Modifying, recodifying, reorganizing and clarifying certain provisions regulating telecommunications services ARTICLE 1- REGULATORY RESPONSIBILITIESDefining certain terms; specifying the general authority of the public utilities commission (PUC), department of commerce or other state agencies providing regulatory review, prohibiting regulation of the Internet or interactive computer or digital data transmission services, subjecting exempt services to unfair discrimination and competition regulations; specifying authorized promotion activities and performance guaranty requirements; prohibiting regulation of earnings, prices, terms and service conditions; authorizing the continuation of alternative form of regulation (AFOR) plans; specifying certain service provider filing requirements; prohibiting interexchange and wholesale service discrimination, requiring uniform rates; providing for geographically deaveraged local services; existing rates to be considered reasonable; providing for newly deployed services and service parity; authorizing services on an individual contract basis, notice filing requirement; authorizing provider establishment or modification of prices, terms or conditions of service packages or other promotions upon filing of an informational price list with the agency; prohibiting agency approval of mandatory extended area service, requiring the agency to establish a task force representing the telecommunications industry to review and study current EAS policies and practices and report to the agency, specifying certain study and report content requirements; regulating rates for schools or purchasing cooperatives; providing for state government telecommunications pricing plans for use by educational institutions, public corporations and local government units, requiring submission to the agency for review and approval; regulating municipal telecommunications services, authorizing joint ventures with telecommunications service providers ARTICLE 2 CONSUMER PROTECTIONApplying certain service quality and consumer protection rules to essential services, requiring agency review and revision of the rules for consistency with current technology and reasonable customer expectations and implementation of rules creating uniform minimum retail service quality standards superseding existing requirements; requiring and providing for telecommunications providers disclosure to customers of local service options; specifying certain antislamming duties of telecommunications service providers and soliciting carriers, prescribing verification procedures and providing a customer remedy; specifying certain notice and disclosure requirements of interexchange service providers; prohibiting the charging of subscribers for noncontracted or nonessential telephone or telecommunications services (loading) and regulating charges assessed on a per use basis, requiring blocking upon subscriber request ARTICLE 3 MINNESOTA UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUNDEstablishing the Minnesota universal service fund to preserve and advance universal service, requiring certain periodic agency reports to the legislature; requiring MUSF administration by a neutral third party administrator chosen by the agency, specifying certain administrator responsibilities and agency duties; providing for contributions to the fund, requiring a retail customer surcharge; providing for the disbursement of funds to eligible telecommunications carriers, specifying eligibility requirements and providing for relinquishment of designation as an ETC; specifying service support requirements of the fund, requiring legislative review for expansion; providing for ETC services in areas served by large and small incumbent providers ARTICLE 4 - RIGHT-OF-WAY Providing for the use and regulation of public rights-of-way by telecommunications services providers; granting counties, cities and towns the authority to manage public rights-of-way and to recover rights-of-way management costs, authorizing the imposition of right-of-way permit requirements; specifying restoration requirements of telecommunications right-of-way users after excavation; authorizing local government unit 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 prohibited practices of 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; requiring the agency to adopt statewide construction standards for uniformity purposes and to determine and adopt rules governing the maintenance and operation of wire crossing or paralleling utility lines ARTICLE 5 WHOLESALE INTERCONNECTIONRequiring telecommunications service providers to permit physical connections between telecommunications lines or facilities for a reasonable compensation; regulating the extension of interexchange facilities and services and the setting of prices for interconnection or network elements; requiring approval of interconnection and wholesale agreements by the agency; prohibiting the deaveraging of wholesale local services or network elements before the deaveraging of local retail rates and the establishment of a Minnesota universal service fund (MUSF) ARTICLE 6 COMPETITIVE ZONES Providing for the declaration of competitive service zones by the agency, requiring the satisfaction of certain requirements and providing for application for declaration ARTICLE 7 TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANCEProviding for the regulation of combined local telephone company surcharges and the administration of the telecommunication access for communication impaired persons (TACIP) program and fund; specifying certain duties of the departments of public service, human services and commerce; regulating expenditures from the fund; specifying communication device eligibility requirements and standards; providing for operation of the telecommunication relay system; providing for administration of the telephone assistance plan (TAP) by the public utilities commission (PUC) and the departments of commerce and human servicesARTICLE 8 CONFORMING AMENDMENTSMaking conforming amendments to certain statutory provisions relating to prompt payment of agency bills, state information infrastructure policy, grasshopper control, environmental response and liability act (superfund) public utility easements, private motor carriers operating requirements, access to certain information for the location of parents, tax data disclosure to the commissioner of human services, telecommunications services purchasing cooperatives, utility delinquency charges, fraudulent telephone services billing and slamming practices, electricians licensing, 911 emergency telephone services, city authority to operate telephone lines and telecommunications and information services fraud; repealing existing provisions regulating telecommunications services and certain rules (mk)