State of Illinois
91st General Assembly
Legislation

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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 8        (Section scheduled to be repealed on July 1, 2001)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
 
HB0287 Enrolled             -2-                LRB9101576JSpc
 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
 
HB0287 Enrolled             -3-                LRB9101576JSpc
 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
 
HB0287 Enrolled             -4-                LRB9101576JSpc
 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
 
HB0287 Enrolled             -6-                LRB9101576JSpc
 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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