The Florida Senate

364.163  Network access services.--For purposes of this section, "network access service" is defined as any service provided by a local exchange telecommunications company to a telecommunications company certificated under this chapter or licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to access the local exchange telecommunications network, excluding the local interconnection arrangements in s. 364.16 and the resale arrangements in s. 364.161. Each local exchange telecommunications company subject to s. 364.051 shall maintain tariffs with the commission containing the terms, conditions, and rates for each of its network access services.

(1)  Effective January 1, 1999, the rates for switched network access services of each company subject to this section shall be capped at the rates in effect on January 1, 1999, and shall remain capped until January 1, 2001. Upon the date of filing its election with the commission, the network access service rates of a company that elects to become subject to this section shall be capped at the rates in effect on that date and shall remain capped for 5 years.

(2)  After the termination of the caps imposed on rates by subsection (1) and after a local exchange telecommunications company's intrastate switched access rates reach parity with its interstate switched access rates, a company subject to this section may, on 30 days' notice, annually adjust any specific network access service rate in an amount not to exceed the cumulative change in inflation experienced after the date of the last adjustment, provided, however, that no such adjustment shall ever exceed 3 percent annually of the then-current prices. Inflation shall be measured by the changes in Gross Domestic Product Fixed 1987 Weights Price Index, or successor fixed weight price index, published in the Survey of Current Business, or successor publication, by the United States Department of Commerce.

(3)  After the termination of the caps imposed on rates by subsection (1), a company subject to this section may, at any time, petition the commission for a network access service rate change to recover the cost of governmentally mandated projects or programs or an increase in federal or state income tax incurred after that date. The costs and expenses of the government program or project required in part II of this chapter shall not be recovered under this subsection unless such costs and expenses are incurred in the absence of a bid and subject to carrier of last resort obligations as provided for in part II of this chapter. With respect to governmentally mandated projects and programs, such petition shall be acted upon no later than 90 days after the date of filing. A company subject to this section shall show the commission that the cost of a project or program is not recoverable either from the government mandating the project or program or from the beneficiaries of the project or program through user fees or other new revenue sources from the project or program, and to the extent that cost decreases resulting from the project or program are reflected as an offset to cost increases. A company subject to this section shall decrease its network access rates by amounts that reflect any federal or state income tax reduction. Nothing contained in this section shall allow any revisions in the rates, terms, and conditions for commercial mobile radio service access, which revisions are inconsistent with the requirements or methodologies of the Federal Communications Commission.

(4)  A company subject to this section may choose to implement all or a portion of a rate increase allowed for network access service by subsections (1), (2), and (3). Notwithstanding subsections (1), (2), and (3), a company subject to this section may choose to decrease network service rates at any time, and decreased rates shall become effective upon 7 days' notice.

(5)  Company-proposed changes to the terms and conditions for existing network access services in accordance with subsections (1), (2), (3), and (4) shall be presumed valid and become effective upon 15 days' notice. Company-proposed rate reductions shall become effective upon 7 days' notice. Rate increases made by the local exchange telecommunications company shall be presumed valid and become effective on the date specified in the tariff, but in no event earlier than 30 days after the filing of such tariff. The commission shall have continuing regulatory oversight of local exchange telecommunications company-provided network access services for purposes of determining the correctness of any price increase resulting from the application of the inflation index and making any necessary adjustments, establishing reasonable service quality criteria, and assuring resolution of service complaints. No later than 30 days after the filing of such tariff, the commission may, with respect to determining the correctness of any price increase, vote, without hearing, the local exchange telecommunications company to hold subject to refund all revenues collected under the rate increase. Within 60 days after such order, the commission must make a determination either compelling a refund of all or part of such revenues or releasing them from such requirement.

(6)  Any local exchange telecommunications company with more than 100,000, but fewer than 3 million, basic local telecommunications service access lines in service on July 1, 1995, shall reduce its intrastate switched access rates by 5 percent on July 1, 1998, and by 10 percent on October 1, 1998. Any interexchange telecommunications company whose intrastate switched access rate is reduced as a result of the rate decreases made by a local exchange telecommunications company in accordance with this subsection shall decrease its intrastate long distance rates by the amount necessary to return the benefits of such reduction to its customers but shall not reduce per minute intra-LATA toll rates by a percentage greater than the per minute intrastate switched access rate reductions required by this act. The interexchange telecommunications carrier may determine the specific intrastate rates to be decreased, provided that residential and business customers benefit from the rate decreases.

(7)  Telecommunications company intrastate switched access and customer long distance rate reductions shall become effective on October 1 of each relevant year. Rate decreases proposed in tariff revisions filed by the telecommunications companies with the commission shall be presumed valid and become effective on October 1 of each relevant year.

(8)  No later than 30 days after the filing of such tariff, the commission may, with respect to determining the correctness of any rate decrease, vote, without hearing, the telecommunications company to hold subject to refund all intrastate switched access or customer long distance rate revenues collected after the rate decrease. Within 60 days after such order, the commission must make a determination either compelling a refund of the appropriate part of such revenues or releasing all such revenues from such requirement.

(9)  The commission shall have continuing regulatory oversight of intrastate switched access and customer long distance rates for purposes of determining the correctness of any rate decrease by a telecommunications company resulting from the application of this section and making any necessary adjustments to those rates, establishing reasonable service quality criteria, and assuring resolution of service complaints.

History.--s. 17, ch. 95-403; s. 4, ch. 98-277.