Full Text of SB2908 100th General Assembly
SB2908 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2017 and 2018 SB2908 Introduced 2/14/2018, by Sen. Iris Y. Martinez SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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Amends the Universal Telephone Service Protection Law of 1985 of the Public Utilities Act. Requires a Large Electing Provider to provide the required statement in a notice of proposed cessation of requested service to existing customers in English and in Spanish. Effective immediately.
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| | A BILL FOR |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning regulation.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by changing | 5 | | Section 13-406.1 as follows: | 6 | | (220 ILCS 5/13-406.1) | 7 | | (Section scheduled to be repealed on December 31, 2020) | 8 | | Sec. 13-406.1. Large Electing Provider transition to | 9 | | IP-based networks and service. | 10 | | (a) As used in this Section: | 11 | | "Alternative voice service" means service that includes | 12 | | all of the applicable functionalities for voice telephony | 13 | | services described in 47 CFR 54.101(a). | 14 | | "Existing customer" means a residential customer of the | 15 | | Large Electing Provider who is subscribing to a | 16 | | telecommunications service on the date the Large Electing | 17 | | Provider sends its notice under paragraph (1) of subsection (c) | 18 | | of this Section of its intent to cease offering and providing | 19 | | service. For purposes of this Section, a residential customer | 20 | | of the Large Electing Provider whose service has been | 21 | | temporarily suspended, but not finally terminated as of the | 22 | | date that the Large Electing Provider sends that notice, shall | 23 | | be deemed to be an "existing customer". |
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| 1 | | "Large Electing Provider" means an Electing Provider, as | 2 | | defined in Section 13-506.2 of this Act, that (i) reported in | 3 | | its annual competition report for the year 2016 filed with the | 4 | | Commission under Section 13-407 of this Act and 83 Ill. Adm. | 5 | | Code 793 that it provided at least 700,000 access lines to end | 6 | | users; and (ii) is affiliated with a provider of commercial | 7 | | mobile radio service, as defined in 47 CFR 20.3, as of January | 8 | | 1, 2017. | 9 | | "New customer" means a residential customer who is not | 10 | | subscribing to a telecommunications service provided by the | 11 | | Large Electing Provider on the date the Large Electing Provider | 12 | | sends its notice under paragraph (1) of subsection (c) of this | 13 | | Section of its intent to cease offering and providing that | 14 | | service. | 15 | | "Provider" includes every corporation, company, | 16 | | association, firm, partnership, and individual and their | 17 | | lessees, trustees, or receivers appointed by a court that sell | 18 | | or offer to sell an alternative voice service. | 19 | | "Reliable access to 9-1-1" means access to 9-1-1 that | 20 | | complies with the applicable rules, regulations, and | 21 | | guidelines established by the Federal Communications | 22 | | Commission and the applicable provisions of the Emergency | 23 | | Telephone System Act and implementing rules. | 24 | | "Willing provider" means a provider that voluntarily | 25 | | participates in the request for service process. | 26 | | (b) Beginning June 30, 2017, a Large Electing Provider may, |
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| 1 | | to the extent permitted by and consistent with federal law, | 2 | | including, as applicable, approval by the Federal | 3 | | Communications Commission of the discontinuance of the | 4 | | interstate-access component of a telecommunications service, | 5 | | cease to offer and provide a telecommunications service to an | 6 | | identifiable class or group of customers, other than voice | 7 | | telecommunications service to residential customers or a | 8 | | telecommunications service to a class of customers under | 9 | | subsection (b-5) of this Section, upon 60 days' notice to the | 10 | | Commission and affected customers. | 11 | | (b-5) Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in this | 12 | | Section 13-406.1, beginning December 31, 2021, a Large Electing | 13 | | Provider may, to the extent permitted by and consistent with | 14 | | federal law, including, if applicable, approval by the Federal | 15 | | Communications Commission of the discontinuance of the | 16 | | interstate-access component of a telecommunication service, | 17 | | cease to offer and provide a telecommunications service to one | 18 | | or more of the following classes or groups of customers upon 60 | 19 | | days' notice to the Commission and affected customers: (1) | 20 | | electric utilities, as defined in Section 16-102 of this Act; | 21 | | (2) public utilities, as defined in Section 3-105 of this Act, | 22 | | that offers natural gas or water services; (3) electric, gas, | 23 | | and water utilities that are excluded from the definition of | 24 | | public utility under paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of Section | 25 | | 3-105 of this Act; (4) water companies as described in | 26 | | paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of Section 3-105 of this Act; |
