HB3605 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB095 09676 MJR 32109 b

95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008
HB3605

Introduced 2/28/2007, by Rep. Thomas Holbrook

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

220 ILCS 5/13-203	from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 13-203
220 ILCS 5/13-502	from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 13-502
220 ILCS 5/13-504	from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 13-504
220 ILCS 5/13-518
220 ILCS 5/13-701	from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 13-701

Amends the Public Utilities Act. Provides that service offered by wireless service providers and voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP) providers shall be deemed reasonably available competitive alternatives for local exchange and interexchange service offered by an incumbent local exchange carrier. Provides that an incumbent local exchange carrier may elect to classify local exchange service in one or more of its exchanges as competitive in accordance with certain standards and procedures. Provides that a service shall be classified as competitive if for any identifiable class or group of customers in that exchange, local exchange service, or its functional competitive alternative is offered by at least 3 providers that are not affiliated with the incumbent local exchange carrier. Provides that if a local exchange service provided by an incumbent local exchange carrier is properly classified as competitive in at least one exchange within a particular market service area under certain provisions, that incumbent local exchange carrier may classify its local exchange services in each of the other exchanges within the same market service area as competitive without any further showing or review by the Commission following specified procedures. In a Section concerning optional services packages, provides that certain service packages shall be classified as competitive services if they meet certain criteria. Makes other changes. Effective immediately.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning regulation.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by changing Sections 13-203, 13-502, 13-504, 13-518, and 13-701 as follows:

(220 ILCS 5/13-203) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 13-203)

(Section scheduled to be repealed on July 1, 2007)

Sec. 13-203. Telecommunications service.

"Telecommunications service" means the provision or offering for rent, sale or lease, or in exchange for other value received, of the transmittal of information, by means of electromagnetic, including light, transmission with or without benefit of any closed transmission medium, including all instrumentalities, facilities, apparatus, and services (including the collection, storage, forwarding, switching, and delivery of such information) used to provide such transmission and also includes access and interconnection arrangements and services.

"Telecommunications service" does not include, however:

(a) the rent, sale, or lease, or exchange for other value received, of customer premises equipment except for customer premises equipment owned or provided by a telecommunications carrier and used for answering 911 calls, and except for customer premises equipment provided under Section 13-703;

(b) telephone or telecommunications answering services, paging services, and physical pickup and delivery incidental to the provision of information transmitted through electromagnetic, including light, transmission;

(c) community antenna television service which is operated to perform for hire the service of receiving and distributing video and audio program signals by wire, cable or other means to members of the public who subscribe to such service, to the extent that such service is utilized solely for the one-way distribution of such entertainment services with no more than incidental subscriber interaction required for the selection of such entertainment service; .

(d) public mobile service, as defined under Section 13-214 of this Act, or commercial mobile service, as defined under 47 U.S.C. 332.

The Commission may, by rulemaking, exclude (1) private line service which is not directly or indirectly used for the origination or termination of switched telecommunications service, (2) cellular radio service, (3) high-speed point-to-point data transmission at or above 9.6 kilobits, or (4) the provision of telecommunications service by a company or person otherwise subject to Section 13-202 (c) to a telecommunications carrier, which is incidental to the provision of service subject to Section 13-202 (c), from active regulatory oversight to the extent it finds, after notice, hearing and comment that such exclusion is consistent with the public interest and the purposes and policies of this Article. To the extent that the Commission has excluded cellular radio service from active regulatory oversight for any provider of cellular radio service in this State pursuant to this Section, the Commission shall exclude all other providers of cellular radio service in the State from active regulatory oversight without an additional rulemaking proceeding where there are 2 or more certified providers of cellular radio service in a geographic area.

(Source: P.A. 90-185, eff. 7-23-97.)

(220 ILCS 5/13-502) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 13-502)

(Section scheduled to be repealed on July 1, 2007)

Sec. 13-502. Classification of services.

(a) All telecommunications services offered or provided under tariff by telecommunications carriers shall be classified as either competitive or noncompetitive. A telecommunications carrier may offer or provide either competitive or noncompetitive telecommunications services, or both, subject to proper certification and other applicable provisions of this Article. Any tariff filed with the Commission as required by Section 13-501 shall indicate whether the service to be offered or provided is competitive or noncompetitive.

