By: Carriker, Shapiro S.B. No. 632 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT 1-1 relating to the service areas of certain public utilities. 1-2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-3 SECTION 1. Article XIII, Public Utility Regulatory Act 1-4 (Article 1446c, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended by 1-5 adding Section 93A to read as follows: 1-6 Sec. 93A. (a) To address telephone calling needs between 1-7 nearby telephone exchanges, the commission shall initiate a 1-8 rulemaking proceeding to approve rules to provide for an expedited 1-9 hearing to allow the expanding of toll-free calling areas according 1-10 to the following criteria: 1-11 (1) Toll-free calling boundaries may only be expanded 1-12 under this section after the filing of a petition signed by the 1-13 lesser of five percent of the subscribers or 100 subscribers within 1-14 an exchange. If such a petition is filed with the commission, the 1-15 commission shall order the local exchange company to provide for 1-16 the balloting of its subscribers within the petitioning exchange 1-17 and, if there is an affirmative vote of at least 70 percent of 1-18 those responding, the commission shall consider the request. 1-19 (2) The commission shall provide for the expansion of 1-20 toll-free calling areas for each local exchange customer in the 1-21 petitioning exchange if the petitioning exchange serves not more 1-22 than 10,000 lines and if: 1-23 (A) the petitioning exchange is located within 2-1 22 miles of the exchange requested for toll-free calling service; 2-2 or 2-3 (B) 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 paragraph, "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)(A) The local exchange company shall recover all of 2-12 its costs incurred and all loss of revenue from any expansion of 2-13 toll-free calling areas under this section through a request other 2-14 than a revenue requirement showing by: 2-15 (i) a monthly fee for toll-free calling 2-16 service of not more than $3.50 per line for residential customers 2-17 nor more than $7 per line for business customers, to be collected 2-18 from all such residential or business customers in the petitioning 2-19 exchange and only until the local exchange company's next general 2-20 rate case; 2-21 (ii) a monthly fee for toll-free calling 2-22 service for all of the local exchange company's local exchange 2-23 service customers in the state in addition to the company's current 2-24 local exchange rates; or 2-25 (iii) both (i) and (ii). 3-1 (B) A local exchange company may not recover 3-2 regulatory case expenses under this section by surcharging 3-3 petitioning exchange subscribers. 3-4 (b)(1) The commission and a local exchange company are not 3-5 required to comply with this section with regard to a petitioning 3-6 exchange or petitioned exchange if: 3-7 (A) the commission determines that there has 3-8 been a good and sufficient showing of a geographic or technological 3-9 infeasibility to serve the area; 3-10 (B) the local exchange company has less than 3-11 10,000 lines; 3-12 (C) the petitioning or petitioned exchange is 3-13 served by a cooperative; 3-14 (D) extended area service or extended 3-15 metropolitan service is currently available between the petitioning 3-16 and petitioned exchanges; or 3-17 (E) the petitioning or petitioned exchange is a 3-18 metropolitan exchange. 3-19 (2) The commission may expand the toll-free calling 3-20 area into an exchange not within a metropolitan exchange but within 3-21 the local calling area contiguous to a metropolitan exchange that 3-22 the commission determines to have a community of interest 3-23 relationship with the petitioning exchange. For the purposes of 3-24 this section, metropolitan exchange, local calling area of a 3-25 metropolitan exchange, and exchange have the meanings and 4-1 boundaries as defined and approved by the commission on the 4-2 effective date of this section. However, under no circumstances 4-3 shall a petitioning or petitioned exchange be split in the 4-4 provision of a toll-free calling area. 4-5 (c) The commission may, in order to promote the wide 4-6 dispersion of pay telephones, either exempt such telephones from 4-7 the provisions of this section or change the rates to be charged 4-8 from such telephones in an amount sufficient to promote this goal. 4-9 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 1993. 4-10 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the 4-11 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 4-12 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 4-13 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 4-14 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.