Legislative Session number- 82

Bill Name: SF0554

Modifying and recodifying certain telecommunications regulation provisions
ARTICLE 1 - TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE GENERAL REGULATION Granting the public
utilities commission and the department of commerce regulatory authority over
cable, telecommunications and other multichannel video programming services;
requiring the PUC to consider certain state goals in executing regulatory
duties; requiring and providing for PUC issuance of certificates of authority to
provide local service, specifying certain application requirements; granting
counties and cities authority to provide facilities based local service,
requiring certain PUC determinations; authorizing joint ventures; specifying
registration requirements for the provision of local long distance service;
authorizing the providing of prepaid telecommunications services under certain
conditions, imposing a performance bond requirement on telecommunications
providers, amount to be determined by the PUC, authorizing department amount
variance or bond waiverARTICLE 2 - TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE COMPETITON
Providing for public utilities commission regulation of wholesale services;
authorizing the PUC to require wholesale service providers to furnish certain
network elements; specifying a minimum service quality requirement; requiring
the PUC to adopt rules establishing requirements for wholesale
telecommunications services, requiring certain minimum standards; prohibiting
certain practices; specifying certain requirements for the establishment of
prices for wholesale services; regulating mergers and acquisitions, specifying
certain PUC consent and customer notice requirements; regulating rates for
essential local telecommunications services, providing for PUC establishment of
deaveraged retail rates and requiring a temporary rate freeze; providing for
complaint based rate regulation after the freeze, providing for investigations
by the PUC, the department of commerce or the attorney general, for rate change
suspension and for final determination and resolution by the PUC or the office
of administrative hearings; specifying certain interim rate requirements;
specifying certain factors to be considered by the PUC in adjudicating rate
complaints filed by customers, providing for the determination of total embedded
costs; prohibiting price discrimination by providers, specifying certain rate,
toll or charge filing requirements, authorizing PUC rules; regulating intrastate
long distance service, requiring the filing of standard contract terms and
conditions with the department, regulating tariff or price list changes and
prohibiting discrimination and certain service limits; providing for extended
area service, requiring a PUC traffic study for rate calculation purposes;
exempting certain lodging and restaurant establishments providing
telecommunications services to patrons on establishment premises from
regulation, exceptions; regulating private shared telecommunications service,
requiring a single demarcation point for services and facilities, providing for
access to alternative providers; prohibiting cross subsidization; providing for
the filing and resolution of predatory pricing complaints; providing for the
continued effectiveness of existing alternative form of regulation (AFOR) plans;
authorizing PUC waiver of certain tariff requirements under certain competitive
market conditions ARTICLE 3 - CONSUMER PROTECTION Requiring the public utilities
commission to adopt new retail consumer protection and service quality rules
applying to telecommunications and cable service providers, specifying minimum
rule requirements; requiring explanations to customers of grounds for denial of
service; specifying billing procedures; requiring and providing for disclosure
of local service options; requiring advance notice of rate increases; specifying
certain antislamming duties of local service providers and soliciting carriers,
imposing penalties for noncompliance; providing for verification of customer
authorization for a change in local long distance or local service provider;
specifying certain notice and disclosure requirements of long distance
providers; prohibiting certain loading practices; requiring permission for
installation of alarm transmission telephone devices, specifying conditions for
connection and procedures for removal, prescribing a penalty for violation;
requiring the PUC to adopt new or maintain existing rules governing requests for
tracers by persons alleging receipt of harassing telephone calls ARTICLE 4 -
COMMISSION PROCESS AND PROCEDURES Authorizing the public utilities commission to
investigate cable or telecommunications service providers for statute or rule
violations or service related matters; prescribing a procedure to be followed by
the PUC after investigation; requiring the PUC to maintain a full and complete
record of formal investigations or hearings; providing for appeal of PUC orders,
order to be final and conclusive without appeal; providing for the enforcement
of compliance through the district court; providing for the treatment of
information subject to protective orders; providing for enforcement, specifying
certain authorized actions and imposing civil penalties; granting the PUC
certain administrative penalty orders issuance authority, specifying certain
consideration and content requirements; providing for expedited in lieu of
contested case proceedings under certain conditions and for temporary relief
pending dispute resolution; authorizing attorney general enforcement, providing
for cumulative and private remedies; authorizing the PUC to order separate
retail and wholesale operations under certain conditions; providing for the
assessment of regulatory expenses by the PUC or the department of commerce,
providing for objection; requiring the assessment of administrative hearing
costs; establishing the Minnesota telecommunications investigation fund for the
deposit of assessments to pay for investigations; imposing a criminal penalty
for service provider violations ARTICLE 5 - UNIVERSAL SERVICE Requiring and
providing for reduction of local service provider access charges; requiring the
public utilities commission to complete proceedings for calculation of forward
looking deaveraged cost of service for local service areas of eligible
telecommunication carriers by a certain date; creating the universal service
fund to be administered by the department of commerce, requiring investment of
the fund by the state board of investment; specifying eligible
telecommunications carrier (ETC) universal support eligibility; imposing an
excise tax on telecommunications, cable and multichannel video programming
service providers for crediting to the fund; requiring the PUC by a certain date
to establish a statewide average revenue benchmark; providing for the
designation of eligible carriers for unserved areas, specifying certain density
criteria and authorizing the PUC to relieve the obligations of carriers of last
resort under certain conditions; requiring the department of commerce to
administer through an interagency agreement with the department of human
services a program to distribute communication devices to eligible communication
impaired (deaf) persons and to contract with a qualified vendor to create and
maintain a telecommunication relay service, specifying certain duties of the
departments; creating a telecommunication access Minnesota account in the
universal service fund, specifying certain authorized uses; specifying
application and eligibility requirements of persons applying for communication
devices to be purchased, distributed and maintained by the commissioner of human
services and certain equipment standards; providing for the enforcement of
adequate service to communication impaired persons; establishing the
telecommunications assistance program (TAP) to provide certain eligible
households with telecommunications assistance credits, providing for the nature
and extent of the credits; requiring the department of human services to develop
an application form and to annually determine eligibility for the program,
specifying certain form content requirements, requiring an annual report to the
legislature; requiring local service providers annual notice of the availability
of the program to residential subscribers; providing for the submittal of
applications and for determination by the department of individual eligibility
or ineligibility, notice requirements; designating the commissioners of human
services and commerce as program coordinators, requiring remittance to local
service providers from the universal service fund the necessary program amounts;
specifying certain provider recordkeeping and annual reporting requirements;
providing for funding of the program through an account in the universal service
fund, specifying certain authorized uses of the account; establishing an
advanced services loan board and account in the fund for a program of loans to
telecommunications service providers for the deployment of advanced
telecommunications services, providing for loan application, terms and
conditions, authorizing commerce commissioner rules; requiring the department of
trade and economic development (DTED) to implement a grant program to provide
catalyst grants to local government units and tribal communities for deployment
of advanced services, specifying certain grant, rule and match requirements
ARTICLE 6 - RIGHT-OF-WAY Authorizing telecommunications right-of-way users to
construct, maintain and operate conduit, cable, switches and related facilities
along across, upon, above and under public rights-of-way; granting counties,
cities and towns the authority to manage public rights-of-way and to recover
rights-of-way management costs, authorizing the issuance of permits; specifying
restoration requirements of telecommunications right-of-way users after
excavation; authorizing local government units right-of-way permit denial or
revocation under certain conditions, providing for appeal; authorizing the
imposition of certain fees to recover management costs; specifying certain
rights and responsibilities of rights-of-way users and certain limitations on
local government units; specifying certain exemptions from permit requirements;
providing for the protection of certain data and documents exchanged between
local units and telecommunications right-of-way users; prohibiting in- kind
services; requiring the public utilities commission (PUC) to maintain uniform
statewide construction standards, specifying certain standards requirements and
prohibiting local conflicting standards; requiring the department of commerce to
adopt rules governing the maintenance and operation of wire crossing or
paralleling utility lines, enforcement requirements ARTICLE 7 - CABLEModifying,
clarifying and recodifying cable and modem communications provisions;
designating the state as the franchisor for cable franchises, granting local
government units within a franchised area the right to intervene in matters
relating to the franchise before the public utilities commission; requiring the
department of commerce and local government units within the franchise area to
negotiate with existing franchisees to conform franchise agreements to the
requirements; granting the PUC the exclusive authority to grant nonexclusive
franchises to provide cable service within franchise areas in the state; new
franchises to supersede and replace previous ordinances, amendments or
agreements granting franchises to cable service providers; authorizing the PUC
to enforce franchises, authorizing delegation of the authority to local
government units; authorizing the PUC to regulate rates, requiring a list of
current subscriber rates and charges to be filed with the department of commerce
and local government units; authorizing local government units to investigate
allegations of noncompliance with the requirements; requiring cable service
providers advance notice to the PUC, department and local government units of
rate, programming service or channel position changes and provision of emergency
alert override capabilities for use in emergencies; facilitating the activation
of a metropolitan area interconnected regional channel to be uniformly carried
on VHF channel 6 to provide a broad range of informational, educational and
public service programs and materials to metropolitan area cable subscribers,
requiring the metropolitan council to appoint the governing body of the regional
channel entity; providing for public, educational or government (PEG) access
channels; regulating franchise fees; authorizing PUC revocation of franchises
for certain violations; regulating mergers and acquisitions, requiring PUC prior
consent; requiring franchise renewal proceedings to be conducted according to
federal law; providing for franchise amendments; specifying certain general
franchise content requirements; providing for access to property and granting
residents the freedom to choose among competing multichannel video programming
or telecommunications service providers; specifying conditions for access,
providing for property owner approval and requiring property owner compensation
for access; authorizing and restricting the use of existing utility easements to
install, maintain and remove equipment and facilities; requiring pole, duct and
conduit agreements to require cable service providers to apply for and receive
permits from public utility companies before attaching to pole or conduit
systems and requiring a related public utility liability immunity provision,
insurance requirement ARTICLE 8 - CONFORMING AMENDMENTSMaking conforming
amendments to certain statutory provisions relating to welfare data, prompt
payment of state and local government agency bills, the state information
infrastructure policy, public utility easements, nonpublic schools
telecommunications services access, public utilities rate filings approved
without public utilities commission hearing, PUC commissioner powers and duties,
proposed rate hearings, private motor carriers operating requirements, access to
certain information for the location of parents, tax data disclosure to the
commissioner of human services, property subject to taxation, telecommunications
services purchasing cooperatives, utility delinquency charges, fraudulent
telephone services, electricians licensing exemptions, 911 emergency telephone
services, certain metropolitan council appointment duties and cable
communications services fraud; expanding the definition of sales price for sales
tax imposition purposes to certain charges imposed on telecommunications
services purchases and excluding from the definition certain amounts paid to
eligible telecommunications carriers ARTICLE 9 - TECHNICAL PROVISIONSClassifying
telecommunications service provider data on competitive market share as
nonpublic data; requiring the department of commerce to conduct a study on cable
and telecommunications regulation and report to the legislature by a certain
date; specifying certain codification, cross reference, word and term change and
statutory derivations publication instructions to the revisor of statutes;
repealing existing statutory provisions and rules regulating telecommunications
services (ra)