2006 Minnesota Statutes

CHAPTER 237. TELEPHONE, TELEGRAPH, TELECOMMUNICATIONS

237.01 DEFINITIONS.
    Subdivision 1. Generally. As used in this chapter, the following terms have the meanings
given.
    Subd. 2.[Renumbered subd 7]
    Subd. 3. Independent telephone company. "Independent telephone company" means
a telephone company organized and operating under chapter 301 or 302A or authorized to do
business in Minnesota under chapter 303 as of January 1, 1983, and providing local exchange
service to fewer than 30,000 subscribers within the state.
    Subd. 4. Radio common carrier. "Radio common carrier" means a person, firm, association,
or corporation which owns, operates, or otherwise furnishes to the public any paging or other
mobile telecommunications service by means of the use of radio signals and connection to
a telephone network.
    Subd. 5.[Repealed, 1984 c 557 s 4]
    Subd. 6. Telecommunications carrier. "Telecommunications carrier" means a person,
firm, association, or corporation authorized to furnish one or more of the following telephone
services to the public, but not otherwise authorized to furnish local exchange service: (1)
interexchange telephone service; (2) local telephone service pursuant to a certificate granted under
the authority of section 237.16, subdivision 4, before August 1, 1995; or (3) local service pursuant
to a certificate granted under section 237.16, for the first time after August 1, 1995, except if
granted to a successor to a telephone company otherwise authorized to furnish local exchange
service. Telecommunications carrier does not include entities that derive more than 50 percent
of their revenues from operator services provided to transient locations such as hotels, motels,
and hospitals. In addition, telecommunications carrier does not include entities that provide
centralized equal access services.
    Subd. 7. Telephone company. "Telephone company," means and applies to any person, firm,
association or any corporation, private or municipal, owning or operating any telephone line
or telephone exchange for hire, wholly or partly within this state, or furnishing any telephone
service to the public.
A "telephone company" does not include a radio common carrier as defined in subdivision
4. A telephone company which also conforms with the definition of a radio common carrier is
subject to regulation as a telephone company. However, none of chapter 237 applies to telephone
company activities which conform to the definition of a radio common carrier.
A "telephone company" does not include a telecommunications carrier as defined in
subdivision 6, except that a telecommunications carrier is a telephone company for the purposes
of section 222.36. A telephone company is not subject to section 237.74.
    Subd. 8. Local exchange carrier. "Local exchange carrier" means a telephone company or
telecommunications carrier providing local exchange service.
History: (5287) 1915 c 152 s 2; 1981 c 248 s 1; 1984 c 451 s 1; 1984 c 557 s 1-3; 1985 c 22
s 1; 1987 c 340 s 18; 1993 c 268 s 1,2; 1995 c 156 s 1,25; 2003 c 97 s 2; 2004 c 261 art 1 s 1

237.011 TELECOMMUNICATIONS GOALS.
The following are state goals that should be considered as the commission executes its
regulatory duties with respect to telecommunication services:
(1) supporting universal service;
(2) maintaining just and reasonable rates;
(3) encouraging economically efficient deployment of infrastructure for higher speed
telecommunication services and greater capacity for voice, video, and data transmission;
(4) encouraging fair and reasonable competition for local exchange telephone service in
a competitively neutral regulatory manner;
(5) maintaining or improving quality of service;
(6) promoting customer choice;
(7) ensuring consumer protections are maintained in the transition to a competitive market
for local telecommunications service; and
(8) encouraging voluntary resolution of issues between and among competing providers
and discouraging litigation.
History: 1997 c 223 s 2

237.02 GENERAL AUTHORITY OF DEPARTMENT AND COMMISSION;
DEFINITIONS.
The Department of Commerce and the Public Utilities Commission are hereby vested with
the same jurisdiction and supervisory power over telephone and telecommunications companies
doing business in this state as the commission's predecessor, the railroad and warehouse
commission, had over railroad and express companies. The definitions set forth in sections
216A.02 and 216B.02 also apply to this chapter.
History: (5286) 1915 c 152 s 1; 1971 c 25 s 67; 1980 c 614 s 118; 1Sp2001 c 4 art 6 s 53

237.03 SCOPE OF LAW.
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, all the provisions of Revised Laws 1905,
chapter 28, and acts amendatory thereof applying to railroad and express companies, shall insofar
as the same are applicable apply also to telephone companies.
History: (5288) 1915 c 152 s 3

237.035 TELECOMMUNICATIONS CARRIER EXEMPTION.
(a) Telecommunications carriers are subject to regulation under this chapter only to the
extent required under paragraphs (b) to (e).
(b) Telecommunications carriers shall comply with sections 237.121 and 237.74.
(c) Telecommunications carriers shall comply with section 237.16, subdivisions 8 and 9.
(d) To the extent a telecommunications carrier offers local service, it shall obtain a certificate
under section 237.16 for that local service.
(e) In addition, a telecommunications carrier's local service is subject to this chapter except
that:
(1) a telecommunications carrier is not subject to rate-of-return or earnings investigations
under section 237.075 or 237.081; and
(2) a telecommunications carrier is not subject to section 237.22.
History: 1993 c 268 s 3; 1995 c 156 s 2,25; 2003 c 97 s 2

237.036 COIN-OPERATED OR PUBLIC PAY TELEPHONES.
(a) Neither commission approval nor a commission certificate is required to:
(1) site a coin-operated or public pay telephone in the state; or
(2) implement changes in service, services offered, rates, or location regarding a
coin-operated or public pay telephone. Registration under section 237.64 is required to own or
operate a coin-operated or public pay telephone in the state.
(b) This section does not change the authority of other state or local government entities
to regulate aspects of coin-operated or public pay telephone ownership, location, or operation;
however, an entity may not regulate aspects of these services that it did not regulate prior to May
26, 1999. The commission shall retain the authority delegated to it under federal and state law to
protect the public interest with regard to coin-operated or public pay telephones.
(c) Owners and operators of coin-operated or public pay telephones are exempt from
sections 237.06, 237.07, 237.075, 237.09, 237.23, 237.295, and 237.39 and the annual reporting
requirement of section 237.11.
(d) Owners of coin-operated or public pay telephones shall:
(1) provide immediate coin-free access, to the extent technically feasible, to 911 emergency
service or to another approved emergency service; and
(2) provide free access to the telecommunications relay service for the communication
impaired.
(e) Owners of coin-operated or public pay telephones must post at each coin-operated or
public pay telephone location:
(1) customer service and complaint information, including the name, address, and
telephone number of the owner of the coin-operated or public pay telephone and the operator
service handling calls from the coin-operated or public pay telephone; a toll-free number of the
appropriate telephone company for the resolution of complaints; and the toll-free number of
the public utilities commission; and
(2) a toll-free number at which consumers can obtain pricing information regarding rates,
charges, terms, and conditions of local and long-distance calls.
History: 1999 c 224 s 1

RATES AND PRACTICES

237.04 WIRE CROSSING OR PARALLELING UTILITY LINE; RULES.
(a) The department shall determine and promulgate reasonable rules covering the
maintenance and operation, also the nature, location, and character of the construction to be
used, where telephone, telegraph, electric light, power, or other electric wires of any kind, or
any natural gas pipelines, cross, or more or less parallel the lines of any railroad, or any other
similar public service corporation; and, to this end, shall formulate and from time to time, issue
general rules covering each class of construction, maintenance, and operation of such telephone,
telegraph, telecommunications, cable, fiber optic, electric wire, or natural gas pipeline crossing,
or paralleling, under the various conditions existing; and the department, upon the complaint of
any person, railroad, municipal utility, cooperative electric association, telephone company,
telecommunications carrier, cable company, fiber optic carrier, or other public utility claiming to
be injuriously affected or subjected to hazard by any such crossing or paralleling lines constructed
or about to be constructed, shall, after a hearing, make such order and prescribe such terms and
conditions for the construction, maintenance, and operation of the lines in question as may be
just and reasonable.
(b) The department may, upon request of any municipal utility, electric cooperative
association, public utility, telephone company, telecommunications carrier, cable company,
or fiber optic carrier determine the just and reasonable charge which a railroad, or owner of
an abandoned railroad right-of-way, other than the state or a regional railroad authority, can
prescribe for a new or existing crossing of a railroad right-of-way by any telephone, telegraph,
telecommunications, cable, fiber optic, electric, or gas line, or new or existing telephone,
telegraph, telecommunications, cable, fiber optic, electric, or gas line more or less paralleling a
railroad right-of-way, based on the diminution in value caused by the crossing or paralleling of
the right-of-way by the telephone, telegraph, telecommunications, cable, fiber optic, electric, or
gas line. This section shall not be construed to eliminate the right of a public utility, municipal
utility, or electric cooperative association to have any of the foregoing issues determined pursuant
to an eminent domain proceeding commenced under chapter 117. Unless the railroad, or owner of
an abandoned railroad right-of-way, other than the state or a regional railroad authority, asserts
in writing that the proposed crossing or paralleling is a serious threat to the safe operations
of the railroad or to the current use of the railroad right-of-way, a crossing can be constructed
following filing of the requested action with the department, pending review of the requested
action by the department.
(c) The department shall assess the cost of reviewing the requested action, and of determining
a just and reasonable charge, equally among the parties.
(d) For the purposes of this section, "parallel" or "paralleling" means that the relevant
utility facilities run adjacent to and alongside the lines of a railroad for no more than one mile,
or another distance agreed to by the parties, before the utility facilities cross the railroad lines,
terminate, or exit the railroad right-of-way.
History: (4718-1) 1925 c 152 s 1; 1971 c 25 s 67; 1985 c 248 s 70; 1997 c 123 s 1; 1Sp2001
c 8 art 2 s 61

237.05 ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY.
The department shall see that the provisions of section 237.04 are enforced; and, for that
purpose shall have power to cause the removal or reconstruction of such telephone, telegraph,
electric light, power, or other electric wires of any kind crossing or paralleling such other lines
and not in accordance with the orders and rules issued by the department.
History: (4718-2) 1925 c 152 s 2; 1971 c 25 s 67; 1985 c 248 s 70

237.06 RATES AND DEPOSITS.
It shall be the duty of every telephone company to furnish reasonably adequate service and
facilities for the accommodation of the public, and its rates, tolls, and charges shall be fair and
reasonable for the intrastate use thereof. All unreasonable rates, tolls, and charges are hereby
declared to be unlawful. Any telephone company may include in its charges a reasonable deposit
fee for facilities furnished.
History: (5289) 1915 c 152 s 4; 1957 c 523; 2004 c 261 art 2 s 1

237.065 RATE FOR SCHOOL OR PURCHASING COOPERATIVE.
    Subdivision 1. Basic service; flat rate. Each telephone company that provides local
telephone service in a service area that includes a school that has classes within the range from
kindergarten to 12th grade shall provide, upon request, additional service to the school that
is sufficient to ensure access to basic telephone service from each classroom and other areas
within the school, as determined by the school board. Each company shall set a flat rate for this
additional service that is less than the company's flat rate for an access line for a business and the
same as or greater than the company's flat rate for an access line for a residence in the same local
telephone service exchange. When a company's flat rates for businesses and residences are the
same, the company shall use the residential rate for service to schools under this section. The
rate required under this section is available only for a school that installs additional service
that includes access to basic telephone service from each classroom and other areas within the
school, as determined by the school board.
    Subd. 2. Basic and advanced telecommunication service; reduced rate. (a)
Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 237.09, 237.14, 237.60, subdivision 3, and 237.74,
each telephone company and telecommunications carrier that provides local telephone service
in a service area that includes a school that has classes within the range from kindergarten
to grade 12, a public library, or a telecommunication services purchasing cooperative may
provide, upon request, basic and advanced telecommunication services at reduced or no cost
to that school, library, or may provide, upon request, advanced telecommunication services at
reduced wholesale rates to the members of a telecommunication services purchasing cooperative.
For purposes of this section, a "telecommunication services purchasing cooperative" means a
cooperative organized under section 308A.210. A school or library receiving telecommunications
services at reduced or no cost may not resell or sublease the discounted services. No members
of a telecommunication services purchasing cooperative may resell or sublease the discounted
services. A purchasing cooperative is not required to negotiate or provide a uniform rate for
its members. Telecommunications services shall be provided in accordance with Public Law
104-104, and the regulations of the Federal Communications Commission adopted under the act.
(b) An agent that provides telecommunications services to a school or library may request
the favorable rate on behalf of and for the exclusive benefit of the school or library. The school
or library must authorize the agent to make the request of the local telephone company or
telecommunications carrier. The telephone company or telecommunications carrier is not required
to offer the same price discount to the agent that it would offer to the school district or library.
An agent that receives a price discount for telecommunications services on behalf of a school or
library may only resell or sublease the discounted services to that school or library.
(c) For the purposes of this subdivision, "school" includes a public school as defined in
section 120A.05, nonpublic, and church or religious organization schools that provide instruction
in compliance with sections 120A.22, 120A.24, and 120A.41.
History: 1990 c 562 art 8 s 35; 1Sp1995 c 3 art 12 s 6; 1996 c 412 art 12 s 5; 1997 c
208 s 1; 1998 c 397 art 11 s 3; 2001 c 7 s 47

237.066 STATE GOVERNMENT PRICING PLANS.
    Subdivision 1. Purpose. A state government telecommunications pricing plan is authorized
and found to be in the public interest as it will:
(1) provide and ensure availability of high-quality, technologically advanced
telecommunications services at a reasonable cost to the state; and
(2) further the state telecommunications goals as set forth in section 237.011.
    Subd. 2. Program participation. A state government telecommunications pricing plan
may be available to serve individually or collectively: state agencies; educational institutions,
including public schools complying with section 120A.05, subdivision 9, 11, 13, or 17, and
nonpublic schools complying with sections 120A.22, 120A.24, and 120A.41; private colleges;
public corporations; and political subdivisions of the state. Plans shall be available to carry out
the commissioner of administration's duties under sections 16E.17 and 16E.18 and shall also be
available to those entities not using the commissioner for contracting for telecommunications
services.
    Subd. 3. Rates. Notwithstanding section 237.09, 237.14, 237.60, subdivision 3, or 237.74,
a telephone company or a telecommunications carrier may, individually or in cooperation
with other telephone companies or telecommunications carriers, develop and offer basic or
advanced telecommunications services at discounted or reduced rates as a state government
telecommunications pricing plan. Any telecommunications services provided under any state
government telecommunications pricing plan shall be used exclusively by those entities described
in subdivision 2 subject to the plan solely for their own use and shall not be made available to any
other entities by resale, sublease, or in any other way.
    Subd. 4. Applicability to other customers. A telephone company or telecommunications
carrier providing telecommunications services under a state government telecommunications
pricing plan is not required to provide any other person or entity those services at the rates made
available to the state.
    Subd. 5. Commission review. The terms and conditions of any state government
telecommunications pricing plan must be submitted to the commission for its review and approval
within 90 days before implementation to:
(1) ensure that the terms and conditions benefit the state and not any private entity;
(2) ensure that the rates for any telecommunications service in any state government
telecommunications pricing plan are at or below any applicable tariffed rates; and
(3) ensure that the state telecommunications pricing plan meets the requirements of this
section and is in the public interest.
The commission shall reject any state government telecommunications pricing plan that
does not meet these criteria.
History: 1999 c 228 s 1; 2005 c 156 art 5 s 23

237.067 ESTABLISHMENT EXEMPT FROM REGULATION.
    Subdivision 1. Definition. For purposes of this section, "establishment" means an individual
hotel, motel, restaurant, lodging house, boarding house, resort, or place of refreshment licensed
under chapter 157.
    Subd. 2. Exemption; conditions. An establishment that provides telephone service to
patrons on the premises of the establishment is not subject to regulation under this chapter, except
that the establishment:
(1) shall comply with the requirement of section 237.06 that rates charged must be fair
and reasonable;
(2) shall provide notice of charges and service providers to patrons as required in section
325F.99; and
(3) is subject to the complaint and investigation procedures of section 237.081.
History: 1991 c 154 s 1

237.068 MULTIPARTY LINE TELEPHONE SERVICE.
After October 31, 1993, no telephone company may offer or provide multiparty line telephone
service to more than two subscribers per line, unless otherwise approved by the commission.
History: 1991 c 152 s 1

237.069 TRACER; HARASSING TELEPHONE CALL; RULES.
The commission shall adopt rules to govern how telephone companies respond to requests
for tracers made by persons who allege receiving harassing telephone calls. The rules must
address when a request for a tracer may be denied or delayed.
History: 1992 c 442 s 1

237.07 FILING REQUIREMENTS.
    Subdivision 1. Filing of charges. Every telephone company shall keep on file with the
department a specific rate, toll, or charge for every kind of noncompetitive service and a price
list for every kind of service subject to emerging competition, together with all rules and
classifications used by it in the conduct of the telephone business, including limitations on
liability. The filings are governed by chapter 13. When a company sells services subject to
emerging competition on an individually priced basis, it shall file a statement of the charges to its
customers with the commission and the department. The department shall require each telephone
company to keep open for public inspection, at designated offices, so much of these rates, price
lists, and rules as it deems necessary for the public information.
    Subd. 2. Separate pricing. When competitive services or service elements or services on an
individually priced basis are sold in conjunction with noncompetitive services or service elements,
the telephone company shall file or have on file with the commission and the department separate
prices for its services subject to emerging competition and noncompetitive services or service
elements. Telephone services or service elements must be offered on a nondiscriminatory basis.
History: (5290) 1915 c 152 s 5; 1971 c 25 s 67; 1985 c 248 s 70; 1989 c 74 s 1

237.071 SPECIAL PRICING.
Except as prohibited by section 237.60, subdivision 3, prices unique to a particular customer
or group of customers may be allowed for noncompetitive services and for services subject to
emerging competition when differences in the cost of providing a service or a service element
justifies a different price for a particular customer or group of customers. Individual pricing
for services subject to emerging competition may be allowed when a uniform price should not
be required because of market conditions. Unique or individual prices for services or service
elements in effect before July 1, 1989, are deemed to have been approved under this section.
History: 1989 c 74 s 2

237.072 LIMITATION ON RATE CHANGE.
(a) After December 15, 1997, the commission, notwithstanding any provision to the contrary,
shall not allow an incumbent telephone company with more than 1,000,000 access lines in
Minnesota to change its retail rates for telecommunications services without a determination of
its revenue requirement pursuant to section 237.075 unless the incumbent telephone company is
regulated pursuant to sections 237.76 to 237.773.
(b) If, prior to December 15, 1997, the incumbent telephone company petitions the
commission to become subject to an alternative regulation plan under sections 237.76 to 237.773,
paragraph (a ) shall not apply to the petitioning company until 270 days after the date of the
filing of the petition.
History: 1997 c 223 s 3; 1998 c 345 s 3

