SF 1370

2nd Engrossment - 84th Legislature (2005 - 2006) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to telecommunications; establishing a single
per number fee for certain telecommunications
programs; regulating wireless telephone directories;
creating a task force on telecommunications;
regulating cancellation of long distance service;
authorizing the city of Alexandria to enter into
certain telecommunication joint ventures; providing
penalties; appropriating money; amending Minnesota
Statutes 2004, sections 237.295, subdivisions 1, 2;
237.69, subdivision 16, by adding a subdivision;
237.70, subdivisions 2, 5; 237.701, subdivision 1;
237.74, by adding a subdivision; 403.06, subdivision
1a; 403.11, subdivision 1; 403.113, subdivision 1;
403.30, subdivision 1; Laws 2002, chapter 329, section
5; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes,
chapters 237; 325E; 325F; repealing Minnesota Statutes
2004, section 237.69, subdivisions 5, 17; Laws 1999,
chapter 125, section 4, as amended.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

ARTICLE 1

PER NUMBER FEE

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 237.295,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

deleted text begin payment for investigation deleted text end new text begin filing fee for
new authority new text end .

deleted text begin (a) Whenever the department or commission, in a
proceeding upon its own motion, on complaint, or upon an
application to it, considers it necessary, in order to carry out
the duties imposed on it, to investigate the books, accounts,
practices, and activities of any company, parties to the
proceeding shall pay the expenses reasonably attributable to the
proceeding. The department and commission shall ascertain the
expenses, and the department shall render a bill for those
expenses to the parties, at the conclusion of the proceeding.
The department is authorized to submit billings to parties at
intervals selected by the department during the course of a
proceeding.
deleted text end

deleted text begin (b) The allocation of costs may be adjusted for cause by
the commission during the course of the proceeding, or upon the
closing of the docket and issuance of an order. In addition to
the rights granted in subdivision 3, parties to a proceeding may
object to the allocation at any time during the proceeding.
Withdrawal by a party to a proceeding does not absolve the party
from paying allocated costs as determined by the commission.
The commission may decide that a party should not pay any
allocated costs of the proceeding.
deleted text end

deleted text begin (c) The bill constitutes notice of the assessment and a
demand for payment. The amount of the bills assessed by the
department under this subdivision must be paid by the parties
into the state treasury within 30 days from the date of
assessment. The total amount, in a calendar year, for which a
telephone company may become liable, by reason of costs incurred
by the department and commission within that calendar year, may
not exceed two-fifths of one percent of the gross jurisdictional
operating revenue of the telephone company in the last preceding
calendar year. Direct charges may be assessed without regard to
this limitation until the gross jurisdictional operating revenue
of the telephone company for the preceding calendar year has
been reported for the first time. Where, under this
subdivision, costs are incurred within a calendar year that are
in excess of two-fifths of one percent of the gross
jurisdictional operating revenues, the excess costs are not
chargeable as part of the remainder under subdivision 2.
deleted text end

deleted text begin (d) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (e), for
purposes of assessing the cost of a proceeding to a party,
"party" means any entity or group subject to the laws and rules
of this state, however organized, whether public or private,
whether domestic or foreign, whether for profit or nonprofit,
and whether natural, corporate, or political, such as a business
or commercial enterprise organized as any type or combination of
corporation, limited liability company, partnership, limited
liability partnership, proprietorship, association, cooperative,
joint venture, carrier, or utility, and any successor or
assignee of any of them; a social or charitable organization;
and any type or combination of political subdivision, which
includes the executive, judicial, or legislative branch of the
state, a local government unit, an agency of the state or a
local government unit, or a combination of any of them.
deleted text end

deleted text begin (e) For assessment and billing purposes, "party" does not
include the Department of Commerce or the Residential Utilities
Division of the Office of Attorney General; any entity or group
instituted primarily for the purpose of mutual help and not
conducted for profit; intervenors awarded compensation under
section 237.075, subdivision 10; or any individual or group or
counsel for the individual or group representing the interests
of end users or classes of end users of services provided by
telephone companies or telecommunications carriers, as
determined by the commission deleted text end new text begin An application for a new authority
must be accompanied by a payment not to exceed $2,000 as
determined by the Public Utilities Commission. This fee will be
reviewed annually and adjusted accordingly new text end .

