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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 telephone companies that provide local exchange service in Minnesota.

Subd. 3. Federal matching plan. The telephone assistance plan must contain adequate provisions to enable telephone companies 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 Repealed, 1988 c 621 s 19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. Households eligible for credits. The telephone assistance plan must provide telephone assistance credit for a residential household in Minnesota that meets each of the following criteria:

(1) has a household member who:

(i) subscribes to local exchange service; and

(ii) is either disabled or 65 years of age or older;

(2) whose household income is 150 percent or less of federal poverty guidelines or is currently eligible for:

(i) aid to families with dependent children or Minnesota family investment program-statewide;

(ii) medical assistance;

(iii) general assistance;

(iv) Minnesota supplemental aid;

(v) food stamps;

(vi) refugee cash assistance or refugee medical assistance;

(vii) energy assistance; or

(viii) supplemental security income; and

(3) who has been certified as eligible for telephone assistance plan credits.

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 telephone company; 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 telephone company in the state.

Subd. 7. Administration. The telephone assistance plan must be administered jointly by the commission, the department of human services, and the telephone companies in accordance with the following guidelines:

(a) The commission and the department of human services 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 department of human services. 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 include provisions for the applicant to show the name of the applicant's telephone company. The application must also advise the applicant to submit the required proof of age or disability, and income and must provide examples of acceptable proof. The application must state that failure to submit proof with the application will result in the applicant being found ineligible. Each telephone company 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 ARE 65 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER OR ARE DISABLED AND IF YOU MEET CERTAIN HOUSEHOLD INCOME LIMITS. FOR MORE INFORMATION OR AN APPLICATION FORM PLEASE CONTACT .........

(b) The department of human services shall determine the eligibility for telephone assistance plan credits at least annually according to the criteria contained in subdivision 4a.

(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 an office of the department of human services specially designated to process telephone assistance plan applications. On receiving a completed application from an applicant, the department of human services shall determine the applicant's eligibility or ineligibility within 120 days. If the department fails to do so, it shall within three working days provide written notice to the applicant's telephone company that the company shall provide telephone assistance plan credits against monthly charges in the earliest possible month following receipt of the written notice. The applicant must receive telephone assistance plan credits until the earliest possible month following the company's receipt of notice from the department that the applicant is ineligible.

If the department of human services determines that an applicant is not eligible to receive telephone assistance plan credits, it shall notify the applicant within ten working days of that determination.

Within ten working days of determining that an applicant is eligible to receive telephone assistance plan credits, the department of human services shall provide written notification to the telephone company that serves the applicant. The notice must include the applicant's name, address, and telephone number.

Each telephone company shall provide telephone assistance plan credits against monthly charges in the earliest possible month following receipt of notice from the department of human services.

By December 31 of each year, the department of human services shall redetermine eligibility of each person receiving telephone assistance plan credits, as required in paragraph (b). The department of human services shall submit an annual report to the commission by January 15 of each year showing that the department has determined the eligibility for telephone assistance plan credits of each person receiving the credits or explaining why the determination has not been made and showing how and when the determination will be completed.

If the department of human services determines that a current recipient of telephone assistance plan credits is not eligible to receive the credits, it shall notify, in writing, the recipient within ten working days and the telephone company serving the recipient within 20 working days of the determination. The notice must include the recipient's name, address, and telephone number.

Each telephone company shall remove telephone assistance plan credits against monthly charges in the earliest possible month following receipt of notice from the department of human services.

Each telephone company that disconnects a subscriber receiving the telephone assistance plan credit shall report the disconnection to the department of human services. The reports must be submitted monthly, identifying the subscribers disconnected. Telephone companies that do not disconnect a subscriber receiving the telephone assistance plan credit are not required to report.

If the telephone assistance plan credit is not itemized on the subscriber's monthly charges bill for local telephone service, the telephone company 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 telephone company shall extend to each eligible household in its service area;

(3) require each telephone company to account to the commission on a periodic basis for surcharge revenues collected by the company, expenses incurred by the company, not to include expenses of collecting surcharges, and credits extended by the company under the telephone assistance plan;

(4) require each telephone company to remit surcharge revenues to the department of administration for deposit in the fund; and

(5) remit to each telephone company from the surcharge revenue pool the amount necessary to compensate the company 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 telephone company 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 public service 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 public service shall investigate complaints against telephone companies with regard to the telephone assistance plan and shall report the results of its investigation to the commission.

HIST: 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

Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes