House Bill hb0611
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Florida House of Representatives - 2001 HB 611
By Representatives Haridopolos and Ritter
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to telecommunications network
3 access services; amending s. 364.163, F.S.;
4 revising telecommunications network access
5 services rate requirements; providing for
6 capping certain rates under certain
7 circumstances; providing for reducing certain
8 rates under certain circumstances; providing
9 for petition to reduce certain rates of certain
10 local telecommunications companies; authorizing
11 the Public Service Commission to order certain
12 telecommunications companies to decrease
13 certain rates under certain circumstances;
14 authorizing certain local telecommunications
15 companies to petition the commission to
16 increase certain rates; providing an effective
17 date.
18
19 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
20
21 Section 1. Section 364.163, Florida Statutes, is
22 amended to read:
23 364.163 Network access services.--For purposes of this
24 section, "network access service" is defined as any service
25 provided by a local exchange telecommunications company to a
26 telecommunications company certificated under this chapter or
27 licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to access
28 the local exchange telecommunications network, excluding the
29 local interconnection arrangements in s. 364.16 and the resale
30 arrangements in s. 364.161. Each local exchange
31 telecommunications company subject to s. 364.051 shall
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1 maintain tariffs with the commission containing the terms,
2 conditions, and rates for each of its network access services.
3 (1) Effective January 1, 1999, the rates for switched
4 network access services of each company subject to this
5 section shall be capped at the rates in effect on January 1,
6 1999, and shall remain capped until January 1, 2001. Upon the
7 date of filing its election with the commission, the network
8 access service rates of a company that elects to become
9 subject to this section shall be capped at the rates in effect
10 on that date and shall remain capped for 5 years.
11 (2) After the termination of the caps imposed on rates
12 by subsection (1) and after a local exchange
13 telecommunications company's intrastate switched access rates
14 reach parity with its interstate switched access rates, a
15 company subject to this section may, on 30 days' notice,
16 annually adjust any specific network access service rate in an
17 amount not to exceed the cumulative change in inflation
18 experienced after the date of the last adjustment, provided,
19 however, that no such adjustment shall ever exceed 3 percent
20 annually of the then-current prices. Inflation shall be
21 measured by the changes in Gross Domestic Product Fixed 1987
22 Weights Price Index, or successor fixed weight price index,
23 published in the Survey of Current Business, or successor
24 publication, by the United States Department of Commerce.
25 (3) After the termination of the caps imposed on rates
26 by subsection (1), a company subject to this section may, at
27 any time, petition the commission for a network access service
28 rate change to recover the cost of governmentally mandated
29 projects or programs or an increase in federal or state income
30 tax incurred after that date. The costs and expenses of the
31 government program or project required in part II of this
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1 chapter shall not be recovered under this subsection unless
2 such costs and expenses are incurred in the absence of a bid
3 and subject to carrier of last resort obligations as provided
4 for in part II of this chapter. With respect to
5 governmentally mandated projects and programs, such petition
6 shall be acted upon no later than 90 days after the date of
7 filing. A company subject to this section shall show the
8 commission that the cost of a project or program is not
9 recoverable either from the government mandating the project
10 or program or from the beneficiaries of the project or program
11 through user fees or other new revenue sources from the
12 project or program, and to the extent that cost decreases
13 resulting from the project or program are reflected as an
14 offset to cost increases. A company subject to this section
15 shall decrease its network access rates by amounts that
16 reflect any federal or state income tax reduction. Nothing
17 contained in this section shall allow any revisions in the
18 rates, terms, and conditions for commercial mobile radio
19 service access, which revisions are inconsistent with the
20 requirements or methodologies of the Federal Communications
21 Commission.
22 (4) A company subject to this section may choose to
23 implement all or a portion of a rate increase allowed for
24 network access service by subsections (1), (2), and (3).
25 Notwithstanding subsections (1), (2), and (3), a company
26 subject to this section may choose to decrease network service
27 rates at any time, and decreased rates shall become effective
28 upon 7 days' notice.
29 (5) Company-proposed changes to the terms and
30 conditions for existing network access services in accordance
31 with subsections (1), (2), (3), and (4) shall be presumed
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1 valid and become effective upon 15 days' notice.