237.075 RATE CHANGE.
    Subdivision 1. Notice. Unless the commission otherwise orders, no telephone company shall
change a rate which has been duly established under this chapter, except upon 60 days' notice
to the commission. The notice shall include statements of facts, expert opinions, substantiating
documents, and exhibits, supporting the change requested, and state the change proposed to be
made in the rates then in force and the time when the modified rates will go into effect. The filing
telephone company shall give written notice, as approved by the commission, of the proposed
change to the governing body of each municipality and county in the area affected. All proposed
changes shall be shown by filing new schedules or shall be plainly indicated upon schedules on
file and in force at the time.
    Subd. 1a.[Repealed, 1989 c 74 s 26]
    Subd. 2. Suspension of proposed rate; hearing; final determination defined. (a)
Whenever there is filed with the commission as provided in subdivision 1 a schedule modifying or
resulting in a change in any rate then in force, the commission may suspend the operation of the
schedule by filing with the schedule of rates and delivering to the affected telephone company
a statement in writing of its reasons for the suspension at any time before the rates become
effective. The suspension shall not be for a longer period than ten months beyond the initial filing
date except as provided in paragraph (b). During the suspension the commission shall determine
whether all questions of the reasonableness of the rates requested raised by persons deemed
interested or by the department can be resolved to the satisfaction of the commission. If the
commission finds that all significant issues raised have not been resolved to its satisfaction, or
upon petition by ten percent of the affected customers or 250 affected customers, whichever is
less, it shall refer the matter to the Office of Administrative Hearings with instructions for a public
hearing as a contested case pursuant to chapter 14, except as otherwise provided in this section.
The commission may order that the issues presented by the proposed rate changes be bifurcated
into two separate hearings as follows: (1) determination of the telephone company's revenue
requirements and (2) determination of the rate design. Upon issuance of both administrative law
judge reports, the issues shall again be joined for consideration and final determination by the
commission. All prehearing discovery activities of state agency intervenors shall be consolidated
and conducted by the Department of Commerce. If the commission does not make a final
determination concerning a schedule of rates within ten months after the initial filing date, the
schedule shall be deemed to have been approved by the commission; except if a settlement has
been submitted to and rejected by the commission, the schedule is deemed to have been approved
12 months after the initial filing.
(b) If the commission finds that it has insufficient time during the suspension period to make
a final determination of a case involving changes in general rates because of the need to make
final determinations of other previously filed cases involving changes in general rates under this
section or section 216B.16, the commission may extend the suspension period to the extent
necessary to allow itself 20 working days to make the final determination after it has made final
determinations in the previously filed cases. An extension of the suspension period under this
paragraph does not alter the setting of interim rates under subdivision 3.
(c) For the purposes of this section, "final determination" means the initial decision of
the commission and not any order which may be entered by the commission in response to a
petition for rehearing or other further relief. The commission may further suspend rates until it
determines all those petitions.
    Subd. 3. Interim rate; refund. Notwithstanding any order of suspension of a proposed
increase in rates, the commission shall order an interim rate schedule into effect not later than 60
days after the initial filing date. The commission shall order the interim rate schedule ex parte
without a public hearing. Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 216.25 and 237.25, no
interim rate schedule ordered by the commission pursuant to this subdivision shall be subject
to an application for a rehearing or an appeal to a court until the commission has rendered its
final determination. Unless the commission finds that exigent circumstances exist, the interim rate
schedule shall be calculated using the proposed test-year cost of capital, rate base, and expenses,
except that it shall include: (1) a rate of return on common equity for the company equal to that
authorized by the commission in the company's most recent rate proceeding; (2) rate base or
expense items the same in nature and kind as those allowed by a currently effective order of the
commission in the company's most recent rate proceeding; and (3) no change in the existing rate
design, except for products and services offered by nonregulated competitors. In the case of a
company which has not been subject to a prior commission determination or has not had a general
rate adjustment in the preceding three years, the commission shall base the interim rate schedule
on its most recent determination concerning a similar company.
If, at the time of its final determination, the commission finds that the interim rates are in
excess of the rates in the final determination, the commission shall order the company to refund
the excess amount collected under the interim rate schedule, including interest on it which shall be
at the rate of interest determined by the commission. The company shall commence distribution
of the refund to its customers within 120 days of the final order, not subject to rehearing or appeal.
If, at the time of its final determination, the commission finds that the interim rates are less
than the rates in the final determination, the commission shall prescribe a method by which the
company will recover the difference in revenues from the date of the final determination to the
date the new rate schedules are put into effect.
If the telephone company fails to make refunds within the period of time prescribed by the
commission, the commission shall sue therefor and may recover on behalf of all persons entitled
to a refund. In addition to the amount of the refund and interest due, the commission shall be
entitled to recover reasonable attorney's fees, court costs and estimated cost of administering the
distribution of the refund to persons entitled thereto. No suit under this subdivision shall be
maintained unless instituted within two years after the end of the period of time prescribed by the
commission for repayment of refunds. The commission shall not order an interim rate schedule in
a general rate case into effect as provided by this subdivision until at least four months after it has
made a final determination concerning any previously filed change of the rate schedule or the
change has otherwise become effective under subdivision 2, unless:
(1) the commission finds that a four-month delay would unreasonably burden the company,
its customers, or its shareholders and that an earlier imposition of interim rates is therefore
necessary; or
(2) the company files a second general rate case at least 12 months after it has filed a
previous general rate case for which the commission has extended the suspension period under
subdivision 2.
    Subd. 4. Burden of proof. The burden of proof to show that the rate change is just and
reasonable shall be upon the telephone company seeking the change.
    Subd. 5. Determination after finding rate unacceptable. If, after the hearing, the
commission finds the rates to be unjust or unreasonable or discriminatory, the commission shall
determine the rates to be charged or applied by the telephone company for the service in question
and shall fix them by order to be served upon the telephone company. The rates shall thereafter
be observed until changed, as provided by this chapter. In no event shall the rates exceed the
level of rates requested by the telephone company, except that individual rates may be adjusted
upward or downward. Rate design changes shall be prospective from the effective date of the new
rate schedules approved by the commission.
    Subd. 6. Factors considered, generally. The commission, in the exercise of its powers
under this chapter to determine just and reasonable rates for telephone companies, shall give due
consideration to the public need for adequate, efficient, and reasonable service and to the need
of the telephone company for revenue sufficient to enable it to meet the cost of furnishing the
service, including adequate provision for depreciation of its telephone company property used
and useful in rendering service to the public, and to earn a fair and reasonable return upon the
investment in the property. In determining the rate base upon which the telephone company is to
be allowed to earn a fair rate of return, the commission shall give due consideration to evidence
of the cost of the property when first devoted to public use, to prudent acquisition cost to the
telephone company, less appropriate depreciation on each, to construction work in progress, to
offsets in the nature of capital provided by sources other than the investors, and to other expenses
of a capital nature. To the extent that construction work in progress is included in the rate base,
the income used in determining the actual return on the telephone company property may include
an allowance for funds used during construction. For purposes of determining rate base, the
commission shall consider the original cost of telephone company property included in the base
and shall make no allowance for its estimated current replacement value.
    Subd. 7. Advertising. The commission shall not make an allowance for operating expenses
incurred by a telephone company for institutional advertising.
    Subd. 8. Charitable contribution. The commission shall allow as operating expenses only
50 percent of the qualified charitable contributions which the commission deems prudent for the
use of any community chest, corporation, trust, fund, association, foundation, or organization, and
only as long as the use is exclusively for religious, charitable, public cemetery, scientific, literary,
artistic, or educational purposes or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals. No part of
a charitable contribution may inure to the benefit of any private stockholder or individual.
    Subd. 9. Election on regulation; cooperative, municipal, independent. For the purposes of
this section, "telephone company" shall not include a cooperative telephone association organized
under the provisions of chapter 308A, an independent telephone company, or a municipal, unless
the cooperative telephone association, independent telephone company, or municipal makes the
election provided in this subdivision.
A cooperative telephone association may elect to become subject to rate regulation by the
commission pursuant to this section. The election shall be (a) approved by the board of directors
of the association in accordance with the procedures for amending the articles of incorporation
contained in section 308A.135, excluding the filing requirements; or (b) approved by a majority of
members or stockholders voting by mail ballot initiated by petition of no fewer than five percent
of the members or stockholders of the association. The ballot to be used for the election shall be
approved by the board of directors and the department. The department shall mail the ballots to
the association's members who shall return the ballots to the department. The department will
keep the ballots sealed until a date agreed upon by the department and the board of directors.
On this date, representatives of the department and the association shall count the ballots. If a
majority of the association's members who vote elect to become subject to rate regulation by
the commission, the election shall be effective 30 days after the date the ballots are counted.
For purposes of this section, the term "member or stockholder" shall mean either the member
or stockholder of record or the spouse of the member or stockholder unless the association has
been notified otherwise in writing.
A municipal may elect to become subject to rate regulation by the commission pursuant
to this section. The election shall be (a) approved by resolution of the governing body of the
municipality; or (b) approved by a majority of the customers of the municipal voting by mail
ballot initiated by petition of no fewer than 20 percent of the customers of the municipal. The
ballot to be used for the election shall be approved by the governing body of the municipality
and the department. The department shall mail the ballots to the municipal's customers who shall
return the ballots to the department. The department will keep the ballots sealed until a date agreed
upon by the department and the governing body of the municipality. On this date, representatives
of the department and the municipal shall count the ballots. If a majority of the customers of the
municipal who vote elect to become subject to rate regulation by the commission, the election
shall be effective 30 days after the date the ballots are counted. For purposes of this section, the
term "customer" shall mean either the person in whose name the telephone service is registered or
the spouse of the person unless the municipal utility has been notified otherwise in writing.
An independent telephone company may elect to become subject to rate regulation by the
commission pursuant to this section. The election shall be (a) approved by the board of directors
of the company in accordance with the procedures for amending the articles of incorporation
contained in sections 302A.133 to 302A.139, excluding the filing requirements; or (b) approved
by a majority of subscribers voting by mail ballot initiated by petition of no fewer than five
percent of the subscribers of the company. The ballot to be used for the election shall be approved
by the board of directors and the department. The department shall mail the ballots to the
company's subscribers who shall return the ballots to the department. The department will keep
the ballots sealed until a date agreed upon by the department and the board of directors. On this
date, representatives of the department and the company shall count the ballots. If a majority of
the company's subscribers who vote elect to become subject to rate regulation by the commission,
the election shall be effective 30 days after the date the ballots are counted. For purposes of
this section the term "subscriber" shall mean either the person in whose name the telephone
service is registered or the spouse of the person unless the independent telephone company has
been notified otherwise in writing.
    Subd. 10. Intervenor reimbursement. The commission may order a telephone company
to pay all or a portion of a party's intervention costs not to exceed $20,000 per intervention in
any general rate case when the commission finds that the intervenor has materially assisted the
commission's deliberation and the intervenor has insufficient financial resources to afford the
costs of intervention. No entity which provides telephone services of any kind is eligible for
reimbursement of intervention costs under this subdivision.
    Subd. 11. Recovery of expenses of segregating billing charges. The public utilities
commission shall allow each telephone company and independent telephone company subject to
the requirements of section 325F.692 to automatically adjust tariffs or rates paid by information
service providers to reflect the reasonable cost to the company to comply with section 325F.692.
History: 1977 c 359 s 7; 1978 c 694 s 2; 1979 c 319 s 1; 1980 c 615 s 60; 1981 c 248 s
2; 1981 c 357 s 73; 1Sp1981 c 4 art 4 s 17; 1982 c 414 s 7-12; 1982 c 424 s 130; 1983 c 247
s 98; 1984 c 611 s 1; 1984 c 640 s 32; 1986 c 409 s 8,9; 1987 c 384 art 2 s 1; 1988 c 457 s
4,5; 1988 c 719 art 2 s 6; 1989 c 144 art 2 s 4; 1989 c 356 s 12; 1994 c 449 s 3; 1Sp2001 c 4
art 6 s 54,55; 2003 c 2 art 1 s 23

237.076 SETTLEMENT; PROCEDURES.
    Subdivision 1. Settlement. In proceedings before the commission, interested parties are
encouraged to enter into settlements of their disputes. If a settlement is reached before a contested
case hearing has been ordered and the commission rejects the settlement, the commission shall
order a contested case hearing if a significant issue has not been resolved to the commission's
satisfaction. When a contested case hearing has been ordered under this chapter, the Office of
Administrative Hearings, before conducting the hearing, shall convene a settlement conference
including all the parties to encourage settlement of issues in the contested case. If a stipulated
settlement is not reached before the contested case hearing, the Office of Administrative Hearings
may, at its discretion or a party's request, reconvene the settlement conference during the hearing
or after its completion. If all parties agree to a stipulated settlement of the case or a part of the
case, the settlement must be submitted to the commission.
    Subd. 2. Procedures. The commission may accept a settlement upon finding that to do so
is in the public interest and is supported by substantial evidence. If the commission does not
accept a settlement, it may issue an order modifying the settlement, subject to the approval of the
parties. A party has ten days after entry of the order, or of an order disposing of a petition for
reconsideration, in which to reject the proposed modification. If no party rejects the proposed
modification, the commission's order becomes final. If the commission rejects a settlement or if a
party rejects the commission's proposed modification of a settlement, the matter must be referred
to the administrative law judge assigned to the case for further proceedings.
History: 1989 c 74 s 3

237.08 [Repealed, 1977 c 359 s 8]

237.081 INVESTIGATION.
    Subdivision 1. Commission investigation. Whenever the commission believes that a service
is inadequate or cannot be obtained or that an investigation of any matter relating to any telephone
service should for any reason be made, it may on its own motion investigate the service or matter
with or without notice, except that the commission shall give notice to a telephone company
before it investigates the level of rates charged by the company.
    Subd. 1a. Complaint investigation. Upon a complaint made against a telephone company
by any other provider of telephone service, by the governing body of a political subdivision, or by
no fewer than five percent or 100, whichever is the lesser number, of the subscribers or spouses of
subscribers of the particular telephone company, that any of the rates, tolls, tariffs, charges, or
schedules, or any regulation, measurement, practice, act, or omission affecting or relating to the
production, transmission, delivery, or furnishing of telephone service or any service in connection
with telephone service is in any respect unreasonable, insufficient, or unjustly discriminatory, or
that any service is inadequate or cannot be obtained, the commission, after notice to the telephone
company, shall investigate the matters raised by the complaint.
    Subd. 2. Procedure after investigation. (a) If, after making an investigation under
subdivision 1 or 1a, the commission finds that a significant factual issue raised has not been
resolved to its satisfaction, the commission shall follow the appropriate procedure prescribed
by this subdivision.
(b) For an investigation concerning the reasonableness of the rates for noncompetitive
services of a telephone company whose general revenue requirement is determined under section
237.075, the commission shall order the company to initiate a rate proceeding in accordance with
section 237.075. The commission shall allow the company at least 120 days after the date of the
commission's order to initiate the proceeding.
(c) For other investigations, the commission shall order that a contested case hearing be
conducted under chapter 14 unless the complainant, the telephone company, and the commission
agree that an expedited hearing under section 237.61 is appropriate.
    Subd. 3.[Repealed, 1989 c 74 s 26]
    Subd. 4. Establishment of rate and price. Whenever the commission finds, after a
proceeding under subdivision 2, that (1) a service that can be reasonably demanded cannot be
obtained, (2) that any rate, toll, tariff, charge, or schedule, or any regulation, measurement,
practice, act, or omission affecting or relating to the production, transmission, delivery, or
furnishing of telephone service or any service in connection with telephone service, is in any
respect unreasonable, insufficient, or unjustly discriminatory, or (3) that any service is inadequate,
the commission shall make an order respecting the tariff, regulation, act, omission, practice, or
service that is just and reasonable and, if applicable, shall establish just and reasonable rates
and prices.
    Subd. 5. Service; notice. A copy of an order issued under this section must be served upon
the person against whom it runs or the person's attorney, and notice of the order must be given to
the other parties to the proceedings or their attorneys.
History: 1974 c 40 s 1; 1979 c 319 s 2,3; 1981 c 248 s 3; 1986 c 444; 1987 c 340 s 19;
1989 c 74 s 4

237.082 TELECOMMUNICATION RATE AND SERVICE GOALS.
When setting rates, adopting rules, or issuing orders related to telecommunication matters
that affect deployment of the infrastructure, the commission may apply the goals of:
(1) achieving economically efficient investment in:
(i) higher speed telecommunication services; and
(ii) greater capacity for voice, video, and data transmission; and
(2) just and reasonable rates.
The department may apply the same goals in its regulation of and recommendations
regarding telecommunication services.
History: 1997 c 223 s 4; 1Sp2001 c 4 art 6 s 56

237.09 DISCRIMINATION PROHIBITED.
    Subdivision 1. Generally. No telephone company, or any agent or officer thereof, shall,
directly or indirectly, in any manner, knowingly or willfully, charge, demand, collect, or receive
from any person, firm, or corporation, a greater or less compensation for any intrastate service
rendered or to be rendered by it than it charges, demands, collects, or receives from any other
firm, person, or corporation for a like and contemporaneous intrastate service under similar
circumstances.
    Subd. 2. Particular services. (a) A telephone company that offers or provides a service or
services, service elements, features, or functionalities on a separate, stand-alone basis to any
customer shall provide that service, service element, feature, or functionality pursuant to tariff to
all similarly situated persons, including all telecommunications carriers and competitors. To the
extent prohibited by the Federal Communications Commission or Public Utilities Commission, a
telephone company shall not give preference or discriminate in providing services, products, or
facilities to an affiliate or to its own or an affiliate's retail department that sells to consumers.
(b) For purposes of establishing an appropriate rate or price floor for a rate for a telephone
service, a telephone company shall impute, on a service-by-service basis, into the rate or price
for that service, the tariffed rate or price for the same services, service elements, or network
functions that the company provides to others who use it to provide a service that competes
with the telephone service offered by the company. A company is not required to impute a rate
or price under this paragraph if it demonstrates to the commission, in an expedited proceeding
under section 237.61, that:
(1) the competitor can obtain substantially equivalent services, service elements, or network
functions within the relevant market or geographic area on reasonably comparable terms and
conditions through self-provision or from a provider other than the telephone company; or
(2) application of the imputation requirement otherwise would be inconsistent with the
public interest.
History: (5292) 1915 c 152 s 7; 1995 c 156 s 3,25; 2003 c 97 s 2

237.10 UNIFORM RULES, CLASSIFICATIONS, PRACTICES; FORMS.
It shall be the duty of the commission to prescribe uniform rules and classifications
pertaining to the conduct of intrastate telephone business and a system of accounting to be used
by telephone companies in transacting this business, and it shall prescribe and furnish blanks and
forms for reports, all of which shall conform as nearly as practicable to the rules, classifications,
accounting systems, and reports prescribed by the Federal Communications Commission for
the interstate business of like size companies.
The commission shall by correspondence or conference where necessary use its best
endeavors toward establishing uniformity in practice in all matters pertaining to regulation of
the business of telephone companies between the federal government and state government
of this and adjacent states.
History: (5293) 1915 c 152 s 8; 1969 c 1031 s 10; 1971 c 25 s 67; 1980 c 614 s 123

237.101 ELECTRONIC BILLING.
A telephone company may provide a customer's periodic account statement to the customer
in electronic format in lieu of paper format if the customer has authorized the electronic format
in writing.
History: 2002 c 329 s 1

237.11 INSPECTING RECORDS AND PROPERTY; REPORTS REQUIRED.
Every telephone company subject to the provisions of this chapter, wherever organized, shall
keep an office in this state, and make such reports to the department as it shall from time to
time require. All books, records, and files, whether they relate to competitive or noncompetitive
services, and all of its property shall be at all times subject to inspection by the commission and
the department. It shall close its accounts and take therefrom a balance sheet on December 31
of each year, and on or before May 1 following, such balance sheet, together with such other
information as the department shall require, verified by an officer of the telephone company,
shall be filed with the commission and the department, except that a local exchange carrier or a
competitive local exchange carrier, as defined in Minnesota Rules, chapter 7811, is only required
to file an annual report that includes the company's name, contact person, annual revenue, and
status of its 911 update plan.
In the event that any telephone company shall fail to file its annual report, as provided by this
section, the department is authorized to make such an examination of the books, records, and
vouchers of the company as is necessary to procure the necessary data for the annual report and
cause the same to be prepared. The expense of procuring this data and preparing this report shall
be paid by the telephone company failing to report, and the amount paid shall be credited by the
commissioner of finance to funds appropriated for the expense of the department.
The department is authorized to force collection of such sum by an action at law in the
name of the department.
History: (5294) 1915 c 152 s 9; 1919 c 183 s 1; 1961 c 341 s 1; 1971 c 25 s 67; 1986 c 444;
1987 c 340 s 20; 2003 c 112 art 2 s 50; 1Sp2005 c 1 art 4 s 54

237.115 INFORMATION SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER.
In any meeting of the commission during which information that is subject to a protective
order is discussed, the commission shall employ the procedures of section 14.60 to close to all
persons who are not authorized to obtain the information under the protective order that portion of
the meeting during which the information will be discussed and take other appropriate measures
to ensure that the data is not disclosed to persons who are not authorized to obtain the information
under the protective order.
History: 1992 c 493 s 6

237.12 SERVICE CONNECTION BETWEEN TELEPHONE COMPANIES.
    Subdivision 1. Interconnection. When public convenience requires the same, every
telephone company shall, for a reasonable compensation, permit a physical connection or
connections to be made, and telephone service to be furnished between any telephone exchange
system operated by it, and the telephone toll line or lines operated by another company, or
between its telephone toll line or lines and the telephone exchange system of another telephone
company, or between its toll line and the toll line of another company, whenever such physical
connection or connections are practicable and will not result in irreparable injury to the telephone
system so compelled to be connected. The term "physical connection," as used in this section,
means such number of trunk lines or complete wire circuits and connections as may be required to
furnish reasonable and adequate service between such telephone lines and exchanges and shall
not be deemed to provide for any connection whereby one line or circuit is to be bridged upon
another line or circuit. In case of failure of the telephone companies concerned to allow or agree
upon such physical connection or connections, or the terms and conditions upon which the same
shall be made, application may be made to the commission for an order requiring such connection
and fixing the compensation, terms and conditions thereof, and if after investigation and hearing
the commission shall find that such physical connections will not result in irreparable injury to
such telephone properties, the commission shall by order direct that such connections be made,
and prescribe reasonable conditions and compensation therefor and for the joint use thereof,
and by whom the expense of making and maintaining such connection or connections shall be
paid. When application is made requesting physical connection it shall be presumed that such
connection is necessary, and that the public convenience will be promoted thereby, and the burden
of overcoming such presumption shall be upon the party resisting such application. The telephone
companies so connecting shall give service over the connecting line or lines without preference to
or discrimination against any service or telephone company whatever.
    Subd. 2. Discontinuance. Wherever a physical connection or connections exist between any
telephone exchange system operated by a telephone company and the toll line or lines operated by
another telephone company or between its toll line or lines and the telephone exchange system
of another telephone company, or between its toll line and the toll line of another telephone
company, neither of the companies shall cause such connection to be severed or the service
between the companies to be discontinued without first obtaining an order from the commission
upon an application for permission to discontinue such physical connection. Upon the filing of
an application for discontinuance of such a connection, the department shall investigate and
ascertain whether public convenience requires the continuance of such physical connection, and if
the department so finds, the commission shall fix the compensation, terms and conditions of the
continuance of the physical connection and service between the telephone companies.
    Subd. 3. Compensation. Telephone companies providing long-distance telephone services
shall pay compensation to telephone companies providing local telephone services that includes a
fair and reasonable portion of:
(1) the costs of local exchange facilities used in connection with long-distance telephone
services, including facilities connecting a customer to local switching facilities; and
(2) the common costs of companies providing local telephone services.
    Subd. 4. Price for interconnection or network element. For telephone companies with
more than 50,000 access lines, the prices for interconnection or network elements to be established
by the commission in any pending or future proceeding shall be based on a forward-looking
economic cost methodology which shall include, but is not limited to, consideration of the
following:
(1) the use of the most efficient telecommunications technology currently available and
the least cost network configuration, given the existing location of the incumbent telephone
company's wire centers;
(2) forward-looking depreciation rates;
(3) a reasonable allocation of forward-looking joint and common costs;
(4) forward-looking cost of capital; and
(5) Minnesota tax rates, and where applicable, Minnesota facility placement requirements,
Minnesota topography, and Minnesota climate.
History: (5295) 1915 c 152 s 10; 1919 c 183 s 2; 1971 c 25 s 67; 1980 c 614 s 119; 1987 c
340 s 21; 1997 c 223 s 5

237.121 PROHIBITED PRACTICES.
(a) A telephone company or telecommunications carrier may not do any of the following
with respect to services regulated by the commission:
(1) upon request, fail to disclose in a timely and uniform manner information necessary for
the design of equipment and services that will meet the specifications for interconnection;
(2) intentionally impair the speed, quality, or efficiency of services, products, or facilities
offered to a consumer under a tariff, contract, or price list;
(3) fail to provide a service, product, or facility to a consumer other than a telephone
company or telecommunications carrier in accordance with its applicable tariffs, price lists, or
contracts and with the commission's rules and orders;
(4) refuse to provide a service, product, or facility to a telephone company or
telecommunications carrier in accordance with its applicable tariffs, price lists, or contracts
and with the commission's rules and orders;
(5) impose unreasonable or discriminatory restrictions on the resale of its services, provided
that:
(i) it may require that residential service may not be resold as a different class of service; and
(ii) the commission may prohibit resale of services it has approved for provision for
not-for-profit entities at rates less than those offered to the general public; or
(6) provide telephone service to a person acting as a telephone company or
telecommunications carrier if the commission has ordered the telephone company or
telecommunications carrier to discontinue service to that person.
(b) A telephone company or telecommunications carrier may not violate a provision of
section 325F.693, with regard to any of the services provided by the company or carrier.
History: 1995 c 156 s 4,25; 1997 c 68 s 1; 1997 c 223 s 6; 2003 c 97 s 2

237.13 [Repealed, 1987 c 340 s 25]

237.14 RATE FOR SERVICE TO OFFICER.
A telephone company may furnish service free or at reduced rates to its officers, agents, or
employees in furtherance of their employment, but it shall charge full schedule rates without
discrimination for all other services. Nothing herein shall release any telephone company from
carrying out any contract now existing between it and any municipality for the furnishing of
any service free or at reduced rates. Any contract for telephone service, at discriminatory rates,
other than those with municipalities, shall be terminated by the company as soon as the same
becomes terminable by its terms.
History: (5297) 1915 c 152 s 11

237.15 INVESTIGATION AND HEARING; AUTHORITY DELEGATED.
The department shall whenever it deems the same necessary determine the value of all the
property of any telephone company devoted to the public use, and in so doing it shall, after notice
to the telephone company, hold such public hearing as will give all interested parties a chance to
furnish evidence and be heard. For the purpose of this chapter the department is authorized to
appoint engineers, examiners, experts, clerks, accountants, and other assistants as it may deem
necessary at such rates of compensation as it may prescribe.
In the discharge of their duties such appointees shall have every power, of any inquisitorial
nature granted in this chapter to the department. The department may conduct any number
of investigations contemporaneously through its individual members or appointees, and may
delegate to its individual members and employees the taking of all testimony on any investigation
or hearing.
History: (5298) 1915 c 152 s 12; 1919 c 183 s 3; 1971 c 25 s 67

237.155 CREDIT FOR INCORRECT DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE.
A local exchange carrier that provides directory assistance to customers for a fee, either
directly or by contracting with a third party, must provide for an immediate credit to a customer
that informs the directory assistance provider that the provider has given the customer incorrect
information for which the provider charged the customer a fee. A local exchange carrier must
notify its customers of the right to the immediate credit for incorrect directory assistance. The
notice must be in a writing labeled "NOTICE OF RIGHT TO INCORRECT DIRECTORY
ASSISTANCE CREDIT." The notice must be given to a new customer within 45 days of
commencing service and at least annually thereafter and the notification print must be of sufficient
size to be clearly legible.
History: 2004 c 261 art 1 s 2

