1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to telecommunications; providing for a
1.3 	combined per number fee; amending Minnesota Statutes
1.4 	2004, sections 237.295, subdivisions 1, 2; 237.69,
1.5 	subdivision 16, by adding a subdivision; 237.70,
1.6 	subdivisions 2, 5; 237.701, subdivision 1; 403.06,
1.7 	subdivision 1a; 403.11, subdivision 1; 403.113,
1.8 	subdivision 1; 403.30, subdivision 1; proposing coding
1.9 	for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapters 237; 325F;
1.10 	repealing Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 237.69,
1.11 	subdivisions 5, 17; Laws 1999, chapter 125, section 4,
1.12 	as amended.
1.13 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.14 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 237.295,
1.15 	subdivision 1, is amended to read:
1.16 		Subdivision 1.payment for investigation filing fee for
1.17 	new authority. (a) Whenever the department or commission, in a
1.18 	proceeding upon its own motion, on complaint, or upon an
1.19 	application to it, considers it necessary, in order to carry out
1.20 	the duties imposed on it, to investigate the books, accounts,
1.21 	practices, and activities of any company, parties to the
1.22 	proceeding shall pay the expenses reasonably attributable to the
1.23 	proceeding.  The department and commission shall ascertain the
1.24 	expenses, and the department shall render a bill for those
1.25 	expenses to the parties, at the conclusion of the proceeding.
1.26 	The department is authorized to submit billings to parties at
1.27 	intervals selected by the department during the course of a
1.28 	proceeding.
1.29 	(b) The allocation of costs may be adjusted for cause by
2.1 	the commission during the course of the proceeding, or upon the
2.2 	closing of the docket and issuance of an order.  In addition to
2.3 	the rights granted in subdivision 3, parties to a proceeding may
2.4 	object to the allocation at any time during the proceeding.
2.5 	Withdrawal by a party to a proceeding does not absolve the party
2.6 	from paying allocated costs as determined by the commission.
2.7 	The commission may decide that a party should not pay any
2.8 	allocated costs of the proceeding.
2.9 	(c) The bill constitutes notice of the assessment and a
2.10 	demand for payment.  The amount of the bills assessed by the
2.11 	department under this subdivision must be paid by the parties
2.12 	into the state treasury within 30 days from the date of
2.13 	assessment.  The total amount, in a calendar year, for which a
2.14 	telephone company may become liable, by reason of costs incurred
2.15 	by the department and commission within that calendar year, may
2.16 	not exceed two-fifths of one percent of the gross jurisdictional
2.17 	operating revenue of the telephone company in the last preceding
2.18 	calendar year.  Direct charges may be assessed without regard to
2.19 	this limitation until the gross jurisdictional operating revenue
2.20 	of the telephone company for the preceding calendar year has
2.21 	been reported for the first time.  Where, under this
2.22 	subdivision, costs are incurred within a calendar year that are
2.23 	in excess of two-fifths of one percent of the gross
2.24 	jurisdictional operating revenues, the excess costs are not
2.25 	chargeable as part of the remainder under subdivision 2.
2.26 	(d) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (e), for
2.27 	purposes of assessing the cost of a proceeding to a party,
2.28 	"party" means any entity or group subject to the laws and rules
2.29 	of this state, however organized, whether public or private,
2.30 	whether domestic or foreign, whether for profit or nonprofit,
2.31 	and whether natural, corporate, or political, such as a business
2.32 	or commercial enterprise organized as any type or combination of
2.33 	corporation, limited liability company, partnership, limited
2.34 	liability partnership, proprietorship, association, cooperative,
2.35 	joint venture, carrier, or utility, and any successor or
2.36 	assignee of any of them; a social or charitable organization;
3.1 	and any type or combination of political subdivision, which
3.2 	includes the executive, judicial, or legislative branch of the
3.3 	state, a local government unit, an agency of the state or a
3.4 	local government unit, or a combination of any of them.
3.5 	(e) For assessment and billing purposes, "party" does not
3.6 	include the Department of Commerce or the Residential Utilities
3.7 	Division of the Office of Attorney General; any entity or group
3.8 	instituted primarily for the purpose of mutual help and not
3.9 	conducted for profit; intervenors awarded compensation under
3.10 	section 237.075, subdivision 10; or any individual or group or
3.11 	counsel for the individual or group representing the interests
3.12 	of end users or classes of end users of services provided by
3.13 	telephone companies or telecommunications carriers, as
3.14 	determined by the commission An application for a new authority
3.15 	must be accompanied by a payment not to exceed $2,000 as
3.16 	determined by the Public Utilities Commission.  This fee will be
3.17 	reviewed annually and adjusted accordingly.

