1-1 By: Shapiro S.B. No. 1665
1-2 (In the Senate - Filed March 14, 1997; March 24, 1997, read
1-3 first time and referred to Committee on Economic Development;
1-4 April 22, 1997, reported favorably, as amended, by the following
1-5 vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0; April 22, 1997, sent to printer.)
1-6 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 1 By: Shapiro
1-7 Amend S.B. No. 1665 in SECTION 1, Section 3.304(a)(4)(C)(iii),
1-8 Public Regulatory Act of 1995 (page 2, line 54, by striking
1-9 "(a)(2)(C)(i) or (a)(2)(C)(ii)" and substituting "(a)(4)(C)(i) or
1-10 (a)(4)(C)(ii)".
1-11 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 2 By: Shapiro
1-12 Amend S.B. 1665 in SECTION 1, Section 3.304(c), Public Utility
1-13 Regulatory Act of 1995, by striking Subsection (c) (page 3, lines
1-14 26-29), and substituting the following:
1-15 (c) In [The commission may, in] order to promote the wide
1-16 dispersion of pay telephones, [either exempt] such telephones shall
1-17 be exempt from the provisions of this section [or change the rates
1-18 to be charged from such telephones in an amount sufficient to
1-19 promote this goal].
1-20 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-21 AN ACT
1-22 relating to the expansion of toll-free calling areas.
1-23 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-24 SECTION 1. Section 3.304, Public Utility Regulatory Act of
1-25 1995 (Article 1446c-0, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended
1-26 to read as follows:
1-27 Sec. 3.304. Expansion of Toll-Free Calling Areas; Criteria.
1-28 (a) To address telephone calling needs between nearby telephone
1-29 exchanges, the commission shall initiate a rulemaking proceeding to
1-30 approve rules to provide for an expedited hearing to allow the
1-31 expanding of toll-free calling areas according to the following
1-32 criteria:
1-33 (1) Toll-free calling boundaries may only be expanded
1-34 under this section after the filing of a petition signed by the
1-35 lesser of five percent of the subscribers or 100 subscribers within
1-36 an exchange. If such a petition is filed with the commission, the
1-37 commission shall order the incumbent local exchange company to
1-38 provide for the balloting of its subscribers within the petitioning
1-39 exchange and, if there is an affirmative vote of at least 70
1-40 percent of those responding, the commission shall consider the
1-41 request.
1-42 (2) The commission shall provide for the expansion of
1-43 toll-free calling areas for each incumbent local exchange customer
1-44 in the petitioning exchange if the petitioning exchange serves not
1-45 more than 10,000 lines and if:
1-46 (A) the central switching office of the
1-47 petitioning exchange is located within 22 miles utilizing vertical
1-48 and horizontal geographic coordinates of the central switching
1-49 office of the exchange requested for toll-free calling service; or
1-50 (B) the petitioning exchange shall demonstrate
1-51 in its petition that it shares a community of interest with the
1-52 exchange requested for toll-free calling service. For purposes of
1-53 this paragraph, "community of interest" includes areas that have a
1-54 relationship because of schools, hospitals, local governments,
1-55 business centers, and other relationships the unavailability of
1-56 which would cause a hardship to the residents of the area but shall
1-57 not include an area where the affected central offices are more
1-58 than 50 miles apart.
1-59 (3) The commission shall permit only one-way toll-free
1-60 calling areas under this section for petitions filed on or after
1-61 April 15, 1997.
1-62 (4)(A) The incumbent local exchange company shall
1-63 recover all of its costs incurred and all loss of revenue from any
1-64 expansion of toll-free calling areas under this section through a
2-1 request other than a revenue requirement showing by:
2-2 (i) a monthly fee for toll-free calling
2-3 service of not more than $3.50 per line for residential customers
2-4 nor more than $7 per line for business customers for up to five
2-5 exchanges, together with an additional monthly fee of $1.50 per
2-6 line for each exchange in excess of five, whether obtained in one
2-7 or more petitions, to be collected from all such residential or
2-8 business customers in the petitioning exchange and only until the
2-9 incumbent local exchange company's next general rate case;
2-10 (ii) a monthly surcharge [fee] for
2-11 toll-free calling service for all of the incumbent local exchange
2-12 company's local exchange service customers in the state in addition
2-13 to the company's current local exchange rates; or
2-14 (iii) both (i) and (ii).