237.16 LOCAL EXCHANGE COMPETITION, RULES.
    Subdivision 1. New service, certificate of authority. (a) For the purpose of bringing about
fair and reasonable competition for local exchange telephone services, the commission has the
exclusive authority, subject to the authority of a local government unit under sections 237.162
and 237.163, to:
(1) authorize any person to construct telephone lines or exchanges or to otherwise furnish
local service to subscribers in any municipality of this state, and to prescribe the terms and
conditions upon which construction or service delivery may be carried on; and
(2) establish terms and conditions for the entry of telephone service providers so as to protect
consumers from monopolistic practices and preserve the state's commitment to universal service.
(b) No person shall provide telephone service in Minnesota without first obtaining a
determination that the person possesses the technical, managerial, and financial resources to
provide the proposed telephone services and a certificate of authority from the commission under
terms and conditions the commission finds to be consistent with fair and reasonable competition,
universal service, the provision of affordable telephone service at a quality consistent with
commission rules, and the commission's rules.
(c) The commission shall make a determination on an application for a certificate within 120
days of the filing of the application.
    Subd. 2.[Repealed by amendment, 1995 c 156 s 5]
    Subd. 3. Map. Every company authorized to provide local telephone service under this
section shall file a territorial map. The map must comply with the rules prescribed by the
commission.
    Subd. 4. Amended certificate required for expansion. No company authorized to provide
local service shall provide local telephone service in any area for which it has not been certified
nor shall any person acquire ownership or control of another telephone company either directly
or indirectly, without first obtaining from the commission an amended certificate of authority.
The applicant for an amended certificate shall file with the commission notice of the expansion
or acquisition, along with a new map under subdivision 3, identifying the territory to be served.
Notice of the filing shall be served on any affected municipality and local telephone company
certified in that territory. If no objection is filed with the commission by any interested party or
raised by the commission within 20 days of the filing, it is considered approved, except if it
involves an acquisition governed by section 237.23, in which case no certificate shall be granted
until approval is obtained pursuant to that section and subdivision 1. If an objection is filed, the
commission shall determine whether to approve the amendment in an expedited proceeding under
section 237.61. This section shall not be construed to require a telephone company operating an
exchange in Minnesota to secure a certificate for an extension within any territory within which
such company has heretofore filed maps or for substitute facilities within such territories, or for
extensions into territories contiguous to that already occupied by such company and not receiving
similar service from another company if no certificate of territorial authority has been issued to or
applied for by any other company.
    Subd. 5. Revocation and temporary suspension. Any certificate of authority may, after
notice of hearing and a hearing, be revoked or temporarily suspended by the commission, in
whole or in part, for: the failure of its holder to furnish reasonably adequate telephone service
within the area or areas determined and defined in the certificate of authority; failure to meet the
terms and conditions of its certificate; intentional violation of the commission's rules or orders; or
intentional violation of any applicable state or federal law relating to the provision of telephone or
telecommunications services.
    Subd. 6. Expansion of service area not required. This section does not require any
telephone company providing local service in the state of Minnesota to render telephone service
in any portion of any territorial area not included on the telephone company's territorial map.
    Subd. 7. Existing certificate service continued. This section does not limit the ability of
telephone companies possessing certificates of territorial authority on August 1, 1995, including,
but not limited to, certificates authorizing resale of local telephone service, to continue to provide
telephone service within their designated territories.
    Subd. 8. Rules. (a) Before August 1, 1997, the commission shall adopt rules applicable to all
telephone companies and telecommunications carriers required to obtain or having obtained a
certificate for provision of telephone service using any existing federal standards as minimum
standards and incorporating any additional standards or requirements necessary to ensure the
provision of high-quality telephone services throughout the state. The rules must, at a minimum:
(1) define procedures for competitive entry and exit;
(2) require the provisions of equal access and interconnection with the company's network
and other features, functions, and services which the commission considers necessary to promote
fair and reasonable competition;
(3) require unbundling of network services and functions to at least the level required by
existing federal standards;
(4) prescribe, if necessary, methods of reciprocal compensation between telephone
companies;
(5) provide for local telephone number portability;
(6) prescribe appropriate regulatory standards for new local telephone service providers, that
facilitate and support the development of competitive services;
(7) protect against cross-subsidization, unfair competition, and other practices harmful to
promoting fair and reasonable competition;
(8) prescribe methods for the preservation of universal and affordable local telephone
services;
(9) prescribe standards for quality of service;
(10) provide for the continued provision of local emergency telephone services under
chapter 403; and
(11) protect residential and commercial customers from unauthorized changes in service
providers in a competitively neutral manner.
(b) Before January 1, 1998, in a separate rulemaking, the commission shall adopt separate
rules regarding the issues described in paragraph (a), clauses (1) to (11), as may be appropriate
to provision of competitive local telephone service in areas served by telephone companies
with less than 50,000 subscribers originally certified to provide local telephone services before
January 1, 1988.
    Subd. 9. Universal service fund. The commission shall establish and require contributions
to a universal service fund, to be supported by all providers of telephone services, whether or
not they are telephone companies under section 237.01, including, but not limited to, local
telephone companies, independent telephone companies, cooperative telephone companies,
municipal telephone companies, telecommunications carriers, radio common carriers, personal
communication service providers, and cellular carriers. Services that should be considered for
inclusion as universal include, at a minimum, single-party service including access, usage and
touch-tone capability; line quality capable of carrying facsimile and data transmissions; equal
access; emergency services number capability; statewide telecommunications relay service for the
hearing-impaired; and blocking of long-distance toll services. The fund must be administered
and distributed in accordance with rules adopted by the commission and designed to preserve the
availability of universal service throughout the state. Any state universal service fund must be
coordinated with any federal universal service fund and be consistent with section 254(b)(1) to
(5) of the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, Public Law 104-104. The department shall
make recommendations to the legislature by January 1, 1996, regarding a plan for contributions
to and expenditures from the universal service fund. In particular, the department shall address
the following issues:
(1) what additional services should be included in the basic set of essential telephone services
which the state should encourage in its mandate to ensure universal service;
(2) whether and how expenditures from the fund should be used to ensure citizens access to
local government and other public access programming; and
(3) whether expenditures from the fund should be used to encourage construction of
infrastructure for, and access to, advanced services, especially in high-cost areas of the state, and,
if the commission determines the fund should be used for this purpose, a plan to accomplish
these goals.
    Subd. 10. Interim authority. (a) Before adopting the rules required under subdivision
8, the commission shall grant an applicant a certificate to provide a proposed local telephone
service when the commission finds that the applicant meets the conditions of subdivision 1. Any
applicant for a certificate pursuant to subdivision 1 shall, at the time its application is filed,
provide notice of its application to all local telephone companies authorized to provide local
exchange service in the geographic area identified in the application. The applicant and telephone
companies shall negotiate a temporary arrangement pertaining to interconnection matters for the
effective interconnection of local exchange networks, pending the adoption of the rules under
subdivision 8. If the applicant and the telephone companies fail to reach agreement within 60
days of filing the application, the commission shall set the terms of the temporary arrangement
at the time of the issuance of the certificate.
(b) Any company previously certified to provide local telephone services may request a
temporary arrangement for the effective interconnection with the local exchange network of
another telephone company in the same territory, pursuant to the time frames and procedures
of this subdivision.
(c) In addition, through and until the rules are adopted under subdivision 8, each telephone
company serving more than 50,000 access lines in the state shall:
(1) permit interconnection or discontinue interconnection for intrastate services to the same
extent and in the same manner and time frame as the Federal Communications Commission
requires interconnection or permits discontinuance of interconnection for interstate services; and
(2) unbundle its intrastate services and facilities used for intrastate services to the same
extent and in the same manner as the Federal Communications Commission requires unbundling
for interstate purposes.
    Subd. 11. Interim authority in area served by small telephone company. (a) Before
adopting the rules required under subdivision 8 for telephone companies with less than 50,000
subscribers, when an applicant requests certification to provide local telephone service in an
area served by a telephone company with less than 50,000 subscribers originally certified to
provide local telephone service before January 1, 1988, the commission shall grant the application
if it finds the applicant meets the requirements of subdivision 1. The commission shall make
its determination on the application, including whether to provide a temporary arrangement
for the effective interconnection of the local exchange networks, after a hearing under chapter
14 or expedited proceeding under section 237.61, within nine months of the application, and
considering any facts unique to that telephone company. In addition, if an application is granted,
that telephone company shall:
(1) permit interconnection or discontinue interconnection for intrastate services to the same
extent and in the same manner and time frame as the Federal Communications Commission may
thereafter require for that small telephone company for interstate purposes; and
(2) unbundle its intrastate services and facilities used for intrastate services to the same
extent and in the same manner as the Federal Communications Commission may thereafter
require for that telephone company for interstate purposes.
(b) If a telephone company with less than 50,000 subscribers is authorized by the Federal
Communications Commission to provide video common carrier services before the rules required
under subdivision 8 are adopted, an application under this subdivision for certification to provide
local telephone service in an area served by that telephone company shall be determined within
120 days of its filing.
    Subd. 12. Extension of interexchange facility. In order to promote the development of
competitive interexchange services and facilities, any interexchange facility that is owned by a
certified telephone company, independent telephone company, telecommunications carrier or an
affiliate and that is used to provide service to customers located in areas for which it has been
previously certified to provide service may be extended to meet and interconnect with the facility
of another telephone company, small telephone company, or telecommunications carrier, whether
at a point inside or outside of its territories, without further proceeding, order, or determination of
current or future public convenience and necessity, upon mutual consent with the other telephone
company, small telephone company, or telecommunications carrier whose facilities will be met
and interconnected. Written notice of the extension and interconnection must be provided to the
Public Utilities Commission and Department of Public Safety within 30 days after completion.
The written notice must be served on all local exchange companies certified before January 1,
1988, in all areas where the facilities are located.
    Subd. 13. Application of other law. Notwithstanding any provisions of sections 237.035 and
237.74 to the contrary, before adopting the rules under subdivision 8, the local services provided
by a telecommunications carrier are subject to this chapter in the same manner as those local
services of a telephone company regulated under this chapter, except that the telecommunications
carrier is not subject to section 237.22 and is not subject to rate-of-return regulation or earnings
investigations under section 237.075 or 237.081. Before offering a local telephone service a
telecommunications carrier must be certified to provide local service under this section.
History: (5299) 1915 c 152 s 13; 1925 c 184 s 1; 1961 c 637 s 1; 1971 c 25 s 67; 1980 c 614
s 123; 1985 c 248 s 70; 1987 c 340 s 22; 1995 c 156 s 5,25; 1996 c 305 art 1 s 56; 1996 c 340 s 1;
1997 c 68 s 2; 1997 c 123 s 2; 1997 c 223 s 7; 2003 c 97 s 2

237.161 [Expired]

237.162 PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY; DEFINITIONS.
    Subdivision 1. Generally. The terms used in sections 237.162 and 237.163 have the
meanings given to them in this section.
    Subd. 2. Local government unit. "Local government unit" means a county, home rule
charter or statutory city, or town.
    Subd. 3. Public right-of-way. "Public right-of-way" means the area on, below, or above a
public roadway, highway, street, cartway, bicycle lane, and public sidewalk in which the local
government unit has an interest, including other dedicated rights-of-way for travel purposes and
utility easements of local government units.
A public right-of-way does not include the airwaves above a public right-of-way with regard
to cellular or other nonwire telecommunications or broadcast service.
    Subd. 4. Telecommunications right-of-way user. "Telecommunications right-of-way user"
means a person owning or controlling a facility in the public right-of-way, or seeking to own or
control a facility in the public right-of-way, that is used or is intended to be used for transporting
telecommunications or other voice or data information. A cable communication system defined
and regulated under chapter 238, and telecommunications activities related to providing natural
gas or electric energy services whether provided by a public utility as defined in section 216B.02,
a municipality, a municipal gas or power agency organized under chapter 453 or 453A, or a
cooperative electric association organized under chapter 308A, are not telecommunications
right-of-way users for the purposes of this section and section 237.163.
    Subd. 5. Excavate. "Excavate" means to dig into or in any way remove, physically disturb,
or penetrate a part of a public right-of-way.
    Subd. 6. Obstruct. "Obstruct" means to place a tangible object in a public right-of-way so as
to hinder free and open passage over that or any part of the right-of-way.
    Subd. 7. Right-of-way permit. "Right-of-way permit" means a permit to perform work in a
public right-of-way, whether to excavate or obstruct the right-of-way.
    Subd. 8. Manage the public right-of-way. "Manage the public right-of-way" means the
authority of a local government unit to do any or all of the following:
(1) require registration;
(2) require construction performance bonds and insurance coverage;
(3) establish installation and construction standards;
(4) establish and define location and relocation requirements for equipment and facilities;
(5) establish coordination and timing requirements;
(6) require telecommunications right-of-way users to submit, for right-of-way projects
commenced after May 10, 1997, whether initiated by a local government unit or any
telecommunications right-of-way user, project data reasonably necessary to allow the local
government unit to develop a right-of-way mapping system, such as a geographical information
mapping system;
(7) require telecommunication right-of-way users to submit, upon request of a local
government unit, existing data on the location of the user's facilities occupying the public
right-of-way within the local government unit. The data may be submitted in the form maintained
by the user and in a reasonable time after receipt of the request based on the amount of data
requested;
(8) establish right-of-way permitting requirements for street excavation and obstruction;
(9) establish removal requirements for abandoned equipment or facilities, if required in
conjunction with other right-of-way repair, excavation, or construction; and
(10) impose reasonable penalties for unreasonable delays in construction.
    Subd. 9. Management costs or rights-of-way management costs. "Management costs"
or "rights-of-way management costs" means the actual costs a local government unit incurs
in managing its public rights-of-way, and includes such costs, if incurred, as those associated
with registering applicants; issuing, processing, and verifying right-of-way permit applications;
inspecting job sites and restoration projects; maintaining, supporting, protecting, or moving
user equipment during public right-of-way work; determining the adequacy of right-of-way
restoration; restoring work inadequately performed after providing notice and the opportunity to
correct the work; and revoking right-of-way permits. Management costs do not include payment
by a telecommunications right-of-way user for the use of the public right-of-way, the fees and
cost of litigation relating to the interpretation of this section or section 237.163 or any ordinance
enacted under those sections, or the local unit of government's fees and costs related to appeals
taken pursuant to section 237.163, subdivision 5.
History: 1997 c 123 s 3

237.163 USE AND REGULATION OF PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY.
    Subdivision 1. Legislative finding. The legislature finds, and establishes the principle that,
it is in the state's interest that the use and regulation of public rights-of-way be carried on in a
fair, efficient, competitively neutral, and substantially uniform manner, while recognizing such
regulation must reflect the distinct engineering, construction, operation, maintenance and public
and worker safety requirements, and standards applicable to various users of public rights-of-way.
Because of the potential for installation by telecommunication companies of multiple and
competing facilities within the public rights-of-way, the legislature finds it is necessary to enact
the provisions of this section and section 237.162 to specifically authorize local government units
to regulate the use of public rights-of-way by telecommunications right-of-way users.
    Subd. 2. Generally. (a) Subject to this section, a telecommunications right-of-way user
authorized to do business under the laws of this state or by license of the Federal Communications
Commission may construct, maintain, and operate conduit, cable, switches, and related
appurtenances and facilities along, across, upon, above, and under any public right-of-way.
(b) Subject to this section, a local government unit has the authority to manage its public
rights-of-way and to recover its rights-of-way management costs. The authority defined in this
section may be exercised at the option of the local government unit. The exercise of this authority
is not mandated under this section. A local government unit may, by ordinance:
(1) require a telecommunications right-of-way user seeking to excavate or obstruct a public
right-of-way for the purpose of providing telecommunications services to obtain a right-of-way
permit to do so and to impose permit conditions consistent with the local government unit's
management of the right-of-way;
(2) require a telecommunications right-of-way user using, occupying, or seeking to use
or occupy a public right-of-way for the purpose of providing telecommunications services to
register with the local government unit by providing the local government unit with the following
information:
(i) the applicant's name, gopher state one-call registration number under section 216D.03,
address, and telephone and facsimile numbers;
(ii) the name, address, and telephone and facsimile numbers of the applicant's local
representative;
(iii) proof of adequate insurance; and
(iv) other information deemed reasonably necessary by the local government unit for the
efficient administration of the public right-of-way; and
(3) require telecommunications right-of-way users to submit to the local government
unit plans for construction and major maintenance that provide reasonable notice to the local
government unit of projects that the telecommunications right-of-way user expects to undertake
that may require excavation and obstruction of public rights-of-way.
(c) A local government unit may also require a telecommunications right-of-way user that is
registered with the local government unit pursuant to paragraph (b), clause (2), to periodically
update the information in its registration application.
    Subd. 3. Restoration. (a) A telecommunications right-of-way user, after an excavation
of a public right-of-way, shall provide for restoration of the right-of-way and surrounding
areas, including the pavement and its foundation, in the same condition that existed before the
excavation. Local government units that choose to perform their own surface restoration required
as a result of the excavation may require telecommunications right-of-way users to reimburse
the reasonable costs of that surface restoration. Restoration of the public right-of-way must be
completed within the dates specified in the right-of-way permit, unless the permittee obtains a
waiver or a new or amended right-of-way permit.
(b) If a telecommunications right-of-way user elects not to restore the public right-of-way,
a local government unit may impose a degradation fee in lieu of restoration to recover costs
associated with a decrease in the useful life of the public right-of-way caused by the excavation of
the right-of-way by a telecommunications right-of-way user.
(c) A telecommunications right-of-way user that disturbs uncultivated sod in the excavation
or obstruction of a public right-of-way shall plant grasses that are native to Minnesota and,
wherever practicable, that are of the local eco-type, as part of the restoration required under this
subdivision, unless the owner of the real property over which the public right-of-way traverses
objects. In restoring the right-of-way, the telecommunications right-of-way user shall consult with
the Department of Natural Resources regarding the species of native grasses that conform to
the requirements of this paragraph.
    Subd. 4. Permit denial or revocation. (a) A local government unit may deny any application
for a right-of-way permit if the telecommunications right-of-way user does not comply with
a provision of this section.
(b) A local government unit may deny an application for a right-of-way permit if the local
government unit determines that the denial is necessary to protect the health, safety, and welfare
or when necessary to protect the public right-of-way and its current use.
(c) A local government unit may revoke a right-of-way permit granted to a
telecommunications right-of-way user, with or without fee refund, in the event of a substantial
breach of the terms and conditions of statute, ordinance, rule, or regulation or any material
condition of the permit. A substantial breach by a permittee includes, but is not limited to, the
following:
(1) a material violation of a provision of the right-of-way permit;
(2) an evasion or attempt to evade any material provision of the right-of-way permit, or
the perpetration or attempt to perpetrate any fraud or deceit upon the local government unit
or its citizens;
(3) a material misrepresentation of fact in the right-of-way permit application;
(4) a failure to complete work in a timely manner, unless a permit extension is obtained or
unless the failure to complete work is due to reasons beyond the permittee's control; and
(5) a failure to correct, in a timely manner, work that does not conform to applicable
standards, conditions, or codes, upon inspection and notification by the local government unit of
the faulty condition.
(d) Subject to this subdivision, a local government unit may not deny an application for a
right-of-way permit for failure to include a project in a plan submitted to the local government
unit under subdivision 2, paragraph (b), clause (3), when the telecommunications right-of-way
user has used commercially reasonable efforts to anticipate and plan for the project.
(e) In no event may a local government unit unreasonably withhold approval of an
application for a right-of-way permit, or unreasonably revoke a permit.
    Subd. 5. Appeal. A telecommunications right-of-way user that: (1) has been denied
registration; (2) has been denied a right-of-way permit; (3) has had its right-of-way permit
revoked; or (4) believes that the fees imposed on the user by the local government unit do
not conform to the requirements of subdivision 6, may have the denial, revocation, or fee
imposition reviewed, upon written request, by the governing body of the local government
unit. The governing body of the local government unit shall act on a timely written request at
its next regularly scheduled meeting. A decision by the governing body affirming the denial,
revocation, or fee imposition must be in writing and supported by written findings establishing
the reasonableness of the decision.
    Subd. 6. Fees. (a) A local government unit may recover its right-of-way management costs
by imposing a fee for registration, a fee for each right-of-way permit, or, when appropriate,
a fee applicable to a particular telecommunications right-of-way user when that user causes
the local government unit to incur costs as a result of actions or inactions of that user. A local
government unit may not recover from a telecommunications right-of-way user costs caused by
another entity's activity in the right-of-way.
(b) Fees, or other right-of-way obligations, imposed by a local government unit on
telecommunications right-of-way users under this section must be:
(1) based on the actual costs incurred by the local government unit in managing the public
right-of-way;
(2) based on an allocation among all users of the public right-of-way, including the
local government unit itself, which shall reflect the proportionate costs imposed on the local
government unit by each of the various types of uses of the public rights-of-way;
(3) imposed on a competitively neutral basis; and
(4) imposed in a manner so that aboveground uses of public rights-of-way do not bear costs
incurred by the local government unit to regulate underground uses of public rights-of-way.
(c) The rights, duties, and obligations regarding the use of the public right-of-way imposed
under this section must be applied to all users of the public right-of-way, including the local
government unit while recognizing regulation must reflect the distinct engineering, construction,
operation, maintenance and public and worker safety requirements, and standards applicable to
various users of the public rights-of-way. For users subject to the franchising authority of a local
government unit, to the extent those rights, duties, and obligations are addressed in the terms of
an applicable franchise agreement, the terms of the franchise shall prevail over any conflicting
provision in an ordinance.
    Subd. 7. Additional right-of-way provisions. (a) In managing the public rights-of-way and
in imposing fees under this section, no local government unit may:
(1) unlawfully discriminate among telecommunications right-of-way users;
(2) grant a preference to any telecommunications right-of-way user;
(3) create or erect any unreasonable requirement for entry to the public rights-of-way by
telecommunications right-of-way users; or
(4) require a telecommunications right-of-way user to obtain a franchise or pay for the use
of the right-of-way.
(b) A telecommunications right-of-way user need not apply for or obtain right-of-way
permits for facilities that are located in public rights-of-way on May 10, 1997, for which the user
has obtained the required consent of the local government unit, or that are otherwise lawfully
occupying the public right-of-way. However, the telecommunications right-of-way user may
be required to register and to obtain a right-of-way permit for an excavation or obstruction of
existing facilities within the public right-of-way after May 10, 1997.
(c) Data and documents exchanged between a local government unit and a
telecommunications right-of-way user are subject to the terms of chapter 13. A local government
unit not complying with this paragraph is subject to the penalties set forth in section 13.08.
(d) A local government unit may not collect a fee imposed under this section through
the provision of in-kind services by a telecommunications right-of-way user, nor may a local
government unit require the provision of in-kind services as a condition of consent to use the
local government unit's public right-of-way.
    Subd. 8. Uniform statewide standards. (a) To ensure the safe and convenient use of public
rights-of-way in the state, the Public Utilities Commission shall develop and adopt by June
1, 1999, statewide construction standards for the purposes of achieving substantial statewide
uniformity in construction standards where appropriate, providing competitive neutrality among
telecommunications right-of-way users, and permitting efficient use of technology. The standards
shall govern:
(1) the terms and conditions of right-of-way construction, excavation, maintenance, and
repair; and
(2) the terms and conditions under which telecommunications facilities and equipment are
placed in the public right-of-way.
(b) The Public Utilities Commission is authorized to review, upon complaint by an aggrieved
telecommunications right-of-way user, a decision or regulation by a local government unit that is
alleged to violate a statewide standard.
(c) A local unit of government may not adopt an ordinance or other regulation that conflicts
with a standard adopted by the commission for the purposes described in paragraph (a).
History: 1997 c 123 s 4; 1998 c 345 s 4

237.164 UNIVERSAL SERVICE DISCOUNT FOR SCHOOL OR LIBRARY.
The commission shall establish intrastate service discounts for schools and libraries by order
to the extent and within the time frame necessary to enable schools and libraries to begin receiving
federally supported discounts at the earliest date permitted by the Federal Communications
Commission.
History: 1997 c 223 s 8

237.17 EXTENSION OF LONG-DISTANCE LINE.
Any telephone company may extend its long-distance lines into or through any city of this
state for the furnishing of long-distance service only, subject to the regulation of the governing
body of such city relative to the location of the poles and wires and the preservation of the safe
and convenient use of such streets and alleys to the public.
History: (5300) 1915 c 152 s 14; 1925 c 184 s 2; 1973 c 123 art 5 s 7; 1987 c 340 s 23

237.18 SURRENDERING OLD LICENSE; NEW AUTHORITY.
Any telephone company operating under any existing license, permit, or franchise or which
shall, before the taking effect of Laws 1915, chapter 152, acquire any license, permit, or franchise,
upon filing with the clerk of the municipality which granted such franchise, a written declaration
that it surrenders such license, permit, or franchise, may receive in lieu thereof, an indeterminate
permit, as defined in this chapter; and such telephone company shall thereafter hold such permit
under all the terms, conditions, and limitations of this chapter. The filing of such declaration shall
be deemed a waiver by such telephone company of the right to insist upon the fulfillment by
any municipality of any contract theretofore entered into relating to any rate, charge, or service
made subject to regulation by this chapter. Upon filing such written declaration by the telephone
company, the clerk of the municipality shall file with the commission a certificate showing
that fact and the date thereof, and thereupon it shall receive an indeterminate permit from the
commission conferring the same rights as if originally granted under this chapter.
History: (5301) 1915 c 152 s 15; 1971 c 25 s 67; 1980 c 614 s 123