3.18 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 237.295,
3.19 	subdivision 2, is amended to read:
3.20 		Subd. 2.Assessment of costs.  The department and
3.21 	commission shall quarterly, at least 30 days before the start of
3.22 	each quarter, estimate the total of their expenditures in the
3.23 	performance of their duties relating to telephone companies,
3.24 	other than amounts chargeable to telephone companies under
3.25 	subdivision 1, 5, or 6.  The remainder must be assessed by the
3.26 	department to the telephone companies operating in this state in
3.27 	proportion to their respective gross jurisdictional operating
3.28 	revenues during the last calendar year.  The assessment must be
3.29 	paid into the state treasury within 30 days after the bill has
3.30 	been mailed to the telephone companies.  The bill constitutes
3.31 	notice of the assessment and demand of payment. The total
3.32 	amount that may be assessed to the telephone companies under
3.33 	this subdivision may not exceed one-eighth of one percent of the
3.34 	total gross jurisdictional operating revenues during the
3.35 	calendar year.The assessment for the third quarter of each
3.36 	fiscal year must be adjusted to compensate for the amount by
4.1 	which actual expenditures by the commission and department for
4.2 	the preceding fiscal year were more or less than the estimated
4.3 	expenditures previously assessed.  A telephone company with
4.4 	gross jurisdictional operating revenues of less than $5,000 is
4.5 	exempt from assessments under this subdivision.

4.6 	Sec. 3. [237.491] COMBINED PER NUMBER FEE.
4.7 		Subdivision 1.Definitions. (a) The definitions in this
4.8 	subdivision apply to this section.
4.9 	(b) "911 emergency and public safety communications program"
4.10 	means the program governed by chapter 403.
4.11 	(c) "Service provider" means a provider doing business in
4.12 	Minnesota who provides real time, two-way voice service with a
4.13 	Minnesota telephone number.  "Minnesota telephone number" means
4.14 	a ten-digit telephone number being used to connect to the public
4.15 	switched telephone network and starting with area code 651, 612,
4.16 	763, 952, 320, 218, or 507, or any subsequent area code assigned
4.17 	to Minnesota.
4.18 	(d) "Telecommunications access Minnesota program" means the
4.19 	program governed by sections 237.50 to 237.55.
4.20 	(e) "Telephone assistance program" means the program
4.21 	governed by sections 237.69 to 237.711.
4.22 		Subd. 2.Per number fee. (a) By July 1, 2006, the Public
4.23 	Utilities Commission shall establish a fee that applies to each
4.24 	service provider based upon the number of Minnesota telephone
4.25 	numbers in use by current customers of the service provider.
4.26 	The fee must be set at a level calculated to generate only the
4.27 	amount of revenue necessary to fund:
4.28 	(1) the telephone assistance program and the
4.29 	telecommunications access Minnesota program at the levels
4.30 	established by the commission under sections 237.52, subdivision
4.31 	2, and 237.70; and 
4.32 	(2) the 911 emergency and public safety communications
4.33 	program at the levels certified by the commissioner of public
4.34 	safety for purposes of sections 403.11, 403.113, 403.27, 403.30,
4.35 	and 403.31 for current fiscal years.
4.36 	(b) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the Public
5.1 	Utilities Commission shall, by order, establish the procedures
5.2 	by which each service provider, to the extent allowed under
5.3 	federal law, shall collect and remit the fee proceeds to the
5.4 	Department of Revenue.  The commissioner of revenue shall
5.5 	allocate the fee proceeds to the three funding areas in
5.6 	paragraph (a) and shall deposit the allocations into the
5.7 	appropriate accounts.
5.8 	(c) The per access line fee used to collect revenues to
5.9 	support the TAP, TAM, and 911 programs shall remain in effect
5.10 	until replaced by the per telephone number fee.

5.11 	Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 237.69,
5.12 	subdivision 16, is amended to read:
5.13 		Subd. 16.Telephone assistance plan.  "Telephone
5.14 	assistance plan" means the plan to be adopted by the commission
5.15 	and to be jointly administered by the commission, the Department
5.16 	of Human Services, and the telephone companies Commerce, and the
5.17 	local service providers, as required by sections 237.69 to
5.18 	237.711.

