Florida Senate - 2010 CS for SB 814
By the Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; and
Senators Aronberg, Smith, and Ring
586-02492-10 2010814c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to Lifeline telecommunications
3 service; amending s. 364.10, F.S.; authorizing any
4 commercial mobile radio service provider designated as
5 an eligible telecommunications carrier to offer
6 Lifeline services; authorizing the Department of
7 Children and Family Services, the Department of
8 Education, the Public Service Commission, and the
9 Office of Public Counsel to exchange certain
10 information with eligible telecommunications carriers
11 and certain commercial mobile radio service providers
12 so the carriers and providers can identify and enroll
13 an eligible person in the Lifeline and Link-Up
14 programs; maintaining confidentiality of the
15 information; requiring that the commission, the
16 Department of Children and Family Services, the Office
17 of Public Counsel, and each eligible
18 telecommunications carrier convene a Lifeline
19 Workgroup by a specified date; providing an effective
20 date.
21
22 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
23
24 Section 1. Paragraphs (a) and (h) of subsection (3) of
25 section 364.10, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
26 364.10 Undue advantage to person or locality prohibited;
27 Lifeline service.—
28 (3)(a) Each local exchange telecommunications company that
29 has more than 1 million access lines and that is designated as
30 an eligible telecommunications carrier shall, and any commercial
31 mobile radio service provider designated as an eligible
32 telecommunications carrier pursuant to 47 U.S.C. s. 214(e) may,
33 upon filing a notice of election to do so with the commission,
34 provide Lifeline service to any otherwise eligible customer or
35 potential customer who meets an income eligibility test at 150
36 percent or less of the federal poverty income guidelines for
37 Lifeline customers. Such a test for eligibility must augment,
38 rather than replace, the eligibility standards established by
39 federal law and based on participation in certain low-income
40 assistance programs. Each intrastate interexchange
41 telecommunications company shall file or publish a schedule
42 providing at a minimum the intrastate interexchange
43 telecommunications carrier’s current Lifeline benefits and
44 exemptions to Lifeline customers who meet the income eligibility
45 test set forth in this subsection. The Office of Public Counsel
46 shall certify and maintain claims submitted by a customer for
47 eligibility under the income test authorized by this subsection.
48 (h)1. By December 31, 2010 2007, each state agency that
49 provides benefits to persons eligible for Lifeline service shall
50 undertake, in cooperation with the Department of Children and
51 Family Services, the Department of Education, the commission,
52 the Office of Public Counsel, and telecommunications companies
53 designated eligible telecommunications carriers providing
54 Lifeline services, the development of procedures to promote
55 Lifeline participation. The departments, the commission, and the
56 Office of Public Counsel may exchange sufficient information
57 with the appropriate eligible telecommunications carriers and
58 any commercial mobile radio service provider electing to provide
59 Lifeline service under paragraph (a), such as a person’s name,
60 date of birth, service address, and telephone number, so that
61 the carriers can identify and enroll an eligible person in the
62 Lifeline and Link-Up programs. The information remains
63 confidential pursuant to s. 364.107 and may only be used for
64 purposes of determining eligibility and enrollment in the
65 Lifeline and Link-Up programs.
66 2. If any state agency determines that a person is eligible
67 for Lifeline services, the agency shall immediately forward the
68 information to the commission to ensure that the person is
69 automatically enrolled in the program with the appropriate
70 eligible telecommunications carrier. The state agency shall
71 include an option for an eligible customer to choose not to
72 subscribe to the Lifeline service. The Public Service Commission
73 and the Department of Children and Family Services shall, no
74 later than December 31, 2007, adopt rules creating procedures to
75 automatically enroll eligible customers in Lifeline service.
76 3. By December 31, 2010, the commission, the Department of
77 Children and Family Services, and the Office of Public Counsel,
78 and each eligible telecommunications carrier offering Lifeline
79 and Link-Up services shall convene a Lifeline Workgroup to
80 discuss how the eligible subscriber information in subparagraph
81 1. will be shared, the obligations of each party with respect to
82 the use of that information, and the procedures to be
83 implemented to increase enrollment and verify eligibility in
84 these programs shall enter into a memorandum of understanding
85 establishing the respective duties of the commission, the
86 department, and the public counsel with respect to the automatic
87 enrollment procedures no later than December 31, 2007.
88 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.