Amend CSSB 1915 as follows: (1) Insert the following appropriately numbered sections and renumber the subsequently numbered sections accordingly: "SECTION _____. Section 3.002, Public Utility Regulatory Act of 1995 (Article 1446c-0, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended by adding Subdivision (13) to read as follows: (13) "Rural telephone company" means an incumbent local exchange company that meets one or more of the following requirements: (A) the company provides local exchange telephone service to a certificated service area that does not include: (i) a municipality with a population of more than 10,000, as determined by the most recent statistics of the United States Bureau of the Census; or (ii) any area, whether or not incorporated, included within an area that as of August 10, 1993, was an urbanized area as determined by the United States Bureau of the Census; (B) the company provides local exchange telephone service, including exchange access, to fewer than 50,000 access lines in the state; (C) the company provides local exchange telephone service to a study area with fewer than 100,000 access lines; or (D) as of February 28, 1996, less than 15 percent of the company's access lines were located in municipalities with a population of more than 50,000." "SECTION _____. Subtitle E, Title III, Public Utility Regulatory Act of 1995 (Article 1446c-0, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended by adding Section 3.2133 to read as follows: Sec. 3.2133. RURAL TELEPHONE COMPANIES. To better conform state and federal regulation of incumbent local exchange companies, and subject to such duties as the Commission may determine are appropriate under 47 U.S.C. Sections 251(a), (b) and (c), the commission shall permit a rural telephone company not otherwise exempt from interconnection obligations under state law to apply for the exemptions to and suspensions and modifications of the duties as provided by 47 U.S.C. Section 251(f)." (2) In SECTION 4, Section 3.608, Public Utility Regulatory Act of 1995 (page 3, line 28), add the following new subsection to read as follows: "(g) For the purposes of applying rules and otherwise administering this section, the commission shall treat a rural telephone company, having fewer than 100,000 access lines as of January 1, 1997, in the same manner it treats an incumbent local exchange company serving fewer than 31,000 access lines in this state or a telephone cooperative corporation."