5.19 	Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 237.69, is
5.20 	amended by adding a subdivision to read:
5.21 		Subd. 18.Local service provider. "Local service
5.22 	provider" means:
5.23 	(1) a telephone company or telecommunications carrier
5.24 	providing local service in Minnesota pursuant to a certificate
5.25 	of authority granted by the commission; or 
5.26 	(2) a commercial mobile radio service (CMRS) provider,
5.27 	personal communications services (PCS) provider, or other
5.28 	wireless provider offering the functional equivalent of CMRS or
5.29 	PCS in Minnesota, which has been designated by the commission as
5.30 	an eligible telecommunications carrier in Minnesota pursuant to
5.31 	United States Code, title 47, section 214, and relevant federal
5.32 	regulations.

5.33 	Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 237.70,
5.34 	subdivision 2, is amended to read:
5.35 		Subd. 2.Scope.  The telephone assistance plan must be
5.36 	statewide and apply to local service providers that provide
6.1 	local exchange service in Minnesota.

6.2 	Sec. 7. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 237.70,
6.3 	subdivision 5, is amended to read:
6.4 		Subd. 5.Nature and extent of credits.  The telephone
6.5 	assistance plan may provide for telephone assistance credits to
6.6 	eligible households up to the amounts available under the
6.7 	federal matching plan.  However, the credits available under the
6.8 	telephone assistance plan may not exceed:
6.9 	(1) more than 50 percent of the local exchange rate charged
6.10 	for the local exchange service provided to the household by that
6.11 	household's local service provider; and
6.12 	(2) the level of credits that can actually be funded in
6.13 	accordance with the limitations contained in subdivision 6.

6.14 	Sec. 8. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 237.701,
6.15 	subdivision 1, is amended to read:
6.16 		Subdivision 1.Fund created; authorized expenditures.
 6.17 	The telephone assistance fund is created as a separate account
6.18 	in the state treasury to consist of amounts received by the
6.19 	commissioner of public safety representing the surcharge
6.20 	authorized by section 237.70, subdivision 6, and amounts earned
6.21 	on the fund assets.  Money in the fund may be used only for:
6.22 	(1) reimbursement to local service providers for expenses
6.23 	and credits allowed in section 237.70, subdivision 7, paragraph
6.24 	(d), clause (5);
6.25 	(2) reimbursement of the reasonable administrative expenses
6.26 	of the commission not to exceed $25,000 annually , a portion of
6.27 	which may be used for periodic promotional activities,
6.28 	including, but not limited to, radio or newspaper
6.29 	advertisements, to inform eligible households of the
6.30 	availability of the telephone assistance program; and
6.31 	(3) reimbursement of the statewide indirect cost of the
6.32 	commission.

6.33 	Sec. 9. [325F.991] 911 EMERGENCY PHONE SERVICE
6.34 	REPRESENTATIONS.
6.35 		Subdivision 1.Definitions. For purposes of this
6.36 	section, the terms defined in this subdivision have the meanings
7.1 	given them.
7.2 	(a) "911 emergency telecommunications system" means a
7.3 	dedicated emergency telecommunications system required by
7.4 	section 403.025.
7.5 	(b) "Person" means an individual, corporation, firm, or
7.6 	other legal entity.
7.7 	(c) "Service provider" means a person doing business in
7.8 	Minnesota who provides real time, two-way voice service
7.9 	interconnected with the public switched telephone network using
7.10 	numbers allocated for Minnesota by the North American Numbering
7.11 	Plan Administration.
7.12 		Subd. 2.Representations of 911 service. A person shall
7.13 	not advertise, market, or otherwise represent that the person
7.14 	furnishes a service capable of providing access to emergency
7.15 	services by dialing 911 unless the person provides a service
7.16 	that routes 911 calls through the 911 emergency
7.17 	telecommunications system.
7.18 		Subd. 3.Disclosure. A service provider that does not
7.19 	provide 911 dialing that routes 911 calls through the 911
7.20 	emergency telecommunications system must disclose that fact in
7.21 	all advertisements, marketing materials, and contracts.  The
7.22 	disclosure must be in capital letters, in 12-point font, and on
7.23 	the front page of the advertisement, marketing materials, and
7.24 	contracts.  The disclosure must state:  "THIS SERVICE DOES NOT
7.25 	ROUTE 911 CALLS THROUGH THE 911 EMERGENCY SYSTEM." 
7.26 		Subd. 4.Certain calls not 911 calls. For purposes of
7.27 	this section, 911 calls routed to the general access number at a
7.28 	public safety answering point do not qualify as being routed
7.29 	through a 911 emergency telecommunications system.