(b) A service shall be classified as competitive only if, and only to the extent that, for some identifiable class or group of customers in an exchange, group of exchanges, or some other clearly defined geographical area, such service, or its functional equivalent, or a substitute service, is reasonably available from more than one provider, whether or not any such provider is a telecommunications carrier subject to regulation under this Act. All telecommunications services not properly classified as competitive shall be classified as noncompetitive. The Commission shall have the power to investigate the propriety of any classification of a telecommunications service on its own motion and shall investigate upon complaint. In any hearing or investigation, the burden of proof as to the proper classification of any service shall rest upon the telecommunications carrier providing the service. After notice and hearing, the Commission shall order the proper classification of any service in whole or in part. The Commission shall make its determination and issue its final order no later than 180 days from the date such hearing or investigation is initiated. If the Commission enters into a hearing upon complaint and if the Commission fails to issue an order within that period, the complaint shall be deemed granted unless the Commission, the complainant, and the telecommunications carrier providing the service agree to extend the time period.

(c) In determining whether a service should be reclassified as competitive, the Commission shall, at a minimum, consider the following factors:

(1) the number, size, and geographic distribution of other providers of the service;

(2) the availability of functionally equivalent services in the relevant geographic area and the ability of telecommunications carriers or other persons to make the same, equivalent, or substitutable service readily available in the relevant market at comparable rates, terms, and conditions;

(3) the existence of economic, technological, or any other barriers to entry into, or exit from, the relevant market;

(4) the extent to which other telecommunications companies must rely upon the service of another telecommunications carrier to provide telecommunications service; and

(5) any other factors that may affect competition and the public interest that the Commission deems appropriate.

(d) No tariff classifying a new telecommunications service as competitive or reclassifying a previously noncompetitive telecommunications service as competitive, which is filed by a telecommunications carrier which also offers or provides noncompetitive telecommunications service, shall be effective unless and until such telecommunications carrier offering or providing, or seeking to offer or provide, such proposed competitive service prepares and files a study of the long-run service incremental cost underlying such service and demonstrates that the tariffed rates and charges for the service and any relevant group of services that includes the proposed competitive service and for which resources are used in common solely by that group of services are not less than the long-run service incremental cost of providing the service and each relevant group of services. Such study shall be given proprietary treatment by the Commission at the request of such carrier if any other provider of the competitive service, its functional equivalent, or a substitute service in the geographical area described by the proposed tariff has not filed, or has not been required to file, such a study.

(e) In the event any telecommunications service has been classified and filed as competitive by the telecommunications carrier, and has been offered or provided on such basis, and the Commission subsequently determines after investigation that such classification improperly included services which were in fact noncompetitive, the Commission shall have the power to determine and order refunds to customers for any overcharges which may have resulted from the improper classification, or to order such other remedies provided to it under this Act, or to seek an appropriate remedy or relief in a court of competent jurisdiction.

(f) If no hearing or investigation regarding the propriety of a competitive classification of a telecommunications service is initiated within 180 days after a telecommunications carrier files a tariff listing such telecommunications service as competitive, no refunds to customers for any overcharges which may result from an improper classification shall be ordered for the period from the time the telecommunications carrier filed such tariff listing the service as competitive up to the time an investigation of the service classification is initiated by the Commission's own motion or the filing of a complaint. Where a hearing or an investigation regarding the propriety of a telecommunications service classification as competitive is initiated after 180 days from the filing of the tariff, the period subject to refund for improper classification shall begin on the date such investigation or hearing is initiated by the filing of a Commission motion or a complaint.

(g) For purposes of this Section:

"Wireless services providers" means providers of public mobile services as defined in Section 13-214 of this Act or commercial mobile services as defined at 47 U.S.C. 332 (d) (1).

Service offered by wireless service providers and voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP) providers shall be deemed reasonably available competitive alternatives for both local exchange and interexchange service offered by an incumbent local exchange carrier.

(h) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, an incumbent local exchange carrier may elect to classify local exchange service in one or more of its exchanges as competitive in accordance with the standards and procedures described in this subsection (h). All local exchange service provided by an incumbent local exchange carrier in a particular exchange that the carrier elects to proceed under this subsection (h) shall be classified as competitive upon the filing of a tariff with the Commission that classifies the service as competitive and a verified statement as described in this subsection (h).

A service shall be classified as competitive under this subsection (h) if, for any identifiable class or group of customers in that exchange, local exchange service, or its reasonably available competitive alternative is offered by at least 3 providers that are not affiliated with the incumbent local exchange carrier whether or not each provider is a telecommunication carrier subject to regulation under this Act. No more than one of the alternative providers relied on for the classification of local exchange service as competitive in a particular exchange under this subsection (h) may be a wireless service provider and no more than one of such alternative providers may be a VoIP provider that does not own or lease network facilities in the exchange.

