Bill Text: OR HB2200 | 2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to universal service fund.
Spectrum: Unknown
Status: (Failed) 2011-06-30 - In committee upon adjournment. [HB2200 Detail]
Download: Oregon-2011-HB2200-Introduced.html
76th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2011 Regular Session
NOTE: Matter within { + braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within { - braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
{ + braces and plus signs + } .
LC 1567
House Bill 2200
Ordered printed by the Speaker pursuant to House Rule 12.00A (5).
Presession filed (at the request of House Interim Committee on
Sustainability and Economic Development for Oregon
Telecommunications Association)
SUMMARY
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure as
introduced.
Allows Public Utility Commission to modify method of collecting
universal service charge to reflect potential future changes in
federal policy and changing technology. Allows additional
telecommunications carriers to receive support from fund if
carriers meet certain conditions. Requires communications
carriers receiving support from fund to provide broadband service
after 2015.
Directs Public Utility Commission to prepare plan to phase out
universal service fund and replace it with broadband access
program and submit plan to Legislative Assembly.
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to universal service fund; creating new provisions; and
amending ORS 759.400 and 759.425.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. ORS 759.400 is amended to read:
759.400. As used in ORS 759.400 to 759.455:
(1) 'Basic telephone service' means local exchange
telecommunications service defined as basic by rule of the Public
Utility Commission.
(2) 'Retail telecommunications service' means a
telecommunications service provided for a fee to customers. '
Retail telecommunications service' does not include a service
provided by one telecommunications carrier to another
telecommunications carrier, unless the carrier receiving the
service is the end user of the service.
(3) 'Telecommunications carrier' means any provider of retail
telecommunications services, except a call aggregator as defined
in ORS 759.690 { + . 'Telecommunications carrier' includes
carriers providing telecommunications services or the equivalent
by any form of technology as the Public Utility Commission may
determine + }.
SECTION 2. ORS 759.425 is amended to read:
759.425. (1) The Public Utility Commission shall establish and
implement a competitively neutral and nondiscriminatory universal
service fund. Subject to subsection (6) of this section, the
commission shall use the universal service fund to ensure basic
telephone service is available at a reasonable and affordable
rate. The Public Utility Commission may adopt rules to conform
the universal service fund to section 254 of the federal
Telecommunications Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-104), and to
related rules adopted by the Federal Communications Commission,
to the extent that the Public Utility Commission determines is
appropriate. { - The commission may delay implementation for
rural telecommunications carriers, as defined in the federal Act,
for up to six months after the date the Federal Communications
Commission adopts a cost methodology for rural carriers. - }
(2)(a) The Public Utility Commission shall establish the price
a telecommunications utility may charge its customers for basic
telephone service. The commission in its discretion shall
periodically review and evaluate the status of telecommunications
services in the state and designate the services included in
basic telephone service. The commission in its discretion shall
periodically review and adjust as necessary the price a
telecommunications utility may charge for basic telephone
service.
(b) The provisions of this subsection do not apply to the basic
telephone service provided by a telecommunications utility
described in ORS 759.040.
(3)(a) The Public Utility Commission shall establish a
benchmark for basic telephone service as necessary for the
administration and distribution of the universal service fund.
The universal service fund shall provide explicit support to an
eligible telecommunications carrier that is equal to the
difference between the cost of providing basic telephone service
and the benchmark, less any explicit compensation received by the
carrier from federal sources specifically targeted to recovery of
local loop costs and less any explicit support received by the
carrier from a federal universal service program.
(b) The commission in its discretion shall periodically review
the benchmark and adjust it as necessary to reflect:
(A) Changes in competition in the telecommunications industry;
(B) Changes in federal universal service support; and
(C) Other relevant factors as determined by the commission.
(c) Except for a telecommunications utility described in ORS
759.040, the commission shall seek to limit the difference
between the price a telecommunications utility may charge for
basic telephone service and the benchmark.
(4) { + (a) + } { - Except as provided in subsections (7) and
(8) of this section, - } There is imposed on the sale of all
retail telecommunications services sold in this state a universal
service surcharge. Unless otherwise provided by the Public
Utility Commission by rule, the surcharge shall be a uniform
percentage of the sale of retail telecommunications services in
an amount sufficient to support the purpose of the universal
service fund. The surcharge may be shown as a separate line item
by all telecommunications carriers using language prescribed by
the commission. A telecommunications carrier shall deposit
amounts collected into the universal service fund according to a
schedule adopted by the commission.
{ + (b) The Public Utility Commission may modify the
provisions of paragraph (a) of this subsection to be consistent
with a methodology for collecting a universal service surcharge
or its equivalent adopted by the Federal Communications
Commission to the extent the Public Utility Commission determines
is appropriate. + }
(5) The Public Utility Commission is authorized to establish a
universal service fund, separate and distinct from the General
Fund. The fund { - shall consist - } { + consists + } of all
universal service surcharge moneys collected by
telecommunications carriers and paid into the fund. The fund
{ - shall - } { + may + } be used only for the purpose
described in this section, and for payment of expenses incurred
by the commission or a third party appointed by the commission to
administer this section. All moneys in the fund are continuously
appropriated to the commission to carry out the provisions of
this section. Interest on moneys deposited in the fund shall
accrue to the fund.
(6) In addition to the purpose specified in subsection (1) of
this section, moneys in the universal service fund may be used by
the Public Utility Commission to facilitate the availability of
broadband at fair and reasonable rates throughout this state. The
amount of moneys in the universal service fund used for this
purpose may not exceed the amount the state is required to expend
to receive the maximum amount of funds available from federal
sources for broadband services. If in-kind services are allowed
for a state's share of a mapping project, the state shall use
in-kind services before expending universal service funds. The
commission may use an independent contractor to perform mapping
services.
