August 31, 2005, Introduced by Senator PATTERSON and referred to the Committee on Technology and Energy.
A bill to amend 1991 PA 179, entitled
"Michigan telecommunications act,"
by amending sections 102, 202, 304, 305, and 352 (MCL 484.2102,
484.2202, 484.2304, 484.2305, and 484.2352), section 102 as amended
by 1998 PA 41, sections 202 and 305 as amended by 1995 PA 216,
section 304 as amended by 2000 PA 295, and section 352 as added by
1995 PA 216; and to repeal acts and parts of acts.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 102. As used in this act:
(a) "Access service" means access to a local exchange network
for the purpose of enabling a provider to originate or terminate
telecommunication services within the local exchange. Except for
end-user common line services, access service does not include
access service to a person who is not a provider.
(b) "Basic local exchange service" or "local exchange service"
means the provision of an access line and usage within a local
calling area for the transmission of high-quality 2-way interactive
switched voice or data communication.
(c) "Cable service" means 1-way transmission to subscribers of
video programming or other programming services and subscriber
interaction for the selection of video programming or other
programming services.
(d) "Commission" means the Michigan public service commission.
(e) "Contested case" or "case" means a proceeding as defined
in section 3 of the administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA
306, MCL 24.203.
(f) "Educational institution" means a public educational
institution or a private non-profit educational institution
approved by the department of education to provide a program of
primary, secondary, or higher education, a public library, or a
nonprofit association or consortium whose primary purpose is
education. A nonprofit association or consortium under this
subdivision shall consist of 2 or more of the following:
(i) Public educational institutions.
(ii) Nonprofit educational institutions approved by the
department of education.
(iii) The state board of education.
(iv) Telecommunication providers.
(v) A nonprofit association of educational institutions or
consortium of educational institutions.
(g) "Energy management services" means a service of a public
utility providing electric power, heat, or light for energy use
management, energy use control, energy use information, and energy
use communication.
(h) "Exchange" means 1 or more contiguous central offices and
all associated facilities within a geographical area in which local
exchange telecommunication services are offered by a provider.
(i) "Information services" or "enhanced services" means the
offering of a capability for generating, acquiring, storing,
transforming, processing, retrieving, utilizing, or making
available information, including energy management services, that
is conveyed by telecommunications. Information services or enhanced
services do not include the use of such capability for the
management, control, or operation of a telecommunications system or
the management of a telecommunications service.
(j) "Interconnection" means the technical arrangements and
other elements necessary to permit the connection between the
switched networks of 2 or more providers to enable a
telecommunication service originating on the network of 1 provider
to terminate on the network of another provider.
(k)
"Inter-LATA prohibition" means the prohibitions on the
offering
of inter-exchange or inter-LATA service contained in the
modification
of final judgment entered pursuant to a consent decree
in
United States v American Telephone and Telegraph Co.,
552 F.
Supp.
131 (D.D.C. 1982), and in the consent decree approved in
United States v GTE
Corp., 603 F. Supp. 730 (D.D.C. 1984).
(l) "LATA" means the local access and
transport area as defined
in
United States v American Telephone and Telegraph Co.,
569 F.
Supp.
990 (D.D.C. 1983).
(k) (m)
"License" means a license issued pursuant
to this
act.
(l) (n)
"Line" or "access line" means
the medium over which a
telecommunication user connects into the local exchange.
(m) (o)
"Local calling area" means a geographic
area
encompassing 1 or more local communities as described in maps,
tariffs, or rate schedules filed with and approved by the
commission.
(n) (p)
"Local directory assistance" means the
provision by
telephone of a listed telephone number within the caller's area
code.
(o) (q)
"Local exchange rate" means the monthly
and usage
rate, including all necessary and attendant charges, imposed for
basic local exchange service to customers.
(p) (r)
"Loop" means the transmission facility between the
network interface on a subscriber's premises and the main
distribution frame in the servicing central office.
(q) (s)
"Operator service" means a
telecommunication service
that includes automatic or live assistance to a person to arrange
for completion and billing of a telephone call originating within
this state that is specified by the caller through a method other
than 1 of the following:
(i) Automatic completion with billing to the telephone from
which the call originated.
(ii) Completion through an access code or a proprietary account
number used by the person, with billing to an account previously
established with the provider by the person.
(iii) Completion in association with directory assistance
services.
