 4-7 passage, and it is so enacted.