Section 757.215  UTSAP Administrator

a)         All Illinois LECs shall be members of the Universal Telephone Assistance Corporation (UTAC), an Illinois not-for-profit corporation that will serve as the UTSAP Administrator.

b)         The UTAC Board will consist of 9 members.  There shall be three classes of directors:  one class consisting of 5 directors who shall be elected from five or more nominations made by the LECs, one class consisting of two directors who shall be elected from two or more nominations made by the Attorney General and the Citizens Utility Board, and one class consisting of two directors who shall be elected from two or more nominations made by the National People's Action, the Community Action for Fair Utility Practice, and the South Austin Coalition Community Council. The directors of all three classes shall be elected by a vote of the members of UTAC.

c)         The responsibilities of the UTAC, as the UTSAP Administrator, shall be:

1)         to administer a statewide UTSAP pool to which all LECs will report UTSAP contributions and expenses.

2)         to collect UTSAP contributions net of installation and Lifeline local exchange service charge waivers provided pursuant to Section 757.200(c) and reimburse LECs for their administrative expenses.

3)         to advise the Commission at any time that the total program costs exceed or will exceed the total contributions, so that the Commission may consider suspending any UTSAP programs or reducing the amount of assistance until such time as there are sufficient funds available to offset the costs.

4)         to assess the total UTSAP costs and the total UTSAP revenues and to petition the Commission pursuant to Section 757.200(b) and (d) for the purpose of recommending any changes in the local exchange service charge waiver amounts, the establishment of any new UTSAP programs, or the discontinuance of any existing programs.

5)         to provide external promotion and advertising of UTSAP programs in conformance with and in addition to that specified in Section 757.220.

d)         The UTAC, with Board approval, may contract with an outside agency to establish and maintain the UTSAP pooling function.  The UTAC shall obtain Commission approval of any such contract.

e)         The UTSAP Administrator shall request bids and seek Commission approval of all contracts exceeding $25,000.

f)         To receive a payment from the UTSAP Administrator, an LEC must comply with Section 13-301.1 of the Act, all requirements of this Part, and the bylaws and Member Agreement of the UTSAP Administrator.

1)         The UTSAP Administrator may request information in writing regarding an LEC's payment request.  An LEC shall have 14 business days to respond.  The UTSAP Administrator may temporarily withhold payment for 60 calendar days after the filing due dates in Section 757.250, or deny, in whole or in part, an LEC payment request if the request is not adequately documented, is inaccurate, or does not comply with all requirements of this Part, Section 13-301.1 of the Act, and the bylaws and Member Agreement of the UTSAP Administrator.

2)         The UTSAP Administrator shall notify an LEC in writing, by U.S. mail to the LEC's address of record, of a decision to deny a payment request.

3)         An LEC denied a payment request shall have 60 calendar days after the mailing date of the UTSAP Administrator's denial notification to file a complaint pursuant to 83 Ill. Adm. Code 200.170.

(Source:  Amended at 42 Ill. Reg. 16417, effective August 15, 2018)