(r) (t)
"Operator service provider" or
"OSP" means a
provider of operator service.
(s) (u)
"Payphone service" means a telephone call
provided
from a public, semipublic, or individually owned and operated
telephone that is available to the public and is accessed by the
depositing of coin or currency or by other means of payment at the
time the call is made.
(t) (v)
"Person" means an individual, corporation,
partnership, association, governmental entity, or any other legal
entity.
(u) (w)
"Person with disabilities" means a person
who has 1
or more of the following physical characteristics:
(i) Blindness.
(ii) Inability to ambulate more than 200 feet without having to
stop and rest during any time of the year.
(iii) Loss of use of 1 or both legs or feet.
(iv) Inability to ambulate without the prolonged use of a
wheelchair, walker, crutches, braces, or other device required to
aid mobility.
(v) A lung disease from which the person's expiratory volume
for 1 second, when measured by spirometry, is less than 1 liter, or
from which the person's arterial oxygen tension is less than 60
mm/hg of room air at rest.
(vi) A cardiovascular disease from which the person measures
between 3 and 4 on the New York heart classification scale, or from
which a marked limitation of physical activity causes fatigue,
palpitation, dyspnea, or anginal pain.
(vii) Other diagnosed disease or disorder including, but not
limited to, severe arthritis or a neurological or orthopedic
impairment that creates a severe mobility limitation.
(v) (x)
"Port" except for the loop, means the
entirety of
local exchange, including dial tone, a telephone number, switching
software, local calling, and access to directory assistance, a
white pages listing, operator services, and interexchange and
intra-LATA toll carriers.
(w) (y)
"Reasonable rate" or "just and
reasonable rate"
means a rate that is not inadequate, excessive, or unreasonably
discriminatory. A rate is inadequate if it is less than the total
service long run incremental cost of providing the service.
(x) (z)
"Residential customer" means a person to
whom
telecommunication services are furnished predominantly for personal
or domestic purposes at the person's dwelling.
(y) (aa)
"Special access" means the provision of
access
service, other than switched access service, to a local exchange
network for the purpose of enabling a provider to originate or
terminate telecommunication service within the exchange, including
the use of local private lines.
(z) (bb)
"State institution of higher education"
means an
institution of higher education described in sections 4, 5, and 6
of article VIII of the state constitution of 1963.
(aa) (cc)
"Telecommunication provider" or
"provider" means a
person or an affiliate of the person each of which for compensation
provides 1 or more telecommunication services.
(bb) (dd)
"Telecommunication services" or
"services"
includes regulated and unregulated services offered to customers
for the transmission of 2-way interactive communication and
associated usage. A telecommunication service is not a public
utility service.
(cc) (ee)
"Toll service" means the transmission of
2-way
interactive switched communication between local calling areas.
Toll service does not include individually negotiated contracts for
similar telecommunication services or wide area telecommunications
service.
(dd) (ff)
"Total service long run incremental cost"
means,
given current service demand, including associated costs of every
component necessary to provide the service, 1 of the following:
(i) The total forward-looking cost of a telecommunication
service, relevant group of services, or basic network component,
using current least cost technology that would be required if the
provider had never offered the service.
(ii) The total cost that the provider would incur if the
provider were to initially offer the service, group of services, or
basic network component.
(ee) (gg)
"Wide area telecommunications service" or
"WATS"
means the transmission of 2-way interactive switched communication
over a dedicated access line.
Sec. 202. In addition to the other powers and duties
prescribed by this act, the commission shall do all of the
following:
(a) Establish by order the manner and form in which
telecommunication providers of regulated services within the state
keep accounts, books of accounts, and records in order to determine
the total service long run incremental costs and imputation
requirements of this act of providing a service. The commission
requirements under this subdivision shall be consistent with any
regulations covering the same subject matter made by the federal
communications commission.
(b) Require by order that a provider of a regulated service,
including access service, make available for public inspection and
file with the commission a schedule of the provider's rates,
services, and conditions of service, including access service
provided by contract.
(c) Promulgate rules under section 213 and issue orders to
establish and enforce quality standards for providing
telecommunication services in this state.
(d) Preserve the provision of high quality basic local
exchange service.
(e)
Create a task force to study changes occurring in the
federal
universal service fund and the need for the establishment
of
a state universal service fund to promote and maintain basic
local
exchange service in high cost rural areas at affordable
rates.
The task force shall issue a report to the legislature and
governor
on or before December 31, 1996 containing its findings and
recommendations.
The task force shall consist of all of the
following
members:
(i) The chairperson of the commission.
(ii) One representative from each basic local exchange
provider
with
250,000 or more access lines.
(iii) Four representatives from providers who, together
with
affiliated
providers, provide basic local exchange or toll service
to
less than 250,000 end users in this state.
(iv) Two representatives of other providers of
regulated
services.
(v) One representative of the general public.
(f)
On or before January 1, 1997, the commission shall study
and
report to the legislature and governor on the following matters
that
have impact on the basic local exchange calling activities of
all
residential customers in the state:
(i) The percentage of intra-LATA calls and minutes of
usage
which
are charged as basic local exchange calls.
(ii) The average size and range of sizes of basic local
exchange
calling areas.
(iii) The ability of customers to contact emergency
services,
school
districts, and county, municipal, and local units of
government
without a toll call.
(iv) Whether there are significant differences in basic
local
exchange
calling patterns between urban, suburban, and rural areas.
(v) The impact on basic local exchange rates which
would occur
if
basic local exchange calling areas are altered.
(vi) The impact when basic local exchange calling areas
overlap
LATA
boundaries.
(vii) The impact on basic local exchange rates which
would
occur
if basic local exchange calling areas are expanded within
LATA
boundaries.
(g)
On or before January 1, 1997, conduct a study of internet
access
provider locations to determine which exchanges can reach
the
nearest location only by making a toll call. The commission
shall
then gather input from internet access providers, local
exchange
providers, and other interested parties and make a
recommendation
to the legislature as to the steps needed to allow
all
local exchange customers to access an internet provider by
making
a local call.
Sec. 304. (1) Except as provided in section 304a, the rates
for basic local exchange service shall be just and reasonable.
(2) A provider may alter its rates for basic local exchange
services by 1 or more of the following:
(a) Filing with the commission notice of a decrease, discount,
or other rate reduction in a basic local exchange rate. A rate
alteration under this subdivision shall become effective without
commission review or approval.
(b) Filing with the commission notice of an increase in a
basic local exchange rate that does not exceed 1% less than the
consumer price index. Unless the commission determines that the
rate alteration exceeds the allowed increase under this
subdivision, the rate alteration shall take effect 90 days from the
date of the notice required under subsection (3). As used in this
subdivision, "consumer price index" means the most recent reported
annual average percentage increase in the Detroit consumer price
index for all items for the prior 12-month period by the United
States department of labor.
(c) Filing with the commission an application to increase a
basic local exchange rate in an amount greater than that allowed
under subdivision (b). The application shall be accompanied with
sufficient documentary support that the rate alteration is just and
reasonable. The commission shall make a determination within the
90-day period provided for in subsection (5) of 1 of the following:
(i) That the rate alteration is just and reasonable.
(ii) That a filing under section 203 is necessary to review the
rate alteration.
(3) Notice to customers of a rate alteration is required for a
rate alteration under subsection (2)(b) or (c) and section 304a and
shall be included in or on the bill of each affected customer of
the provider before the effective date of the rate alteration.
(4) The notice required under subsection (3) shall contain at
least all of the following information:
(a) A statement that the customer's rate may change.
(b) An estimate of the amount of the annual change for the
typical residential customer that would result by the rate change.
(c) A statement that a customer may comment on or receive
complete details of the rate alteration by calling or writing the
commission. The statement shall also include the telephone number
and address of the commission. Complete details of the rate
alteration shall be provided free of charge to the customer at the
expense of the provider.
(5) Except as otherwise provided in subsections (2) and (6),
an altered basic local exchange rate shall take effect 90 days from
the date of the notice required by subsection (3).
(6) Upon receiving a complaint or pursuant to a determination
under subsection (2)(c), the commission may require a filing under
section 203 to review a proposed rate alteration under subsection
(2)(c). The commission's final order may approve, modify, or reject
the rate alteration.
(7) In reviewing a rate alteration under subsection (6), the
commission shall consider only 1 or more of the following factors
if relevant to the rate alteration as specified by the provider:
(a) Total service long run incremental cost of basic local
exchange services.
(b) Comparison of the proposed rate to the rates charged by
other providers in this state for the same service.
(c) Whether a new function, feature, or capability is being
offered as a component of basic local exchange service.