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 237.295,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Assessment of costs.

The department and
commission shall quarterly, at least 30 days before the start of
each quarter, estimate the total of their expenditures in the
performance of their duties relating to telephone companies,
other than amounts chargeable to telephone companies under
subdivision 1, 5, or 6. The remainder must be assessed by the
department to the telephone companies operating in this state in
proportion to their respective gross jurisdictional operating
revenues during the last calendar year. The assessment must be
paid into the state treasury within 30 days after the bill has
been mailed to the telephone companies. The bill constitutes
notice of the assessment and demand of payment. deleted text begin The total
amount that may be assessed to the telephone companies under
this subdivision may not exceed one-eighth of one percent of the
total gross jurisdictional operating revenues during the
calendar year. deleted text end The assessment for the third quarter of each
fiscal year must be adjusted to compensate for the amount by
which actual expenditures by the commission and department for
the preceding fiscal year were more or less than the estimated
expenditures previously assessed. A telephone company with
gross jurisdictional operating revenues of less than $5,000 is
exempt from assessments under this subdivision.

Sec. 3.

new text begin [237.491] COMBINED PER NUMBER FEE.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Definitions. new text end

new text begin (a) The definitions in this
subdivision apply to this section.
new text end

new text begin (b) "911 emergency and public safety communications program"
means the program governed by chapter 403.
new text end

new text begin (c) "Service provider" means a provider doing business in
Minnesota who provides real time, two-way voice service with a
Minnesota telephone number. "Minnesota telephone number" means
a ten-digit telephone number being used to connect to the public
switched telephone network and starting with area code 651, 612,
763, 952, 320, 218, or 507, or any subsequent area code assigned
to Minnesota.
new text end

new text begin (d) "Telecommunications access Minnesota program" means the
program governed by sections 237.50 to 237.55.
new text end

new text begin (e) "Telephone assistance program" means the program
governed by sections 237.69 to 237.711.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Per number fee. new text end

new text begin (a) By July 1, 2006, the Public
Utilities Commission shall establish a fee that applies to each
service provider based upon the number of Minnesota telephone
numbers in use by current customers of the service provider.
The fee must be set at a level calculated to generate only the
amount of revenue necessary to fund:
new text end

new text begin (1) the telephone assistance program and the
telecommunications access Minnesota program at the levels
established by the commission under sections 237.52, subdivision
2, and 237.70; and
new text end

new text begin (2) the 911 emergency and public safety communications
program at the levels certified by the commissioner of public
safety for purposes of sections 403.11, 403.113, 403.27, 403.30,
and 403.31 for current fiscal years.
new text end

new text begin (b) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the Public
Utilities Commission shall, by order, establish the procedures
by which each service provider, to the extent allowed under
federal law, shall collect and remit the fee proceeds to the
Department of Revenue. The commissioner of revenue shall
allocate the fee proceeds to the three funding areas in
paragraph (a) and shall deposit the allocations into the
appropriate accounts.
new text end

new text begin (c) The per access line fee used to collect revenues to
support the TAP, TAM, and 911 programs shall remain in effect
until replaced by the per telephone number fee.
new text end

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 237.69,
subdivision 16, is amended to read:

Subd. 16.

Telephone assistance plan.

"Telephone
assistance plan" means the plan to be adopted by the commission
and to be jointly administered by the commission, the Department
of deleted text begin Human Services, and the telephone companies, deleted text end new text begin Commerce, and
the local service providers, new text end as required by sections 237.69 to
237.711.