2 Company-proposed rate reductions shall become effective upon 7
3 days' notice. Rate increases made by the local exchange
4 telecommunications company shall be presumed valid and become
5 effective on the date specified in the tariff, but in no event
6 earlier than 30 days after the filing of such tariff. The
7 commission shall have continuing regulatory oversight of local
8 exchange telecommunications company-provided network access
9 services for purposes of determining the correctness of any
10 price increase resulting from the application of the inflation
11 index and making any necessary adjustments, establishing
12 reasonable service quality criteria, and assuring resolution
13 of service complaints. No later than 30 days after the filing
14 of such tariff, the commission may, with respect to
15 determining the correctness of any price increase, vote,
16 without hearing, the local exchange telecommunications company
17 to hold subject to refund all revenues collected under the
18 rate increase. Within 60 days after such order, the commission
19 must make a determination either compelling a refund of all or
20 part of such revenues or releasing them from such requirement.
21 (2)(6) Effective October 1, 2001, any local exchange
22 telecommunications company with more than 100,000, but fewer
23 than 3 million, basic local telecommunications service access
24 lines in service on July 1, 1995, shall immediately reduce its
25 intrastate switched access rates to the level of the
26 intrastate switched access rates of the largest local exchange
27 telecommunications company operating in this state by 5
28 percent on July 1, 1998, and by 10 percent on October 1, 1998.
29 Any interexchange telecommunications company whose intrastate
30 switched access rate is reduced as a result of the rate
31 decreases made by a local exchange telecommunications company
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1 in accordance with this subsection shall decrease its
2 intrastate long distance rates by the amount necessary to
3 return the benefits of such reduction to its customers but
4 shall not reduce per minute intra-LATA toll rates by a
5 percentage greater than the per minute intrastate switched
6 access rate reductions required by this act. The interexchange
7 telecommunications carrier may determine the specific
8 intrastate rates to be decreased, provided that residential
9 and business customers benefit from the rate decreases.
10 (3)(7) Effective November 1, 2001, an interexchange
11 carrier may petition the commission to reduce the intrastate
12 switched access rates of any local exchange telecommunications
13 company. The commission shall render a decision no later than
14 180 days after the date of the petition. Telecommunications
15 company intrastate switched access and customer long distance
16 rate reductions shall become effective on October 1 of each
17 relevant year. Rate decreases proposed in tariff revisions
18 filed by the telecommunications companies with the commission
19 shall be presumed valid and become effective on October 1 of
20 each relevant year.
21 (4)(8) Any interexchange telecommunications company
22 whose intrastate switched access rate is reduced as a result
23 of subsection (2) or subsection (3) shall decrease its
24 intrastate long distance rates in order to return all of the
25 benefits of such reduction to its customers. The interexchange
26 telecommunications carrier may determine the specific
27 intrastate rates to be decreased, provided that residential
28 and business customers benefit from the rate decreases. No
29 later than 30 days after the filing of such tariff, the
30 commission may, with respect to determining the correctness of
31 any rate decrease, vote, without hearing, the
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1 telecommunications company to hold subject to refund all
2 intrastate switched access or customer long distance rate
3 revenues collected after the rate decrease. Within 60 days
4 after such order, the commission must make a determination
5 either compelling a refund of the appropriate part of such
6 revenues or releasing all such revenues from such requirement.
7 (5)(9) Effective November 1, 2001, any local exchange
8 telecommunications company, except one whose rates are capped
9 pursuant to subsection (1), may petition the commission to
10 increase its network access rates. The commission shall
11 render a decision no later than 180 days after the date of the
12 petition. The commission shall have continuing regulatory
13 oversight of intrastate switched access and customer long
14 distance rates for purposes of determining the correctness of
15 any rate decrease by a telecommunications company resulting
16 from the application of this section and making any necessary
17 adjustments to those rates, establishing reasonable service
18 quality criteria, and assuring resolution of service
19 complaints.
20 Section 2. This act shall take effect October 1, 2001.
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23 HOUSE SUMMARY
24
Revises requirements for capping, reducing, and
25 increasing rates for telecommunications network access
services. See bill for details.
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