MUNICIPAL TELEPHONE SERVICES

237.19 MUNICIPAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES.
Any municipality shall have the right to own and operate a telephone exchange within its
own borders, subject to the provisions of this chapter. It may construct such plant, or purchase an
existing plant by agreement with the owner, or where it cannot agree with the owner on price,
it may acquire an existing plant by condemnation, as hereinafter provided, but in no case shall
a municipality construct or purchase such a plant or proceed to acquire an existing plant by
condemnation until such action by it is authorized by a majority of the electors voting upon the
proposition at a general election or a special election called for that purpose, and if the proposal
is to construct a new exchange where an exchange already exists, it shall not be authorized to
do so unless 65 percent of those voting thereon vote in favor of the undertaking. A municipality
that owns and operates a telephone exchange may enter into a joint venture as a partner or
shareholder with a telecommunications organization to provide telecommunications services
within its service area.
History: (5302) 1915 c 152 s 16; 1991 c 79 s 1

237.20 CONDEMNATION: NOTICE, COMPENSATION, APPEAL.
When a municipality decides in the manner above provided to acquire an existing plant by
condemnation, it shall give notice to the commission which shall determine the just compensation
which the owner of the plant is entitled to receive from the municipality. Before deciding upon the
compensation, the commission shall, at a public meeting which may be adjourned from time to
time, hear all interested parties on the question involved. The commission shall by order fix the
compensation and furnish a copy of its order to the municipality and to the telephone company
concerned. An appeal may be taken to the district court of the county in which the plant is situated
from that part of the order fixing the compensation to be paid, within 30 days, by either party. The
appeal shall be tried the same as other appeals hereunder. If no appeal is taken, the order of the
commission shall become final at the end of 30 days.
History: (5303) 1915 c 152 s 17; 1971 c 25 s 67; 1980 c 614 s 123; 1983 c 247 s 99

PROPERTY VALUATION AND ACQUISITION

237.21 VALUATION OF TELEPHONE PROPERTY.
In determining the value of any telephone property for ratemaking purposes, no valuation
shall be allowed upon the value of any franchise granted by the state or any municipality where
no payment was or is being made to the state or municipality on account thereof. The requirement
as to reasonableness of rates shall apply to each exchange unit as well as to telephone plants as
a whole. Provided, that in the case of a company operating a telephone system consisting of
more than one exchange in the state, reasonableness of rates, as measured by earnings, shall be
determined by a reasonable return from the total operations of the system within the state rather
than by the return from individual exchanges or services. No telephone rates or charges shall
be allowed or approved by the commission under any circumstances, which are inadequate
and which are intended to or naturally tend to destroy competition or produce a monopoly in
telephone service in the locality affected.
History: (5304) 1915 c 152 s 18; 1953 c 25 s 1,2; 1971 c 25 s 67; 1980 c 614 s 123;
1Sp2001 c 4 art 6 s 57

237.22 DEPRECIATION; AMORTIZATION.
(a) For purposes of a proceeding to determine or investigate any wholesale or retail rate, or
to set any universal service support level, the commission may fix proper and adequate rates and
methods of depreciation and amortization with respect to a telephone company's property.
(b) All telephone companies shall retain data in sufficient detail for the purpose of
determining depreciation accruals and reserves by depreciable telephone plant account.
Depreciable plant accounts are those specified by the Federal Communications Commission for
the class to which a telephone company belongs. All telephone companies shall maintain, and
have available for inspection by the commission upon request, adequate accounts and records
related to depreciation practices as defined herein.
History: (5305) 1915 c 152 s 19; 1971 c 25 s 67; 1977 c 364 s 10; 1980 c 614 s 123; 1987 c
340 s 24; 2000 c 436 s 2

237.23 ACQUIRING PROPERTY OF ANOTHER COMPANY.
It shall be unlawful for any telephone company, corporation, person, partnership, or
association subject to the provisions of this chapter to purchase or acquire the property, capital
stock, bonds, securities, or other obligations, or the franchises, rights, privileges, and immunities
of any telephone company doing business within the state without first obtaining the consent
of the commission thereto; and telephone companies, corporations, persons, partnerships, or
associations are hereby given the right with the consent of the commission to purchase and acquire
the property, capital stock, bonds, securities, or other obligations together with all franchises,
rights, privileges, and immunities owned or enjoyed by said companies. The owner and the
proposed purchaser of said property shall both join in the application filed with the commission
for the approval of such transfer, and in the case of a corporation desiring to sell all of its property
it shall require a vote of a majority of its stockholders to ratify the same. Telephone companies
may sell and dispose of any property not used by said telephone companies in the conduct of their
business at the time of the sale without the consent of the commission.
Nothing herein shall be deemed to prevent the holding of stock heretofore lawfully acquired
or to prevent the acquisition of additional stock by any telephone company owning a majority of
the stock of any telephone company.
History: (5306) 1915 c 152 s 20; 1919 c 183 s 4; 1945 c 143 s 1; 1971 c 25 s 67; 1980 c
614 s 123

237.231 SALE OF LOCAL EXCHANGE SERVICE.
    Subdivision 1. Commission approval. A Class A telephone company may not sell a
local exchange service territory without receiving the prior consent of the commission. For the
purposes of this section, a Class A telephone company is a telephone company which has annual
revenues from regulated telecommunication operations of $100,000,000 or more, as defined by
the Federal Communications Commission in Code of Federal Regulations, title 47, section 32.11,
paragraphs (a)(1) and (e).
    Subd. 2. Notice of intended sale. At least 90 days prior to applying to the commission
for consent to a proposed sale or acquisition of a local exchange service, the selling telephone
company must provide notice to its customers in that local exchange of its intent to sell and
identify the affected local exchange, and the name of the proposed buyer. The notice must be on a
separate document and included in the company's monthly billings to customers. The commission
must approve the form of all notices.
    Subd. 3. Resident poll. At least 60 days prior to the hearing under subdivision 4, the
telephone company proposing the sale of a local exchange service must provide each of its
customers with a stamped envelope addressed to the commission and must inform the customer
that the customer is encouraged to comment on the quality of service that has been provided in the
local exchange service territory by the telephone company over the last 12 months.
    Subd. 4. Public hearing. At least 30 days prior to the commission's deliberations about a
proposed sale or acquisition of a local exchange service territory, the commission must hold a
public hearing at a location within the affected local exchange service territory allowing the public
an opportunity to be heard and to present any concerns or comments.
    Subd. 5. Requirements for consent. The commission may not give consent to a sale of a
service territory unless, at a minimum, it finds all of the following:
(1) the quality of service provided by the telephone company servicing the local exchange
service territory has substantially complied with all applicable quality of service standards
adopted by rule by the commission for the previous calendar year;
(2) the proposed buyer is financially responsible and capable of making necessary
investments to maintain quality service at levels required by rule; and
(3) the proposed buyer demonstrates that it has an adequate number of properly trained
employees to maintain service at required levels.
The commission shall, as a condition of its consent, require a proposed buyer to enter into
binding commitments obligating the buyer to maintain minimum levels of investment and staffing
needed to meet the commission's quality of service rules. These commitments are in addition to
any other conditions that the commission may impose.
History: 1995 c 191 s 1

ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDINGS, APPEALS, REMEDIES

237.24 TRANSCRIBED COPY OF RECORD, EXPENSE.
A full and complete record shall be kept by the commission of all proceedings had before
it upon any formal investigation or hearing and all testimony received or offered shall be
taken down by the stenographer appointed by the commission and a transcribed copy of such
record shall be furnished to any party to such investigation upon the payment of the expense
of furnishing said transcribed copy.
When an appeal is taken from any order of the commission under the provisions of this
chapter, the commission shall forthwith cause a certified transcript of all proceedings had, of all
pleadings and files, and all testimony taken or offered before it upon which such order was based,
showing particularly what, if any evidence, offered was excluded, to be made and filed with the
court administrator of the district court where such appeal is pending.
History: (5307) 1915 c 152 s 21; 1919 c 183 s 5; 1971 c 25 s 67; 1980 c 614 s 123;
1Sp1986 c 3 art 1 s 82

237.25 APPEAL FROM DECISION OF COMMISSION.
Any party to a proceeding before the commission or the attorney general may make and
perfect an appeal from the order in accordance with chapter 14.
If the court finds from an examination of the record that the commission erroneously rejected
evidence which should have been admitted, it shall remand the proceedings to the commission
with instructions to receive the evidence rejected and any rebutting evidence and make new
findings and return them to the court for further review. In such case the commission, after notice
to the parties in interest, shall proceed to rehear the matter in controversy, and receive the
wrongfully rejected evidence and any rebutting evidence offered and make new findings, as
upon the original hearing, and transmit it and the new record, properly certified, to the Court of
Appeals, whereupon the matter shall be again considered in the court in the same manner as
in an original appeal.
History: (5308) 1915 c 152 s 22; 1971 c 25 s 67; 1980 c 614 s 123; 1983 c 247 s 100

237.26 ORDER FINAL AND CONCLUSIVE.
If no appeal is taken from any order of the commission, as above provided, then in all
litigation thereafter arising between the state and any telephone company or between private
parties and any telephone company, the order shall be deemed final and conclusive.
History: (5309) 1915 c 152 s 23; 1971 c 25 s 67; 1980 c 614 s 123

237.27 ATTORNEY GENERAL TO COMPEL OBEDIENCE.
When any telephone company fails to comply with any law of the state or any order of the
commission after it has become final, or any order or judgment of the district court, the Court
of Appeals, or the Supreme Court in any cases taken to any of the courts on appeal, after the
judgment or order has become final, the attorney general shall apply to the district court in the
name of the state in any county in which the plant of the telephone company, or any part of it,
is situated, for a mandatory injunction or other appropriate writ to compel obedience to the
law, order, or judgment. The district court shall punish any disobedience of its orders in the
enforcement proceedings as for contempt of court.
History: (5311) 1915 c 152 s 25; 1971 c 25 s 67; 1980 c 614 s 123; 1983 c 247 s 101

237.28 BURDEN OF PROOF.
In any investigation, action or proceeding arising under, or growing out of, an action initiated
by the commission upon its own motion, the burden of proof shall be upon the telephone company
to establish the reasonableness of the existing rates.
History: (5311-1) 1937 c 426 s 1; 1971 c 25 s 67; 1980 c 614 s 123

237.29 [Repealed, 1978 c 694 s 4]

ASSESSMENTS

237.295 ASSESSMENT OF REGULATORY EXPENSES.
    Subdivision 1. Filing fee for new authority. 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.
    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. The total amount that may be
assessed to the telephone companies under this subdivision may not exceed three-eighths of
one percent of the total gross jurisdictional operating revenues during the calendar year. 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.
    Subd. 3. Objection. Within 30 days after the date of the mailing of any bill as provided by
subdivisions 1, 2, 5, and 6, the parties to the proceeding, against which the bill has been assessed,
may file with the commission objections setting out the grounds upon which it is claimed the bill
is excessive, erroneous, unlawful, or invalid. The commission shall within 60 days issue an order
in accordance with its findings. The order shall be appealable in the same manner as other final
orders of the commission.
    Subd. 4. Interest imposed. The amounts assessed against any telephone company or other
party that is not paid after 30 days after the mailing of a notice advising the telephone company
or other party of the amount assessed against it, shall draw interest at the rate of six percent per
annum, and upon failure to pay the assessment the attorney general shall proceed by action in
the name of the state against the telephone company or other party to collect the amount due,
together with interest and the cost of the suit.
    Subd. 5. Administrative hearing costs; appropriation. Any amounts billed to the
commission or the department by the Office of Administrative Hearings for contested case
hearings held pursuant to section 237.25 shall be assessed by the commissioner or the department
against the parties to the proceeding. The assessment shall be paid into the state treasury within 30
days after a bill, which constitutes notice of the assessment and demand for payment of it, has been
mailed to the parties. Money received shall be credited to a special account and is appropriated to
the commissioner or the department for payment to the Office of Administrative Hearings.
    Subd. 6. Extended area service balloting account; appropriation. The extended area
service balloting account is created as a separate account in the special revenue fund in the state
treasury. The commission shall render separate bills to telephone companies only for direct
balloting costs incurred by the commission under section 237.161. The bill constitutes notice of
the assessment and demand of payment. The amount of a bill assessed by the commission under
this subdivision must be paid by the telephone company into the state treasury within 30 days
from the date of assessment. Money received under this subdivision must be credited to the
extended area service balloting account and is appropriated to the commission.
History: 1978 c 694 s 3; 1979 c 50 s 24; 1980 c 614 s 120,121; 1981 c 357 s 74,75;
1989 c 74 s 5,6; 1992 c 478 s 5; 1993 c 369 s 68,69; 1998 c 345 s 5; 1Sp2001 c 4 art 6 s 77;
1Sp2005 c 1 art 4 s 55,56

237.30 TELEPHONE INVESTIGATION FUND; APPROPRIATION.
The sum of $25,000 is hereby appropriated out of any moneys in the state treasury not
otherwise appropriated, to establish and provide a revolving fund to be known as the Minnesota
Telephone Investigation Fund for the use of the Department of Commerce and of the attorney
general in investigations, valuations, and revaluations under section 237.295. All sums paid by
the telephone companies to reimburse the department for its expenses pursuant to section 237.295
shall be credited to the revolving fund and shall be deposited in a separate bank account and not
commingled with any other state funds or moneys, but any balance in excess of $25,000 in the
revolving fund at the end of each fiscal year shall be paid into the state treasury and credited to
the general fund. The sum of $25,000 herein appropriated and all subsequent credits to said
revolving fund shall be paid upon the warrant of the commissioner of finance upon application of
the department or of the attorney general to an aggregate amount of not more than one-half of
such sums to each of them, which proportion shall be constantly maintained in all credits and
withdrawals from the revolving fund.
History: (5311-2a) 1939 c 333 s 2; 1969 c 399 s 1; 1971 c 25 s 67; 1973 c 492 s 14;
1Sp1981 c 4 art 1 s 96; 1989 c 269 s 43; 1Sp2001 c 4 art 6 s 58

237.31 [Repealed, 1951 c 113 s 2]

237.32 [Repealed, 1975 c 25 s 2]

TOWN TELEPHONE SYSTEMS

237.33 TOWN TELEPHONE SYSTEM.
For the purpose of preventing the starting and spreading of forest or prairie fires and
extinguishing the same, promoting public welfare, public health, and public safety, and facilitating
the work of public improvements, the electors of any organized town of this state shall have
power, at their annual town meeting or at any special town meeting called in the manner provided
by law for special town meetings, to authorize the town to construct, or otherwise acquire, operate,
and maintain a township telephone system, including the necessary poles, wires, telephones and
telephone equipment, and by itself or in conjunction with one or more other towns to construct,
equip, acquire, operate, and maintain a local telephone exchange, or one or more trunk lines of
wires connecting such town or towns with the local exchange, or with a local exchange owned by
some other corporation or persons, and to determine by ballot the amount of money to be raised
for the purposes aforesaid. No such local exchange as herein provided for shall be constructed or
maintained in municipalities where a local exchange is already in operation.
History: (5312) 1921 c 439 s 1

237.34 TOWN TELEPHONE LINE OUTSIDE CORPORATE LIMITS.
For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of section 237.33, any town may, by itself or in
conjunction with one or more other towns, construct, maintain, acquire, own, or lease telephone
lines, telephone equipment, or a local exchange outside the corporate limits of such town. The
authority herein granted to any town to acquire, construct, or maintain, by itself, lines outside of
its corporate limits shall be solely for the purpose of connecting telephones inside its corporate
limits with a telephone exchange or switching center outside its corporate limits. The department
may order any service to be extended across any township line to any person or concern adjacent
thereto when, in the judgment of the department, such person or concern is entitled to telephone
service and the same cannot be reasonably required of any other telephone company.
History: (5313) 1921 c 439 s 2; 1927 c 193 s 1; 1971 c 25 s 67

237.35 TAX LEVY FOR CONSTRUCTION.
When any town has authorized the construction, acquiring, operation, or maintenance of
a telephone system, as set forth in sections 237.33 and 237.34, and determined the amount of
money to be raised for that purpose, the town board of supervisors may levy a tax for the amount
of money to be raised therefor.
History: (5314) 1921 c 439 s 3; 1949 c 238 s 1; 1973 c 773 s 1; 1989 c 277 art 4 s 19;
1994 c 505 art 5 s 3

237.36 RENTAL, CHARGE, TOLL; TAXATION; NONPAYMENT.
The electors of such town shall have power at their annual town meeting, or at any special
meeting, to determine and, in case the electors fail to do so, the town board of supervisors shall
determine, the manner of payment of rentals and charges to be paid per phone for operating a
local exchange service; and such charges and all tolls payable by the users of such township
system shall, in the first instance, be collected by the town board or under its direction. Any local
exchange may, by agreement with any town board of supervisors, collect the long-distance tolls
directly from the users. No such town shall be subjected to or liable for any gross earnings or
other tax by reason of moneys collected or property owned by it for such township telephone
system. In case of the failure on the part of any user to pay such charges or tolls in the manner
so provided, the town board may institute an action at law to collect such charges or tolls in
arrears, and may also discontinue telephone service to such user, until all charges and tolls in
arrears, the court costs, if any, taxed and allowed in an action to collect such arrears, and the
reasonable cost of disconnecting the telephone from the general service, and reconnecting the
same shall have been paid.
History: (5315) 1921 c 439 s 4

237.37 BONDS TO CONSTRUCT.
For the purpose of constructing, acquiring, operating, or maintaining a township telephone
system or local exchange, as in sections 237.33 to 237.40 provided, any organized town is hereby
authorized to issue and sell its bonds in the same manner, under the same procedure, and within
the same limitations as provided by law for the issuance and sale of town road and bridge bonds;
and the board of supervisors and their successors are hereby authorized to levy and in due form
certify to the auditor of the county in which such town is situated, a tax upon the taxable property
of the town to provide for the payment of installments of principal and interest as they mature, in
the manner provided in the case of town road and bridge bonds.
History: (5316) 1921 c 439 s 5

237.38 LOCAL EXCHANGE PERMITS CONNECTION.
When public convenience requires the same, every local telephone exchange shall for a
reasonable compensation permit a physical connection or connections to be made and telephone
service to be furnished between such local telephone exchange system and township telephone
system. In case of failure of the local telephone exchange to allow or agree upon such physical
connection or connections, or the terms and conditions upon which the same shall be made,
application may be made to the department for an order requiring such connection, and fixing
the compensation, terms, and conditions thereof; and if after investigation and hearing the
department shall find that such physical connections will not result in irreparable injury to such
telephone properties, it shall by order direct such connections to be made and prescribe reasonable
conditions and compensation therefor and for the joint use thereof, and by whom the expense
of making and maintaining such connection or connections shall be paid. When application is
made to the department requesting physical connection, it shall be presumed that such connection
is necessary and that the public convenience will be promoted thereby, and the burden of
overcoming such presumption shall be upon the party resisting such application.
History: (5317) 1921 c 439 s 6; 1971 c 25 s 67

237.39 ACQUIRING OR SELLING TELEPHONE SYSTEM.
When, under the provisions of sections 237.33 to 237.40, a township telephone system is
established in any township in which any of the inhabitants of the town are already provided
with telephone service furnished by any other telephone company or person, the town shall,
when so requested by the telephone company or person, acquire from the telephone company all
telephone equipment used by the telephone company or person in furnishing telephone service
to the inhabitants of the town exclusively. For the purpose of determining the purchase price
of the equipment, application shall be made to the department which shall determine the just
compensation which the owner of the telephone equipment is entitled to receive for it from the
town. Before deciding upon the compensation, the department shall, at a public meeting, which
may be adjourned from time to time, hear all interested persons of the question involved. The
department shall by order fix the compensation and furnish a copy of its order to the town, and
to the telephone company or person concerned. An appeal may be taken to the district court of
the county in which the town is situated from that part of the order fixing the compensation to
be paid, within 30 days, by either party. The appeal shall be tried in the same manner as other
appeals hereunder. If no appeal is taken, the order of the department shall become final at the
end of 30 days.
When, under the provisions of sections 237.33 to 237.40 a township telephone system has
been established in any town, and it has been determined by the board of supervisors of the town
to be for the best interest of public service and all persons concerned, to sell and transfer the
township telephone system to any telephone company or person giving service organized for that
purpose and qualified to purchase the system and operate it, the board of supervisors may sell,
transfer, and convey the township telephone system upon such reasonable price and terms as it
may determine; provided, that there shall be presented to the board of supervisors by a petition
signed by at least 25 percent of the landowners of the town asking for the sale. If the sale and
agreed sale price are approved at an annual or special town meeting, it being stated in the notice
of the annual and special meeting that the proposition will be considered at it, by 66 percent of the
legal voters attending the meeting.
If any township telephone lines are sold under the provisions of sections 237.33 to 237.40,
and the town has previously issued bonds for their construction, and any part of the bonds are then
outstanding and unpaid, the entire consideration received from the sale, or such part as may be
necessary, shall be held and applied only for the payment and retirement of the bonds.
History: (5318) 1921 c 439 s 7; 1929 c 150 s 1; 1971 c 25 s 67; 1983 c 247 s 102; 2004
c 228 art 2 s 7

237.40 MANAGEMENT.
The board of supervisors of any such town is hereby vested with all necessary authority to
manage, maintain, and operate any township telephone system constructed under the provisions
of sections 237.33 to 237.40; and, to that end, may, among other things, contract for the
connection of such town lines with exchanges owned by others for switching, lease the system
for a reasonable compensation, local exchange and toll connections, hire and discharge such
employees as may be necessary to operate and maintain such township system, establish rules
and regulations; and, subject to the approval of the department, establish and from time to time,
change rates and charges covering the service furnished the users.
History: (5319) 1921 c 439 s 8; 1929 c 150 s 2; 1971 c 25 s 67

237.41 [Repealed, 1987 c 340 s 25]

237.411 REDUCED RATE REGULATION FOR CERTAIN BUSINESS CUSTOMERS.
    Subdivision 1. Business customer; defined. For the purpose of this section, "business
customer" means a customer subscribing to four or more business lines.
    Subd. 2. Competitive area; defined. A "competitive area" is an exchange located:
(1) in the metropolitan area extended area service toll-free calling area; or
(2) in the cities of Duluth or St. Cloud.
    Subd. 3. Reduced rate regulation. The rates, prices, tariffs, or charges to a business
customer in a competitive area by a telephone company or a telecommunications carrier offering
local service are only subject to sections 237.07, subdivision 1; 237.66; and 237.663, and are not
subject to any rules imposing rate or price restrictions beyond those sections or to other order or
investigation of local rates under section 237.081.
    Subd. 4. Protection from anticompetitive pricing. This subdivision applies to prices
governed by subdivision 3. A telephone company must not price its local telephone services,
whether offered singly or as part of a bundle of services, below the total service long-run
incremental cost of providing the service or services.
    Subd. 5. Enforcement. (a) The powers and duties granted to the commission by section
237.081 apply to violations or suspected violations of this section. A person aggrieved by a
violation of this section may file a complaint as provided in section 237.081, which shall be
treated as any other complaint filed under that section. The commissioner of commerce may
investigate violations or alleged violations of this section.
(b) Sections 237.461 and 237.462 apply to violations of this section.
History: 2004 c 261 art 6 s 1

NOTE: This section, as added by Laws 2004, chapter 261, article 6, section 1, expires
August 1, 2010. Laws 2004, chapter 261, article 6, section 5, as amended by Laws 2005, chapter
10, article 1, section 80.