Sec. 5.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 237.69, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:

new text begin Subd. 18. new text end

new text begin Local service provider. new text end

new text begin "Local service
provider" means:
new text end

new text begin (1) a telephone company or telecommunications carrier
providing local service in Minnesota pursuant to a certificate
of authority granted by the commission; or
new text end

new text begin (2) a commercial mobile radio service (CMRS) provider,
personal communications services (PCS) provider, or other
wireless provider offering the functional equivalent of CMRS or
PCS in Minnesota, which has been designated by the commission as
an eligible telecommunications carrier in Minnesota pursuant to
47 United States Code, section 214, and relevant federal
regulations.
new text end

Sec. 6.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 237.70,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Scope.

The telephone assistance plan must be
statewide and apply to local service providers that provide
deleted text begin local exchange deleted text end service in Minnesota.

Sec. 7.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 237.70,
subdivision 5, is amended to read:

Subd. 5.

Nature and extent of credits.

The telephone
assistance plan may provide for telephone assistance credits to
eligible households up to the amounts available under the
federal matching plan. However, the credits available under the
telephone assistance plan may not exceed:

(1) more than 50 percent of the local deleted text begin exchange deleted text end rate charged
for the local deleted text begin exchange deleted text end service provided to the household by that
household's local service provider; and

(2) the level of credits that can actually be funded in
accordance with the limitations contained in subdivision 6.

Sec. 8.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 237.701,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Fund created; authorized expenditures.

The telephone assistance fund is created as a separate account
in the state treasury to consist of amounts received by the
commissioner of public safety representing the surcharge
authorized by section 237.70, subdivision 6, and amounts earned
on the fund assets. Money in the fund may be used only for:

(1) reimbursement to local service providers for expenses
and credits allowed in section 237.70, subdivision 7, paragraph
(d), clause (5);

(2) reimbursement of the new text begin reasonable new text end administrative expenses
of the commission deleted text begin not to exceed $25,000 annually deleted text end new text begin , a portion of
which may be used for periodic promotional activities,
including, but not limited to, radio or newspaper
advertisements, to inform eligible households of the
availability of the telephone assistance program new text end ; and

(3) reimbursement of the statewide indirect cost of the
commission.

Sec. 9.

new text begin [325F.991] 911 EMERGENCY PHONE SERVICE
REPRESENTATIONS.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Definitions. new text end

new text begin For purposes of this
section, the terms defined in this subdivision have the meanings
given them.
new text end

new text begin (a) "911 emergency telecommunications system" means a
dedicated emergency telecommunications system required by
section 403.025.
new text end

new text begin (b) "Person" means an individual, corporation, firm, or
other legal entity.
new text end

new text begin (c) "Service provider" means a person doing business in
Minnesota who provides real time, two-way voice service
interconnected with the public switched telephone network using
numbers allocated for Minnesota by the North American Numbering
Plan Administration.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Representations of 911 service. new text end

new text begin A person shall
not advertise, market, or otherwise represent that the person
furnishes a service capable of providing access to emergency
services by dialing 911 unless the person provides a service
that routes 911 calls through the 911 emergency
telecommunications system.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Disclosure. new text end

new text begin A service provider that does not
provide 911 dialing that routes 911 calls through the 911
emergency telecommunications system must disclose that fact in
all advertisements, marketing materials, and contracts. The
disclosure must be in capital letters, in 12-point font, and on
the front page of the advertisement, marketing materials, and
contracts. The disclosure must state: "THIS SERVICE DOES NOT
ROUTE 911 CALLS THROUGH THE 911 EMERGENCY SYSTEM."
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Certain calls not 911 calls. new text end

new text begin For purposes of
this section, 911 calls routed to the general access number at a
public safety answering point do not qualify as being routed
through a 911 emergency telecommunications system.
new text end

Sec. 10.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 403.06,
subdivision 1a, is amended to read:

Subd. 1a.

Biennial budget; annual financial report.

