SF 685

1st Engrossment - 81st Legislature (1999 - 2000) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to telecommunications; deregulating 
  1.3             coin-operated or public pay telephones under state 
  1.4             law; authorizing the public utilities commission to 
  1.5             assess administrative penalties for anticompetitive 
  1.6             activities by telecommunication providers; amending 
  1.7             Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 237.5799; proposing 
  1.8             coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 237. 
  1.9   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.10     Section 1.  [237.036] [COIN-OPERATED OR PUBLIC PAY 
  1.11  TELEPHONES.] 
  1.12     (a) Neither commission approval or a commission certificate 
  1.13  is required to: 
  1.14     (1) site a coin-operated or public pay telephone in the 
  1.15  state; or 
  1.16     (2) implement changes in service, services offered, rates, 
  1.17  or location regarding a coin-operated or public pay telephone.  
  1.18  A certificate under section 237.16 is required to own or operate 
  1.19  a coin-operated or public pay telephone in the state. 
  1.20     (b) This section does not change the authority of other 
  1.21  state or local government entities to regulate aspects of 
  1.22  coin-operated or public pay telephone ownership, location, or 
  1.23  operation; however, an entity may not regulate aspects of these 
  1.24  services that it did not regulate prior to the effective date of 
  1.25  this section.  The commission shall retain the authority 
  1.26  delegated to it under federal and state law to protect the 
  1.27  public interest with regard to coin-operated or public pay 
  2.1   telephones. 
  2.2      (c) Owners and operators of coin-operated or public pay 
  2.3   telephones are exempt from sections 237.06, 237.07, 237.075, 
  2.4   237.09, 237.23, and 237.39 and the annual reporting requirement 
  2.5   of section 237.11. 
  2.6      (d) The commission shall require owners of coin-operated or 
  2.7   public pay telephones to provide free access to 911 and E-911 
  2.8   emergency services and to the telecommunications relay service 
  2.9   for the communication impaired.  Owners of coin-operated or 
  2.10  public pay telephones must post or offer via a toll-free number: 
  2.11     (1) customer service and complaint information, including 
  2.12  the name, address, and telephone number of the owner of the 
  2.13  coin-operated or public pay telephone and the operator service 
  2.14  handling calls from the coin-operated or public pay telephone; 
  2.15  the identities of the local exchange carrier handling local 
  2.16  calls and the telecommunications carriers handling long-distance 
  2.17  calls; instructions for accessing other local exchange or 
  2.18  interexchange carriers; a toll-free number of the appropriate 
  2.19  telephone company for the resolution of complaints; and the 
  2.20  toll-free number of the public utilities commission; and 
  2.21     (2) pricing information regarding rates, charges, terms, 
  2.22  and conditions of local and long-distance calls. 
  2.23     Sec. 2.  [237.462] [COMPETITIVE ENFORCEMENT; ADMINISTRATIVE 
  2.24  PENALTIES TO PROMOTE AND PROTECT LOCAL TELEPHONE COMPETITION.] 
  2.25     Subdivision 1.  [AUTHORITY TO ISSUE PENALTY ORDERS.] After 
  2.26  a proceeding under section 237.081, the commission may issue an 
  2.27  order administratively assessing monetary penalties for knowing 
  2.28  and intentional violations of sections 237.09, 237.121, and 
  2.29  237.16, any rules adopted under those sections, any standards, 
  2.30  limitations, or conditions established in a commission order 
  2.31  pursuant to those sections, and any substantive violation of an 
  2.32  approved interconnection agreement.  The penalty order must be 
  2.33  issued as provided in this section. 
  2.34     Subd. 2.  [AMOUNT OF PENALTY; CONSIDERATIONS.] (a) The 
  2.35  commission may issue an order assessing a penalty of between 
  2.36  $100 and $5,000 per day for each violation. 
  3.1      (b) In determining the amount of a penalty, the commission 
  3.2   shall consider: 
  3.3      (1) the willfulness of the violation; 
  3.4      (2) the gravity of the violation, including the harm to 
  3.5   customers or competitors; 
  3.6      (3) the history of past violations, including the gravity 
  3.7   of past violations and the time lapsed since the last violation; 
  3.8      (4) the number of violations; 
  3.9      (5) the economic benefit gained by the person committing 
  3.10  the violation; 
  3.11     (6) any corrective action taken or planned by the person 
  3.12  committing the violation; and 
  3.13     (7) other factors as determined by the commission, if the 
  3.14  commission specifically identifies the additional factors in the 
  3.15  commission's order. 
  3.16     Subd. 3.  [BURDEN OF PROOF.] The commission may not assess 
  3.17  a penalty under this section unless the record in the proceeding 
  3.18  establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that the penalty 
  3.19  is justified based on the factors identified in subdivision 2. 
