Minnesota Session Laws - 2003, Regular Session

                             CHAPTER 97-H.F.No. 671 
                  An act relating to telecommunications; regulating 
                  promotions and packages of telephone company services; 
                  removing sunset expiration dates for alternative 
                  regulation plans for telecommunications providers and 
                  highway weight limit exemptions for utility vehicles; 
                  amending Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 237.626; 
                  Laws 1995, chapter 156, section 25; Laws 2000, chapter 
                  433, section 4. 
        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
           Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 237.626, is 
        amended to read: 
           237.626 [PROMOTION ACTIVITIES.] 
           Subdivision 1.  [PROMOTIONS.] A telephone company may 
        promote the use of its services by offering a waiver of part or 
        all of a recurring or a nonrecurring charge, a redemption 
        coupon, or a premium with the purchase of a service.  Section 
        237.09 does not apply to promotions under this section, but the 
        customer group to which the promotion is available must be based 
        on reasonable distinctions among customers.  No single promotion 
        may be effective for longer than 90 days at a time.  The 
        benefits to a particular customer of a promotion must not extend 
        beyond nine months.  The service being promoted must have a 
        price that is above the incremental cost of the service, 
        including amortized cost of the promotion.  A promotion may take 
        effect the day after the notice is filed with the commission.  
        The notice must identify customers to whom the promotion is 
        available and include cost information demonstrating that the 
        revenue from the service covers incremental cost, including cost 
        of the promotion.  A telephone company that offers a promotion 
        under this section shall file a report on the promotion with the 
        commission and the department within 90 days of the conclusion 
        of the promotion.  A telephone company is not required to file 
        cost information except upon request of the department, the 
        office of the attorney general, or the commission to determine 
        if a promotion complies with applicable legal requirements.  
        Within five business days of receipt of a request pursuant to 
        this subdivision, or an order of the commission, the telephone 
        company shall provide the requested cost information 
        demonstrating the service being promoted has a price above the 
        incremental cost of service to the office of the attorney 
        general, the department, and the commission.  The telephone 
        company shall file this cost information with the commission 
        soon thereafter.  
           Subd. 2.  [BUNDLED SERVICE.] (a) A telephone company may 
        offer telecommunications services subject to the regulatory 
        jurisdiction of the commission as part of a package of services 
        that may include goods and services other than those subject to 
        the commission's regulatory jurisdiction.  Subject to the 
        requirements of this chapter and the associated rules and orders 
        of the commission applicable to those regulated services, a 
        telephone company may establish the prices, terms, and 
        conditions of a package of services, except that: 
           (1) each telecommunications service subject to the 
        regulatory jurisdiction of the commission must be available to 
        customers on a stand-alone basis; 
           (2) at the time the packaged offering is introduced or at 
        the time the packaged price is subsequently changed, the 
        packaged rate or price may not exceed the sum of the unpackaged 
        rates or prices for the individual service elements or services; 
        and 
           (3) in addition to the tariff requirements that apply to 
        the telecommunications elements of the package, the tariff must 
        also contain a general description of the nontelecommunications 
        components of the package. 
           (b) Nothing in this subdivision is intended to extend or 
        diminish the regulatory authority of the commission or the 
        department. 
           Sec. 2.  Laws 1995, chapter 156, section 25, is amended to 
        read:  
           Sec. 25.  [EFFECTIVE DATE; EXPIRATION.] 
           Sections 1 to 22 are effective August 1, 1995, and expire 
        January 1, 2006. 
           Sec. 3.  Laws 2000, chapter 433, section 4, is amended to 
        read: 
           Sec. 4.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
           Sections 1 to 3 are effective the day following final 
        enactment and are repealed June 1, 2003. 
           Sec. 4.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
           Sections 1 and 2 are effective June 1, 2003.  Section 3 is 
        effective the day following final enactment. 
           Presented to the governor May 23, 2003 
           Signed by the governor May 27, 2003, 4:11 p.m.