The
commissioner shall prepare a biennial budget for maintaining the
911 system. By December 15 of each year, the commissioner shall
submit a report to the legislature detailing the expenditures
for maintaining the 911 system, the 911 fees deleted text begin collected deleted text end new text begin deposited
by the Department of Revenue new text end , the balance of the 911 fund, and
the 911-related administrative expenses of the commissioner.
The commissioner is authorized to expend money that has been
appropriated to pay for the maintenance, enhancements, and
expansion of the 911 system.

Sec. 11.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 403.11,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Emergency telecommunications service fee.

(a) Each customer of a wireless or wire-line telecommunications
service provider that furnishes service capable of originating a
911 emergency telephone call is assessed a fee new text begin under section
237.491 new text end to cover the costs of ongoing maintenance and related
improvements for trunking and central office switching equipment
for 911 emergency telecommunications service, plus
administrative and staffing costs of the commissioner related to
managing the 911 emergency telecommunications service program.
Recurring charges by a wire-line telecommunications service
provider for updating the information required by section
403.07, subdivision 3, must be paid by the commissioner if the
wire-line telecommunications service provider is included in an
approved 911 plan and the charges are made pursuant to tariff,
price list, or contract. new text begin A portion of new text end the fee assessed under
deleted text begin this deleted text end section new text begin 237.491 new text end must also be used for the purpose of
offsetting the costs, including administrative and staffing
costs, incurred by the State Patrol Division of the Department
of Public Safety in handling 911 emergency calls made from
wireless phones.

(b) Money remaining in the 911 emergency telecommunications
service account after all other obligations are paid must not
cancel and is carried forward to subsequent years and may be
appropriated from time to time to the commissioner to provide
financial assistance to counties for the improvement of local
emergency telecommunications services. The improvements may
include providing access to 911 service for telecommunications
service subscribers currently without access and upgrading
existing 911 service to include automatic number identification,
local location identification, automatic location
identification, and other improvements specified in revised
county 911 plans approved by the commissioner.

(c) deleted text begin The fee may not be less than eight cents nor more than
40 cents a month for each customer access line or other basic
access service, including trunk equivalents as designated by the
Public Utilities Commission for access charge purposes and
including wireless telecommunications services. With the
approval of the commissioner of finance, the commissioner of
public safety shall establish the amount of the fee within the
limits specified and inform the companies and carriers of the
amount to be collected. When the revenue bonds authorized under
section 403.27, subdivision 1, have been fully paid or defeased,
the commissioner shall reduce the fee to reflect that debt
service on the bonds is no longer needed. The commissioner
shall provide companies and carriers a minimum of 45 days'
notice of each fee change. The fee must be the same for all
customers.
deleted text end

deleted text begin (d) The fee must be collected by each wireless or wire-line
telecommunications service provider subject to the fee. Fees
are payable to and must be submitted to the commissioner monthly
before the 25th of each month following the month of collection,
except that fees may be submitted quarterly if less than $250 a
month is due, or annually if less than $25 a month is due.
Receipts must be deposited in the state treasury and credited to
a 911 emergency telecommunications service account in the
special revenue fund. The money in the account may only be used
for 911 telecommunications services.
deleted text end

deleted text begin (e) deleted text end This subdivision does not apply to customers of
interexchange carriers.

deleted text begin (f) deleted text end new text begin (d) new text end The installation and recurring charges for
integrating wireless 911 calls into enhanced 911 systems must be
paid by the commissioner if the 911 service provider is included
in the statewide design plan and the charges are made pursuant
to tariff, price list, or contract.

Sec. 12.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 403.113,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

deleted text begin fee deleted text end new text begin grant new text end .

