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."