By: Shapiro S.B. No. 1665
Line and page numbers may not match official copy.
Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E.
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1-1 relating to the expansion of toll-free calling areas.
1-2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-3 SECTION 1. Subtitle G. Title III, of the Public Utility
1-4 Regulatory Act of 1995, (Article 1446c-0, Vernon's Texas Civil
1-5 Statutes) is amended by revising section 3.304(a) and (b) to read
1-6 as follows:
1-7 Sec. 3.304. Expansion of Toll-Free Calling Areas; Criteria.
1-8 (a) To address telephone calling needs between nearby telephone
1-9 exchanges, the Commission shall initiate a rulemaking proceeding to
1-10 approve rules to provide for an expedited hearing to allow the
1-11 expanding of toll-free calling areas according to the following
1-12 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. If such a petition is filed with the Commission, the
1-17 Commission shall order the incumbent local exchange company to
1-18 provide for the balloting of its subscribers within the petitioning
1-19 exchange and, if there is an affirmative vote of at least 70
1-20 percent of those responding, the Commission shall consider the
1-21 request.
2-1 (2) The Commission shall provide for the expansion of
2-2 toll-free calling areas for each incumbent local exchange customer
2-3 in the petitioning exchange if the petitioning exchange serves not
2-4 more than 10,000 lines and if:
2-5 (A) the central switching office of the
2-6 petitioning exchange is located within 22 miles utilizing vertical
2-7 and horizontal geographic coordinates of the central switching
2-8 office of the exchange requested for toll-free calling service; or
2-9 (B) the petitioning exchange shall demonstrate
2-10 in its petition that it shares a community of interest with the
2-11 exchange requested for toll-free calling service. For purposes of
2-12 this paragraph, "community of interest" includes areas that have a
2-13 relationship because of schools, hospitals, local governments,
2-14 business centers, and other relationships the unavailability of
2-15 which would cause a hardship to the residents of the area but shall
2-16 not include an area where the affected central offices are more
2-17 than 50 miles apart.
2-18 (3) The Commission shall permit only one-way toll-free
2-19 calling areas under this section for petitions filed on or after
2-20 April 15, 1997.
2-21 [(3)] (4)(A) The incumbent local exchange company
2-22 shall recover all of its costs incurred and all loss of revenue
2-23 from any expansion of toll-free calling areas under this section
2-24 through a request other than a revenue requirement showing by:
2-25 (i) a monthly fee for toll-free
3-1 calling service of not more than $3.50 per line for residential
3-2 customers nor more than $7 per line for business customers for up
3-3 to five exchanges, together with an additional monthly fee of $1.50
3-4 per line for each exchange in excess of five, whether obtained in
3-5 one or more petitions, to be collected from all such residential or
3-6 business customers in the petitioning exchange and only until the
3-7 incumbent local exchange company's next general rate case;
3-8 (ii) a monthly [fee] surcharge for toll-free
3-9 calling service for all of the incumbent local exchange company's
3-10 local exchange service customers in the state in addition to the
3-11 company's current local exchange rates; or
3-12 (iii) both (i) and (ii).
3-13 (iv) The monthly fees allowed by
3-14 subsection (a)(4)(A)(i) shall be a charge to customers, including
3-15 customers of petitioning exchanges, in addition to the customer
3-16 surcharge allowed by subsection (a)(4)(A)(ii) or subsection
3-17 (a)(4)(C). The surcharge to each customer permitted under either
3-18 subsection (a)(4)(A)(ii) or subsection (a)(4)(C) is not limited or
3-19 reduced by any monthly fee assessed the customer under subsection
3-20 (a)(4)(A)(i).
3-21 (B) For petitions filed after April 15, 1997,
3-22 the petitioned and petitioning incumbent local exchange companies
3-23 shall recover all costs incurred and all loss of revenue from the
3-24 granting of a petition for toll-free calling areas through a
3-25 monthly fee assessed to residential and business local exchange
4-1 customers in the petitioning exchange. Such fee shall not be
4-2 limited to $3.50 per line for residential customers or $7.00 per
4-3 line for business customers.