(a) deleted text begin Each customer receiving
service from a wireless or wire-line telecommunications service
provider is assessed a fee deleted text end new text begin The commissioner shall budget for and
provide grants to PSAPs new text end to fund implementation, operation,
maintenance, enhancement, and expansion of enhanced 911 service,
including acquisition of necessary equipment and the costs of
the commissioner to administer the program. deleted text begin The actual fee
assessed under section 403.11 and the enhanced 911 service fee
must be collected as one amount and may not exceed the amount
specified in section 403.11, subdivision 1, paragraph (c).
deleted text end

(b) deleted text begin The enhanced 911 service fee must be collected and
deposited in the same manner as the fee in section 403.11 and
used solely for the purposes of paragraph (a) and subdivision 3.
deleted text end

deleted text begin (c) deleted text end The commissioner, in consultation with counties and 911
system users, shall determine the amount of the enhanced 911
service deleted text begin fee deleted text end new text begin grant new text end . The deleted text begin fee deleted text end new text begin grant new text end must include at least deleted text begin ten
cents per month deleted text end new text begin the amount funded in fiscal year 2005 new text end to be
distributed under subdivision 2. deleted text begin The commissioner shall inform
wireless and wire-line telecommunications service providers that
provide service capable of originating a 911 emergency telephone
call of the total amount of the 911 service fees in the same
manner as provided in section 403.11.
deleted text end

Sec. 13.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 403.30,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Standing appropriation; costs covered.

For each fiscal year beginning with the fiscal year commencing
July 1, 1997, the amount necessary to pay the following costs is
appropriated to the commissioner of public safety from the 911
emergency telecommunications service account established under
section 403.11:

(1) debt service costs and reserves for bonds issued
pursuant to section 403.27;

(2) repayment of the right-of-way acquisition loans;

(3) costs of design, construction, maintenance of, and
improvements to those elements of the first, second, and third
phases that support mutual aid communications and emergency
medical services;

(4) recurring charges for leased sites and equipment for
those elements of the first, second, and third phases that
support mutual aid and emergency medical communication services;
or

(5) aid to local units of government for sites and
equipment in support of mutual aid and emergency medical
communications services.

This appropriation shall be used to pay annual debt service
costs and reserves for bonds issued pursuant to section 403.27
prior to use of fee money to pay other costs eligible under this
subdivision. In no event shall the appropriation for each
fiscal year exceed an amount equal to deleted text begin four cents a month for
each customer access line or other basic access service,
including trunk equivalents as designated by the Public
Utilities Commission for access charge purposes and including
cellular and other nonwire access services, in the fiscal
year deleted text end new text begin 4/40 of the amount collected by the fiscal year 2005 911
fee new text end . Beginning July 1, deleted text begin 2004 deleted text end new text begin 2005 new text end , this amount will increase
to deleted text begin 13 cents a month deleted text end new text begin 13/40 of the amount collected by the fiscal
year 2005 911 fee new text end .

Sec. 14. new text begin REPEALER.
new text end

new text begin (a) Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 237.69, subdivisions 5
and 17, are repealed.
new text end

new text begin (b) Laws 1999, chapter 125, section 4, as amended by Laws
2002, chapter 398, section 2, is repealed.
new text end

Sec. 15. new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE.
new text end

new text begin Sections 1 to 14 are effective the day following final
enactment.
new text end

ARTICLE 2

WIRELESS DIRECTORIES

Section 1.

new text begin [325E.317] DEFINITIONS.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Scope. new text end

new text begin For the purposes of sections
325E.317 and 325E.318, the terms defined in this section have
the meanings given them.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Provider. new text end

new text begin "Provider" means a provider of
wireless telecommunications services.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Telecommunications
services. new text end

new text begin "Telecommunications services" has the meaning given
in section 297A.61, subdivision 24, paragraph (a).
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Wireless directory assistance
service. new text end

new text begin "Wireless directory assistance service" means any
service for connecting calling parties to a wireless
telecommunications services customer when the calling parties
themselves do not possess the customer's wireless telephone
number information.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Wireless telecommunications services. new text end

new text begin "Wireless
telecommunications services" has the meaning given in section
325F.695.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 6. new text end

new text begin Wireless telephone directory. new text end

new text begin "Wireless
telephone directory" means a directory or database containing
wireless telephone number information or any other identifying
information by which a calling party may reach a wireless
telecommunications services customer.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 7. new text end

new text begin Wireless telephone number
information. new text end

new text begin "Wireless telephone number information" means the
telephone number, electronic address, and any other identifying
information by which a calling party may reach a wireless
telecommunications services customer, which is assigned by a
provider to the customer and includes the customer's name and
address.
new text end

