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91_HB1689
LRB9105690JSpc
1 AN ACT to amend the Public Utilities Act by changing
2 Sections 13-515 and 13-516.
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 Sections 13-515 and 13-516 as follows:
7 (220 ILCS 5/13-515)
8 (Section scheduled to be repealed on July 1, 2001)
9 Sec. 13-515. Enforcement.
10 (a) The following expedited procedures shall be used to
11 enforce the provisions of Section 13-514 of this Act except
12 as provided in subsection (b). However, the Commission, the
13 complainant, and the respondent may mutually agree to adjust
14 the procedures established in this Section. If the
15 Commission determines, pursuant to subsection (b), that the
16 procedural provisions of this Section do not apply, the
17 complaint shall continue pursuant to the general complaint
18 provisions of Article X.
19 (b) (Blank). The provisions of this Section shall not
20 apply to an allegation of a violation of item (8) of Section
21 13-514 by a Bell operating company, as defined in Section 3
22 of the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, unless and
23 until such company or its affiliate is authorized to provide
24 inter-LATA services under Section 271(d) of the federal
25 Telecommunications Act of 1996; provided, however, that a
26 complaint setting forth a separate independent basis for a
27 violation of Section 13-514 may proceed under this Section
28 notwithstanding that the alleged acts or omissions may also
29 constitute a violation of item (8) of Section 13-514.
30 (c) No complaint may be filed under this Section until
31 the complainant has first notified the respondent of the
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1 alleged violation and offered the respondent 48 hours to
2 correct the situation. Provision of notice and the
3 opportunity to correct the situation creates a rebuttable
4 presumption of knowledge under Section 13-514.
5 (d) A telecommunications carrier may file a complaint
6 with the Commission alleging a violation of Section 13-514 in
7 accordance with this subsection:
8 (1) The complaint shall be filed with the Chief
9 Clerk of the Commission and shall be served in hand upon
10 the respondent, the executive director, and the general
11 counsel of the Commission at the time of the filing.
12 (2) A complaint filed under this subsection shall
13 include a statement that the requirements of subsection
14 (c) have been fulfilled and that the respondent did not
15 correct the situation as requested.
16 (3) Reasonable discovery specific to the issue of
17 the complaint may commence upon filing of the complaint.
18 Requests for discovery must be served in hand and
19 responses to discovery must be provided in hand to the
20 requester within 14 days after a request for discovery is
21 made.
22 (4) An answer and any other responsive pleading to
23 the complaint shall be filed with the Commission and
24 served in hand at the same time upon the complainant, the
25 executive director, and the general counsel of the
26 Commission within 7 days after the date on which the
27 complaint is filed.
28 (5) If the answer or responsive pleading raises the
29 issue that the complaint violates subsection (i) of this
30 Section, the complainant may file a reply to such
31 allegation within 3 days after actual service of such
32 answer or responsive pleading. Within 4 days after the
33 time for filing a reply has expired, the hearing officer
34 or arbitrator shall either issue a written decision
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1 dismissing the complaint as frivolous in violation of
2 subsection (i) of this Section including the reasons for
3 such disposition or shall issue an order directing that
4 the complaint shall proceed.
5 (6) A pre-hearing conference shall be held within
6 14 days after the date on which the complaint is filed.
7 (7) The hearing shall commence within 30 days of
8 the date on which the complaint is filed. The hearing
9 may be conducted by a hearing examiner or by an
10 arbitrator. Parties and the Commission staff shall be
11 entitled to present evidence and legal argument in oral
12 or written form as deemed appropriate by the hearing
13 examiner or arbitrator. The hearing examiner or
14 arbitrator shall issue a written decision within 60 days
15 after the date on which the complaint is filed. The
16 decision shall include reasons for the disposition of the
17 complaint and, if a violation of Section 13-514 is found,
18 directions and a deadline for correction of the
19 violation. In addition, the decision may include a
20 monetary award for all economic loss suffered as a result
21 of the violation. The Commission or the complainant may
22 apply to a court of competent jurisdiction for an order
23 requiring payment. This award for economic loss shall be
24 in addition to the remedies set forth in Section 13-516.