An incumbent local exchange carrier that classifies a local exchange service in a particular exchange as competitive pursuant to this subsection (h) shall, at the same time that it files a tariff implementing that classification, also file with the Commission a verified statement (i) informing the Commission of its classification; (ii) identifying each of 3 or more alternative providers meeting the standards under this subsection (h); and (iii) listing the source or sources upon which the incumbent carrier relied on in identifying each alternative provider. The burden of proof shall be on the incumbent local exchange carrier seeking to classify its local exchange service as competitive. The Commission shall review the statement without a hearing for the sole purpose of determining whether the verified statement is complete and accurately identifies at least 3 alternative service providers that meet the standards set forth in this subsection (h).

A review of the verified statement conducted pursuant to this subsection (h) shall not be considered a contested case defined in Section 1-30 of the Illinois Administrative Procedures Act, notwithstanding any contrary provision. Within 15 days after filing the verified statement, the Commission shall notify the carrier in writing whether the statement is complete or incomplete. If the Commission determines that the verified statement is incomplete, it shall state in the notice the reasons that is incomplete and the carrier may submit a revised verified statement.

Within 30 days after filing a complete verified statement, the Commission shall notify the carrier in writing as to whether or not the standards set forth in this subsection (h) have been met. If the Commission determines that the statement does not accurately identify at least 3 alternative carriers, it shall issue an order stating the reasons for that determination and direct that local exchange service in the affected exchange be reclassified as noncompetitive. If, however, the local exchange service in that exchange has been qualified as competitive pursuant to subsection (i) of this Section, no reclassification shall be required if the incumbent continues to comply with the requirements of subsection (i) of this Section.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the order shall be deemed to be a final order immediately subject to appeal under Section 10-201 of this Act. If the Commission does not notify the carrier regarding the completeness and accuracy of the verified statement within the time periods required under this subsection (h), the verified statement shall be considered complete and accurate. Nothing in this subsection (h) shall be construed to prohibit an incumbent local carrier for which the Commission has rejected a verified statement as inaccurate from making additional attempts to reclassify the local exchange service at issue as competitive under this subsection (h) or subsection (b), (c), or (i).

Notwithstanding any other Section of this Article, no wireless service provider, as defined in this subsection (h), shall be compelled to participate in any Commission review conducted pursuant to this subsection (h) or be compelled to assist any incumbent local exchange carrier in the preparation of information for any verified statement filed pursuant to this subsection (h).

(i) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, if the local exchange service provided by an incumbent local exchange carrier is properly classified as competitive in at least one exchange within a particular market service area either under subsection (b), (c), or (h) of this Section, that incumbent local exchange carrier may classify its local exchange services in each of the other exchanges within the same market service area as competitive without any further showing or review by the Commission upon the filing with the Commission of a binding commitment to comply with the following limitations with respect to the prices charged for local exchange services in each other exchange:

(1) For each other exchange in which the local exchange services fall within the same rate group as the local exchange services provided in an established competitive exchange, the prices charged for local exchange services in the other exchange shall not exceed the prices charged for services in the same rate group in the established competitive exchange.

(2) For each other exchange within a market service area in which an incumbent local exchange carrier has an established competitive exchange, in which local exchange services fall within a rate group for which there is no established competitive exchange, the prices charged for local exchange services in the other local exchange shall not exceed the tariffed prices in effect in that exchange on the date that local exchange service in that exchange is classified as competitive under this subsection (i) or such higher tariff prices as may be required under subsection (d) of this Section.

In the event that local exchange service provided in an exchange classified as competitive under this subsection (i) is subsequently classified as competitive under another provision of this Section, including subsection (h) of this Section, the binding commitment as to pricing described in this subsection (i) shall no longer apply to that exchange.

(Source: P.A. 92-22, eff. 6-30-01.)

(220 ILCS 5/13-504) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 13-504)

(Section scheduled to be repealed on July 1, 2007)

Sec. 13-504. Application of ratemaking provisions of Article IX.

