as introduced - 84th Legislature (2005 - 2006) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am
Engrossments | ||
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Introduction | Posted on 03/07/2005 |
A bill for an act
relating to telecommunications; providing for
standardized provider contracts; proposing coding for
new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 237.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
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(a) By
July 1, 2006, the commission shall, by rule or order, develop
standards for contracts under which a service provider may
choose to offer service to Minnesota residential and business
customers. A contract under this section may be offered in lieu
of a tariff filed at the commission if a tariff would otherwise
be required under this chapter.
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(b) For the purposes of this section, "service provider"
means a provider of real time, two-way voice service using
numbers allocated for Minnesota assigned by the North American
Numbering Plan Administration to interconnect with the public
switched telephone network.
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A contract
offered under this section must comply with all Minnesota laws
governing contracts and provide at least the following consumer
protections:
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(1) detailed disclosure of the rates and terms of service,
including activation or initiation fees; monthly access fees or
base charges; any required contract term; early termination
fees; whether prices or benefits apply only for a limited time,
and if so, the fees or charges to be paid for the remainder of
the contract term; and whether any additional taxes, fees, or
surcharges apply;
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(2) a trial period for new service and clear disclosure of
the terms and conditions of the trial period;
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(3) confirmation by the customer of changes in material
terms and conditions of service and the customer's right to
terminate for those changes;
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(4) a clear and separate identification of telephone
company charges from government-imposed taxes and fees on
billing statements;
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(5) easy access to customer service;
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(6) specific complaint resolution guidelines and a
prohibition of mandatory arbitration requirements;
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(7) protection of the customer's personal information and
privacy; and
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(8) compliance with the federal Communications Assistance
for Law Enforcement Act.
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In addition to the
requirements for the protection of consumers under subdivision
2, the contract must provide for reasonable and appropriate
contributions for the 911 emergency response system; the
telephone assistance plan and telecommunications access
Minnesota programs; and telecommunications regulatory fees, as
well as for reasonable intercarrier compensation and financial
support for the public switched telephone network.
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For each type of service provider that is subject
to this chapter, the commission's rule or order under this
section must specify the requirements under which that type of
provider may elect to offer service under a contract under this
section and the regulatory requirements under this chapter, such
as tariff filing and approval, for which the commission would
forbear from applying to service offered under the contract.
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(a) A specific
contract developed under subdivision 1 must be filed with the
commissioner of commerce ten days prior to being used by a
service provider to offer service under the contract. The
commissioner is initially responsible for resolving disputes
arising under contracts developed under this section, subject to
appeal to the commission.
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(b) The commission shall rescind the ability of a service
provider to offer service under a contract pursuant to this
section upon a finding of a violation or violations of this
section or the contract, if the commission determines that doing
so is in the public interest.
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