25 The decision shall also include a monetary award for
26 reasonable attorney's fees. The Commission or the
27 complainant may apply to a court of competent
28 jurisdiction for an order requiring payment. This award
29 of attorney's fees shall be in addition to the remedies
30 set forth in Section 13-516.
31 (8) Any party may file a petition requesting the
32 Commission to review the decision of the hearing examiner
33 or arbitrator within 5 days of such decision. Any party
34 may file a response to a petition for review within 3
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1 business days after actual service of the petition.
2 After the time for filing of the petition for review, but
3 no later than 15 days after the decision of the hearing
4 examiner or arbitrator, the Commission shall decide to
5 adopt the decision of the hearing examiner or arbitrator
6 or shall issue its own final order.
7 (e) If the alleged violation has a substantial adverse
8 effect on the ability of the complainant to provide service
9 to customers, the complainant may include in its complaint a
10 request for an order for emergency relief. The Commission,
11 acting through its designated hearing examiner or arbitrator,
12 shall act upon such a request within 2 business days of the
13 filing of the complaint. An order for emergency relief may
14 be granted, without an evidentiary hearing, upon a verified
15 factual showing that the party seeking relief will likely
16 succeed on the merits, that the party will suffer irreparable
17 harm in its ability to serve customers if emergency relief is
18 not granted, and that the order is in the public interest.
19 An order for emergency relief shall include a finding that
20 the requirements of this subsection have been fulfilled and
21 shall specify the directives that must be fulfilled by the
22 respondent and deadlines for meeting those directives. The
23 decision of the hearing examiner or arbitrator to grant or
24 deny emergency relief shall be considered an order of the
25 Commission unless the Commission enters its own order within
26 2 calendar days of the decision of the hearing examiner or
27 arbitrator. The order for emergency relief may require the
28 responding party to act or refrain from acting so as to
29 protect the provision of competitive service offerings to
30 customers. Any action required by an emergency relief order
31 must be technically feasible and economically reasonable and
32 the respondent must be given a reasonable period of time to
33 comply with the order.
34 (f) The Commission is authorized to obtain outside
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1 resources including, but not limited to, arbitrators and
2 consultants for the purposes of the hearings authorized by
3 this Section. Any arbitrator or consultant obtained by the
4 Commission shall be approved by both parties to the hearing.
5 The cost of such outside resources including, but not limited
6 to, arbitrators and consultants shall be borne by the
7 parties. The Commission shall review the bill for
8 reasonableness and assess the parties for reasonable costs
9 dividing the costs according to the resolution of the
10 complaint brought under this Section. Such costs shall be
11 paid by the parties directly to the arbitrators, consultants,
12 and other providers of outside resources within 60 days after
13 receiving notice of the assessments from the Commission.
14 Interest at the statutory rate shall accrue after expiration
15 of the 60-day period. The Commission, arbitrators,
16 consultants, or other providers of outside resources may
17 apply to a court of competent jurisdiction for an order
18 requiring payment.
19 (g) The Commission shall assess the parties under this
20 subsection for all of the Commission's costs of investigation
21 and conduct of the proceedings brought under this Section
22 including, but not limited to, the prorated salaries of
23 staff, attorneys, hearing examiners, and support personnel
24 and including any travel and per diem, directly attributable
25 to the complaint brought pursuant to this Section, but
26 excluding those costs provided for in subsection (f),
27 dividing the costs according to the resolution of the
28 complaint brought under this Section. All assessments made
29 under this subsection shall be paid into the Public Utility
30 Fund within 60 days after receiving notice of the assessments
31 from the Commission. Interest at the statutory rate shall
32 accrue after the expiration of the 60 day period. The
33 Commission is authorized to apply to a court of competent
34 jurisdiction for an order requiring payment.
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1 (h) If the Commission determines that there is an
2 imminent threat to competition or to the public interest, the
3 Commission may, notwithstanding any other provision of this
4 Act, seek temporary, preliminary, or permanent injunctive
5 relief from a court of competent jurisdiction either prior to
6 or after the hearing.
7 (i) A party shall not bring or defend a proceeding
8 brought under this Section or assert or controvert an issue
9 in a proceeding brought under this Section, unless there is a
10 non-frivolous basis for doing so. By presenting a pleading,
11 written motion, or other paper in complaint or defense of the
12 actions or inaction of a party under this Section, a party is
13 certifying to the Commission that to the best of that party's
14 knowledge, information, and belief, formed after a reasonable
15 inquiry of the subject matter of the complaint or defense,
16 that the complaint or defense is well grounded in law and
17 fact, and under the circumstances:
18 (1) it is not being presented to harass the other
19 party, cause unnecessary delay in the provision of
20 competitive telecommunications services to consumers, or
21 create needless increases in the cost of litigation; and
22 (2) the allegations and other factual contentions
23 have evidentiary support or, if specifically so
24 identified, are likely to have evidentiary support after
25 reasonable opportunity for further investigation or
26 discovery as defined herein.
27 (j) If, after notice and a reasonable opportunity to
28 respond, the Commission determines that subsection (i) has
29 been violated, the Commission shall impose appropriate
30 sanctions upon the party or parties that have violated
31 subsection (i) or are responsible for the violation. The
32 sanctions shall be not more than $7,500, plus the amount of
33 expenses accrued by the Commission for conducting the
34 hearing. Payment of sanctions imposed under this subsection
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1 shall be made to the Common School Fund within 30 days of
2 imposition of such sanctions.
3 (k) An appeal of a Commission Order made pursuant to
4 this Section shall not effectuate a stay of the Order unless
5 a court of competent jurisdiction specifically finds that the
6 party seeking the stay will likely succeed on the merits,
7 that the party will suffer irreparable harm without the stay,
8 and that the stay is in the public interest.
9 (Source: P.A. 90-185, eff. 7-23-97; 90-574, eff. 3-20-98.)
10 (220 ILCS 5/13-516)
11 (Section scheduled to be repealed on July 1, 2001)
12 Sec. 13-516. Penalties for violation of an
13 interconnection agreement or a Commission order relating to
14 prohibited actions of telecommunications carriers.
15 (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the
16 Commission may impose penalties of up to $30,000 per
17 violation of an interconnection agreement, as determined by
18 the Commission pursuant to Section 13-515, or a final
19 Commission order or emergency relief order issued pursuant to
20 Section 13-515 of this Act. Each day of a continuing offense
21 shall be treated as a separate violation for purposes of
22 levying any penalty under this Section. The period for which
23 the fine shall be levied for violation of an interconnection
24 agreement shall commence on the day the carrier began to
25 violate the interconnection agreement, as determined by the
26 Commission. In the event the Commission fines a carrier for
27 a violation of a Commission order, the period for which the
28 fine shall be levied shall commence the day on which the
29 Commission order required requires compliance with the order.
30 The fine and shall continue until the party is in compliance
31 with the interconnection agreement or Commission order.
32 (b) The Commission may waive penalties imposed under
33 subsection (a) if it makes a written finding as to its
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1 reasons for waiving the fine. Reasons for waiving a fine
2 shall include, but not be limited to, technological
3 infeasibility and acts of God.
4 (c) The Commission shall establish by rule procedures
5 for the imposition of penalties under subsection (a) that, at
6 a minimum, provide for notice, hearing and a written order
7 relating to the imposition of penalties.
8 (d) The Commission is authorized to apply to a court of
9 competent jurisdiction for an order requiring payment of
10 penalties imposed under subsection (a).
11 (e) Payment of penalties imposed under subsection (a)
12 shall be made to the Common School Fund within 30 days of
13 issuance of the Commission order imposing the penalties.
14 (Source: P.A. 90-185, eff. 7-23-97.)