(a) Except where the context clearly renders such provisions inapplicable, the ratemaking provisions of Article IX of this Act relating to public utilities are fully and equally applicable to the rates, charges, tariffs and classifications for the offer or provision of noncompetitive telecommunications services. However, the ratemaking provisions do not apply to any proposed change in rates or charges, any proposed change in any classification or tariff resulting in a change in rates or charges, or the establishment of new services and rates therefor for a noncompetitive local exchange telecommunications service offered or provided by a local exchange telecommunications carrier with no more than 35,000 subscriber access lines. Proposed changes in rates, charges, classifications, or tariffs meeting these criteria shall be permitted upon the filing of the proposed tariff and 30 days notice to the Commission and all potentially affected customers. The proposed changes shall not be subject to suspension. The Commission shall investigate whether any proposed change is just and reasonable only if a telecommunications carrier that is a customer of the local exchange telecommunications carrier or 10% of the potentially affected access line subscribers of the local exchange telecommunications carrier shall file a petition or complaint requesting an investigation of the proposed changes. When the telecommunications carrier or 10% of the potentially affected access line subscribers of a local exchange telecommunications carrier file a complaint, the Commission shall, after notice and hearing, have the power and duty to establish the rates, charges, classifications, or tariffs it finds to be just and reasonable.

(b) Subsection (c) of Section 13-502 and Sections 13-505.1, 13-505.4, 13-505.6, and 13-507 of this Article do not apply to rates or charges or proposed changes in rates or charges for applicable competitive or interexchange services when offered or provided by a local exchange telecommunications carrier with no more than 35,000 subscriber access lines. In addition, Sections 13-406, 13-514, 13-515, and 13-516 do not apply to telecommunications carriers with no more than 35,000 subscriber access lines. The Commission may require telecommunications carriers with no more than 35,000 subscriber access lines to furnish information that the Commission deems necessary for a determination that rates and charges for any competitive telecommunications service are just and reasonable.

(c) For a local exchange telecommunications carrier with no more than 35,000 access lines, the Commission shall consider and adjust, as appropriate, a local exchange telecommunications carrier's depreciation rates only in ratemaking proceedings.

(d) Articles Article VI and Sections 7-101 and 7-102 of Article VII of this Act pertaining to public utilities, public utility rates and services, and the regulation thereof are not applicable to local exchange telecommunication carriers with no more than 35,000 subscriber access lines.

(Source: P.A. 89-139, eff. 1-1-96; 90-185, eff. 7-23-97.)

(220 ILCS 5/13-518)

(Section scheduled to be repealed on July 1, 2007)

Sec. 13-518. Optional service packages.

(a) It is the intent of this Section to provide unlimited local service packages at prices that will result in savings for the average consumer. Each telecommunications carrier that provides competitive and noncompetitive services, and that is subject to an alternative regulation plan pursuant to Section 13-506.1 of this Article, shall provide, in addition to such other services as it offers, the following optional packages of services for a fixed monthly rate, which, along with the terms and conditions thereof, the Commission shall review, pursuant to Article IX of this Act, to determine whether such rates, terms, and conditions are fair, just, and reasonable.

(1) A budget package, which shall consist of residential access service and unlimited local calls.

(2) A flat rate package, which shall consist of residential access service, unlimited local calls, and the customer's choice of 2 vertical services as defined in this Section.

(3) An enhanced flat rate package, which shall consist of residential access service for 2 lines, unlimited local calls, the customer's choice of 2 vertical services as defined in this Section, and unlimited local toll service.

(b) Nothing in this Section or this Act shall be construed to prohibit any telecommunications carrier subject to this Section from charging customers who elect to take one of the groups of services offered pursuant to this Section, any applicable surcharges, fees, and taxes.

(c) The term "vertical services", when used in this Section, includes, but is not necessarily limited to, call waiting, call forwarding, 3-way calling, caller ID, call tracing, automatic callback, repeat dialing, and voicemail.

(d) The service packages described in this Section shall be classified defined as competitive noncompetitive services in all geographic areas in which any package of basic local exchange services, that contain at a minimum a network access line, of a telecommunications carrier subject to this Section has been or is classified as competitive pursuant to Section 13-502 of this Act.

(Source: P.A. 92-22, eff. 6-30-01.)

(220 ILCS 5/13-701) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 13-701)

(Section scheduled to be repealed on July 1, 2007)

Sec. 13-701. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act to the contrary, the Commission has no power to supervise or control any telephone cooperative as respects assessment schedules or local service rates made or charged by such a cooperative on a nondiscriminatory basis. In addition, the Commission has no power to inquire into, or require the submission of, the terms, conditions or agreements by or under which telephone cooperatives are financed. A telephone cooperative shall file with the Commission either a copy of the annual financial report required by the Rural Electrification Administration, or the annual financial report required of other public utilities.

(b) Sections 13-712 and 13-713 of this Act do not apply to telephone cooperatives.

(Source: P.A. 84-1063.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.