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91_HB0287enr
HB0287 Enrolled LRB9101576JSpc
1 AN ACT to amend the Public Utilities Act by changing
2 Section 13-301.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by
6 changing Section 13-301 as follows:
7 (220 ILCS 5/13-301) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 13-301)
8 (Section scheduled to be repealed on July 1, 2001)
9 Sec. 13-301. Consistent with the findings and policy
10 established in paragraph (a) of Section 13-102 and paragraph
11 (a) of Section 13-103, and in order to ensure the attainment
12 of such policies, the Commission shall:
13 (a) participate in all federal programs intended to
14 preserve or extend universal telecommunications service,
15 unless such programs would place cost burdens on Illinois
16 customers of telecommunications services in excess of the
17 benefits they would receive through participation, provided,
18 however, the Commission shall not approve or permit the
19 imposition of any surcharge or other fee designed to
20 subsidize or provide a waiver for subscriber line charges;
21 and shall report on such programs together with an assessment
22 of their adequacy and the advisability of participating
23 therein in its annual report to the General Assembly, or more
24 often as necessary;
25 (b) establish a program to monitor the level of
26 telecommunications subscriber connection within each exchange
27 in Illinois, and shall report the results of such monitoring
28 and any actions it has taken or recommends be taken to
29 maintain and increase such levels in its annual report to the
30 General Assembly, or more often if necessary;
31 (c) order all telecommunications carriers offering or
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1 providing local exchange telecommunications service to
2 propose low-cost or budget service tariffs and any other rate
3 design or pricing mechanisms designed to facilitate customer
4 access to such telecommunications service, and shall after
5 notice and hearing, implement any such proposals which it
6 finds likely to achieve such purpose;
7 (d) investigate the necessity of and, if appropriate,
8 establish feasibility of establishing a universal service
9 support fund from which local exchange telecommunications
10 carriers who pursuant to the Twenty-Seventh Interim Order of
11 the Commission in Docket No. 83-0142 or the orders of the
12 Commission in Docket No. 97-0621 and Docket No. 98-0679
13 received funding and offering or providing local exchange
14 telecommunications service, whose economic costs of providing
15 services for which universal service support may be made
16 available such service exceed the affordable rate established
17 by the Commission for such services may be eligible to
18 average cost of providing such service in Illinois, could
19 receive support, less any federal universal service support
20 received for the same or similar costs of providing the
21 supported services; provided, however, that if a universal
22 service support fund is established, the Commission shall
23 require that all costs of the fund be recovered from all
24 local exchange and interexchange telecommunications carriers
25 certificated in Illinois on a competitively neutral and
26 nondiscriminatory basis. In establishing any such universal
27 service support fund, the Commission shall, in addition to
28 the determination of costs for supported services, consider
29 and make findings pursuant to paragraphs (1), (2), and (4) of
30 item (e) of this Section. Proxy cost, as determined by the
31 Commission, may be used for this purpose. In determining
32 cost recovery for any universal service support fund, the
33 Commission shall not permit recovery of such costs from
34 another certificated carrier for any service purchased and
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1 used solely as an input to a service provided to such
2 certificated carrier's retail customers revenues intended to
3 mitigate the price impact on customers resulting from the
4 high or rising cost of such service; and shall include the
5 results and findings of such investigation together with any
6 recommendations for legislative action in its first annual
7 report to the General Assembly in 1986; and
8 (e) investigate the necessity of and, if appropriate,
9 establish a universal service support fund in addition to any
10 fund that may be established pursuant to item (d) of this
11 Section; provided, however, that if a telecommunications
12 carrier receives universal service support pursuant to item
13 (d) of this Section, that telecommunications carrier shall
14 not receive universal service support pursuant to this item.
15 Recipients of any universal service support funding created
16 by this item shall be "eligible" telecommunications carriers,
17 as designated by the Commission in accordance with 47 U.S.C.
18 214(e)(2). Eligible telecommunications carriers providing
19 local exchange telecommunications service may be eligible to
20 receive support for such services, less any federal universal
21 service support received for the same or similar costs of
22 providing the supported services. If a fund is established,
23 the Commission shall require that the costs of such fund be
24 recovered from all telecommunications carriers, with the
25 exception of wireless carriers who are providers of two-way
26 cellular telecommunications service and who have not been
27 designated as eligible telecommunications carriers, on a
28 competitively neutral and non-discriminatory basis. In any
29 order creating a fund pursuant to this item, the Commission,
30 after notice and hearing, shall:
31 (1) Define the group of services to be declared
32 "supported telecommunications services" that constitute
33 "universal service". This group of services shall, at a
34 minimum, include those services as defined by the Federal
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1 Communications Commission and as from time to time
2 amended. In addition, the Commission shall consider the
3 range of services currently offered by telecommunications
4 carriers offering local exchange telecommunications
5 service, the existing rate structures for the supported
6 telecommunications services, and the telecommunications
7 needs of Illinois consumers in determining the supported
8 telecommunications services. The Commission shall, from
9 time to time or upon request, review and, if appropriate,
10 revise the group of Illinois supported telecommunications
11 services and the terms of the fund to reflect changes or
12 enhancements in telecommunications needs, technologies,
13 and available services.
14 (2) Identify all implicit subsidies contained in
15 rates or charges of incumbent local exchange carriers,
16 including all subsidies in interexchange access charges,
17 and determine how such subsidies can be made explicit by
18 the creation of the fund.
19 (3) Identify the incumbent local exchange carriers'
20 economic costs of providing the supported
21 telecommunications services.
22 (4) Establish an affordable price for the supported
23 telecommunications services for the respective incumbent
24 local exchange carrier. The affordable price shall be no
25 less than the rates in effect at the time the Commission
26 creates a fund pursuant to this item. The Commission may
27 establish and utilize indices or models for updating the
28 affordable price for supported telecommunications
29 services.
30 (5) Identify the telecommunications carriers from
31 whom the costs of the fund shall be recovered and the
32 mechanism to be used to determine and establish a
33 competitively neutral and non-discriminatory funding
34 basis. From time to time, or upon request, the
HB0287 Enrolled -5- LRB9101576JSpc
1 Commission shall consider whether, based upon changes in
2 technology or other factors, additional
3 telecommunications providers should contribute to the
4 fund. The Commission shall establish the basis upon
5 which telecommunications carriers contributing to the
6 fund shall recover contributions on a competitively
7 neutral and non-discriminatory basis. In determining
8 cost recovery for any universal support fund, the
9 Commission shall not permit recovery of such costs from
10 another certificated carrier for any service purchased
11 and used solely as an input to a service provided to such
12 certificated carriers' retail customers.
13 (6) Approve a plan for the administration and
14 operation of the fund by a neutral third party consistent
15 with the requirements of this item.
16 No fund shall be created pursuant to this item until
17 existing implicit subsidies, including, but not limited to,
18 those subsidies contained in interexchange access charges,
19 have been identified and eliminated through revisions to
20 rates or charges. Prior to May 1, 2000, such revisions to
21 rates or charges to eliminate implicit subsidies shall occur
22 contemporaneously with any funding established pursuant to
23 this item. However, if the Commission does not establish a
24 universal service support fund by May 1, 2000, the Commission
25 shall not be prevented from entering an order or taking other
26 actions to reduce or eliminate existing subsidies as well as
27 considering the effect of such reduction or elimination on
28 local exchange carriers.
29 (e) Any telecommunications carrier providing local
30 exchange telecommunications service which offers to its local
31 exchange customers a choice of two or more local exchange
32 telecommunications service offerings shall provide, to any
33 such customer requesting it, once a year without charge, a
34 report describing which local exchange telecommunications
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1 service offering would result in the lowest bill for such
2 customer's local exchange service, based on such customer's
3 calling pattern and usage for the previous 6 months. At
4 least once a year, each such carrier shall provide a notice
5 to each of its local exchange telecommunications service
6 customers describing the availability of this report and the
7 specific procedures by which customers may receive it. Such
8 report shall only be available to current and future
9 customers who have received at least 6 months of continuous
10 local exchange service from such carrier.
11 (Source: P.A. 87-445.)
12 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
13 becoming law.
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