(d) Whether there has been an increase in the costs to provide
basic local exchange service in the geographic area of the proposed
rate.
(e) Whether the provider's further investment in the network
infrastructure of the geographic area of the proposed rate is
economically justifiable without the proposed rate.
(8) A provider shall be allowed only 1 rate increase for each
class or type of service during any 12-month period.
(9)
A provider shall not make a rate alteration under this
section
until the rate has been restructured under section 304a.
(9) (10)
The commission shall exempt a provider from this
section and section 310(2) if it finds all of the following:
(a) The provider provides basic local exchange service or
basic local exchange and toll service to less than 250,000 end-
users in this state.
(b) The provider offers to end-users single-party basic local
exchange service, tone dialing, toll access service, including end-
user common line services and dialing parity at a total price of no
higher than the amount charged as of May 1, 2000.
(c) The provider provides dialing parity access to operator,
telecommunication relay, and emergency services to all basic local
exchange end-users.
(10) (11)
A call made to a local calling area adjacent to
the caller's local calling area shall be considered a local call
and shall be billed as a local call.
Sec. 305. (1) A provider of basic local exchange service shall
not do any of the following:
(a) Discriminate against another provider by refusing or
delaying access service to the local exchange.
(b) Refuse or delay interconnections or provide inferior
connections to another provider.
(c) Degrade the quality of access service provided to another
provider.
(d) Impair the speed, quality, or efficiency of lines used by
another provider.
(e) Develop new services to take advantage of planned but not
publicly known changes in the underlying network.
(f) Refuse or delay a request of another provider for
information regarding the technical design, equipment capabilities
and features, geographic coverage, and traffic patterns of the
local exchange network.
(g) Refuse or delay access service or be unreasonable in
connecting another provider to the local exchange whose product or
service requires novel or specialized access service requirements.
(h) Upon a request, fail to fully disclose in a timely manner
all available information necessary for the design of equipment
that will meet the specifications of the local exchange network.
(i) Discriminate against any provider or any party who
requests the information for commercial purposes in the
dissemination of customer proprietary information. A provider shall
provide without unreasonable discrimination or delay telephone
directory listing information and related services to persons
purchasing telephone directory listing information to the same
extent and in the same quality as provided to the provider,
affiliates of the provider, or any other listing information
purchaser.
(j) Refuse or delay access service by any person to another
provider.
(k) Sell, lease, or otherwise transfer an asset to an
affiliate for an amount less than the fair market value of the
asset.
(l) Buy, lease, or otherwise acquire an asset from an affiliate
of the provider for an amount greater than the fair market value of
the asset.
(m) Bundle unwanted services or products for sale or lease to
another provider.
(n) Perform any act that has been prohibited by this act or an
order of the commission.
(o) Sell services or products, extend credit, or offer other
terms and conditions on more favorable terms to an affiliate of the
provider than the provider offers to other providers.
(p) Discriminate in favor of an affiliated burglar and fire
alarm service over a similar service offered by another provider.
(2) A provider of cellular telecommunication services shall
not do either of the following:
(a) Unreasonably provide services, extend credit, or offer
other terms and conditions on more favorable terms to an affiliate
of the provider or to its retail department that sells to end users
than the provider offers to other providers.
(b) Unreasonably use rates or proceeds from providers,
directly or indirectly, to subsidize or offset the costs of
cellular service offered by the provider, or an affiliate of the
provider, to other providers or to end-users.
(3)
Until a provider has complied with section 304a, the
provider
of a rate regulated service shall not provide that service
in
combination with an unregulated service in section 401 or an
unbundled
or resold service under section 357 at a price that does
not
exceed the total service long run incremental cost of each
service.
Sec.
352. (1) Until January
1, 1997, the rates of a provider
of basic local exchange service for interconnection under this
article shall be at the provider's total service long run
incremental cost of providing the service. After January 1, 1997,
the rate for interconnection shall be just and reasonable as
determined by the commission.
(2)
The rates for unbundled loops, number portability, and the
termination
of local traffic shall be the rates established under
commission
case U-10647 and shall remain in effect until new total
service
long run incremental cost studies for such services have
been
approved by the commission.
Enacting section 1. Sections 312a, 322, 351, 353, 354, and
701 of the Michigan telecommunications act, 1991 PA 179, MCL
484.2312a, 484.2322, 484.2351, 484.2353, 484.2354, and 484.2701,
are repealed.