Section 757.430  Lifeline Eligibility Certification and Verification

a)         Certification of Lifeline Eligibility

1)         Applications containing the information specified in Exhibit E shall be processed and certified by the eligible telecommunications carrier within 14 days after the date the application was received.

2)         The applicant shall be solely responsible for establishing eligibility in one or more of the Proxy Programs.  If an eligible telecommunications carrier finds that an applicant's eligibility cannot be established through the records of a Proxy Program, the applicant will be advised by the eligible telecommunications carrier to contact the Proxy Program to establish or verify eligibility.

3)         In the event an applicant takes exception to the eligibility status as determined by the eligible telecommunications carrier, the eligible telecommunications carrier shall advise the applicant of the proper dispute procedures as outlined in Section 757.15.

b)         Verification of a participant's continuing eligibility for Lifeline shall be conducted in the following manner:

1)         Each eligible telecommunications carrier shall establish procedures for verifying that Lifeline customers continue to be eligible to receive Lifeline assistance.  Verification procedures may include checking eligibility against the records of one or more Proxy Programs, requiring customers to supply proof of continued eligibility, customer self-certification of continued eligibility, and/or other methods designed to verify continued eligibility.  If an eligible telecommunications carrier's procedure involves verification of a sample of customers from one or more Proxy Programs, that sample must be a statistically valid random sample of the customers from the Proxy Program or Programs.  These procedures need not be submitted to the Commission for approval, but shall be available for Commission review upon request.

2)         Verification of continued lifeline eligibility shall be conducted no less than once a year.

3)         If an eligible telecommunications carrier determines upon verification that a participant is no longer eligible, the eligible telecommunications carrier shall provide the participant 30 days notice prior to terminating the participant.  Notice of a determination shall be provided to the participant in writing, and shall include the information specified in Exhibit D.

4)         Each eligible telecommunications carrier shall file with the Commission by August 1 of each year an affidavit signed by a representative of the eligible telecommunications carrier that:

A)        states that the eligible telecommunications carrier has a procedure in place to verify continued eligibility of Lifeline subscribers;

B)        states that the verification procedure meets the requirements of this Section;

C)        states that the eligible telecommunications carrier has verified the continued eligibility of Lifeline subscribers pursuant to its procedure at least one time in the 12 months preceding the affidavit; and

D)        summarizes the results of the most recent verification.

(Source:  Amended at 32 Ill. Reg. 8583, effective June 1, 2008)