E Relating to telecommunications services ARTICLE 1 � INCORRECT DIRECTORY ASSISTANCERequiring local exchange telephone or telecommunications service +providers providing directory assistance to customers for a fee to provide +immediate credit to customers informing the provider of the provision of +incorrect directory assistance information ARTICLE 2 - UTILITY DEPOSITSModifying certain provisions governing utility deposits; eliminating +the limit on telephone company deposit fees; modifying a certain provision +regulating the payment of interest on privately or publicly owned utility deposits,+ requiring annual setting and announcement by the commissioner of commerce ARTICLE 3 - OBSOLETE RULES REPEALERRepealing certain obsolete rules regulating communications utilities ARTICLE 4 - ADDITIONAL CABLE FRANCHISEModifying certain cable communications franchise procedures and +requirements; authorizing and providing for cities, towns or counties to grant +additional cable franchises to areas of cable service similar to areas in +existing franchise areas determined to be necessary or desirable to meet the +needs of the local government unit or franchise authority; requiring +additional franchises to ensure subscriber receipt of public, educational, +governmental access and local origination channels in use within the additional +franchise area and existing franchise providers to permit additional franchise +providers to connect to the channel feeds, requiring the additional franchise +provider to pay the costs, specifying certain negotiated agreement requirements +and authorizing local adoption of a resolution in absence of an +agreement; specifying certain additional franchise provider annual contribution +and system adjustment requirements; prohibiting cities, towns or counties from +imposing obligations of additional franchise providers exceeding obligations +imposed on existing providers ARTICLE 5 - THIRD PARTY BILLINGProhibiting telephone companies or telecommunications carriers +providing local service from including on customer bills charges for goods or +services on behalf of third party service providers without customer express +authorization to the third party service provider for inclusion of the charges on +the bill, regulating customer authorizations, requiring verification of oral or+ online authorizations; requiring removal or refund of unauthorized charges, authorizing telephone company or telecommunications carrier recovery +of unauthorized charges refunded to customers from third party service +providers ARTICLE 6 � ACCESS CHARGES AND RELATED ISSUES STUDY Requiring the commissioner of commerce to convene a work group to +discuss and make recommendations relating to intercarrier access compensation, a+ state universal service fund and related issues and to report to the +legislature by a certain dateARTICLE 7 � LOCAL SERVICE DEREGULATION AND EXTENDED SERVICE AREASAuthorizing the telephone companies to expand calling areas for +customers upon filing with the public utilities commission certain agreements +between telephone companies and telecommunications carriers, requiring +calling to the expanded areas to be optional to customers; granting the companies +certain pricing and service offers authority and authorizing the companies to construct, purchase, lease or rent transport and switching facilities+ to provide expanded calling; authorizing telephone companies to enter +into agreements to terminate calls with companies and telecommunications +carriers providing service within the expanded calling area and into "bill and+ keep" arrangements for exchange of expanded calling area traffic; +authorizing amendments to or termination of expanded calling area service upon +notice to customers, the PUC and other telephone companies and +telecommunications carriers providing local service in the expanded area; requiring the +PUC to apply the same standards and criteria to all eligible +telecommunications carriers in determining the need to provide annual certification of +the carriers for continued receipt of federal universal service funding ARTICLE 8 - WIRELESS CONSUMER PROTECTION Providing consumer protection for wireless telecommunications +services customers; defining certain terms; requiring providers of the +services to provide customers with written copies of contracts between the +providers and the customers within a certain number of days of entering into the +contract and to notify customers in writing of proposed substantive changes in the+ contracts within a certain number of days before effectiveness of the change; +requiring customers to opt in by affirmatively accepting the change in writing +before the proposed effective dateARTICLE 9 - REDUCED RATE REGULATIONRegulating the rates, prices, tariffs or charges for local telephone +services to end use customers; restricting rate increases for one party +residential service and regulating increases to certain smaller business +customers ARTICLE 10 � SERVICE STANDARDSProhibiting the public utilities commission (PUC) from imposing +retail service quality standards differing among or between telephone companies or telecommunications carriers, excepting plans for alternative forms of regulation ARTICLE 11 � CABLE REGULATIONModifying and clarifying certain provisions regulating cable +communications; clarifying the definition of cable communications system and the +applicability of the regulatory provisions; modifying certain franchise procedures +relating to negotiation of terms and the public hearing completion deadline; +eliminating the requirement for a public hearing on the sale or transfer of +franchises; modifying certain franchise content requirements and certain +requirements for the use of existing easements; specifying certain term change and +renumbering instructions to the revisor of statutes; repealing certain +legislative findings and definitions and certain provisions regulating the sale or +transfer of franchises, rates, the financial interest of members of elected +bodies granting franchises and the use of existing easements and certain franchise +ordinance content requirements (mk, ja)