2-15 The monthly fees allowed by Subparagraph (i) of
2-16 this paragraph shall be a charge to customers, including customers
2-17 of petitioning exchanges, in addition to the customer surcharge
2-18 allowed by Subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph or Paragraph (C) of
2-19 this subdivision. The surcharge to each customer permitted under
2-20 either Subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph or Paragraph (C) of this
2-21 subdivision is not limited or reduced by any monthly fee assessed
2-22 the customer under Subparagraph (i) of this paragraph.
2-23 (B) For petitions filed after April 15, 1997,
2-24 the petitioned and petitioning incumbent local exchange companies
2-25 shall recover all costs incurred and all loss of revenue from the
2-26 granting of a petition for toll-free calling areas through a
2-27 monthly fee assessed to residential and business local exchange
2-28 customers in the petitioning exchange. Such fee shall not be
2-29 limited to $3.50 per line for residential customers or $7 per line
2-30 for business customers.
2-31 (C) For surcharges allowed by Paragraph (A)(ii)
2-32 of this subdivision relating to petitions filed prior to April 15,
2-33 1997:
2-34 (i) the surcharge rate shall be
2-35 recalculated and will be administratively approved to allow the
2-36 company's previously approved total expanded local calling service
2-37 surcharge amount to be collected from only the company's customers
2-38 in the expanded local calling service petitioning and petitioned
2-39 exchanges;
2-40 (ii) for those companies having fewer than
2-41 one million access lines, the surcharge rate, at the company's
2-42 initiative, shall be recalculated and will be administratively
2-43 approved to allow the approved total expanded local calling service
2-44 surcharge amount to be collected either from only the company's
2-45 customers in the expanded local calling service petitioning and
2-46 petitioned exchanges or from all of the company's local exchange
2-47 service customers, at its option.
2-48 Any surcharge amount relating to petitions filed
2-49 prior to April 15, 1997, which surcharge has not been approved by
2-50 the commission as of April 15, 1997, shall be calculated consistent
2-51 with the provisions of subsections (a)(2)(C)(i) or (a)(2)(C)(ii).
2-52 (D) If two years after the imposition of a fee
2-53 or surcharge allowed by Paragraphs (A) - (C) of this subdivision a
2-54 local exchange company has not had a general rate case, the company
2-55 may include all of the fees and surcharges allowed by Paragraphs
2-56 (A) - (C) of this subdivision in the company's regular charge for
2-57 local exchange service in the exchanges to which the monthly fee or
2-58 surcharge applies and changes to the company's tariffs shall be
2-59 approved on a revenue-neutral basis by the commission on
2-60 application by a company under this subsection.
2-61 (E) [(B)] An incumbent local exchange company
2-62 may not recover regulatory case expenses under this section by
2-63 surcharging petitioning exchange subscribers.
2-64 (F) A proceeding under this section is not a
2-65 ratemaking proceeding before the commission or in a court.
2-66 (b)(1) The commission and an incumbent local exchange
2-67 company are not required to comply with this section with regard to
2-68 a petitioning exchange or petitioned exchange if:
2-69 (A) the commission determines that there has
3-1 been a good and sufficient showing of a geographic or technological
3-2 infeasibility to serve the area;
3-3 (B) the incumbent local exchange company has
3-4 less than 10,000 lines;
3-5 (C) the petitioning or petitioned exchange is
3-6 served by a cooperative;
3-7 (D) extended area service or extended
3-8 metropolitan service is currently available between the petitioning
3-9 and petitioned exchanges; or
3-10 (E) the petitioning or petitioned exchange is a
3-11 metropolitan exchange.
3-12 (2) The commission may expand the toll-free calling
3-13 area into an exchange not within a metropolitan exchange but within
3-14 the local calling area contiguous to a metropolitan exchange that
3-15 the commission determines to have a community of interest
3-16 relationship with the petitioning exchange. For the purposes of
3-17 this section, metropolitan exchange, local calling area of a
3-18 metropolitan exchange, and exchange have the meanings and
3-19 boundaries as defined and approved by the commission on September
3-20 1, 1993. However, under no circumstances shall a petitioning or
3-21 petitioned exchange be split in the provision of a toll-free
3-22 calling area.
3-23 (c) The commission may, in order to promote the wide
3-24 dispersion of pay telephones, either exempt such telephones from
3-25 the provisions of this section or change the rates to be charged
3-26 from such telephones in an amount sufficient to promote this goal.
3-27 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.
3-28 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
3-29 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-30 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-31 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-32 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
3-33 * * * * *