237.414 EXPANDED CALLING AREAS; TRANSPORT FACILITIES; TERMINATIONS.
    Subdivision 1. Expanded calling areas. (a) In addition to any existing authority applicable
to telephone companies, a telephone company may expand the area to which it can provide calling
to its customers upon filing with the commission any agreements between the telephone company
and other telephone companies and telecommunications carriers entered into under subdivision
3. Calling to these expanded areas must be optional to customers and must be in addition to the
customers' existing local service and any extended area service. Subject to sections 237.06 and
237.09, the telephone company may determine the quantity of expanded calling to provide, the
prices for that calling, and whether to offer calling alone or in combination with one or more other
telephone or unregulated services.
(b) Prices for expanded calling service or for bundles of services that include expanded
calling must exceed the variable cost of the expanded calling service or bundles of services,
determined on an aggregate basis. A telephone company is not required to file cost information
before implementing its prices and is not required to file cost information except on request of the
department, Office of the Attorney General, or commission. Customers must be notified of local
service options and prices, including options that do not include expanded calling, as required
under section 237.66. The telephone company shall clearly identify the distinction between the
expanded calling area and the basic local calling area to customers. The telephone company is
not required to offer unlimited flat-rate calling to these expanded calling areas. The telephone
company shall file tariffs setting forth the expanded calling area along with the applicable prices
and quantities of calling.
(c) A rate increase or a substantial change in terms and conditions of the expanded calling
service may be effective 30 days after filing with the commission and 30 days after providing
written notice to affected customers. Rate decreases may be effective immediately upon filing.
Minor changes to terms and conditions may be effective immediately upon filing and upon notice
to customers. This section does not apply to extended area service or to calling areas previously
or hereafter established by order of the commission. This section does not limit the existing
rights and obligations of telephone companies and telecommunications carriers to provide local
calling, including the obligation to offer unlimited flat rate calling in the basic local calling area
or expanded calling area.
    Subd. 2. Obtaining transport, switching facilities. A telephone company may construct,
purchase, lease, or rent transport and switching facilities between its existing local area and the
expanded calling area that are needed to provide the expanded calling. If the telephone company
is unable to reach agreement with other telephone companies or telecommunications carriers,
the company or carrier may petition the commission under section 237.12 to resolve issues
regarding prices, terms, and conditions for use of any transport facilities that are subject to the
jurisdiction of the commission.
    Subd. 3. Termination of expanded calling traffic. (a) A telephone company providing an
expanded calling area under this section may enter into an agreement to terminate calls with
telephone companies and telecommunications carriers providing service within the expanded
calling area. Compensation to the telephone company or telecommunications carrier to terminate
expanded calling into such areas must be the intrastate access charges of the telephone company
or telecommunications carrier terminating the call or other rates agreed upon by the companies.
(b) Two telephone companies that provide expanded calling between their respective areas
may also enter into "bill and keep" arrangements for exchange of the expanded calling area traffic.
(c) The telephone company shall file with the commission any agreements for termination of
calling by telephone companies and telecommunications carriers providing service within the
expanded calling area. The prices, terms, and conditions contained in the agreements required
to be filed shall be publicly disclosed in their entirety, and other terminating carriers may elect
to adopt those prices, terms, and conditions in whole or in part for technically similar services
provided in the exchanges included in the agreement.
    Subd. 4. Amending or terminating expanded calling service. Except for calling areas that
result from a prior or subsequent order of the commission, a telephone company may amend
or terminate the expanded calling area service upon 30 days' written notice to customers, the
commission, and other telephone companies and telecommunications carriers providing local
service in the expanded area. The notice to customers of an amendment to the expanded calling
area or termination of an expanded calling area must be sent separately from other mailings and
clearly explain how the expanded calling area is being changed. The notice to customers of an
amendment must also clearly identify that calls to areas outside of the expanded calling area will
be long distance calls billed at the applicable rate of the customer's long distance carrier. The
notice to customers of a termination must clearly identify that calls to the terminated expanded
calling area will become long distance calls billed at the applicable rate of the customer's long
distance carrier.
History: 2004 c 261 art 4 s 1

237.42 [Repealed, 1987 c 340 s 25]

237.43 [Repealed, 1987 c 340 s 25]

237.435 ANNUAL UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUNDING CERTIFICATION.
In determining whether to provide the annual certification of any eligible telecommunications
carrier for continued receipt of federal universal service funding, the commission shall apply the
same standards and criteria to all eligible telecommunications carriers.
History: 2004 c 261 art 4 s 2

TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE LINES

237.44 TELEGRAPH LINE, LIABILITY.
If any person or corporation owning or operating a telegraph line wholly or partly within
the state shall fail to transmit any message within a reasonable time, or to exercise due diligence
to that end, after its reception, or shall fail to deliver any message to the party to whom it is
addressed within a reasonable time after its arrival at the place of destination, the person or
corporation shall be liable in a civil action at the suit of the party injured for all damages sustained
by reason of such neglect or omission. The company delivering the message shall state plainly
thereon the exact time when it was received at the original point for transmission.
History: (7548) RL s 2931; 1986 c 444

237.45 TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH LINES CONSTRUCTED.
Natural persons, copartnerships, and associations may construct, maintain, and operate
telephone and telegraph lines, and shall have and possess the same rights, powers, and privileges
with reference thereto as corporations formed for such purpose.
History: (7549) RL s 2932

VIOLATIONS, PENALTIES, ENFORCEMENT

237.46 GROSS MISDEMEANOR VIOLATION.
Any telephone company and, if it be a corporation, the officers thereof, violating any
provisions of sections 237.01 to 237.27, shall be guilty of a gross misdemeanor.
History: (5310) 1915 c 152 s 24; 1919 c 183 s 6

237.461 ENFORCEMENT.
    Subdivision 1. Actions. This chapter and rules and orders of the commission adopted under
this chapter may be enforced by any one or combination of: criminal prosecution, action to
recover civil penalties, injunction, action to compel performance, and other appropriate action.
    Subd. 2. Civil penalty. A person who knowingly and intentionally violates a provision of
this chapter or rule or order of the commission adopted under this chapter shall forfeit and pay
to the state a penalty, in an amount to be determined by the court, of at least $100 and not more
than $5,000 for each day of each violation.
    Subd. 3.MS 2004 [Expired, 1999 c 224 s 7; 2004 c 261 art 6 s 3; 1Sp2005 c 1 art 4 s 117]
    Subd. 4. Civil penalty proceeds deposited in treasury. The civil penalties provided for in
this section may be recovered by a civil action brought by the attorney general in the name of the
state. Amounts recovered under this section must be paid into the state treasury.
History: 1990 c 598 s 2; 1995 c 156 s 6,25; 1999 c 224 s 3-5; 2003 c 97 s 2

237.462 MS 2004 [Expired, 1999 c 224 s 7; 2004 c 261 art 6 s 3; 1Sp2005 c 1 art 4 s 117]

ALARM TRANSMISSION DEVICES

237.47 ALARM TRANSMISSION TELEPHONE DEVICE; RULES.
    Subdivision 1. Permission required. Any person desiring to install or use any automatic,
electrical, or mechanical device or attachment to any telephone that reproduces any taped or
prerecorded message to report any police, fire, or other emergency to any official emergency
reporting telephone number shall obtain permission, in writing, from the sheriff of the county in
which located or the police chief or fire chief of the municipality into whose emergency telephone
number the attachment or device is connected.
    Subd. 2. Conditions for connection. The sheriff, police chief, or fire chief may determine
the conditions, if any, under which the device or attachment may be connected, provided such
conditions are reasonable in accordance with local conditions and further provided that the device
or attachment complies with the rules of the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission.
    Subd. 3. Removal. Whenever the sheriff, police chief, or fire chief has knowledge of the use
of any such attachment or device not operated or maintained in accordance with the provisions of
this section , that official may order its removal.
    Subd. 4. Penalty. Violation of any of the provisions of this section shall constitute a
misdemeanor.
History: 1969 c 1057 s 1-4; 1980 c 614 s 123; 1985 c 248 s 70; 1986 c 444

SURCHARGE COLLECTION

237.49 COMBINED LOCAL ACCESS SURCHARGE.
Each local telephone company shall collect from each subscriber an amount per telephone
access line representing the total of the surcharges required under sections 237.52, 237.70, and
403.11. Amounts collected must be remitted to the commissioner of public safety in the manner
prescribed in section 403.11. The commissioner of public safety shall divide the amounts received
and deposit them in the appropriate accounts. The commissioner of public safety may recover
from the agencies receiving the surcharges the personnel and administrative costs to collect and
distribute the surcharge. A company or the billing agent for a company shall list the surcharges as
one amount on a billing statement sent to a subscriber.
History: 1988 c 621 s 1; 1993 c 272 s 1; 1Sp2003 c 1 art 2 s 66; 2006 c 260 art 6 s 1

COMBINED PER NUMBER FEE

237.491 COMBINED PER NUMBER FEE.
    Subdivision 1. Definitions. (a) The definitions in this subdivision apply to this section.
(b) "911 emergency and public safety communications program" means the program
governed by chapter 403.
(c) "Minnesota telephone number" means a ten-digit telephone number being used to connect
to the public switched telephone network and starting with area code 218, 320, 507, 612, 651,
763, or 952, or any subsequent area code assigned to this state.
(d) "Service provider" means a provider doing business in this state who provides real time,
two-way voice service with a Minnesota telephone number.
(e) "Telecommunications access Minnesota program" means the program governed by
sections 237.50 to 237.55.
(f) "Telephone assistance program" means the program governed by sections 237.69 to
237.711.
    Subd. 2. Per number fee. (a) By January 15, 2006, the commissioner of commerce
shall report to the legislature and to the senate Committee on Jobs, Energy and Community
Development and the house Committee on Regulated Industries, recommendations for the amount
of and method for assessing a fee that would apply to each service provider based upon the
number of Minnesota telephone numbers in use by current customers of the service provider. The
fee would be set at a level calculated to generate only the amount of revenue necessary to fund:
(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
(2) the 911 emergency and public safety communications program at the levels appropriated
by law to the commissioner of public safety and the commissioner of finance for purposes of
sections 403.11, 403.113, 403.27, 403.30, and 403.31 for each fiscal year.
(b) The recommendations must include any changes to Minnesota Statutes necessary to
establish the procedures whereby each service provider, to the extent allowed under federal law,
would collect and remit the fee proceeds to the commissioner of revenue. The commissioner of
revenue would allocate the fee proceeds to the three funding areas in paragraph (a) and credit
the allocations to the appropriate accounts.
(c) The recommendations must be designed to allow the combined per telephone number
fee to be collected beginning July 1, 2006. The per access line fee used to collect revenues to
support the TAP, TAM, and 911 programs remains in effect until the statutory changes necessary
to implement the per telephone number fee have been enacted into law and taken effect.
(d) As part of the process of developing the recommendations and preparing the report to the
legislature required under paragraph (a), the commissioner of commerce must, at a minimum,
consult regularly with the Departments of Public Safety, Finance, and Administration, the Public
Utilities Commission, service providers, the chairs and ranking minority members of the senate
and house committees, subcommittees, and divisions having jurisdiction over telecommunications
and public safety, and other affected parties.
History: 2005 c 136 art 10 s 1; 1Sp2005 c 1 art 4 s 57

COMMUNICATION-IMPAIRED PERSONS

237.50 DEFINITIONS.
    Subdivision 1. Scope. The terms used in sections 237.50 to 237.56 have the meanings
given them in this section.
    Subd. 2.[Repealed, 1995 c 190 s 17]
    Subd. 3. Communication impaired. "Communication impaired" means certified as deaf,
severely hearing impaired, hard-of-hearing, speech impaired, deaf and blind, or mobility impaired
if the mobility impairment significantly impedes the ability to use standard customer premises
equipment.
    Subd. 4. Communication device. "Communication device" means a device that when
connected to a telephone enables a communication-impaired person to communicate with another
person utilizing the telephone system. A "communication device" includes a ring signaler, an
amplification device, a telephone device for the deaf, a Brailling device for use with a telephone,
and any other device the Department of Human Services deems necessary.
    Subd. 4a. Deaf. "Deaf" means a hearing impairment of such severity that the individual
must depend primarily upon visual communication such as writing, lip reading, manual
communication, and gestures.
    Subd. 5. Exchange. "Exchange" means a unit area established and described by the tariff of
a telephone company for the administration of telephone service in a specified geographical area,
usually embracing a city, town, or village and its environs, and served by one or more central
offices, together with associated facilities used in providing service within that area.
    Subd. 6. Fund. "Fund" means the telecommunications access Minnesota fund established in
section 237.52.
    Subd. 6a. Hard-of-hearing. "Hard-of-hearing" means a hearing impairment resulting in
a functional loss, but not to the extent that the individual must depend primarily upon visual
communication.
    Subd. 7. Interexchange service. "Interexchange service" means telephone service between
points in two or more exchanges.
    Subd. 8. Inter-LATA interexchange service. "Inter-LATA interexchange service" means
interexchange service originating and terminating in different LATAs.
    Subd. 9. Local access and transport area. "Local access and transport area (LATA)" means
a geographical area designated by the Modification of Final Judgment in U.S. v. Western Electric
Co., Inc., 552 F. Supp. 131 (D.D.C. 1982), including modifications in effect on the effective
date of sections 237.51 to 237.54.
    Subd. 10. Local exchange service. "Local exchange service" means telephone service
between points within an exchange.
    Subd. 11. Telecommunication relay service. "Telecommunication relay service" means a
central statewide service through which a communication-impaired person, using a communication
device, may send and receive messages to and from a non-communication-impaired person
whose telephone is not equipped with a communication device and through which a
non-communication-impaired person may, by using voice communication, send and receive
messages to and from a communication-impaired person.
History: 1987 c 308 s 1,8; 1988 c 621 s 2; 1993 c 272 s 2-6,17; 1995 c 190 s 1; 2004 c
228 art 1 s 74

237.51 TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACCESS MINNESOTA PROGRAM
ADMINISTRATION.
    Subdivision 1. Creation. The commissioner of commerce shall:
(1) administer through interagency agreement with the commissioner of human services a
program to distribute communication devices to eligible communication-impaired persons; and
(2) contract with a qualified vendor that serves communication-impaired persons to create
and maintain a telecommunication relay service.
For purposes of sections 237.51 to 237.56, the Department of Commerce and any organization
with which it contracts pursuant to this section or section 237.54, subdivision 2, are not telephone
companies or telecommunications carriers as defined in section 237.01.
    Subd. 2.[Repealed, 1995 c 190 s 17]
    Subd. 3.[Repealed, 1995 c 190 s 17]
    Subd. 4.[Repealed, 1995 c 190 s 17]
    Subd. 5. Commissioner of commerce duties. In addition to any duties specified elsewhere
in sections 237.51 to 237.56, the commissioner of commerce shall:
(1) prepare the reports required by section 237.55;
(2) administer the fund created in section 237.52; and
(3) adopt rules under chapter 14 to implement the provisions of sections 237.50 to 237.56.
    Subd. 5a. Department of Human Services duties. (a) In addition to any duties specified
elsewhere in sections 237.51 to 237.56, the commissioner of human services shall:
(1) define economic hardship, special needs, and household criteria so as to determine the
priority of eligible applicants for initial distribution of devices and to determine circumstances
necessitating provision of more than one communication device per household;
(2) establish a method to verify eligibility requirements;
(3) establish specifications for communication devices to be purchased under section 237.53,
subdivision 3 ; and
(4) inform the public and specifically the community of communication-impaired persons
of the program.
(b) The commissioner may establish an advisory board to advise the department in carrying
out the duties specified in this section and to advise the commissioner of commerce in carrying
out duties under section 237.54. If so established, the advisory board must include, at a minimum,
the following communication-impaired persons:
(1) at least one member who is deaf;
(2) at least one member who is speech impaired;
(3) at least one member who is mobility impaired; and
(4) at least one member who is hard-of-hearing.
The membership terms, compensation, and removal of members and the filling of
membership vacancies are governed by section 15.059. Advisory board meetings shall be held at
the discretion of the commissioner.
    Subd. 6.[Repealed, 1995 c 190 s 17]
History: 1987 c 186 s 15; 1987 c 308 s 2,8; 1988 c 621 s 3; 1990 c 571 s 41; 1990 c 598 s 3;
1992 c 430 s 1,2; 1992 c 518 s 1; 1993 c 272 s 7-11,17; 1995 c 190 s 2-4; 1998 c 386 art 2 s
70; 1999 c 149 s 1; 1Sp2001 c 4 art 6 s 60-62; 2002 c 329 s 2

237.52 TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACCESS MINNESOTA FUND.
    Subdivision 1. Fund established. A telecommunications access Minnesota fund is
established as an account in the state treasury. Earnings, such as interest, dividends, and any other
earnings arising from fund assets, must be credited to the fund.
    Subd. 2. Assessment. (a) The commissioner of commerce, the commissioner of employment
and economic development, and the commissioner of human services shall annually recommend
to the commission an adequate and appropriate surcharge and budget to implement sections
237.50 to 237.56, 248.062, and 256C.30, respectively. The maximum annual budget for section
248.062 must not exceed $100,000 and for section 256C.30 must not exceed $300,000. The
Public Utilities Commission shall review the budgets for reasonableness and may modify the
budget to the extent it is unreasonable. The commission shall annually determine the funding
mechanism to be used within 60 days of receipt of the recommendation of the departments and
shall order the imposition of surcharges effective on the earliest practicable date. The commission
shall establish a monthly charge no greater than 20 cents for each customer access line, including
trunk equivalents as designated by the commission pursuant to section 403.11, subdivision 1.
(b) If the fund balance falls below a level capable of fully supporting all programs eligible
under subdivision 5 and sections 248.062 and 256C.30, expenditures under sections 248.062
and 256C.30 shall be reduced on a pro rata basis and expenditures under sections 237.53 and
237.54 shall be fully funded. Expenditures under sections 248.062 and 256C.30 shall resume at
fully-funded levels when the commissioner of commerce determines there is a sufficient fund
balance to fully fund those expenditures.
    Subd. 3. Collection. Every telephone company or communications carrier that provides
service capable of originating a telecommunications relay call, including cellular communications
and other nonwire access services, in this state shall collect the charges established by the
commission under subdivision 2 and transfer amounts collected to the commissioner of public
safety in the same manner as provided in section 403.11, subdivision 1, paragraph (d). The
commissioner of public safety must deposit the receipts in the fund established in subdivision 1.
    Subd. 4. Appropriation. Money in the fund is appropriated to the commissioner of
commerce to implement sections 237.51 to 237.56, to the commissioner of employment and
economic development to implement section 248.062, and to the commissioner of human services
to implement section 256C.30.
    Subd. 5. Expenditures. (a) Money in the fund may only be used for:
(1) expenses of the Department of Commerce, including personnel cost, public relations,
advisory board members' expenses, preparation of reports, and other reasonable expenses not to
exceed ten percent of total program expenditures;
(2) reimbursing the commissioner of human services for purchases made or services
provided pursuant to section 237.53;
(3) reimbursing telephone companies for purchases made or services provided under section
237.53, subdivision 5; and
(4) contracting for establishment and operation of the telecommunication relay service
required by section 237.54.
(b) All costs directly associated with the establishment of the program, the purchase
and distribution of communication devices, and the establishment and operation of the
telecommunication relay service are either reimbursable or directly payable from the fund after
authorization by the commissioner of commerce. The commissioner of commerce shall contract
with the message relay service operator to indemnify the local exchange carriers of the relay
service for any fines imposed by the Federal Communications Commission related to the failure
of the relay service to comply with federal service standards. Notwithstanding section 16A.41, the
commissioner may advance money to the contractor of the telecommunication relay service if the
contractor establishes to the commissioner's satisfaction that the advance payment is necessary for
the operation of the service. The advance payment may be used only for working capital reserve
for the operation of the service. The advance payment must be offset or repaid by the end of the
contract fiscal year together with interest accrued from the date of payment.
History: 1987 c 308 s 3,8; 1988 c 621 s 4; 1992 c 518 s 2; 1993 c 272 s 12,13,17; 1995
c 190 s 5-7; 1995 c 201 s 1; 1Sp2001 c 4 art 6 s 63-65; 2002 c 329 s 3; 1Sp2003 c 1 art 2 s
67; 2005 c 81 s 1,2

237.53 COMMUNICATION DEVICE.
    Subdivision 1. Application. A person applying for a communication device under this
section must apply to the program administrator on a form prescribed by the Department of
Human Services.
    Subd. 2. Eligibility. To be eligible to obtain a communication device under this section, a
person must be:
(1) able to benefit from and use the equipment for its intended purpose;
(2) communication impaired;
(3) a resident of the state;
(4) a resident in a household that has a median income at or below the applicable median
household income in the state, except a deaf and blind person applying for a telebraille unit may
reside in a household that has a median income no more than 150 percent of the applicable
median household income in the state; and
(5) a resident in a household that has telephone service or that has made application for
service and has been assigned a telephone number; or a resident in a residential care facility, such
as a nursing home or group home where telephone service is not included as part of overall
service provision.
    Subd. 3. Distribution. The commissioner of human services shall purchase and distribute
a sufficient number of communication devices so that each eligible household receives an
appropriate device. The commissioner of human services shall distribute the devices to eligible
households in each service area free of charge as determined under section 237.51, subdivision 5a.
    Subd. 4. Training; maintenance. The commissioner of human services shall maintain the
communication devices until the warranty period expires, and provide training, without charge, to
first-time users of the devices.
    Subd. 5. Wiring installation. If a communication-impaired person is not served by telephone
service and is subject to economic hardship as determined by the Department of Human Services,
the telephone company providing local service shall at the direction of the administrator of the
program install necessary outside wiring without charge to the household.
    Subd. 6. Ownership. All communication devices purchased pursuant to subdivision 3 will
become the property of the state of Minnesota.
    Subd. 7. Standards. The communication devices distributed under this section must comply
with the electronic industries association standards and approved by the Federal Communications
Commission. The commissioner of human services must provide each eligible person a choice of
several models of devices, the retail value of which may not exceed $600 for a communication
device for the deaf, and a retail value of $7,000 for a telebraille device, or an amount authorized by
the Department of Human Services for a telephone device for the deaf with auxiliary equipment.
    Subd. 8.[Repealed, 1988 c 621 s 19]
History: 1987 c 308 s 4,8; 1988 c 621 s 5-8; 1993 c 272 s 17; 1995 c 190 s 8-11; 1995
c 201 s 2

237.54 TELECOMMUNICATION RELAY SERVICE.
    Subdivision 1.[Repealed, 1995 c 190 s 17]
    Subd. 2. Operation. (a) The commissioner of commerce shall contract with a qualified
vendor for the operation and maintenance of the telecommunication relay system.
(b) The telecommunication relay service provider shall operate the relay service within
the state of Minnesota. The operator of the system shall keep all messages confidential, shall
train personnel in the unique needs of communication-impaired people, and shall inform
communication-impaired persons and the public of the availability and use of the system. Except
in the case of a speech- or mobility-impaired person, the operator shall not relay a message unless
it originates or terminates through a communication device for the deaf or a Brailling device for
use with a telephone.
History: 1987 c 308 s 5,8; 1993 c 272 s 14,17; 1995 c 190 s 12; 1Sp2001 c 4 art 6 s 66;
2002 c 329 s 4

237.55 ANNUAL REPORT ON COMMUNICATION ACCESS.
The commissioner of commerce must prepare a report for presentation to the commission by
January 31 of each year. Each report must review the accessibility of the telephone system to
communication-impaired persons, review the ability of non-communication-impaired persons to
communicate with communication-impaired persons via the telephone system, describe services
provided, account for money received and disbursed annually for each aspect of the program to
date, and include predicted future operation.
History: 1987 c 308 s 6,8; 1993 c 272 s 15,17; 1995 c 190 s 13; 1Sp2001 c 4 art 6 s 67

237.56 ADEQUATE SERVICE ENFORCEMENT.
The services required to be provided under sections 237.50 to 237.55 may be enforced under
section 237.081 upon a complaint of at least two communication-impaired persons within the
service area of any one telephone company, provided that if only one person within the service
area of a company is receiving service under sections 237.50 to 237.55, the commission may
proceed upon a complaint from that person.
History: 1987 c 308 s 7,8; 1993 c 272 s 17