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| 1 | | (5) natural gas cooperatives as described in paragraph (4) of | 2 | | subsection (b) of Section 3-105 of this Act; (6) electric | 3 | | cooperatives as defined in Section 3-119 of this Act; (7) | 4 | | entities engaged in the commercial generation of electric power | 5 | | and energy; (8) the functional divisions of public agencies, as | 6 | | defined in Section 2 of the Emergency Telephone System Act, | 7 | | that provide police or firefighting services; and (9) 9-1-1 | 8 | | Authorities, as defined in Section 2 of the Emergency Telephone | 9 | | System Act; provided that the date shall be extended to | 10 | | December 21, 2022, for (i) an electric utility, as defined in | 11 | | Section 16-102 of this Act, that serves more than 3 million | 12 | | customers in the State; and (ii) an entity engaged in the | 13 | | commercial generation of electric power and energy that | 14 | | operates one or more nuclear power plants in the State. | 15 | | (c) Beginning June 30, 2017, a Large Electing Provider may, | 16 | | to the extent permitted by and consistent with federal law, | 17 | | cease to offer and provide voice telecommunications service to | 18 | | an identifiable class or group of residential customers, which, | 19 | | for the purposes of this subsection (c), shall be referred to | 20 | | as "requested service", subject to compliance with the | 21 | | following requirements: | 22 | | (1) No less than 255 days prior to providing notice to | 23 | | the Federal Communications Commission of its intent to | 24 | | discontinue the interstate-access component of the | 25 | | requested service, the Large Electing Provider shall: | 26 | | (A) file a notice of the proposed cessation of the |
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| 1 | | requested service with the Commission, which shall | 2 | | include a statement that the Large Electing Provider | 3 | | will comply with any service discontinuance rules and | 4 | | regulations of the Federal Communications Commission | 5 | | pertaining to compatibility of alternative voice | 6 | | services with medical monitoring devices; and | 7 | | (B) provide notice of the proposed cessation of the | 8 | | requested service to each of the Large Electing | 9 | | Provider's existing customers within the affected | 10 | | geographic area by first-class mail separate from | 11 | | customer bills. If the customer has elected to receive | 12 | | electronic billing, the notice shall be sent | 13 | | electronically and by first-class mail separate from | 14 | | customer bills. The notice provided under this | 15 | | subparagraph (B) shall describe the requested service, | 16 | | identify the earliest date on which the Large Electing | 17 | | Provider intends to cease offering or providing the | 18 | | telecommunications service, provide a telephone number | 19 | | by which the existing customer may contact a service | 20 | | representative of the Large Electing Provider, and | 21 | | provide a telephone number by which the existing | 22 | | customer may contact the Commission's Consumer | 23 | | Services Division. The notice shall also include the | 24 | | following statement in English and in Spanish : | 25 | | "If you do not believe that an alternative | 26 | | voice service including reliable access to 9-1-1 |
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| 1 | | is available to you, from either [name of Large | 2 | | Electing Provider] or another provider of wired or | 3 | | wireless voice service where you live, you have the | 4 | | right to request the Illinois Commerce Commission | 5 | | to investigate the availability of alternative | 6 | | voice service including reliable access to 9-1-1. | 7 | | To do so, you must submit such a request either in | 8 | | writing or by signing and returning a copy of this | 9 | | notice, no later than (insert date), 60 days after | 10 | | the date of the notice to the following address: | 11 | | Chief Clerk of the Illinois Commerce Commission | 12 | | 527 East Capitol Avenue | 13 | | Springfield, Illinois 62706 | 14 | | You must include in your request a reference to | 15 | | the notice you received from [Large Electing | 16 | | Provider's name] and the date of notice.". | 17 | | Thirty days following the date of notice, the Large | 18 | | Electing Provider shall provide each customer to which | 19 | | the notice was sent a follow-up notice containing the | 20 | | same information and reminding customers of the | 21 | | deadline for requesting the Commission to investigate | 22 | | alternative voice service with access to 9-1-1. | 23 | | (2) After June 30, 2017, and only in a geographic area | 24 | | for which a Large Electing Provider has provided notice of | 25 | | proposed cessation of the requested service to existing | 26 | | customers under paragraph (1) of this subsection (c), an |