7.30 	Sec. 10. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 403.06,
7.31 	subdivision 1a, is amended to read:
7.32 		Subd. 1a.Biennial budget; annual financial report.  The
7.33 	commissioner shall prepare a biennial budget for maintaining the
7.34 	911 system.  By December 15 of each year, the commissioner shall
7.35 	submit a report to the legislature detailing the expenditures
7.36 	for maintaining the 911 system, the 911 fees collected deposited
8.1 	by the Department of Revenue, the balance of the 911 fund, and
8.2 	the 911-related administrative expenses of the commissioner.
8.3 	The commissioner is authorized to expend money that has been
8.4 	appropriated to pay for the maintenance, enhancements, and
8.5 	expansion of the 911 system.

8.6 	Sec. 11. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 403.11,
8.7 	subdivision 1, is amended to read:
8.8 		Subdivision 1.Emergency telecommunications service fee.
 8.9 	(a) Each customer of a wireless or wire-line telecommunications
8.10 	service provider that furnishes service capable of originating a
8.11 	911 emergency telephone call is assessed a fee under section
8.12 	237.491 to cover the costs of ongoing maintenance and related
8.13 	improvements for trunking and central office switching equipment
8.14 	for 911 emergency telecommunications service, plus
8.15 	administrative and staffing costs of the commissioner related to
8.16 	managing the 911 emergency telecommunications service program.
8.17 	Recurring charges by a wire-line telecommunications service
8.18 	provider for updating the information required by section
8.19 	403.07, subdivision 3, must be paid by the commissioner if the
8.20 	wire-line telecommunications service provider is included in an
8.21 	approved 911 plan and the charges are made pursuant to tariff,
8.22 	price list, or contract. A portion of the fee assessed under
8.23 	this section 237.491 must also be used for the purpose of
8.24 	offsetting the costs, including administrative and staffing
8.25 	costs, incurred by the State Patrol Division of the Department
8.26 	of Public Safety in handling 911 emergency calls made from
8.27 	wireless phones.
8.28 	(b) Money remaining in the 911 emergency telecommunications
8.29 	service account after all other obligations are paid must not
8.30 	cancel and is carried forward to subsequent years and may be
8.31 	appropriated from time to time to the commissioner to provide
8.32 	financial assistance to counties for the improvement of local
8.33 	emergency telecommunications services.  The improvements may
8.34 	include providing access to 911 service for telecommunications
8.35 	service subscribers currently without access and upgrading
8.36 	existing 911 service to include automatic number identification,
9.1 	local location identification, automatic location
9.2 	identification, and other improvements specified in revised
9.3 	county 911 plans approved by the commissioner.
9.4 	(c) The fee may not be less than eight cents nor more than
9.5 	40 cents a month for each customer access line or other basic
9.6 	access service, including trunk equivalents as designated by the
9.7 	Public Utilities Commission for access charge purposes and
9.8 	including wireless telecommunications services.  With the
9.9 	approval of the commissioner of finance, the commissioner of
9.10 	public safety shall establish the amount of the fee within the
9.11 	limits specified and inform the companies and carriers of the
9.12 	amount to be collected.  When the revenue bonds authorized under
9.13 	section 403.27, subdivision 1, have been fully paid or defeased,
9.14 	the commissioner shall reduce the fee to reflect that debt
9.15 	service on the bonds is no longer needed.  The commissioner
9.16 	shall provide companies and carriers a minimum of 45 days'
9.17 	notice of each fee change.  The fee must be the same for all
9.18 	customers.
9.19 	(d) The fee must be collected by each wireless or wire-line
9.20 	telecommunications service provider subject to the fee.  Fees
9.21 	are payable to and must be submitted to the commissioner monthly
9.22 	before the 25th of each month following the month of collection,
9.23 	except that fees may be submitted quarterly if less than $250 a
9.24 	month is due, or annually if less than $25 a month is due.
9.25 	Receipts must be deposited in the state treasury and credited to
9.26 	a 911 emergency telecommunications service account in the
9.27 	special revenue fund.  The money in the account may only be used
9.28 	for 911 telecommunications services.
9.29 	(e) This subdivision does not apply to customers of
9.30 	interexchange carriers.
9.31 	(f) (d) The installation and recurring charges for
9.32 	integrating wireless 911 calls into enhanced 911 systems must be
9.33 	paid by the commissioner if the 911 service provider is included
9.34 	in the statewide design plan and the charges are made pursuant
9.35 	to tariff, price list, or contract.

