1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to telecommunications; providing for single 
  1.3             statewide local access and transport area (LATA) for 
  1.4             telephone and other telecommunications services; 
  1.5             amending Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 237.17. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 237.17, is 
  1.8   amended to read: 
  1.9      237.17 [EXTENSION OF LONG-DISTANCE LINES.] 
  1.10     (a) Any telephone company may extend its long-distance 
  1.11  lines into or through any city of this state for the furnishing 
  1.12  of long-distance service only, subject to the regulation of the 
  1.13  governing body of such city relative to the location of the 
  1.14  poles and wires and the preservation of the safe and convenient 
  1.15  use of such streets and alleys to the public.  
  1.16     (b) For purposes of regulating the provision of 
  1.17  long-distance telecommunications services in the state of 
  1.18  Minnesota, the legislature finds that intraLATA and interLATA 
  1.19  toll dialing parity have been generally implemented in this 
  1.20  state, and that the provision of intrastate and interstate toll 
  1.21  dialing parity is procompetitive and is in the public interest.  
  1.22  The commission shall modify local access and transport area 
  1.23  (LATA) boundaries so as to treat and regard Minnesota as a state 
  1.24  that consists of a single LATA as that term is defined in Code 
  1.25  of Federal Regulations, title 47, section 51.5.