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| 1 | | existing customer of that provider may, within 60 days | 2 | | after issuance of such notice, request the Commission to | 3 | | investigate the availability of alternative voice service | 4 | | including reliable access to 9-1-1 to that customer. For | 5 | | the purposes of this paragraph (2), existing customers who | 6 | | make such a request are referred to as "requesting existing | 7 | | customers". The Large Electing Provider may cease to offer | 8 | | or provide the requested service to existing customers who | 9 | | do not make a request for investigation beginning 30 days | 10 | | after issuance of the notice required by paragraph (5) of | 11 | | this subsection (c). | 12 | | (A) In response to all requests and investigations | 13 | | under this paragraph (2), the Commission shall conduct | 14 | | a single investigation to be commenced 75 days after | 15 | | the receipt of notice under paragraph (1) of this | 16 | | subsection (c), and completed within 135 days after | 17 | | commencement. The Commission shall, within 135 days | 18 | | after commencement of the investigation, make one of | 19 | | the findings described in subdivisions (i) and (ii) of | 20 | | this subparagraph (A) for each requesting existing | 21 | | customer. | 22 | | (i) If, as a result of the investigation, the | 23 | | Commission finds that service from at least one | 24 | | provider offering alternative voice service | 25 | | including reliable access to 9-1-1 through any | 26 | | technology or medium is available to one or more |
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| 1 | | requesting existing customers, the Commission | 2 | | shall declare by order that, with respect to each | 3 | | requesting existing customer for which such a | 4 | | finding is made, the Large Electing Provider may | 5 | | cease to offer or provide the requested service | 6 | | beginning 30 days after the issuance of the notice | 7 | | required by paragraph (5) of this subsection (c). | 8 | | (ii) If, as a result of the investigation, the | 9 | | Commission finds that service from at least one | 10 | | provider offering alternative voice service, | 11 | | including reliable access to 9-1-1, through any | 12 | | technology or medium is not available to one or | 13 | | more requesting existing customers, the Commission | 14 | | shall declare by order that an emergency exists | 15 | | with respect to each requesting existing customer | 16 | | for which such a finding is made. | 17 | | (B) If the Commission declares an emergency under | 18 | | subdivision (ii) of subparagraph (A) of this paragraph | 19 | | (2) with respect to one or more requesting existing | 20 | | customers, the Commission shall conduct a request for | 21 | | service process to identify a willing provider of | 22 | | alternative voice service including reliable access to | 23 | | 9-1-1. A provider shall not be required to participate | 24 | | in the request for service process. The willing | 25 | | provider may utilize any form of technology that is | 26 | | capable of providing alternative voice service |
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| 1 | | including reliable access to 9-1-1, including, without | 2 | | limitation, Voice over Internet Protocol services and | 3 | | wireless services. The Commission shall, within 45 | 4 | | days after the issuance of an order finding that an | 5 | | emergency exists, make one of the determinations | 6 | | described in subdivisions (i) and (ii) of this | 7 | | subparagraph (B) for each requesting existing customer | 8 | | for which an emergency has been declared. | 9 | | (i) If the Commission determines that another | 10 | | provider is willing and capable of providing | 11 | | alternative voice service including reliable | 12 | | access to 9-1-1 to one or more requesting existing | 13 | | customers for which an emergency has been | 14 | | declared, the Commission shall declare by order | 15 | | that, with respect to each requesting existing | 16 | | customer for which such a determination is made, | 17 | | the Large Electing Provider may cease to offer or | 18 | | provide the requested service beginning 30 days | 19 | | after the issuance of the notice required by | 20 | | paragraph (5) of this Section. | 21 | | (ii) If the Commission determines that for one | 22 | | or more of the requesting existing customers for | 23 | | which an emergency has been declared there is no | 24 | | other provider willing and capable of providing | 25 | | alternative voice service including reliable | 26 | | access to 9-1-1, the Commission shall issue an |
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| 1 | | order requiring the Large Electing Provider to | 2 | | provide alternative voice service including | 3 | | reliable access to 9-1-1 to each requesting | 4 | | existing customer utilizing any form of technology | 5 | | capable of providing alternative voice service | 6 | | including reliable access to 9-1-1, including, | 7 | | without limitation, continuation of the requested | 8 | | service, Voice over Internet Protocol services, | 9 | | and wireless services, until another willing | 10 | | provider is available. A Large Electing Provider | 11 | | may fulfill the requirement through an affiliate | 12 | | or another provider. The Large Electing Provider | 13 | | may request that such an order be rescinded upon a | 14 | | showing that an alternative voice service | 15 | | including reliable access to 9-1-1 has become | 16 | | available to the requesting existing customer from | 17 | | another provider. | 18 | | (3) If the Commission receives no requests for | 19 | | investigation from any existing customer under paragraph | 20 | | (2) of this subsection (c) within 60 days after issuance of | 21 | | the notice under paragraph (1) of this subsection (c), the | 22 | | Commission shall provide written notice to the Large | 23 | | Electing Provider of that fact no later than 75 days after | 24 | | receipt of notice under paragraph (1) of this subsection | 25 | | (c). Notwithstanding any provision of this subsection (c) | 26 | | to the contrary, if no existing customer requests an |
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| 1 | | investigation under paragraph (2) of this subsection (c), | 2 | | the Large Electing Provider may immediately provide the | 3 | | notice to the Federal Communications Commission as | 4 | | described in paragraph (4) of this subsection (c). | 5 | | (4) At the same time that it provides notice to the | 6 | | Federal Communications Commission of its intent to | 7 | | discontinue the interstate-access component of the | 8 | | requested service, the Large Electing Provider shall: | 9 | | (A) file a notice of proposal to cease to offer and | 10 | | provide the requested service with the Commission; and | 11 | | (B) provide a notice of proposal to cease to offer | 12 | | and provide the requested service to existing | 13 | | customers and new customers receiving the service at | 14 | | the time of the notice within each affected geographic | 15 | | area, with the notice made by first-class mail or | 16 | | within customer bills delivered by mail or equivalent | 17 | | means of notice, including electronic means if the | 18 | | customer has elected to receive electronic billing. | 19 | | The notice provided under this subparagraph (B) shall | 20 | | include a brief description of the requested service, | 21 | | the date on which the Large Electing Provider intends | 22 | | to cease offering or providing the telecommunications | 23 | | service, and a statement as required by 47 CFR 63.71 | 24 | | that describes the process by which the customer may | 25 | | submit comments to the Federal Communications | 26 | | Commission. |
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| 1 | | (5) Upon approval by the Federal Communications | 2 | | Commission of its request to discontinue the | 3 | | interstate-access component of the requested service and | 4 | | subject to the requirements of any order issued by the | 5 | | Commission under subdivision (ii) of subparagraph (B) of | 6 | | paragraph (2) of this subsection (c), the Large Electing | 7 | | Provider may immediately cease to offer the requested | 8 | | service to all customers not receiving the service on the | 9 | | date of the Federal Communications Commission's approval | 10 | | and may cease to offer and provide the requested service to | 11 | | all customers receiving the service at the time of the | 12 | | Federal Communications Commission's approval upon 30 days' | 13 | | notice to the Commission and affected customers. Notice to | 14 | | affected customers under this paragraph (5) shall be | 15 | | provided by first-class mail separate from customer bills. | 16 | | The notice provided under this paragraph (5) shall describe | 17 | | the requested service, identify the date on which the Large | 18 | | Electing Provider intends to cease offering or providing | 19 | | the telecommunications service, and provide a telephone | 20 | | number by which the existing customer may contact a service | 21 | | representative of the Large Electing Provider. | 22 | | (6) The notices provided for in paragraph (1) of this | 23 | | subsection (c) are not required as a prerequisite for the | 24 | | Large Electing Provider to cease to offer or provide a | 25 | | telecommunications service in a geographic area where | 26 | | there are no residential customers taking service from the |
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| 1 | | Large Electing Provider on the date that the Large Electing | 2 | | Provider files notice to the Federal Communications | 3 | | Commission of its intent to discontinue the | 4 | | interstate-access component of the requested service in | 5 | | that geographic area. | 6 | | (7) For a period of 45 days following the date of a | 7 | | notice issued under paragraph (5) of this Section, an | 8 | | existing customer (i) who is located in the affected | 9 | | geographic area subject to that notice; (ii) who was | 10 | | receiving the requested service as of the date of the | 11 | | Federal Communications Commission's approval of the Large | 12 | | Electing Provider's request to discontinue the | 13 | | interstate-access component of the requested service; | 14 | | (iii) who did not make a timely request for investigation | 15 | | under paragraph (2) of this subsection (c); and (iv) whose | 16 | | service will be or has been discontinued under paragraph | 17 | | (5), may request assistance from the Large Electing | 18 | | Provider in identifying providers of alternative voice | 19 | | service including reliable access to 9-1-1. Within 15 days | 20 | | of the request, the Large Electing Provider shall provide | 21 | | the customer with a list of alternative voice service | 22 | | providers. | 23 | | (8) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, | 24 | | except as expressly authorized by this subsection (c), the | 25 | | Commission may not, upon its own motion or upon complaint, | 26 | | investigate, suspend, disapprove, condition, or otherwise |
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| 1 | | regulate the cessation of a telecommunications service to | 2 | | an identifiable class or group of customers once initiated | 3 | | by a Large Electing Provider under subsection (b) or (b-5) | 4 | | of this Section or this subsection (c).
| 5 | | (Source: P.A. 100-20, eff. 7-1-17.)
| 6 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 7 | | becoming law.
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