{ - (7) For purposes of this section, 'retail
telecommunications service' does not include radio communications
service, radio paging service, commercial mobile radio service,
personal communications service or cellular communications
service. - }
{ - (8)(a) Notwithstanding subsection (7) of this section, a
person who primarily provides radio communications service, radio
paging service, commercial mobile radio service, personal
communications service or cellular communications service may
request designation as an eligible telecommunications carrier by
the Public Utility Commission for purposes of participation in
the universal service fund. - }
{ - (b) In the event a person who primarily provides radio
communications service, radio paging service, commercial mobile
radio service, personal communications service or cellular
communications service seeks designation as an eligible
telecommunications carrier for purposes of participation in the
universal service fund, the person shall provide written notice
to the Public Utility Commission requesting designation as an
eligible telecommunications carrier within 60 days of the date
the commission establishes the fund. Upon receiving notice, the
commission may designate the person as an eligible
telecommunications carrier for purposes of participation in the
fund. - }
{ - (c) A person who primarily provides radio communications
service, radio paging service, commercial mobile radio service,
personal communications service or cellular communications
service who fails to request designation as an eligible
telecommunications carrier within 60 days of the date the
universal service fund is established by the Public Utility
Commission may not be designated as an eligible
telecommunications carrier unless the person has contributed to
the fund for at least one year immediately prior to requesting
designation. - }
{ - (9) A pay telephone provider may apply to the Public
Utility Commission, on a form developed by the commission, for a
refund of the universal service surcharge imposed on the provider
under subsection (4) of this section for the provision of pay
telephone service. - }
{ + (7) In addition to other jurisdiction the Public Utility
Commission may have, the commission has jurisdiction over all
telecommunications carriers for the following purposes:
(a) Assessment, payment and collection of fees under subsection
(4) of this section.
(b) Reports related to the fees imposed under subsection (4) of
this section, and review of the accuracy of the required reports.
The commission may prescribe the form and content of the reports
by rule.
(c) Enforcement of fee payment obligations.
(d) Reports on the use of funds distributed to eligible
telecommunications carriers.
(8)(a) Incumbent local exchange carriers shall file a plan to
reduce the composite level of their tariffed intrastate switched
minute of use access rates to the composite level of their
tariffed interstate switched minute of use access rates over not
more than four years. Incumbent local exchange carriers are
eligible for support from the universal service fund to reduce
the composite level of their tariffed intrastate switched minute
of use access rates under standards established by the Public
Utility Commission. As part of the standards, the commission
shall establish a benchmark for local service, including extended
area service. The plan filed by the incumbent local exchange
carrier is due 90 days following the adoption of the standards by
the commission and may include provisions to move local service
rates up to the benchmark established by the commission or to
impute such revenues for universal support purposes without
increasing rates. The commission must review the plan and approve
or reject the plan within 90 days after the plan is filed. A
decision by the commission to reject the plan may occur only
after the commission has held a public hearing pursuant to ORS
756.500 to 756.610.
(b) Support from the universal service fund provided under this
subsection is in addition to support provided under subsection
(3) of this section.
(9) To continue receiving funds from the universal service fund
after December 31, 2015, a telecommunications carrier must offer,
or submit a plan approved by the Public Utility Commission to
offer, broadband service through its own facilities or in
conjunction with another provider to at least 90 percent of the
households in the area for which it is designated as an eligible
telecommunications carrier.
(10)(a) Except as allowed in subsection (8) of this section,
the Public Utility Commission may not designate more than one
facility-based telecommunications carrier and one radio common
carrier for an area as eligible for support from the universal
service fund, and may choose not to designate any facility-based
telecommunications carrier or radio common carrier for an area as
eligible for support from the universal service fund.
(b) In making eligibility designations, the commission shall
require each designated telecommunications carrier, consistent
with the commission's adopted line extension requirements, to
serve all persons requesting basic telephone service within the
geographical area assigned to the designated telecommunications
carrier. If a telecommunications carrier that is not an incumbent
local exchange carrier is designated, then that carrier:
(A) Must be designated for the same geographical area as served
by the incumbent local exchange carrier, which may not be less
than an entire exchange served by the local incumbent exchange
carrier;
(B) Must have its support from the universal service fund
calculated based upon its own cost of service determined under a
cost methodology established by the commission;
(C) May not receive support from the universal service fund for
any area for which the incumbent local exchange carrier would not
receive support from the fund because of the incumbent local
exchange carrier's cost to service the area; and
(D) Must be legally able to agree and must agree to be subject
to the commission's jurisdiction for the rates, charges and
conditions for basic telephone service provided by the carrier to
its customers in the area designated for support.
(11) The Public Utility Commission shall periodically review
telecommunications carriers that receive support from the
universal service fund to ensure that the carriers are using that
support to provide communications services consistent with the
purposes of the program. The costs of the review must be
commensurate with the intended scope and benefit of the
review. + }
SECTION 3. { + (1) Prior to October 1, 2013, the Public
Utility Commission shall adopt a plan to phase out current
support for the universal service fund as provided by ORS 759.425
and replace the universal service fund with a new fund that
supports the construction, operation and maintenance of networks
that provide access to broadband service and establishes carrier
of last resort obligations for the new fund.
(2) The Public Utility Commission must submit the plan to the
Legislative Assembly, along with any recommendations for
legislative changes to the universal service fund program, in the
manner provided by ORS 192.245 on or before October 1, 2013. + }
SECTION 4. { + Section 3 of this 2011 Act is repealed on
January 2, 2015. + }
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