Sec. 2.

new text begin [325E.318] WIRELESS DIRECTORIES.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Notice. new text end

new text begin No provider of wireless
telecommunications service, or any direct or indirect affiliate
or agent of a provider, may include the wireless telephone
number information of a customer in a wireless telephone
directory assistance service database or publish, sell, or
otherwise disseminate the contents of a wireless telephone
directory assistance service database unless the provider
provides a conspicuous notice to the subscriber informing the
subscriber that the subscriber will not be listed in a wireless
directory assistance service database without the subscriber's
prior express authorization.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Authorization. new text end

new text begin (a) A provider, or any direct or
indirect affiliate or agent of a provider, may not disclose,
provide, or sell a customer's wireless telephone number
information, or any part thereof, for inclusion in a wireless
telephone directory of any form, and may not sell a wireless
telephone directory containing a customer's wireless telephone
number information without first receiving prior express
authorization from the customer. The customer's authorization
must meet the following requirements:
new text end

new text begin (1) consent shall be affirmatively obtained separately from
the execution of the service contract via verifiable means; and
new text end

new text begin (2) consent shall be unambiguous and conspicuously disclose
that the subscriber is consenting to have the customer's dialing
number sold or licensed as part of a publicly available
directory assistance database.
new text end

new text begin (b) A record of the authorization shall be maintained for
the duration of the service contract or any extension of the
contract.
new text end

new text begin (c) A subscriber who provides express consent pursuant to
paragraph (a) may revoke that consent at any time. A provider
must comply with the customer's request to be removed from the
directory and remove such listing from directory assistance
within 60 days.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin No fee to retain privacy. new text end

new text begin A customer shall not
be charged for opting not to be listed in a wireless telephone
directory.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Remedies. new text end

new text begin A person who violates this section is
subject to the remedies under section 8.31, except subdivision
3a.
new text end

Sec. 3. new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE.
new text end

new text begin Sections 1 and 2 are effective the day following final
enactment.
new text end

ARTICLE 3

TASK FORCE ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Section 1. new text begin JOINT LEGISLATIVE TASK FORCE ON
TELECOMMUNICATIONS.
new text end

new text begin (a) The joint legislative task force on telecommunications
is created. It consists of five members from each body of the
Minnesota legislature, two of whom must be from the minority
caucus in each body, to be designated by the chairs of the
senate and house committees having subject matter responsibility
for telecommunications. The cochairs are the respective chairs
of the senate and house committees having subject matter
responsibility for telecommunications, or their designees.
Members must include at least one representative from the
following stakeholder groups recommended by the legislative
members of the task force and invited to participate by the
cochairs:
new text end

new text begin (1) Minnesota Telecommunications Alliance;
new text end

new text begin (2) competitive local exchange carriers;
new text end

new text begin (3) large ILECS;
new text end

new text begin (4) small ILECS;
new text end

new text begin (5) long-distance providers;
new text end

new text begin (6) wireless providers;
new text end

new text begin (7) cable services providers;
new text end

new text begin (8) Internet service;
new text end

new text begin (9) VOIP providers;
new text end

new text begin (10) cable services administrator associations;
new text end

new text begin (11) municipal associations;
new text end

new text begin (12) municipal utilities associations;
new text end

new text begin (13) residential consumer associations (five members);
new text end

new text begin (14) business consumer associations (two members);
new text end

new text begin (15) office of the attorney general;
new text end

new text begin (16) Department of Commerce; and
new text end

new text begin (17) Public Utilities Commission (ex officio).
new text end

new text begin (b) The task force must:
new text end

new text begin (1) conduct a full review of existing Minnesota
telecommunications regulation and rules in chapters 237 and 238;
and
new text end