4-4 (C) For surcharges allowed by subsection
4-5 (a)(4)(A)(ii) relating to petitions filed prior to April 15, 1997:
4-6 (i) the surcharge rate shall be
4-7 recalculated and will be administratively approved to allow the
4-8 company's previously approved total expanded local calling service
4-9 surcharge amount to be collected from only the company's customers
4-10 in the expanded local calling service petitioning and petitioned
4-11 exchanges;
4-12 (ii) for those companies having fewer than
4-13 1,000,000 access lines, the surcharge rate, at the company's
4-14 initiative, shall be recalculated and will be administratively
4-15 approved to allow the approved total expanded local calling service
4-16 surcharge amount to be collected either from only the company's
4-17 customers in the expanded local calling service petitioning and
4-18 petitioned exchanges, or from all of the company's local exchange
4-19 service customers, at its option.
4-20 (iii) Any surcharge amount relating to
4-21 petitions filed prior to April 15, 1997, but which surcharge has
4-22 not been approved by the Commission as of April 15, 1997, shall be
4-23 calculated consistent with the provisions of subsections
4-24 (a)(2)(C)(i) or (a)(2)(C)(ii).
4-25 (D) If two years after the imposition of a fee
5-1 or surcharge allowed by subsections (a)(4)(A) - (C), a local
5-2 exchange company has not had a general rate case, then the company
5-3 may include all of the fees and surcharges allowed by subsections
5-4 (a)(4)(A) - (C) in the company's regular charge for local exchange
5-5 service in the exchange(s) to which the monthly fee and/or
5-6 surcharge applies and changes to the company's tariffs shall be
5-7 approved on a revenue neutral basis by the Commission upon
5-8 application by a company under this subsection.
5-9 [(B)] (E) An incumbent local exchange company may
5-10 not recover regulatory case expenses under this section by
5-11 surcharging petitioning exchange subscribers.
5-12 (F) A proceeding under this section is not a
5-13 ratemaking proceeding before the Commission or in a court.
5-14 (b)(1) The Commission and an incumbent local exchange
5-15 company are not required to comply with this section with regard to
5-16 a petitioning exchange or petitioned exchange if:
5-17 (A) the Commission determines that there has
5-18 been a good and sufficient showing of a geographic or technological
5-19 infeasibility to serve the area;
5-20 (B) the incumbent local exchange company has
5-21 less than 10,000 lines;
5-22 (C) the petitioning or petitioned exchange is
5-23 served by a cooperative;
5-24 (D) extended area service or extended
5-25 metropolitan service is currently available between the petitioning
6-1 and petitioned exchanges; or
6-2 (E) the petitioning or petitioned exchange is a
6-3 metropolitan exchange.
6-4 (2) The Commission may expand the toll-free calling
6-5 area into an exchange not within a metropolitan exchange but within
6-6 the local calling area contiguous to a metropolitan exchange that
6-7 the Commission determines to have a community of interest
6-8 relationship with the petitioning exchange. For the purposes of
6-9 this section, metropolitan exchange, local calling area of a
6-10 metropolitan exchange, and exchange have the meanings and
6-11 boundaries as defined and approved by the Commission on September
6-12 1, 1993. However, under no circumstances shall a petitioning or
6-13 petitioned exchange be split in the provision of a toll-free
6-14 calling area.
6-15 (c) The Commission may, in order to promote the wide
6-16 dispersion of pay telephones, either exempt such telephones from
6-17 the provisions of this section or change the rates to be charged
6-18 from such telephones in an amount sufficient to promote this goal.
6-19 (Sec. 93A)
6-20 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.
6-21 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
6-22 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
6-23 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
6-24 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
6-25 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.