1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to telecommunications; requiring notice to 
  1.3             customers of the right to require written 
  1.4             authorization before changing intrastate 
  1.5             telecommunications carrier or local telephone company; 
  1.6             amending Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 237.66, 
  1.7             subdivision 3, and by adding a subdivision. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 237.66, is 
  1.10  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.11     Subd. 1a.  [NOTICE TO CUSTOMERS.] (a) Each residential or 
  1.12  commercial telecommunications or telephone service customer has 
  1.13  the right to elect to require written authorization signed by 
  1.14  the customer before changing to a different intrastate 
  1.15  telecommunication carrier or a different local telephone 
  1.16  company, if that option is available to the customer. 
  1.17     (b) A telephone company, when a residential or commercial 
  1.18  customer initially requests service or a change in service, 
  1.19  shall notify the customer of the right described in paragraph 
  1.20  (a). 
  1.21     (c) By August 1, 1996, a telephone company shall notify 
  1.22  each of its existing residential and commercial customers of the 
  1.23  right described in paragraph (a).  This notice must be made as a 
  1.24  billing insert.  Each customer must be given the opportunity to 
  1.25  either elect to exercise this right, or to waive the right 
  1.26  temporarily.  This election may only be made through a written 
  2.1   response signed by the customer.  If the telephone company does 
  2.2   not receive a response from a customer by October 1, 1996, the 
  2.3   customer is deemed to have elected to exercise the right. 
  2.4      (d) At any time, a customer may choose to exercise or to 
  2.5   temporarily waive the right described in paragraph (a) by 
  2.6   notifying the telephone company in a writing signed by the 
  2.7   customer. 
  2.8      (e) If a customer has elected to exercise the right 
  2.9   described in paragraph (a), or has been deemed to have exercised 
  2.10  that right, the telephone company shall not process a request to 
  2.11  change the customer's primary intrastate telecommunications 
  2.12  carrier, or a request by a competing local telephone company to 
  2.13  serve the customer, without prior written authorization signed 
  2.14  by the customer. 
  2.15     (f) If a customer who elected to exercise the right 
  2.16  described in paragraph (a), or who has been deemed to have 
  2.17  exercised that right, is switched to a competing intrastate 
  2.18  telecommunications carrier or a competing local telephone 
  2.19  company without the customer's prior written signed 
  2.20  authorization, the carrier or company to which the customer has 
  2.21  been switched shall: 
  2.22     (1) bear all costs of immediately returning the customer to 
  2.23  the customer's chosen service provider; and 
  2.24     (2) bear all costs of serving that customer during the 
  2.25  period of unauthorized service. 
  2.26     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 237.66, 
  2.27  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  2.28     Subd. 3.  [ENFORCEMENT.] If, after an expedited procedure 
  2.29  conducted under section 237.61, the commission finds that a 
  2.30  telephone company is failing to provide disclosure as required 
  2.31  under subdivision 1, or the notification required under 
  2.32  subdivision 1a, it shall order the company to take corrective 
  2.33  action as necessary.