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A bill to be entitled |
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An act relating to price regulation of local exchange |
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telecommunications companies; amending s. 364.051, F.S.; |
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changing the timeframe for notice of rate changes; |
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providing an effective date. |
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
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Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (5) of section |
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364.051, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
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364.051 Price regulation.-- |
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(5) NONBASIC SERVICES.--Price regulation of nonbasic |
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services shall consist of the following: |
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(a) Each company subject to this section shall maintain |
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tariffs with the commission containing the terms, conditions, |
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and rates for each of its nonbasic services, and may set or |
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change, on715days' notice, the rate for each of its nonbasic |
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services, except that a price increase for any nonbasic service |
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category shall not exceed 6 percent within a 12-month period |
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until there is another provider providing local |
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telecommunications service in an exchange area at which time the |
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price for any nonbasic service category may be increased in an |
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amount not to exceed 20 percent within a 12-month period, and |
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the rate shall be presumptively valid. However, for purposes of |
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this subsection, the prices of: |
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1. A voice-grade, flat-rate, multi-line business local |
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exchange service, including multiple individual lines, centrex |
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lines, private branch exchange trunks, and any associated |
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hunting services, that provides dial tone and local usage |
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necessary to place a call within a local exchange calling area; |
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and |
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2. Telecommunications services provided under contract |
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service arrangements to the SUNCOM Network, as defined in |
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chapter 282, |
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shall be capped at the rates in effect on July 1, 1995, and such |
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rates shall not be increased prior to January 1, 2000; provided, |
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however, that a petition to increase such rates may be filed |
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pursuant to subsection (4) utilizing the standards set forth |
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therein. There shall be a flat-rate pricing option for multi- |
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line business local exchange service, and mandatory measured |
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service for multi-line business local exchange service shall not |
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be imposed. Nothing contained in this section shall prevent the |
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local exchange telecommunications company from meeting offerings |
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by any competitive provider of the same, or functionally |
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equivalent, nonbasic services in a specific geographic market or |
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to a specific customer by deaveraging the price of any nonbasic |
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service, packaging nonbasic services together or with basic |
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services, using volume discounts and term discounts, and |
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offering individual contracts. However, the local exchange |
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telecommunications company shall not engage in any |
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anticompetitive act or practice, nor unreasonably discriminate |
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among similarly situated customers. |
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Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |
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