COMPETITIVE SERVICES, INCENTIVES

237.57 DEFINITIONS.
    Subdivision 1. Scope. The terms used in this chapter have the meanings given them in
this section.
    Subd. 2. Competitive service. "Competitive service" means a service that has been
determined to be subject to effective competition or emerging competition.
    Subd. 3. Effective competition. "Effective competition" exists when the criteria of section
237.59, subdivision 5, have been satisfied for a service.
    Subd. 4. Emerging competition. A service will be regulated under "emerging competition"
provisions when the criteria of section 237.59, subdivision 5, have not been satisfied, but there is
a trend toward effective competition, or if it is a new service offered for the first time after August
1, 1994, that is not integrally related to the provision of adequate telephone service or access to
the telephone network or to the privacy, health, or safety of the company's customers, whether or
not it meets the criteria of section 237.59, subdivision 5.
    Subd. 5. Local access and transport area. "Local access and transport area (LATA)" means
a geographical area designated by the Modification of Final Judgment in U.S. v. Western Electric
Co., Inc., 552 F. Supp. 131 (D.D.C. 1982).
    Subd. 6. Noncompetitive service. "Noncompetitive service" means a service that has not
been classified as competitive by the commission.
History: 1987 c 340 s 1,26; 1989 c 74 s 7,25; 1994 c 534 art 1 s 2

237.5799 [Expired]

237.58 [Expired]

237.59 CLASSIFICATION OF COMPETITIVE SERVICE; HEARING.
    Subdivision 1. Emerging competitive service. (a) The following services provided by
the telephone company are subject to emerging competition unless and until reclassified as
noncompetitive or subject to effective competition under this section:
(1) apartment door answering services;
(2) automatic call distribution;
(3) billing and collection services;
(4) call waiting, call forwarding, and three-way calling services for businesses with three
or more lines;
(5) central office-based pricing packages providing switched business access lines which
substitute for private branch exchange systems which may or may not share intelligence with
customer premises equipment;
(6) command link-type services for network reconfiguring to rearrange cross-connections
between channel services;
(7) custom network services and special assemblies;
(8) digicom switchnet services for full duplex, synchronous, information transport;
(9) direct customer access services for telephone number information;
(10) teleconferencing services;
(11) inter-LATA and intra-LATA message toll service;
(12) inter-LATA and intra-LATA private line services;
(13) inter-LATA and intra-LATA wide area telephone service;
(14) mobile radio services;
(15) operator services, excluding local operator services;
(16) public pay telephone services, excluding charges for access to the central office;
(17) special construction of facilities;
(18) systems for automatic dialing; and
(19) versanet-type service access line involving continuous monitoring and transmission of
data from customer's premises to the central office.
(b) A service classified as subject to emerging competition before June 1, 1994, retains that
classification unless and until it is reclassified pursuant to subdivision 3 or 10.
    Subd. 1a. CLASS service. Notwithstanding the terms of subdivision 1, paragraph (b),
CLASS services may be classified as competitive services only when so classified according to
subdivision 3 or 10.
    Subd. 2. Petition. (a) A telephone company, or the commission on its own motion, may
petition to have a service of that telephone company classified as subject to effective competition
or emerging competition. The petition must be served on the commission, the department, the
Office of the Attorney General, and any other person designated by the commission. The petition
must contain at least:
(1) a list of the known alternative providers of the service available to the company's
customers; and
(2) a description of affiliate relationships with any other provider of the service in the
company's market.
(b) At the time the company first offers a service, it shall also file a petition with the
commission for a determination as to how the service should be classified. In the event that no
interested party or the commission objects to the company's proposed classification within 20
days of the filing of the petition, the company's proposed classification of the service is deemed
approved. If an objection is filed, the commission shall determine the appropriate classification
after a hearing conducted pursuant to section 237.61. In either event, the company may offer the
new service to its customers ten days after the company files the price list and incremental cost
study as provided in section 237.60, subdivision 2, paragraph (f).
(c) A new service may be classified as subject to effective competition or emerging
competition pursuant to the criteria set forth in subdivision 5. A new service must be regulated
under the emerging competition provisions if it is not integrally related to the provision of
adequate local service or access to the telephone network or to the privacy, health, or safety of the
company's customers, whether or not it meets the criteria set forth in subdivision 5.
    Subd. 3. Expedited proceeding. An interested party wishing to contest the change of
classification of a service must file an objection with the commission within 20 days after the
filing of the petition. If no party files an objection, the service must be reclassified in accordance
with the petition. If a petition is contested, a telephone company that is the subject of a petition
under subdivision 2 may request that the commission determine the classification of the service
through an expedited proceeding under section 237.61 or a contested case hearing. If an expedited
proceeding is requested, the commission must provide interested persons an opportunity to
comment on the appropriateness of the process and the merits of the petition.
When an expedited proceeding is requested, the commission shall make a final determination
within 60 days of the date on which all required information required under subdivision 2 is filed,
unless during the 60 days the commission finds that a material issue of fact is in dispute, in which
case it shall order that a contested case hearing be conducted to evaluate the petition.
    Subd. 4. Contested case hearing. If a contested case hearing is held under this section, the
commission shall make a final determination on the petition within eight months from the date
the petitioning party requests a contested case hearing or from the date the commission orders a
contested case hearing under subdivision 3. When a contested case hearing is requested in the
petition or when the commission acts on its own motion, this deadline may be extended for no
more than 60 days by agreement of all parties or by order of the commission if the commission
finds that the case cannot be completed within the required time and that without an extension
there is substantial probability that the public interest will be harmed.
    Subd. 5. Criteria. (a) If a proposed classification is objected to pursuant to subdivision
2, paragraph (b), on the basis that the service does not meet the criteria of this subdivision,
the commission shall consider, in determining whether a service is subject to either effective
competition or emerging competition from available alternative service providers, the following
factors:
(1) the number and sizes of alternative providers of service and affiliation to other providers;
(2) the extent to which services are available from alternative providers in the relevant
market;
(3) the ability of alternative providers to make functionally equivalent or substitute services
readily available at competitive rates, terms, and conditions of service;
(4) the market share, the ability of the market to hold prices close to cost, and other economic
measures of market power; and
(5) the necessity of the service to the well-being of the customer.
(b) In order for the commission to find a service subject to effective competition alternative
services must be available to over 50 percent of the company's customers for that service.
(c) In order for the commission to find a service subject to emerging competition alternative
services must be available to over 20 percent of the company's customers for that service.
    Subd. 6. Burden of proof. The classification of a service may not be changed so as to
result in lessened regulation unless it is demonstrated by a preponderance of the evidence that
the criteria of subdivision 5 have been met.
    Subd. 7.[Repealed, 1993 c 268 s 6]
    Subd. 8. Interim relief. A telephone company that has a petition pending before the
commission under this section to declare a service competitive may decrease its price for that
service without notice while the commission considers the petition. A company must provide
an incremental cost study if requested by the commission. The commission shall suspend a
company's right under this subdivision to decrease rates if, after an expedited hearing conducted
under section 237.61, the commission finds that the service is being priced below cost, or that
the company has within the previous 12 months charged customers interim rates under this
subdivision for the same service, and that service was determined by the commission to be
noncompetitive.
    Subd. 9. Reporting requirements; exception. A telephone company that offers only
competitive services is not subject to the accounting and reporting requirements of this chapter
unless otherwise ordered by the commission for good cause. A telephone company that offers both
competitive and noncompetitive services is not subject to the reporting requirements with regard
to its effective competition services unless otherwise ordered by the commission for good cause.
    Subd. 10. Regulation reinstated. (a) The commission, on its own motion or upon complaint,
shall reclassify a service as noncompetitive or as subject to emerging competition and reinstate,
in whole or in part, rate regulation of the service if, after notice and hearing, the commission
finds either:
(1) that the competitive market for that service, on review of the criteria found in subdivision
5, has failed so that rate regulation of that service is necessary to protect the interest of consumers,
that it has considered the alternatives to rate regulation, and that the benefits of rate regulation
outweigh the burdens of rate regulation; or
(2) that unreasonable discrimination has occurred between different areas of the state.
(b) In any proceeding to reclassify a service the person initiating the complaint has the
burden of proving that the existing classification is inappropriate, except the telephone company
providing the service has the burden of proving that the classification is appropriate when the
proceeding is commenced by the commission on its own motion or when the complainant is the
department or the attorney general.
History: 1987 c 340 s 3; 1989 c 74 s 9-12; 1994 c 534 art 1 s 5-9; 1Sp2001 c 4 art 6 s 68

237.60 DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICES; SERVICE COSTS.
    Subdivision 1.[Expired]
    Subd. 2.[Expired]
    Subd. 3. Discrimination. No telephone company shall offer telecommunications service
within the state upon terms or rates that are unreasonably discriminatory. No telephone company
shall unreasonably limit its service offerings to particular geographic areas unless facilities
necessary for the service are not available and cannot be made available at reasonable costs. The
rates of a telephone company must be the same in all geographic locations of the state unless
for good cause the commission approves different rates. A company that offers long-distance
services shall charge uniform rates and charges on all long-distance routes and in all geographic
areas in the state where it offers the services. However, a company may offer or provide volume
discounts in connection with intrastate long-distance services and may pass through any state,
municipal, or local taxes in the specific geographic areas from which the taxes originate. Nothing
in this subdivision authorizes a telephone company to provide service outside of its authorized
service area except as provided in section 237.16.
    Subd. 4. Cost of service. Prices or rates charged for competitive services must cover the
incremental costs of providing the service. If a telephone company provides both local service and
long-distance services, that company shall, in determining the cost of the long-distance service,
include at least the same level of contribution to common and joint costs as is contained in the
access charges to other telephone companies. The company may do so on an aggregate basis,
instead of on a time or mileage band basis.
    Subd. 5.[Expired]
History: 1987 c 340 s 4; 1989 c 74 s 13,14; 1992 c 493 s 7; 1994 c 465 art 1 s 28; 1994 c
534 art 1 s 10

237.61 EXPEDITED PROCEEDING.
Notwithstanding chapter 14, the commission may conduct an expedited proceeding when
authorized under this chapter. In an expedited proceeding, the commission shall give prior
notice to interested persons and provide them with an opportunity to present statements of fact
and argument and to reply, either orally or in writing or both. In an expedited proceeding, the
pleadings must be verified, and oral statements of fact must be made under oath or affirmation.
The commission shall make a decision in an expedited proceeding based on the record.
History: 1987 c 340 s 5

237.62 [Expired]

237.625 [Expired]

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. 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.
History: 1992 c 493 s 8; 2003 c 97 s 1

237.63 MS 2002 [Expired, 1999 c 224 s 7; 2004 c 261 art 6 s 3]

237.64 REGISTRATION; BOND.
    Subdivision 1. Registration. A person, firm, or corporation seeking to become a telephone
company, as defined by section 237.01, subdivision 7, and not required to be certified under
section 237.16, shall register with the department and the commission 90 days before beginning
operation in the state. The commission may review the proposed rates and services and the
financial conditions of the telephone company and may, under section 237.081, investigate any
other matter it considers appropriate to protect the public interest. A telephone company that has
been authorized by the commission to provide telephone services in this state prior to August 1,
1987, is not required to register under this subdivision. A person, firm, or corporation seeking to
offer a noncompetitive service to the public must obtain authority from the commission under
section 237.16.
    Subd. 2. Bond. Telephone companies that have registered under subdivision 1 shall maintain
a bond if the company requires advance payments or deposits from its customers, unless waived
by the commission. The bond must be issued by a surety company admitted to do business in
this state in the principal sum of all deposits and advance payments to be held by the company.
The department shall determine the amount of the bond and may require the company to supply
information to determine the appropriate amount of the bond. The bond must be in favor of the
state for the benefit of any customer who suffers the loss of a deposit or advance payment due to
insolvency, cessation of business, or failure to return any unused portion of the deposit or advance
payment. The bond must be filed with the department.
History: 1987 c 340 s 8; 1989 c 74 s 23,24

237.65 MS 2002 [Expired, 1999 c 224 s 7; 2004 c 261 art 6 s 3]

237.66 DISCLOSURE OF LOCAL SERVICE OPTIONS.
    Subdivision 1. Notice to local residential customers. A telephone company, when a
residential customer initially requests service or requests a change of service, and annually in
the form of a bill insert, shall advise each residential customer of the price of all service options
available to that customer. The requirement of an annual notice through a bill insert does not
apply to long-distance service.
    Subd. 1a. Notice to customer; right to require prior authorization. Each residential and
commercial telecommunications carrier customer may elect to require that the telephone company
serving the customer receive authorization from the customer before a request to serve that
customer from a different intrastate telecommunications carrier than the carrier currently serving
the customer is processed.
    Subd. 1b.[Repealed, 1998 c 345 s 16]
    Subd. 1c. Timing of notice; new customer. For new installations, a telephone company
shall notify a residential or commercial customer of the right described in subdivision 1a when the
customer initially requests intraexchange service. Any customer notification of the rights set forth
in this section shall be provided utilizing uniform, competitively neutral language and the form,
content, and style of the authorization shall be consistent with federal law and regulation and shall
use language provided and approved by the public utilities commission.
    Subd. 1d. Change of election. A customer may change the election under subdivision
1a at any time by notifying the telephone company of that decision. No separate charge may
be imposed on the customer for electing to exercise the right described in subdivision 1a or
to change that election, but a telephone company may recover in rates the reasonable costs of
administering the election.
    Subd. 2. Filing; exemptions. Copies of both the written notices and information provided
to customer service representatives concerning the disclosure required under subdivision 1
must be filed once every 12 months with the commission and the department. Independent
telephone companies, municipalities, and cooperative telephone associations are exempt from the
requirements of this subdivision unless otherwise ordered by the commission.
    Subd. 2a. Call blocking. A telephone company, when a residential customer initially
requests service, shall advise each residential customer of the availability of all blocking options
including 900 number blocking and international long-distance blocking.
    Subd. 3. Enforcement. If, after an expedited procedure conducted under section 237.61,
the commission finds that a telephone company is failing to provide disclosure as required under
subdivision 1, or the notification required under subdivision 1c, it shall order the company to
take corrective action as necessary.
History: 1987 c 340 s 10; 1994 c 449 s 1; 1996 c 340 s 2,3; 1997 c 68 s 4; 1998 c 345 s 6-9

237.661 ANTISLAMMING.
    Subdivision 1. Antislamming duties of local telephone company. If a customer has elected
to exercise the right described in section 237.66, subdivision 1a, the telephone company serving
the customer shall not process a request to serve the customer by another telecommunications
carrier without prior authorization from the customer. If a customer has not elected to exercise the
right described in that subdivision, the company may process a request to serve the customer by
another telecommunications carrier.
    Subd. 2. Antislamming duties of soliciting carrier. (a) A telecommunications carrier
may request that the telephone company serving a customer process a change in that customer's
long-distance provider, if the customer has authorized the change either orally or in writing signed
by the customer. Prior to requesting a change in a customer's long-distance service provider, the
carrier must confirm:
(1) the customer's identity with information unique to the customer, unless the customer
refused to provide identifying information, then that fact should be noted;
(2) that the customer has been informed of the offering made by the carrier;
(3) that the customer understands that the customer is being requested to change
telecommunication carriers;
(4) that the customer has the authority to authorize the change; and
(5) that the customer agrees to the change.
(b) After requesting the change in long-distance service provider, the carrier must:
(1) notify the customer in writing that the request has been processed; and
(2) be able to produce, upon complaint by the customer, evidence that the carrier verified
the authorization by the customer to change the customer's long-distance service provider. If the
carrier used a negative check-off verification procedure as defined in subdivision 4, paragraph (c),
the evidence must include a tape recording of the initial oral authorization.
    Subd. 3. Penalty for slamming. If the carrier is not able to present, upon complaint by the
customer, evidence that complies with subdivision 2, paragraph (b), clause (2), the change to
the service of the carrier is deemed to be unauthorized from the date the carrier requested the
change. In that event, the carrier shall:
(1) bear all costs of immediately returning the customer to the service of the customer's
original service provider; and
(2) bear all costs of serving that customer during the period of unauthorized service.
    Subd. 4. Verification procedures; evidence of authorization. (a) Customer authorization
for a change in the customer's long-distance service provider may be verified using a verification
procedure that complies with federal law or regulation. Except as provided in paragraph (b), the
requirement that the carrier be able to produce evidence of customer authorization is satisfied if
the carrier uses a federally authorized verification procedure.
(b) If federal law or regulation authorizes a carrier to use a negative check-off verification
procedure, and the carrier does so, the carrier must be able to produce a tape recording of the
initial oral authorization by the customer to change long-distance service providers as evidence of
the authorization. The initial oral authorization must include confirmation of the items listed in
subdivision 2, paragraph (a).
(c) "Negative check-off" means a verification procedure that consists of:
(1) an initial oral authorization by the customer to change long-distance service providers;
and
(2) a mailing to the customer by the soliciting telecommunications carrier regarding the
change in service providers that informs the customer that if the customer fails to cancel the
change in service providers, the change will be deemed authorized and verified.
History: 1998 c 345 s 10

237.662 NOTICE AND DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS OF LONG-DISTANCE
PROVIDERS.
    Subdivision 1. Information required. When contacted by a customer regarding the purchase
of long-distance telecommunications services, or when soliciting customers via mail or telephone,
a provider of long-distance services shall provide the customer with the following information, if
the service is being offered to the customer, about the service offering either orally or in writing:
(1) the price or range of prices of interstate message toll service accessed by dialing "1+" or
"10-xxx", including any difference in prices for evening, night, or weekend calls;
(2) the price or range of prices of intrastate interLATA message toll service accessed by
dialing "1+" or "10-xxx", including any difference in prices for evening, night, or weekend calls;
(3) the price or range of prices of intrastate intraLATA message toll service accessed by
dialing "1+" or "10-xxx", including any difference in prices for evening, night, or weekend;
(4) any minimum volume requirements, fixed flat fees, service charges, surcharges,
termination charges or other non-service-specific charges, including the fact that the provider of
local service may charge a onetime fee for changing carriers; and
(5) any special promotional rate or promotional offering related to the services or prices
described in clauses (1) to (4) above, including any limitations or restrictions on the promotional
rates or offerings.
    Subd. 2. Price, terms, and restrictions in writing. If a customer agrees to purchase
telecommunications services from the provider of long-distance services on a presubscription
basis, the provider shall send the customer written information regarding services subscribed
to, containing:
(1) the information regarding prices and charges described in subdivision 1, clauses (1) to (5);
(2) the price for calls placed with a calling card issued to the customer by the provider and
any surcharge for placing calls with a calling card;
(3) the price for calls charged to the customer when a personal "1-800" number for
long-distance services issued to the customer by the provider is used; and
(4) the price of directory assistance calls.
This written information must be sent to the customer within seven business days from the
date of the verification of the customer's authorization, unless federal law or regulation requires
notice to be sent by an earlier date.
    Subd. 3. Filed tariff no defense. That a telecommunications carrier has intrastate tariffs
or price lists for the services listed in subdivisions 1 and 2 on file with the Public Utilities
Commission or Department of Commerce is not a defense to any action brought for failure to
disclose intrastate prices for which disclosure is required under this section.
History: 1998 c 345 s 11; 1Sp2001 c 4 art 6 s 77

237.663 LOADING.
(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) or (c), a telephone company or telecommunications
carrier providing local service shall not charge a telephone service subscriber, as defined in section
325F.692, for a telephone or telecommunications service that is not required by the commission to
be offered and for which the subscriber did not explicitly contract.
(b) If a charge is assessed on a per-use basis for a service described in paragraph (a), the
charge must be applied as a credit to the subscriber's next monthly bill, if the subscriber notifies
the telephone company or telecommunications carrier that the subscriber did not utilize the
service or did not authorize the utilization of the service.
(c) A telephone company or telecommunications carrier that receives a notification from a
telephone service subscriber under paragraph (b) shall inform the subscriber of the ability to block
the services from future use by the subscriber, and shall block the services from future use by
the subscriber, if the subscriber so requests. If a subscriber requests that the carrier or company
not block the service or later requests to have the block lifted, the subscriber shall be responsible
for charges caused by the future utilization of that service. The carrier or company may not
charge a recurring fee for blocking the service.
History: 1998 c 345 s 12

237.665 PROHIBITION AGAINST BILLING FOR UNAUTHORIZED CHARGES.
(a) A telephone company or telecommunications carrier providing local service shall not
include on a customer's bill a charge for goods or services on behalf of a third-party service
provider unless the third-party service provider has obtained the customer's prior express
authorization to include such charges on the customer's bill.
(b) If a customer of a telephone company or telecommunications carrier notifies the
telephone company or telecommunications carrier that an unauthorized charge from a third-party
service provider has been included on the customer's bill, then the telephone company or
telecommunications carrier shall remove the unauthorized charge. The telephone company or
telecommunications carrier shall credit to the customer any amounts paid for the unauthorized
charges that were billed by the telephone company or telecommunications carrier during the six
months prior to the customer's complaint, unless the third-party service provider can produce
within 14 calendar days of the complaint evidence to the customer and the telephone company or
the telecommunications carrier of prior express authorization by the customer.
(c) A third-party service provider meets the prior express authorization requirements of this
section only if it obtains or receives a customer's written authorization in the form of a letter of
agency, a customer's oral authorization verified by an independent third party, or a copy of an
e-mail notice of verification as described in clause (3).
(1) If the third-party service provider obtains the customer's written authorization in the form
of a letter of agency, it must be a separate or easily separable document. The sole purpose of the
letter of agency shall be to authorize a charge for goods or services to appear on the customer's
telephone bill. The letter of agency must be of sufficient size to be clearly legible and must
contain clear and unambiguous language that contains separate statements for each good or
service for which the customer is agreeing to be billed. The letter of agency must be signed
and dated by the customer.
(2) If the customer's authorization is oral, the authorization must be verified by an
independent third-party verifier. The verification is valid only if:
(i) the independent third party confirms the customer's identity with information unique to
the customer unless the customer refuses, then that fact must be noted; and
(ii) the independent third party informs the customer that the customer is agreeing to be
billed for goods or services that will appear as a charge on the customer's telephone bill.
(3) If a customer enters a contract via the Internet with a third-party service provider for
goods or services which are charged to the bill issued by the customer's telephone company or
telecommunications carrier providing local service, the third-party service provider must, within
48 hours of receiving the customer's authorization, send the customer, via e-mail, a notice of
verification confirming the authorization. The third-party service provider shall maintain a copy
of the notice of verification for the duration of the contract as a record of the customer's express
authorization to be charged for the goods or services on the customer's telephone bill for local
service.
(d) For direct-dialed calls, where the call itself represents the service for which the charge
is placed on a customer's local telephone bill, such as "900 number" services and "dial around"
services, evidence that the call was placed from the number that is subject to the telephone bill
shall be considered sufficient evidence of authorization for that call for billing authorization
purposes established in this section. Nothing in this section shall be construed to change a
telephone company's or telecommunication carrier's obligations or affect a telephone subscriber's
rights under section 325F.692.
(e) This section does not apply to charges for collect calls.
(f) Nothing in this section restricts the right of a telephone company or telecommunications
carrier to seek to recover from a third-party service provider unauthorized charges credited to the
customer by the telephone company or telecommunications carrier.
History: 2004 c 214 s 1

237.67 ANNUAL LEGISLATIVE REPORT.
Beginning January 1, 1988, the commission and the department shall annually report to the
legislature on the implementation of Laws 1987, chapter 340, and recommend changes necessary
to assure high-quality and affordable telephone services for the residents of the state.
History: 1987 c 340 s 11,26; 1989 c 74 s 25; 1994 c 534 art 1 s 13

237.68 MS 2002 [Expired, 1999 c 224 s 7; 2004 c 261 art 6 s 3]

TELEPHONE ASSISTANCE PLAN

237.69 TELEPHONE ASSISTANCE PLAN; DEFINITIONS.
    Subdivision 1. Scope. The terms used in sections 237.69 to 237.711 have the meanings
given them in this section.
    Subd. 2.[Renumbered subd 11]
    Subd. 3.[Repealed, 1Sp2001 c 4 art 6 s 76]
    Subd. 4.[Renumbered subd 17]
    Subd. 5. Access line. "Access line" means telephone company-owned facilities furnished
to permit switched access to the telecommunications network that extend from a central office
to the demarcation point on the property where the subscriber is served. The term includes
access lines provided to residential and business subscribers, includes centrex access lines on a
trunk-equivalent basis, but does not include private nonswitched or wide area telephone service
access lines.
    Subd. 6.[Renumbered subd 13]
    Subd. 7.[Renumbered subd 16]
    Subd. 8.[Renumbered subd 15]
    Subd. 9.[Renumbered subd 12]
    Subd. 10.[Renumbered subd 14]
    Subd. 11. Commission. "Commission" means the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission.
    Subd. 12. Disabled. "Disabled" has the meaning given it in section 363A.03, subdivision 12.
    Subd. 13. Federal matching plan. "Federal matching plan" means any telephone assistance
plan formulated by the Federal Communications Commission that provides federal assistance to
local telephone subscribers.
    Subd. 14. Fund. "Fund" means the telephone assistance fund established in section 237.701.
    Subd. 15. Income. For purposes of sections 237.69 to 237.711, income has the meaning
given it in section 290A.03, subdivision 3.
    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
Human Services, and the telephone companies, as required by sections 237.69 to 237.711.
    Subd. 17. Telephone company. "Telephone company" has the meanings given it in section
237.01, subdivisions 3 and 7, that provides local exchange telephone service.
History: 1987 c 340 s 13; 1988 c 621 s 9-11; 1989 c 209 art 2 s 1; 1990 c 567 s 10

