Florida Senate - 2011                          SENATOR AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for CS for SB 1524
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Barcode 971250                          
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
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                  Floor: WD            .                                
             04/26/2011 11:20 AM       .                                
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       Senator Simmons moved the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Between lines 1085 and 1086
    4  insert:
    5         Section 32. Section 364.336, Florida Statutes, is amended
    6  to read:
    7         364.336 Regulatory assessment fees.—
    8         (1) Notwithstanding any provisions of law to the contrary,
    9  each telecommunications company licensed or operating under this
   10  chapter, for any part of the preceding 6-month period, shall pay
   11  to the commission, within 30 days following the end of each 6
   12  month period, a fee that may not exceed 0.25 percent annually of
   13  its gross operating revenues derived from intrastate business,
   14  except, for purposes of this section and the fee specified in s.
   15  350.113(3), any amount paid to another telecommunications
   16  company for the use of any telecommunications network shall be
   17  deducted from the gross operating revenue for purposes of
   18  computing the fee due. The commission shall by rule assess a
   19  minimum fee in an amount up to $1,000. The minimum amount may
   20  vary depending on the type of service provided by the
   21  telecommunications company, and shall, to the extent
   22  practicable, be related to the cost of regulating such type of
   23  company. Differences, if any, between the amount paid in any 6
   24  month period and the amount actually determined by the
   25  commission to be due shall, upon motion by the commission, be
   26  immediately paid or refunded. Fees under this section may not be
   27  less than $50 annually. Such fees shall be deposited in
   28  accordance with s. 350.113. The commission may by rule establish
   29  criteria for payment of the regulatory assessment fee on an
   30  annual basis rather than on a semiannual basis.
   31         (2) By August 1, 2011, the commission must begin rulemaking
   32  to reduce the regulatory assessment fee for telecommunications
   33  companies under s. 350.113 and this section, as required to
   34  reflect the reduction in regulation resulting from amendments to
   35  this chapter 364 which take effect on or after July 1, 2011. The
   36  reduced fee shall be applied beginning with payments due in
   37  January 2012 on revenues for the preceding 6-month period. The
   38  commission’s consideration of the required amount of the
   39  reduction to the regulatory assessment fee must include, but
   40  need not be limited to:
   41         (a) The regulatory activities that are no longer required
   42  and the number of staff members currently assigned to such
   43  activities.
   44         (b) The number of staff members necessary to carry out the
   45  reduced level of regulatory responsibilities based on the
   46  reductions in the workload for the staff in the Division of
   47  Regulatory Analysis, the Office of Auditing and Performance
   48  Analysis, and the Division of Service, Safety and Consumer
   49  Assistance.
   50         (c) The reductions in overhead associated with the
   51  commissioner’s offices, the Office of General Counsel, the
   52  Office of Commission Clerk, the Office of Information Technology
   53  Services, the Office of Public Information, and the Office of
   54  Inspector General.
   55         (d) The reductions in direct and indirect costs, including
   56  allocations of fixed costs.
   57         (3) By January 15, 2012, and annually thereafter, the
   58  commission must report to the Governor, the President of the
   59  Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives,
   60  providing a detailed description of its efforts to reduce the
   61  regulatory assessment fee for telecommunications companies,
   62  including a detailed description of the regulatory activities
   63  that are no longer required; the commensurate reduction in the
   64  costs associated with this reduction in regulation; the
   65  regulatory activities that continue to be required under this
   66  chapter; and the costs associated with those regulatory
   67  activities.
   68  
   69  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   70  And the title is amended as follows:
   71  
   72         Delete line 99
   73  and insert:
   74         of authority; amending s. 364.336, F.S.; requiring the
   75         commission to begin by a specified date rulemaking
   76         procedures to reduce the regulatory assessment fee
   77         charged to telecommunications companies; setting forth
   78         the issues to be considered for reducing the
   79         regulatory assessment fee; requiring the commission to
   80         provide the Governor and the Legislature with a
   81         detailed description of its activities to reduce the
   82         regulatory assessment fee; repealing s. 364.337, F.S.,
   83         relating to