By Holzheauser H.B. No. 1895
74R6463 CBH-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to expansion of toll-free calling areas.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Sections 93A(a) and (b), Public Utility
1-5 Regulatory Act (Article 1446c, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), as
1-6 added by Chapter 271, Acts of the 73rd Legislature, Regular
1-7 Session, 1993, are amended to read as follows:
1-8 (a) To address telephone calling needs between nearby
1-9 telephone exchanges, the commission shall initiate a rulemaking
1-10 proceeding to approve rules to provide for an expedited hearing to
1-11 allow the expanding of toll-free calling areas according to the
1-12 following criteria:
1-13 (1) Toll-free calling boundaries may only be expanded
1-14 under this section after the filing of a petition signed by the
1-15 lesser of five percent of the subscribers or 100 subscribers within
1-16 an exchange or a political subdivision included in an exchange. If
1-17 such a petition is filed with the commission, the commission shall
1-18 order the local exchange company to provide for the balloting of
1-19 its subscribers within the petitioning exchange or political
1-20 subdivision and, if there is an affirmative vote of at least 70
1-21 percent of those responding, the commission shall consider the
1-22 request.
1-23 (2) The commission shall provide for the expansion of
1-24 toll-free calling areas for each local exchange customer in the
2-1 petitioning exchange or political subdivision if the petitioning
2-2 exchange serves not more than 10,000 lines or if there are not more
2-3 than 10,000 lines served in the political subdivision and if:
2-4 (A) the petitioning exchange or political
2-5 subdivision is located within 22 miles of the exchange requested
2-6 for toll-free calling service; or
2-7 (B) the petitioning exchange or political
2-8 subdivision shares a community of interest with the exchange
2-9 requested for toll-free calling service. For purposes of this
2-10 paragraph, "community of interest" includes areas that have a
2-11 relationship because of schools, hospitals, local governments,
2-12 business centers, and other relationships the unavailability of
2-13 which would cause a hardship to the residents of the area but need
2-14 not include an area where the affected central offices are more
2-15 than 50 miles apart.
2-16 (3)(A) The local exchange company shall recover all of
2-17 its costs incurred and all loss of revenue from any expansion of
2-18 toll-free calling areas under this section through a request other
2-19 than a revenue requirement showing by:
2-20 (i) a monthly fee for toll-free calling
2-21 service of not more than $3.50 per line for residential customers
2-22 nor more than $7 per line for business customers, to be collected
2-23 from all such residential or business customers in the petitioning
2-24 exchange or political subdivision and only until the local exchange
2-25 company's next general rate case;
2-26 (ii) a monthly fee for toll-free calling
2-27 service for all of the local exchange company's local exchange
3-1 service customers in the state in addition to the company's current
3-2 local exchange rates; or
3-3 (iii) both (i) and (ii).
3-4 (B) A local exchange company may not recover
3-5 regulatory case expenses under this section by surcharging
3-6 petitioning <exchange> subscribers.
3-7 (b)(1) The commission and a local exchange company are not
3-8 required to comply with this section with regard to a petitioning
3-9 exchange or political subdivision or petitioned exchange if:
3-10 (A) the commission determines that there has
3-11 been a good and sufficient showing of a geographic or technological
3-12 infeasibility to serve the area;
3-13 (B) the local exchange company has less than
3-14 10,000 lines;
3-15 (C) the petitioning exchange or political
3-16 subdivision or petitioned exchange is served by a cooperative;
3-17 (D) extended area service or extended
3-18 metropolitan service is currently available between the petitioning
3-19 exchange or political subdivision and the petitioned exchange
3-20 <exchanges>; or
3-21 (E) the petitioning exchange or political
3-22 subdivision or petitioned exchange is a metropolitan exchange or is
3-23 included in a metropolitan exchange.
3-24 (2) The commission may expand the toll-free calling
3-25 area into an exchange not within a metropolitan exchange but within
3-26 the local calling area contiguous to a metropolitan exchange that
3-27 the commission determines to have a community of interest
4-1 relationship with the petitioning exchange or political
4-2 subdivision. For the purposes of this section, metropolitan
4-3 exchange, local calling area of a metropolitan exchange, and
4-4 exchange have the meanings and boundaries as defined and approved
4-5 by the commission on the effective date of this section. However,
4-6 under no circumstances shall a <petitioning or> petitioned exchange
4-7 be split in the provision of a toll-free calling area.
4-8 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
4-9 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
4-10 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-11 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-12 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-13 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.