By: Carriker 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) The commission shall require each local 1-7 exchange company to establish local service areas that conform to 1-8 the following provisions: 1-9 (1) each telephone subscriber shall be entitled to 1-10 place toll-free calls to any other subscriber if any part of the 1-11 subscribers' central office territories are adjoining or if either 1-12 territory's central office is located within 22 miles of the other 1-13 central office's territory; and 1-14 (2) each telephone subscriber shall be entitled to 1-15 place toll-free calls to any other subscriber within any area that 1-16 the commission determines to be within one community of interest. 1-17 (b) For the purposes of this section, a community of 1-18 interest includes areas that are related by common schools, 1-19 hospitals, local governments, business centers, and other 1-20 facilities, the inaccessibility to which would create or exacerbate 1-21 a hardship for the residents of the areas. A community of interest 1-22 need not include areas in territories in which the central offices 1-23 are more than 50 miles apart. 2-1 (c) Each local exchange company shall submit its plan to 2-2 establish toll-free calling areas pursuant to this section within 2-3 90 days after the commission adopts rules implementing this 2-4 section. An affected person may complain of a plan submitted, and 2-5 the commission shall proceed as provided by Section 43A of this 2-6 Act. 2-7 (d) The commission shall amend the boundaries of a toll-free 2-8 service area on petition by 100 residents of the area if the 2-9 commission finds, after a hearing on the merits, that a community 2-10 of interest exists. The commission shall require notice by the 2-11 local exchange company to affected parties as it deems reasonable. 2-12 The decision regarding changing a toll-free calling area pursuant 2-13 to this section shall be made within 60 days after the notice 2-14 required by the commission is delivered, and the commission shall 2-15 establish a reasonable time for the implementation of the plan. 2-16 (e) The commission and a local exchange company are not 2-17 required to comply with this section if there is a good and 2-18 sufficient showing that it is geographically or technologically 2-19 infeasibile to serve such an area. 2-20 (f) In order to compensate a local exchange company for 2-21 revenues lost due to the implementation of this section, the 2-22 commission may allow a local exchange company to establish a fixed 2-23 monthly per line fee to be paid by subscribers who obtain a new 2-24 toll-free calling area pursuant to this section. A fee so allowed 2-25 may not exceed $2 per line and shall only be in effect until the 3-1 next general rate case, at which time the costs and revenues 3-2 associated with this section shall be considered as if the 3-3 boundaries of the territories had not changed unless there is 3-4 another boundary change pursuant to this section after the general 3-5 rate case. A fee established pursuant to this section must be 3-6 approved by the commission in a hearing on the merits after 3-7 adequate notice and may not exceed an amount determined to 3-8 compensate the local exchange company for the actual loss of 3-9 revenue due to the implementation of this section. In the event 3-10 that the fee established fails to compensate the local exchange 3-11 company and the local exchange company is able to demonstrate 3-12 hardship, as defined by the commission, then the local exchange 3-13 company is entitled to recover sufficient lost revenues to 3-14 eliminate the hardship from the universal service fund established 3-15 by this Act. 3-16 SECTION 2. The importance of this legislation and the 3-17 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 3-18 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 3-19 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 3-20 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended, 3-21 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its 3-22 passage, and it is so enacted.