237.70 DEVELOPMENT OF TELEPHONE ASSISTANCE PLAN.
    Subdivision 1. Commission responsibility. The commission shall develop a telephone
assistance plan under this section.
    Subd. 2. Scope. The telephone assistance plan must be statewide and apply to local service
providers that provide local exchange service in Minnesota.
    Subd. 3. Federal matching plan. The telephone assistance plan must contain adequate
provisions to enable local service providers to qualify for waiver of the federal interstate access
charge and to enable eligible subscribers to take advantage of the federal matching plan.
    Subd. 4.[Repealed, 1988 c 621 s 19]
    Subd. 4a. Household eligible for credit. The telephone assistance plan must provide
telephone assistance credit for a residential household in Minnesota that is eligible for the federal
Lifeline telephone service discount.
    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 exchange rate charged for the local exchange 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.
    Subd. 6. Funding. The commission shall provide for the funding of the telephone assistance
plan by assessing a uniform recurring monthly surcharge, not to exceed ten cents per access line,
applicable to all classes and grades of access lines provided by each local service provider in
the state.
    Subd. 7. Application, notice, financial administration, complaint investigation. The
telephone assistance plan must be administered jointly by the commission, the Department of
Commerce, and the local service providers in accordance with the following guidelines:
(a) The commission and the Department of Commerce shall develop an application form
that must be completed by the subscriber for the purpose of certifying eligibility for telephone
assistance plan credits to the local service provider. The application must contain the applicant's
Social Security number. Applicants who refuse to provide a Social Security number will be
denied telephone assistance plan credits. The application form must also include a statement that
the applicant household is currently eligible for one of the programs that confers eligibility for
the federal Lifeline Program. The application must be signed by the applicant, certifying, under
penalty of perjury, that the information provided by the applicant is true.
(b) Each local service provider shall annually mail a notice of the availability of the
telephone assistance plan to each residential subscriber in a regular billing and shall mail the
application form to customers when requested.
The notice must state the following:
YOU MAY BE ELIGIBLE FOR ASSISTANCE IN PAYING YOUR TELEPHONE BILL IF
YOU RECEIVE BENEFITS FROM CERTAIN LOW-INCOME ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS.
FOR MORE INFORMATION OR AN APPLICATION FORM PLEASE CONTACT .........
(c) An application may be made by the subscriber, the subscriber's spouse, or a person
authorized by the subscriber to act on the subscriber's behalf. On completing the application
certifying that the statutory criteria for eligibility are satisfied, the applicant must return the
application to the subscriber's local service provider. On receiving a completed application from
an applicant, the subscriber's local service provider shall provide telephone assistance plan credits
against monthly charges in the earliest possible month following receipt of the application. The
applicant must receive telephone assistance plan credits until the earliest possible month following
the service provider's receipt of information that the applicant is ineligible.
If the telephone assistance plan credit is not itemized on the subscriber's monthly charges bill for
local telephone service, the local service provider must notify the subscriber of the approval for
the telephone assistance plan credit.
(d) The commission shall serve as the coordinator of the telephone assistance plan and be
reimbursed for its administrative expenses from the surcharge revenue pool. As the coordinator,
the commission shall:
(1) establish a uniform statewide surcharge in accordance with subdivision 6;
(2) establish a uniform statewide level of telephone assistance plan credit that each local
service provider shall extend to each eligible household in its service area;
(3) require each local service provider to account to the commission on a periodic basis for
surcharge revenues collected by the provider, expenses incurred by the provider, not to include
expenses of collecting surcharges, and credits extended by the provider under the telephone
assistance plan;
(4) require each local service provider to remit surcharge revenues to the Department of
Public Safety for deposit in the fund; and
(5) remit to each local service provider from the surcharge revenue pool the amount necessary
to compensate the provider for expenses, not including expenses of collecting the surcharges, and
telephone assistance plan credits. When it appears that the revenue generated by the maximum
surcharge permitted under subdivision 6 will be inadequate to fund any particular established
level of telephone assistance plan credits, the commission shall reduce the credits to a level that
can be adequately funded by the maximum surcharge. Similarly, the commission may increase the
level of the telephone assistance plan credit that is available or reduce the surcharge to a level and
for a period of time that will prevent an unreasonable overcollection of surcharge revenues.
(e) Each local service provider shall maintain adequate records of surcharge revenues,
expenses, and credits related to the telephone assistance plan and shall, as part of its annual report
or separately, provide the commission and the Department of Commerce with a financial report of
its experience under the telephone assistance plan for the previous year. That report must also be
adequate to satisfy the reporting requirements of the federal matching plan.
(f) The Department of Commerce shall investigate complaints against local service providers
with regard to the telephone assistance plan and shall report the results of its investigation to
the commission.
History: 1987 c 340 s 14; 1988 c 621 s 12-15; 1989 c 282 art 5 s 2; 1991 c 292 art 5 s 5;
1997 c 7 art 2 s 29; 1997 c 85 art 4 s 6; 1999 c 159 s 29; 1Sp2001 c 4 art 6 s 77; 2003 c 79 s
1-6; 2005 c 136 art 10 s 2

237.701 TELEPHONE ASSISTANCE FUND; APPROPRIATION.
    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 reasonable administrative expenses of the commission, 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; and
(3) reimbursement of the statewide indirect cost of the commission.
    Subd. 2. Appropriation. Money in the fund is appropriated to the commission to be
disbursed pursuant to section 237.70, subdivision 7.
History: 1988 c 621 s 16; 1989 c 282 art 5 s 3; 1992 c 513 art 5 s 11; 1995 c 224 s 78;
2003 c 79 s 7; 1Sp2003 c 1 art 2 s 68; 1Sp2005 c 1 art 4 s 58

237.71 TAP RULES.
The commission shall adopt rules under the Administrative Procedure Act necessary or
appropriate to establish the telephone assistance plan in accordance with this chapter so that the
telephone assistance plan is effective as of January 1, 1988, or as soon after that date as Federal
Communications Commission approval of the telephone assistance plan is obtained.
History: 1987 c 340 s 15

237.711 TAP IMPLEMENTATION RULES.
The commission may adopt rules to implement Laws 1988, chapter 621, sections 1 to 16.
History: 1988 c 621 s 18; 1997 c 7 art 5 s 20

237.72 [Repealed, 1988 c 621 s 19]

TELECOMMUNICATIONS REGULATIONS

237.73 OBTAINING SERVICE BY FRAUD; INJUNCTION.
    Subdivision 1. Equitable relief. Whenever it appears that a person is engaged in an
act that constitutes or will constitute a violation of section 609.893, a representative of a
telecommunications provider or a person harmed by an alleged violation of section 609.893 may
begin a civil proceeding in a district court to enjoin the violation and may petition the court to
issue an order for the discontinuance of telephone service.
    Subd. 2. Venue. An action under this section must be brought in the county in which subject
matter of the action, or some part of it, is located or found, and must be commenced by the filing
of a complaint that must be verified by affidavit.
    Subd. 3. Temporary restraining order. If it is shown to the satisfaction of the court, either
by verified complaint or affidavit, that a person is engaged in an act that constitutes a violation
of section 609.893, the court shall issue a temporary restraining order to abate and prevent the
continuance or recurrence of the act. Notice of the complaint shall be given and a hearing on the
issuance of a temporary restraining order shall be held under the Rules of Civil Procedure. The
court shall direct the county sheriff to seize and keep until further order of the court any device
that is being used in violation of section 609.893. The temporary restraining order expires after
ten days.
    Subd. 4. Permanent injunction. The court may issue a permanent injunction to restrain,
abate, or prevent the continuance or recurrence of the violation of section 609.893. The court may
grant declaratory relief, mandatory orders, or any other relief it judges necessary to accomplish
the purposes of the injunction. The court may keep jurisdiction of the case for the purpose of
enforcing its orders.
    Subd. 5. Discontinuance of telephone service. If it is shown to the satisfaction of the court,
by affidavit, that a person is engaged in an act that constitutes a violation of section 609.893,
the court may issue an order that shall be promptly served upon the person in whose name the
telecommunications device is listed, requiring the party, within a reasonable time to be fixed by
the court but not exceeding 48 hours from the time of service of the petition on said party, to
show cause before the judge why telephone service should not promptly be discontinued. At the
hearing, the burden of proof is on the complainant.
    Subd. 6. Disconnect order. Upon a finding by the court that the telecommunications device
is being used or has been used in violation of section 609.893, the court shall issue an order
requiring the telephone company that is rendering service over the device to disconnect the
service. Upon receipt of the order, that shall be served upon an officer of the telephone company
by the sheriff of the county in which the telecommunications device is installed or by a duly
authorized deputy, the telephone company shall proceed promptly to disconnect and remove the
service and discontinue all telephone service until further order of the court.
    Subd. 7. Immunity. No telephone company is liable for any damages, penalty, or forfeiture,
whether civil or criminal, for an act performed in compliance with an order issued by the court.
History: 1990 c 494 s 1; 1990 c 612 s 9

237.74 REGULATION OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS CARRIER.
    Subdivision 1. Filing requirements. Every telecommunications carrier shall elect and keep
on file with the department either a tariff or a price list for each service on or before the effective
date of the tariff or price, containing the rules, rates, and classifications used by it in the conduct of
the telephone business, including limitations on liability. The filings are governed by chapter 13.
The department shall require each telecommunications carrier to keep open for public inspection
at designated offices so much of these rates, tariffs or price lists, and rules as the department
considers necessary for public information.
    Subd. 2. Discrimination prohibited; practices, services, rates. No telecommunications
carrier shall offer telecommunications service within the state upon terms or rates that are
unreasonably discriminatory. No telecommunications carrier shall unreasonably limit its service
offerings to particular geographic areas unless facilities necessary for the service are not available
and cannot be made available at reasonable costs. The rates of a telecommunications carrier
must be the same in all geographic locations of the state unless for good cause the commission
approves different rates. A company that offers long-distance services shall charge uniform rates
and charges on all long-distance routes and in all geographic areas in the state where it offers
the services. However, a carrier may offer or provide volume or term discounts or may offer
or provide unique pricing to certain customers or to certain geographic locations for special
promotions, and may pass through any state, municipal, or local taxes in the specific geographic
areas from which the taxes originate.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this subdivision, a telecommunications carrier
may furnish service free or at reduced rates to its officers, agents, or employees in furtherance
of their employment.
    Subd. 3. Special pricing. Except as prohibited by this section, prices unique to a particular
customer or group of customers may be allowed for services when differences in the cost of
providing a service or a service element justify a different price for a particular customer or group
of customers. Individual pricing for services may be allowed when a uniform price should not
be required because of market conditions. Unique or individual prices for services or service
elements in effect before August 1, 1993, are deemed to be lawful under this section.
    Subd. 4. Investigation, hearing, order, appeal. (a) When the commission or the department
believes that an investigation of any matter relating to any telephone service should for any
reason be made, it may on its own motion investigate the service or matter upon notice to
the carrier. However, telecommunications carriers are not subject to rate or rate of return
regulation and neither the commission nor the department may investigate any matter relating
to a telecommunications carrier's costs, rates, or rate of return, except the commission and the
department may investigate whether a rate is unreasonably discriminatory under subdivision 2.
(b) Upon a complaint made against a telecommunications carrier by a telephone company,
by another telecommunications carrier, by the governing body of a political subdivision, or by
no fewer than five percent or 100, whichever is the lesser number, of the subscribers or spouses
of subscribers of the particular telecommunications carrier, that any of the rates, tolls, tariffs or
price lists, charges, or schedules is in any respect unjustly discriminatory, or that any service is
inadequate or cannot be obtained, the commission, after notice to the telecommunications carrier,
shall investigate the matters raised by the complaint.
(c) If, after making an investigation under paragraph (a) or (b), the commission finds that
a significant factual issue raised has not been resolved to its satisfaction, the commission may
order that a contested case hearing be conducted under chapter 14 unless the complainant, the
telecommunications carrier, and the commission agree that an expedited hearing under section
237.61 is appropriate.
(d) In any complaint proceeding authorized under this section, telecommunications carriers
shall bear the burden of proof consistent with the allocation of the burden of proof to telephone
companies in sections 237.01 to 237.73.
(e) A full and complete record must be kept by the commission of all proceedings before it
upon any formal investigation or hearing and all testimony received or offered must be taken down
by the stenographer appointed by the commission and a transcribed copy of the record furnished to
any party to the investigation upon the payment of the expense of furnishing the transcribed copy.
If the commission finds by a preponderance of the evidence presented during the complaint
proceeding that existing rates, tolls, tariffs or price lists, charges, or schedules are unjustly
discriminatory, or that any service is inadequate or cannot be obtained, the commission may issue
its order requiring termination of the discrimination or making the service adequate or obtainable.
(f) A copy of an order issued under this section must be served upon the person against
whom it runs or the person's attorney, and notice of the order must be given to the other parties to
the proceedings or their attorneys.
(g) Any party to a proceeding before the commission or the attorney general may make and
perfect an appeal from the order in accordance with chapter 14.
If the court finds from an examination of the record that the commission erroneously rejected
evidence that should have been admitted, it shall remand the proceedings to the commission with
instructions to receive the evidence rejected and any rebutting evidence and to make new findings
and return them to the court for further review. Then the commission, after notice to the parties in
interest, shall proceed to rehear the matter in controversy and receive the wrongfully rejected
evidence and any rebutting evidence offered and make new findings, as upon the original hearing,
and transmit it and the new record properly certified to the Court of Appeals, when the matter
shall be again considered by the court in the same manner as in an original appeal.
(h) When an appeal is taken from any order of the commission under this chapter, the
commission shall, without delay, have a certified transcript made of all proceedings, pleadings
and files, and testimony taken or offered before it upon which the order was based, showing
particularly what, if any, evidence offered was excluded. The transcript must be made and filed
with the court administrator of the district court where the appeal is pending.
    Subd. 5. Extension of facility. A telecommunications carrier may extend its facilities into
or through a statutory or home rule charter city or town of this state for furnishing its services,
subject to the provisions of sections 237.162 and 237.163. Nothing in this subdivision shall be
construed to allow or prohibit facilities bypass of the local exchange telephone company, nor shall
it be construed to prohibit the commission from issuing orders concerning facilities bypass of the
local exchange telephone company.
    Subd. 6. Tariff or price list change. (a) Telecommunications carriers may:
(1) decrease the rate for a service, or make any change in a tariff or price list that results in a
decrease in rates, effective without notice to its customers or the commission; and
(2) offer a new service, increase the rate for a service, or change the terms, conditions,
rules, and regulations of its service offering effective upon notice to its customers. Subject to
subdivisions 2 and 9, a telecommunications carrier may discontinue a service, except that a
telecommunications carrier must first obtain prior commission approval before discontinuing
service to another telecommunications carrier if end users would be deprived of service because
of the discontinuance.
(b) A telecommunications carrier may give notice to its customers by bill inserts, by
publication in newspapers of general circulation, or by any other reasonable means. However,
notice of increases for intrastate residential rates for the services referenced in section 237.662,
subdivision 1 , shall be made by bill inserts prominently displaying the notice of price increase
on the customer's bill, or by a direct mailing or phone call to the customer. Customer notices for
increases of intrastate rates for those services must include as a heading "NOTICE OF PRICE
INCREASE".
    Subd. 7. Occasional use. A telecommunications carrier shall not be deemed to provide
local exchange services within the meaning of sections 237.01 and 237.035 merely because of
occasional use of the service by the customer for local exchange service related to the provision
of interexchange services.
    Subd. 8. Uniform rules. Telecommunications carriers are subject to uniform rules pertaining
to the conduct of intrastate telephone services by telecommunications carriers that the commission
has prescribed and may prescribe, to the extent the rules are not inconsistent with this section.
Rules, forms, or reports required by the commission must conform as nearly as practicable to the
rules, forms, or reports prescribed by the Federal Communications Commission for interstate
business.
    Subd. 9. Discontinuance. If a physical connection exists between a telephone
exchange system operated by a telephone company and the toll line or lines operated by a
telecommunications carrier, neither of the companies shall have the connection severed or the
service between the companies discontinued without first obtaining an order from the commission
upon an application for permission to discontinue the physical connection. Upon the filing
of an application for discontinuance of the connection, the department shall investigate and
ascertain whether public convenience requires the continuance of the physical connection, and
if the department so finds, the commission shall fix the compensation, terms, and conditions of
the continuance of the physical connection and service between the telephone company and the
telecommunications carrier. Prior commission approval is not required for severing connections
where multiple local exchange companies are authorized to provide service. However, the
commission may require the connections if it finds that the connections are in the public interest.
    Subd. 10. Cost of examination; assessment of expenses; limitation; objection. Section
237.295 applies to telecommunications carriers as it does to telephone companies.
    Subd. 11. Enforcement; penalties and remedies. (a) This section and rules and orders of
the commission adopted or issued under this section may be enforced by criminal prosecution,
action to recover civil penalties, injunction, action to compel performance, other appropriate
action, or any combination of penalties and remedies.
(b) A person who knowingly and intentionally violates this section or a rule or order of the
commission adopted or issued under this section shall forfeit and pay to the state a penalty, in an
amount to be determined by the court, of at least $100 and not more than $1,000 for each day
of each violation. The civil penalties provided for in this paragraph may be recovered by a civil
action brought by the attorney general in the name of the state. Amounts recovered under this
paragraph must be paid into the state treasury.
    Subd. 12. Certification requirement. No telecommunications carrier shall construct or
operate any line, plant, or system, or any extension of it, or acquire ownership or control of it,
either directly or indirectly, without first obtaining from the commission a determination that
the present or future public convenience and necessity require or will require the construction,
operation, or acquisition, and a new certificate of territorial authority. Nothing in this subdivision
requires a telecommunications carrier that has been certified by the commission to provide
telephone service before August 1, 1993, to be recertified under this subdivision. Nothing in
this subdivision shall be construed to allow or prohibit facilities bypass of the local exchange
telephone company, nor shall it be construed to prohibit the commission from issuing orders
concerning facilities bypass of the local exchange telephone company.
    Subd. 13. International call blocking. A telecommunications carrier, on its own or in
conjunction with the telephone subscriber's provider of local telephone service, shall offer
comprehensive international toll blocking of nondomestic area codes that are part of the North
American numbering plans, as a condition of offering service in Minnesota.
History: 1993 c 268 s 4; 1997 c 123 s 5; 1998 c 345 s 13,14

CUSTOM TELEPHONE SERVICES

237.75 CLASS SERVICE.
    Subdivision 1. Definition. For purposes of this section, "CLASS" or "custom local
area signaling service" means a custom calling telephone service that is enabled through the
installation or use of Signaling System 7 or similar signaling system and that includes at least
the following features:
(1) automatic call back;
(2) automatic recall;
(3) calling number delivery, commonly known as "caller identification";
(4) calling number delivery blocking;
(5) customer originated call tracing;
(6) distinctive ringing/call waiting;
(7) selective call acceptance;
(8) selective call forwarding; and
(9) selective call rejection.
    Subd. 2. CLASS; terms and conditions. By January 1, 1994, the commission shall
determine the terms and conditions under which CLASS services may be provided by telephone
companies in this state.
    Subd. 3. CLASS; capability and offering of service. Each telephone company that provides
local telephone service to persons located in the counties of Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin,
Ramsey, Scott, and Washington shall obtain the capability to offer CLASS services in those
counties by January 1, 1995, unless the commission approves an extension to a date certain.
History: 1993 c 268 s 5

ALTERNATIVE REGULATION PLAN

237.76 PURPOSE.
A telephone company may petition the commission for approval of an alternative regulation
plan under sections 237.76 to 237.774. The purpose of an alternative regulation plan is to provide
a telephone company's customers with service of a quality consistent with commission rules at
affordable rates, to facilitate the development of telecommunication alternatives for customers,
and to provide, where appropriate, a regulatory environment with greater flexibility than is
available under traditional rate-of-return regulation as reflected in other provisions of this chapter.
History: 1995 c 156 s 7,25; 2003 c 97 s 2

237.761 ALTERNATIVE REGULATION PLAN; SERVICE.
    Subdivision 1. Classification of services. An alternative regulation plan must contain
provisions that provide for classification of all telephone services as price regulated, flexibly
priced, or nonprice regulated consistent with subdivisions 2 to 5.
    Subd. 2. Price-regulated service; definition. For purposes of this section, the term
"price-regulated service" includes only those services that are:
(1) essential for providing local telephone service and access to the local telephone network;
(2) integrally related to privacy, health, and safety of the company's customers; and
(3) for which no reasonable alternative exists within the relevant market or geographic area
on reasonably comparable terms and conditions.
    Subd. 3. Specific price-regulated services. Price-regulated telephone services are the
following:
(1) residential and business service for local calling, including measured local service,
two-party service, private branch exchange (PBX) trunks, trunk type hunting services, direct
inward dialing, the network access portion of central office switched exchange service, and public
access lines for customer-owned coin-operated telephones;
(2) extended area service;
(3) switched network access service;
(4) call tracing;
(5) calling number blocking;
(6) touch tone service when provided separately from basic local exchange service;
(7) local exchange, white-page, printed directories;
(8) 911 emergency services;
(9) installation and repair of local network access;
(10) local operator services, excluding directory assistance; and
(11) toll service blocking and 1-900 or 976 access blocking.
    Subd. 4. Flexibly priced service. (a) A service not listed in subdivision 3 or not otherwise
determined to be price regulated under subdivision 6 or 7 or nonprice regulated must be classified
as a flexibly priced service.
(b) Flexibly priced services are regulated consistent with section 237.60, subdivision 2,
except that:
(1) rate decreases may be effective immediately upon filing and upon notice to affected
customers; and
(2) rate increases may be effective 20 days after filing and upon notice to affected
customers and are considered approved if no objection is filed or raised by an interested party
or the commission within 20 days after the filing. If an interested party files an objection, the
commission shall make its determination on the proposed rate increase within 90 days of the
filing of the objection.
    Subd. 5. Non-price-regulated service. (a) A service must be classified as nonprice regulated
if the commission finds, based upon evidence filed by the telephone company and other evidence
available to the commission and consistent with the company's proposed plan, that there is
sufficient competition to justify classification as nonprice regulated. In making that determination,
the factors the commission shall consider include:
(1) the number, size, and identity of competitors providing the same or functionally
equivalent service;
(2) the geographic area in which competitive service is actually available to and being used
by customers, to the extent this information is available to the commission;
(3) the importance of the service to the public; and
(4) the effect of classification of the service on the development of a competitive
telecommunications market.
(b) Telephone companies shall file tariffs or price lists for non-price-regulated services
with the commission, but the rates for these services are not subject to commission approval or
investigation except as provided in subdivision 6 and sections 237.762, subdivision 6, 237.770,
and 237.771.
    Subd. 6. Reclassification. An alternative regulation plan may contain provisions allowing for
the reclassification of services during the course of the plan upon a showing that the service meets
the criteria contained in subdivision 2, 3, 4, or 5, and the plan, for the requested classification.
    Subd. 7. New service; classification; rate. At the time the company first offers a service, it
shall file a tariff or price list and the proposed classification for the service under the plan along
with a written explanation of why the proposed classification is consistent with this section. New
services classified as flexibly priced or nonprice regulated may be offered on one day's notice to
the commission and the department. New services classified as price regulated may be offered
pursuant to the terms set forth in the plan. A service is not considered a new service if it consists
of a repackaging including bundling, unbundling, or repricing of an already existing service. If no
interested party or the commission objects to the company's proposed classification within 30
days of the filing of the petition, the company's proposed classification of the service is approved.
If an objection is filed, the commission shall determine the classification of the service within 90
days of the filing of the new service.
    Subd. 8. Investment commitment. (a) An alternative regulation plan must also include
a plan outlining the company's commitment to invest in telecommunications infrastructure
improvements in this state over a period of not less than six years.
(b) An investment plan shall include all of the following:
(1) a description of the level of planned investment in technological or infrastructure
enhancement;
(2) a description of the extent to which planned investment will make new
telecommunications technology available to customers or expand the availability of current
technology;
(3) a description of the planned deployment of fiber-optic facilities or broadband capabilities
to schools, libraries, technical colleges, hospitals, colleges and universities, and local governments
in this state; and
(4) a description of planned investment and deployment of higher speed telecommunications
services and increased capacity for voice, video, and data transmission, in both the metropolitan
and outstate portions of the company's service territory.
History: 1995 c 156 s 8,25; 1997 c 223 s 9,10; 2003 c 97 s 2

