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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

Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes