Legislative Session number- 83

Bill Name: SF2774

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)