9.36 	Sec. 12. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 403.113,
10.1 	subdivision 1, is amended to read:
10.2 		Subdivision 1.fee grant.  (a) Each customer receiving
10.3 	service from a wireless or wire-line telecommunications service
10.4 	provider is assessed a fee The commissioner shall budget for and
10.5 	provide grants to PSAPs to fund implementation, operation,
10.6 	maintenance, enhancement, and expansion of enhanced 911 service,
10.7 	including acquisition of necessary equipment and the costs of
10.8 	the commissioner to administer the program. The actual fee
10.9 	assessed under section 403.11 and the enhanced 911 service fee
10.10 	must be collected as one amount and may not exceed the amount
10.11 	specified in section 403.11, subdivision 1, paragraph (c).
10.12 	(b) The enhanced 911 service fee must be collected and
10.13 	deposited in the same manner as the fee in section 403.11 and
10.14 	used solely for the purposes of paragraph (a) and subdivision 3.
10.15 	(c) The commissioner, in consultation with counties and 911
10.16 	system users, shall determine the amount of the enhanced 911
10.17 	service fee grant.  The fee grant must include at least ten
10.18 	cents per month the amount funded in fiscal year 2005 to be
10.19 	distributed under subdivision 2. The commissioner shall inform
10.20 	wireless and wire-line telecommunications service providers that
10.21 	provide service capable of originating a 911 emergency telephone
10.22 	call of the total amount of the 911 service fees in the same
10.23 	manner as provided in section 403.11.

10.24 	Sec. 13. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 403.30,
10.25 	subdivision 1, is amended to read:
10.26 		Subdivision 1.Standing appropriation; costs covered.
 10.27 	For each fiscal year beginning with the fiscal year commencing
10.28 	July 1, 1997, the amount necessary to pay the following costs is
10.29 	appropriated to the commissioner of public safety from the 911
10.30 	emergency telecommunications service account established under
10.31 	section 403.11:
10.32 	(1) debt service costs and reserves for bonds issued
10.33 	pursuant to section 403.27;
10.34 	(2) repayment of the right-of-way acquisition loans;
10.35 	(3) costs of design, construction, maintenance of, and
10.36 	improvements to those elements of the first, second, and third
11.1 	phases that support mutual aid communications and emergency
11.2 	medical services;
11.3 	(4) recurring charges for leased sites and equipment for
11.4 	those elements of the first, second, and third phases that
11.5 	support mutual aid and emergency medical communication services;
11.6 	or
11.7 	(5) aid to local units of government for sites and
11.8 	equipment in support of mutual aid and emergency medical
11.9 	communications services.
11.10 	This appropriation shall be used to pay annual debt service
11.11 	costs and reserves for bonds issued pursuant to section 403.27
11.12 	prior to use of fee money to pay other costs eligible under this
11.13 	subdivision.  In no event shall the appropriation for each
11.14 	fiscal year exceed an amount equal to four cents a month for
11.15 	each customer access line or other basic access service,
11.16 	including trunk equivalents as designated by the Public
11.17 	Utilities Commission for access charge purposes and including
11.18 	cellular and other nonwire access services, in the fiscal
11.19 	year 4/40 of the amount collected by the fiscal year 2005 911
11.20 	fee.  Beginning July 1, 2004 2005, this amount will increase
11.21 	to 13 cents a month 13/40 of the amount collected by the fiscal
11.22 	year 2005 911 fee.

11.23 	Sec. 14. REPEALER.
 11.24 	(a) Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 237.69, subdivisions 5
11.25 	and 17, are repealed.
11.26 	(b) Laws 1999, chapter 125, section 4, as amended by Laws
11.27 	2002, chapter 398, section 7, is repealed.

11.28 	Sec. 15. EFFECTIVE DATE.
 11.29 	Sections 1 to 14 are effective the day following final
11.30 	enactment.