237.762 ALTERNATIVE REGULATION PLAN RATE, PRICE.
    Subdivision 1. Initial rate. An alternative regulation plan approved by the commission under
this section must provide that the recurring and nonrecurring rates or prices that may be charged
by a telephone company for price-regulated services are no higher than the approved rate or prices
on file with the commission for those services on the date of the filing of the plan. Furthermore,
no plan may in any way change the terms or conditions of any access charge settlements approved
by the commission or exempt any company from compliance with any commission access charge
order issued before the filing of a plan. The plan must address implementation of additional
access charge reductions that may occur during that portion of the plan that extends beyond
expiration of commission-approved settlements.
    Subd. 2. New service; rate. For services offered by the telephone company for the first
time after August 1, 1995, the rates or prices must equal or exceed the total service long-run
incremental cost of the service.
    Subd. 3. Rate change. (a) An alternative regulation plan must set forth the procedures
under which the telephone company may reduce the rates or prices for price-regulated services
below the initial rates or prices or thereafter increase the rates or prices during the term of the
plan. The rates or prices may not be reduced below the total service long-run incremental cost of
providing the service. Except as provided in paragraph (b), the rates or prices may not exceed the
initial rates or prices for the service determined under subdivision 1 for the first three years of
the plan. After a plan has been in effect for three years, price-regulated rates may be changed as
appropriate under a procedure set forth in an approved plan. Rates for price-regulated services
may not be increased unless the company has demonstrated substantial compliance with the
quality of service standards set forth in the plan.
(b) An approved plan may allow changes in rates for price-regulated services after two
years to reflect:
(1) changes in state and federal taxes;
(2) changes in jurisdictional allocations from the Federal Communications Commission,
the amount of which the telephone company cannot control and for which equal and opposite
exogenous changes are made on the federal level; and
(3) substantial financial impacts of investments in telecommunications infrastructure which
are made: (i) if the investments, for any 12-month period, exceed 20 percent of the gross plant
investment of the company; or (ii) are the result of government mandates to construct specific
telephone infrastructure, the mandate applies to local telephone companies, and the company
would not otherwise be compensated through some other manner under the plan.
    Subd. 4. Bundled rates. When the rates or prices for services are unbundled, the price for
each basic network function must be set to equal or exceed its total service long-run incremental
cost. Before August 1, 1997, if the rates or prices for price-regulated services are bundled, the
bundled rate or price may not exceed the sum of the unbundled rates or prices for the individual
service elements or services or the total initial bundled rate or price for those service elements
or services.
    Subd. 5. Income-neutral change. Other than as authorized in this subdivision, an initial
alternative regulation plan must not permit income-neutral rate changes for price-regulated
services during the plan except as is necessary to implement extended area service or any successor
to that service. Any plan must provide that after the rules issued pursuant to section 237.16 are
adopted, rates for price-regulated services may be increased, as approved by the commission, to
the extent necessary to carry out the purpose of those rules. However, rate increases, if any, for
those services must be incorporated with a universal service fund so that the effective rate for the
customers of those services does not increase during the first three years of the plan.
    Subd. 6. Rate for other service. The telephone company shall file price lists with the
commission for all flexibly priced or non-price-regulated services. The rate or price for
each flexibly priced and non-price-regulated service must be equal to or exceed the total
service long-run incremental cost of providing that service. In any proceeding regarding the
appropriateness of a rate or price for a flexibly priced or non-price-regulated service, the telephone
company has the burden of proving that the rate or price is above the total service long-run
incremental cost of providing that service.
    Subd. 7. Packaged services. This section does not prevent a telephone company from
packaging any service classified as price regulated or flexibly priced pursuant to section 237.761,
subdivisions 2 to 4 , with any other service, or engaging in promotional activities concerning
such services, so long as:
(1) the company also continues to offer these price-regulated and flexibly priced services as
separate stand-alone services at prices required by this section; and
(2) at the time the packaged offering is introduced, or at the time the package 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.
History: 1995 c 156 s 9,25; 1997 c 223 s 11-13; 2003 c 97 s 2

237.763 EXEMPTION FROM EARNINGS REGULATION AND INVESTIGATION.
Except as provided in the plan and any subsequent plans, a company that has an alternative
regulation plan approved under section 237.764, is not subject to the rate-of-return regulation
or earnings investigations provisions of section 237.075 or 237.081 during the term of the plan.
A company with an approved plan is not subject to the provisions of section 237.57; 237.59; or
237.60, subdivisions 1, 2, 4, and 5 , during the term of the plan. Except as specifically provided
in this section or in the approved plan, the commission retains all of its authority under section
237.081 to investigate other matters and to issue appropriate orders, and the department retains
its authority under sections 216A.07 and 237.15 to investigate matters other than the earnings
of the company.
History: 1995 c 156 s 10,25; 2001 c 7 s 48; 2003 c 97 s 2; 2005 c 10 art 1 s 35; 2006 c
212 art 3 s 16

237.764 PLAN ADOPTION; EFFECT.
    Subdivision 1. Petition, notice, hearing, and decision. (a) Before acting on a petition for
approval of an alternative regulation plan, the commission shall conduct any public meetings
it may consider necessary.
(b) The commission shall require the petitioning telephone company to provide notice of the
proposed plan to its customers, along with a summary description of the plan provisions and the
dates, times, and locations of public meetings scheduled by the commission.
(c) The company's petition shall contain an explanation of how ratepayers will benefit from
the plan and a justification of the appropriateness of earnings levels and rates in light of the
proposed plan as well as any proposed changes in rates for price-regulated services for the first
three years of the proposed plan. If a telephone company has completed a general rate proceeding,
rate investigation, or audit of its earnings by the department or commission within two years
of the initial application for an alternative form of regulation plan, the commission order or
department audit report, updated for the most recent calendar year, is sufficient justification of
earnings levels to initiate the filing of an alternative regulation plan. At the time of filing a plan,
the current earnings level of a telephone company with more than 1,000,000 access lines in
Minnesota shall be deemed reasonable.
(d) The commission shall conduct a proceeding under section 237.61 to decide whether to
approve the plan and shall grant discovery as appropriate.
(e) The commission shall issue findings of fact and conclusions concerning the
appropriateness of the proposed initial rates, where necessary, and the proposed plan, or any
modifications to it, but may not order that a modified plan take effect without the agreement of
the petitioning telephone company. The commission shall issue its decision on a plan within six
months after receiving the petition to approve the plan unless the commission and the petitioning
company agree to an extension of the time for commission action.
(f) If a settlement is submitted to the commission, the commission shall accept, reject, or
modify the proposed settlement within 60 days from the date it was submitted.
    Subd. 2. Settlement; stipulation; final order. Upon receipt of a petition for an alternative
regulation plan, the commission shall convene a conference including all interested parties to
encourage settlement or stipulation of issues. Any settlement or stipulation must be submitted
to the commission, which shall accept or reject the proposal in its entirety or modify it. If
the commission modifies the proposal, all parties have 30 days to comment on the proposed
modifications, after which the commission shall issue its final order. If the final order contains
modifications to the proposal, each party to the settlement has ten days to reject the proposed
modifications, in which case the matter must be decided under section 237.61. After appropriate
notice and hearing for all parties, the commission may adopt a stipulation submitted by a
substantial number of, but less than all, parties.
    Subd. 3. Effect on incentive plan. The approval of a plan under this section automatically
terminates any existing incentive plan previously approved under section 237.625, prior to its
expiration on August 1, 1999, upon the effective date of the plan approved under this section.
However, the company remains obligated to share earnings under the terms of the incentive plan
through the date of the termination of that plan and also is required to complete the performance
of any other unexecuted commitments under the incentive plan.
History: 1995 c 156 s 11,25; 1997 c 223 s 14; 2001 c 7 s 49; 2003 c 97 s 2

237.765 QUALITY OF SERVICE.
(a) For an alternative regulation plan to be approved by the commission under sections
237.76 to 237.774, the plan must contain an existing service quality plan or settlement for retail
customers approved by the commission or if no such plan or settlement has been approved, the
commission shall require:
(1) evidence that current service quality substantially complies with commission rules as
to justify lessened rate regulation;
(2) a baseline measurement of the quality of service levels as achieved by the company
during the previous three years, to the extent the data are available, and specific statewide
standards for measuring the quality of price-regulated and flexibly priced services provided by
the company, including, but not limited to (i) time intervals for installation, (ii) time intervals
for restoration or repair of service, (iii) trouble rates, (iv) exchange access line held orders, and
(v) customer service answer time;
(3) provisions for reporting to the commission at least annually the company's performance
as to the quality of service standards by quarter for the previous year;
(4) provisions that index quality of service standards for local residence services to similar
standards for local business services;
(5) appropriate remedies, including penalties and customer-specific adjustments or payments
to compensate customers for specific quality of service failures, so as to ensure substantial
compliance with the quality of service standards set forth in the plan; and
(6) provisions for informing customers of their rights as to quality of service and how
customers can register their complaints regarding service.
(b) Any penalties under paragraph (a), clause (5), shall be returned to customers under a
method set forth in the plan.
(c) The terms of an existing service quality plan or settlement approved by the commission
must be offered to extend through the duration of an alternative regulation plan filed under this
section.
History: 1995 c 156 s 12,25; 1997 c 223 s 15; 2003 c 97 s 2

237.766 PLAN DURATION AND EXTENSION.
    Subdivision 1. Plan duration. An alternative regulation plan approved by the commission
under section 237.764 must remain in force as approved for the term specified in the plan, which
must be for no less than three years. Except as otherwise provided in this section, within six
months prior to the termination of the plan the company shall give notice that it will propose a
new plan, extend an existing plan, or revert to rate of return regulation.
    Subd. 2. New plan. A new plan proposed by a company must be reviewed by the
commission and, with the consent of the company, revised or approved consistent with sections
237.76 to 237.774, except that the justification of earnings levels in section 237.764, subdivision
1 , paragraph (c), if required, and the provisions prohibiting rate increases at the initiation of or
during the first three years of a plan contained in section 237.762, shall not apply to a new plan.
Any new plan must be approved by the commission and shall contain a mechanism under which a
telephone company may reduce the rates for price-regulated services below the initial rates or
prices or increase the rates or prices during the term of the plan. The plan must specify the reports
required of the telephone company for review of the plan and specify that the telephone company
shall maintain records in sufficient detail to facilitate the review. A new plan is not an extension,
which must be made pursuant to subdivision 3.
    Subd. 3. Plan extension. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of its plan, a telephone company
operating under a plan as of May 20, 2004, may elect to extend that plan for up to three years
from the expiration date of the plan or until December 31, 2007, whichever is earlier. The election
is effective upon notification to customers, the commission, the department, and the Office of
the Attorney General. A telephone company must provide notification of its election within 30
days of May 20, 2004, or within six months of the expiration of its current or expired plan,
whichever is later. Once a telephone company has elected to exercise the option provided under
this subdivision, the company may elect at any time to terminate the plan by notifying customers,
the commission, the department, and the Office of the Attorney General, in writing, six months
prior to the termination date. Upon termination of a plan, the company shall be regulated as
provided in this chapter.
(b) A telephone company may elect to extend a plan entered into after May 20, 2004, in lieu
of proposing a new plan only if the company is in substantial compliance with the plan's service
quality provisions and has met its infrastructure obligations under the plan. If the company elects
to extend a plan, the rates for price-regulated services shall be capped at the rate levels in effect at
the time the extension commences, provided, however, exceptions to a price cap contained in
the plan being extended may remain in force. Unless otherwise specified in the plan, all other
provisions of the plan shall continue in effect throughout the extension period. A plan may not be
extended for less than one year or more than three years, and may only be extended once.
(c) The Department of Commerce or the Office of the Attorney General may file an objection
to the extension with the commission if the company is not in substantial compliance with the
service quality provisions of its plan or has not met its infrastructure obligations under the plan. An
objection must be filed within 45 days of the company's notice of its intention to extend the plan.
(d) If an objection is filed by the Department of Commerce or the Office of the Attorney
General, the commission may hold a hearing on the issues raised in the objection. The hearings
shall be completed within 30 days of the deadline for filing the objections. If the commission finds
that the issues raised in the objection are valid, it may reject the extension. If the commission finds
that the issues raised in the objection are not valid, it shall approve the extension. The commission
shall issue its decision within 15 days of the completion of the hearings concerning the objection.
(e) If the Department of Commerce or the Office of the Attorney General does not file an
objection, the commission shall approve the extension within 60 days of the company's filing of
its notice of its intention to extend the plan.
History: 1995 c 156 s 13,25; 1997 c 223 s 16; 2003 c 97 s 2; 2004 c 214 s 2

237.767 DISCONTINUANCE OF SERVICE.
Without the express approval of the commission, a telephone company subject to a plan may
not discontinue the provision of a service or basic network function that has been classified as
price regulated or flexibly priced.
History: 1995 c 156 s 14,25; 2003 c 97 s 2

237.768 PERIODIC FINANCIAL REPORT.
In addition to the reports required under section 237.766, an alternative regulation plan may
require a telephone company to file with the department an annual report of financial matters for
the previous calendar year on or before May 1 of each year on report forms furnished by the
department in the same manner as is required of other telephone companies on August 1, 1995. In
addition, any company subject to a plan shall file with the commission and department a copy
of any filings it has made to the Federal Communications Commission regarding the provisions
of video programming provided through a video dial tone facility in Minnesota. An alternative
regulation plan may require a telephone company to maintain its accounts in accordance with the
system of accounts prescribed for the company by the commission under section 237.10.
History: 1995 c 156 s 15,25; 1Sp2001 c 4 art 6 s 69; 2003 c 97 s 2

237.769 RULES APPLICABLE.
Any company under a plan is subject to any rules adopted under section 237.16 on the same
date as those rules are applicable to other companies.
History: 1995 c 156 s 16,25; 1997 c 223 s 17; 2003 c 97 s 2

237.770 SUBSIDIZATION.
No telephone company shall subsidize flexibly priced or non-price-regulated services from
other services. A telephone service is not subsidized if the aggregate revenues for the service equal
or exceed the total service long-run incremental costs of providing the service. If the commission
determines, after a proceeding under section 237.081, that subsidization exists, it shall order
changes in rates to price the subsidized service above total service long-run incremental cost and
may invoke any other remedies otherwise available under this chapter.
History: 1995 c 156 s 17,25; 2003 c 97 s 2

237.771 DISCRIMINATION.
The rates of a telephone company under a plan must be the same in all geographic locations
of the state except for good cause. A plan may contain provisions that define good cause,
including consideration of the ability to respond to competition. Sections 237.09, 237.121, and
237.60, subdivision 3 apply to a telephone company under a plan.
History: 1995 c 156 s 18,25; 2003 c 97 s 2

237.772 COST STUDY METHODOLOGY.
    Subdivision 1. Total service long-run incremental cost. (a) For purposes of this chapter,
total service long-run incremental cost (TSLRIC) means the total cost to the company of
supplying a service, group of services, or basic network function. The term "long-run" means a
period of time sufficient so that all inputs are avoidable based on the total increment of service,
group of services, or basic network function and includes the relevant costs resulting from the
company's decision to provide the service, group of services, or basic network function, holding
constant the production levels of all other services, groups of services, or basic network functions
provided by the company.
(b) A telephone company is not required to prepare or file TSLRIC or variable cost studies
for all of its services as a prerequisite to filing a plan. However, the commission may order cost
studies to be prepared for specific services as a condition of approval of the plan.
    Subd. 2. Petition for variable cost study. To the extent that this section or the commission
may require a company to provide a TSLRIC study, a company may submit a petition to the
commission for permission to submit a variable cost study instead of a TSLRIC study. The
commission shall grant the petition if the telephone company demonstrates:
(1) that a TSLRIC study is burdensome in relation to its annual revenue from the service
involved;
(2) in the case of an existing service, that the service is no longer being offered to new
customers; or
(3) if the telephone company shows other good cause.
History: 1995 c 156 s 19,25; 2003 c 97 s 2

237.773 ALTERNATIVE REGULATION FOR SMALL TELEPHONE COMPANY.
    Subdivision 1. Definition. For purposes of this section, "small telephone company" means a
local exchange telephone company with fewer than 50,000 subscribers that has made an election
under subdivision 2 whether or not the company is subject to sections 237.59 and 237.60,
subdivisions 1, 2, and 5 .
    Subd. 2. Election; effect. A local telephone company with fewer than 50,000 subscribers
may elect to become a small telephone company by notice to the commission, in writing, of its
decision. The small telephone company may not revoke its election for three years after making
the election. While that election remains in effect, a small telephone company is not subject to the
rate-of-return regulation or earnings investigation provisions of section 237.075 or 237.081.
If, before electing under this subdivision, a small telephone company has been found by the
commission to have significant quality of service problems in violation of applicable commission
rules, that company must either resolve the quality of service problems or develop a plan to
resolve the quality of service problems in conformance with section 237.765. The quality of
service plan must be approved by the commission in order for an election under this subdivision
to be effective. The commission shall make a determination on the quality of service plan within
60 days after it is submitted.
    Subd. 3. Local rate. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), a small telephone company
shall not implement a rate increase for any service listed in section 237.761, subdivision 3,
beyond the level in effect 60 days prior to an election under subdivision 2, until the later of
January 1, 1998, or two years after making an election. However, a small telephone company
may implement any new service and establish rates for any new service and may change rates
for any other service at any time subject to the requirements of section 237.761, subdivision 4.
A small company shall provide to its customers the ability to block, at no extra charge, any
new service which it offers, provides, or bills. This requirement shall not apply to services
that require affirmative subscription by the customer. Nothing in this section shall prevent the
commission from requiring blocking or other privacy or safety protections for other types of
telecommunications services under section 237.081.
(b) At any time following one year after electing under subdivision 2, a small telephone
company may change rates for local services except switched network access services, listed
in section 237.761, subdivision 3, to reflect:
(1) changes in state and federal taxes;
(2) changes in jurisdictional allocations from the Federal Communications Commission, the
amount of which the small telephone company cannot control and for which equal and opposite
exogenous changes are made on the federal level;
(3) substantial financial impacts of investments in network upgrades which are made; or
(i) if the investment exceeds 20 percent of the gross plant investment of the company; or
(ii) as the result of government mandates to construct specific telephone infrastructure, if
the mandate applies to local telephone companies and the company would not otherwise be
compensated.
A small telephone company may change rates for local services listed in section 237.761,
subdivision 3 , at any time, to implement extended area service or any successor to that service
on an income-neutral basis.
A small telephone company proposing an increase under this subdivision shall provide 60
days' advance written notice to the department and each of the company's customers including
the individual rates affected and the procedure necessary for the customers to petition for
investigation. If the department receives a petition within 45 days after the notice from five percent
or 500, whichever is fewer, of the customers of the small telephone company, the department
and the company shall jointly determine if the petition is valid and, if so, may investigate the
rate change to determine if it conforms to the limitations of this subdivision. Within 30 days of
validating the petition, the department shall report its findings to the commission, which shall
either adopt the report or order changes to conform to this subdivision.
(c) On or after the later of January 1998, or two years after making an election under
subdivision 2, a small telephone company may increase rates for local services, except
switched network access services, listed in section 237.761, subdivision 3. A small telephone
company proposing an increase shall provide 60 days' advance written notice to its customers
including individual rates affected and the procedure necessary for the customers to petition
for investigation. If the commission receives a petition within 45 days after such notice, from
five percent or 500, whichever is fewer, of the customers of the small telephone company, the
department and the company shall jointly determine if the petition is valid and, if so, may
investigate the proposed rate increase to determine if it is appropriate in light of rates charged
by other local exchange telephone companies for comparable services, taking into account
calling scope, quality of service, the availability of competitive alternatives, service costs, and
the features available to the customers. Within 30 days of validating the petition, the department
shall file a report with the commission which shall then approve appropriate rates for those
services. Rates established by the commission under this paragraph shall not be increased within
one year of implementation.
    Subd. 4. Access rate. (a) No election by a small telephone company may in any way
change the terms or conditions of any interexchange access charge settlements approved by the
commission before an election under subdivision 2.
(b) While any interexchange access charge settlement approved by the commission
remains in effect, the commission and department shall enforce the agreement without further
investigation of interexchange access charges or earnings relating to the interexchange access
service. Except as specifically provided in this section, the commission retains all of its authority
under section 237.081 to investigate other matters relating to interexchange access charges and
to issue appropriate orders, and the department retains its authority under sections 216A.07 and
237.15 to investigate matters relating to interexchange access charges.
    Subd. 5.[Repealed, 2000 c 436 s 3]
History: 1995 c 156 s 20,25; 2001 c 7 s 50; 2003 c 97 s 2; 2004 c 214 s 3

237.774 APPLICATION OF OTHER LAWS.
Except as provided in sections 237.76 to 237.773, a telephone company subject to a plan
approved under sections 237.764 and 237.773, shall comply with any state or federal laws
governing the provision of telephone services. Nothing contained in sections 237.76 to 237.773
is intended in any way to change or modify the definitions contained in section 237.01 or what
constitutes the provision of telephone service under this chapter or other laws.
History: 1995 c 156 s 21,25; 2003 c 97 s 2

237.775 EXISTING PLAN NOT AFFECTED.
An alternative regulation plan approved by the commission prior to May 1, 1997, is not
subject to the amendments in Laws 1997, chapter 223; provided that a plan filed, revised, or
renewed after that date is subject to those amendments.
History: 1997 c 223 s 18

TELEPHONE COMPANY WITH CABLE SERVICES

237.79 TELEPHONE COMPANY PROVIDING CABLE SERVICE.
A telephone company that provides cable television services shall, with respect to
provisioning of those services in Minnesota, be subject to the same franchise requirements,
procedures, and fees, and public, educational, and government access requirements as a cable
communication company under chapter 238.
History: 1997 c 123 s 6

INTEREXCHANGE TELEPHONE SERVICE

237.80 INTEREXCHANGE TELEPHONE SERVICE.
    Subdivision 1. Definition, findings, and purpose. (a) For purposes of this section, "act"
means the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, Public Law 104-104.
(b) The act establishes procedures whereby former Bell Operating Companies or their
affiliates may obtain Federal Communications Commission authorization to provide intrastate
inter-LATA telecommunications services and to promote the development of fair and reasonable
competition.
(c) The purpose of this section is to promote the development of fair and reasonable
competition in the telecommunications industry in Minnesota.
    Subd. 2. Consultation with FCC. Any investigation or proceeding by the Minnesota Public
Utilities Commission for the purpose of verifying compliance with the competitive checklist
requirements of section 271(c) of the act must be completed by the commission and the resulting
certification provided to the Federal Communications Commission within 90 days after receipt of
a request for verification from the Federal Communications Commission.
History: 1996 c 445 s 1

237.81 SCOPE.
To the extent they regulate telecommunications right-of-way users, sections 237.04; 237.16,
subdivision 1 ; 237.162; 237.163; and 237.74, subdivision 5, supersede section 222.37, and any
ordinance, regulation, or rule to the contrary.
History: 1997 c 123 s 7; 2005 c 69 art 3 s 19