  3.20     Subd. 4.  [CONTENTS OF ORDER.] An order assessing an 
  3.21  administrative penalty under this section shall include: 
  3.22     (1) a concise statement of the facts alleged to constitute 
  3.23  a violation; 
  3.24     (2) a reference to the section of the statute, rule, or 
  3.25  order that has been violated; 
  3.26     (3) a statement of the amount of the administrative penalty 
  3.27  to be imposed and the factors upon which the penalty is based; 
  3.28  and 
  3.29     (4) a statement of the person's right to review of the 
  3.30  order. 
  3.31     Subd. 5.  [PENALTY STAYED.] A penalty imposed under this 
  3.32  section shall not be payable sooner than 31 days after the 
  3.33  commission issues its final order assessing the penalty.  The 
  3.34  person subject to the penalty may appeal the commission's 
  3.35  penalty order under sections 14.63 to 14.68.  If the person does 
  3.36  appeal the commission's penalty order, the penalty shall not be 
  4.1   payable until either the Minnesota court of appeals issues a 
  4.2   decision sustaining the commission's penalty order or the person 
  4.3   withdraws the appeal. 
  4.4      Subd. 6.  [EXPEDITED PROCEEDING.] The commission may 
  4.5   initiate an expedited proceeding under section 237.61, in lieu 
  4.6   of a contested case under chapter 14, to develop an evidentiary 
  4.7   record in any proceeding covered by this section that involves 
  4.8   contested issues of material fact.  An expedited proceeding 
  4.9   under this subdivision shall be governed by the following 
  4.10  procedural rules: 
  4.11     (1) the parties shall have the discovery rights provided in 
  4.12  Minnesota Rules, parts 1400.6700 to 1400.7000; 
  4.13     (2) the parties shall have the right to cross-examine 
  4.14  witnesses as provided in section 14.60, subdivision 3; 
  4.15     (3) the admissibility of evidence and development of record 
  4.16  for decision shall be governed by section 14.60 and Minnesota 
  4.17  Rules, part 1400.7300; 
  4.18     (4) if practicable, three commissioners shall preside at a 
  4.19  hearing under this subdivision; and 
  4.20     (5) the commission may, by standing order, apply other 
  4.21  procedures or standards included in the rules of the office of 
  4.22  administrative hearings, as necessary to ensure the fair and 
  4.23  expeditious resolution of disputes under this section. 
  4.24     Subd. 7.  [TEMPORARY RELIEF.] After providing opportunity 
  4.25  for notice and comment, the commission may order the person 
  4.26  accused of violating section 237.09, 237.121, or 237.16 any 
  4.27  rules adopted under those sections, any standards, limitations, 
  4.28  or conditions established in a commission order pursuant to 
  4.29  those sections, or any substantive violation of an approved 
  4.30  interconnection agreement to cease the conduct which allegedly 
  4.31  violates those provisions, pending completion of any evidentiary 
  4.32  hearings under this section, provided that the commission finds 
  4.33  the temporary cessation of such conduct is necessary to protect 
  4.34  the public's interest in fair and reasonable competition. 
  4.35     Subd. 8.  [ENFORCEMENT.] The attorney general, on behalf of 
  4.36  the state, may proceed to enforce and collect penalties that are 
  5.1   due and payable under this section in any manner provided to the 
  5.2   attorney general by other law. 
  5.3      Subd. 9.  [CUMULATIVE REMEDIES.] The attorney general may 
  5.4   not seek civil penalties under section 237.461 for the same 
  5.5   violations for which the commission has issued an order imposing 
  5.6   administrative monetary penalties under this section.  The 
  5.7   imposition of administrative penalties in accordance with this 
  5.8   section is in addition to all other remedies available under 
  5.9   statutory or common law.  The payment of a penalty does not 
  5.10  preclude the use of other enforcement provisions, under which 
  5.11  penalties are not assessed, in connection with the violation or 
  5.12  violations for which the penalty was assessed. 
  5.13     Subd. 10.  [APPLICATION.] This section applies to any 
  5.14  telecommunications provider, telephone company, or 
  5.15  telecommunications carrier offering local telephone service 
  5.16  within the service territory of a telephone company with 50,000 
  5.17  subscribers or more.  
  5.18     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 237.5799, is 
  5.19  amended to read: 
  5.20     237.5799 [EXPIRATION OF COMPETITIVE SERVICE LAWS.] 
  5.21     Sections 237.58, 237.59, 237.60, subdivisions 1, 2, and 5, 
  5.22  237.61, 237.62, and 237.625, 237.63, 237.64, 237.65, and 237.68 
  5.23  expire on August 1, 1999. 
  5.24     Sec. 4.  [SUNSET.] 
  5.25     Section 2 and Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 237.63, 
  5.26  237.64, 237.65, and 237.68 expire as of December 31, 2004. 
  5.27     Sec. 5.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  5.28     This act is effective the day following final enactment but 
  5.29  section 2 does not apply to dockets pending on the effective 
  5.30  date.