new text begin (2) make recommendations for revision of Minnesota
telecommunications regulation and rules by January 15, 2006, to
the Minnesota Senate Jobs, Energy and Community Development
Committee and to the Minnesota House Regulated Industries
Committee.
new text end

new text begin (c) On request by the cochairs of the task force, the
commissioner of commerce shall assess from telephone companies,
in addition to assessments made under section 237.295, the
amount requested for the operation of the task force but not to
exceed $100,000 in a fiscal year. The amount assessed is
appropriated to the Department of Commerce for the purposes of
the task force, and is available until expended. The department
shall apportion those costs among all telephone companies in
proportion to their respective gross operating revenues from the
sale of telephone services within the state during the last
calendar year. The department shall assess telephone companies
and issue bills in accordance with the billing and assessment
procedures provided in section 237.295, to the extent that these
procedures do not conflict with this section.
new text end

new text begin (d) The Department of Commerce must provide staff and
expertise to the task force directly or by contract and may
reimburse the expenses of persons requested to assist the task
force in its duties other than state employees or employees of
telephone companies. The Department of Commerce must provide
administrative assistance to the task force.
new text end

new text begin (e) The joint legislative task force on telecommunications
shall expire July 1, 2007.
new text end

ARTICLE 4

CANCELLATION OF LONG DISTANCE SERVICE

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 237.74, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:

new text begin Subd. 14. new text end

new text begin Cancellation of long distance service. new text end

new text begin (a) A
telecommunications carrier providing long distance service may
not charge a customer for long distance service after the
customer has requested that carrier to cancel the customer's
long distance service.
new text end

new text begin (b) Notwithstanding the limitation on charges in paragraph
(a), if a customer with a fixed term contract requests that a
telecommunications carrier providing long distance service
cancel that customer's long distance service, the
telecommunications carrier may charge the customer for long
distance service until the end of the contract term but not
after the end of the contract term.
new text end

new text begin (c) A telecommunications carrier providing long distance
service may not require a customer to contact the customer's
local telephone service provider in order for the customer to
cancel long distance service with the carrier.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective August 1, 2006.
new text end

ARTICLE 5

CITY OF ALEXANDRIA JOINT VENTURE AUTHORITY

Section 1.

Laws 2002, chapter 329, section 5, is amended
to read:

Sec. 5 new text begin JOINT VENTURE AUTHORITY.
new text end

(a) The city of Alexandria may enter into a joint
venture new text begin or joint ventures new text end with new text begin one, two, or three of the
entities known as new text end Runestone Telephone Association deleted text begin and deleted text end new text begin , new text end Runestone
Electric Association new text begin , and Gardonville Telephone Cooperative new text end for
the purpose of providing local niche service, including internet
services, and point to point transmission of digital information.

(b) For purposes of this section, with respect to the
services described in paragraph (a), the city of Alexandria and
a joint venture to which it is a party shall have the rights and
authority granted by, and be subject to, Minnesota Statutes 2001
Supplement, section 452.25, except for the provisions of that
section which relate specifically and only to electric utilities.

(c) For the purposes of this section, "local niche service"
refers to point-to-point connections between end-user locations
within a service area and any telecommunications services under
the public utilities commission's jurisdiction under Minnesota
Statutes, chapter 237 that do not fall within the definition of
local service or the definition of interexchange service.

new text begin (d) If the city of Alexandria obtains authority to provide
local service or interexchange service under chapter 237, it may
enter into a joint venture with the entities identified in
paragraph (a) for those purposes.
new text end

[EFFECTIVE DATE; LOCAL APPROVAL.] new text begin This section is effective
as to the city of Alexandria the day after the city of
Alexandria's governing body and its chief clerical officer
timely complete compliance with Minnesota Statutes, section
645.021, subdivisions 2 and 3.
new text end