HB 789 2022
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to Lifeline services; amending s. 2
364.10, F.S.; removing a provision requiring eligible 3
telecommunications carriers to provide a specified 4
number of days to allow a subscriber to demonstrate 5
continued eligibility after a termination letter is 6
sent; requiring subscribers to present proof of 7
continued eligibility upon request of specified 8
entities; removing provisions that specify 9
circumstances under which a telecommunications carrier 10
must credit a consumer's bill with the Lifeline 11
Assistance credit; removing provisions specifying 12
conditions under which certain telecommunications 13
carriers and commercial mobile radio service providers 14
may or must provide Lifeline services to specified 15
customers; removing the Department of Education and 16
the Office of Public Counsel from being entities with 17
whom state agencies must cooperate in developing 18
procedures to promote Lifeline participation; 19
providing that certain information is exempt as well 20
as confidential; revising procedures that state 21
agencies must use in determining a person's 22
eligibility for a Lifeline qualifying program; 23
amending s. 364.107, F.S.; authorizing certain 24
confidential and exempt information to be released to 25
HB 789 2022
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hb0789-00
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
the Federal Communications Commission or designee; 26
providing an effective date. 27
28
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 29
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Section 1. Paragraphs (e) and (f) of subsection (1) and 31
subsection (2) of section 364.10, Florida Statutes, are amended 32
to read: 33
364.10 Lifeline service. — 34
(1) 35
(e)1. An eligible telec ommunications carrier must notify a 36
Lifeline subscriber of impending termination of Lifeline service 37
if the company has a reasonable basis for believing that the 38
subscriber no longer qualifies for the service. Notification of 39
pending termination must be in the form of a letter that is 40
separate from the subscriber's bill. 41
2. An eligible telecommunications carrier shall allow a 42
subscriber 60 days following the date of the pending termination 43
letter to demonstrate continued eligibility. The subscriber must 44
present proof of continued eligibility upon request of the 45
eligible telecommunications carrier or the Federal 46
Communications Commission or its designee . An eligible 47
telecommunications carrier may transfer a subscriber off of 48
Lifeline service, pursuant to it s tariff, if the subscriber 49
fails to demonstrate continued eligibility. 50
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
3. The commission shall establish procedures for such 51
notification and termination. 52
(f) An eligible telecommunications carrier shall timely 53
credit a consumer's bill with the Lifeli ne Assistance credit as 54
soon as practicable, but no later than 60 days following receipt 55
of notice of eligibility from the Office of Public Counsel or 56
proof of eligibility from the consumer . 57
(2)(a) Each local exchange telecommunications company that 58
has more than 1 million access lines and that is designated as 59
an eligible telecommunications carrier shall, and any commercial 60
mobile radio service provider designated as an eligible 61
telecommunications carrier pursuant to 47 U.S.C. s. 214(e) may, 62
upon filing a notice of election to do so with the commission, 63
provide Lifeline service to any otherwise eligible customer or 64
potential customer who meets an income eligibility test at 150 65
percent or less of the federal poverty income guidelines for 66
Lifeline customers. Such a test for eligibility must augment, 67
rather than replace, the eligibility standards established by 68
federal law and based on participation in certain low -income 69
assistance programs. Each intrastate interexchange 70
telecommunications company shall file or publish a schedule 71
providing at a minimum the intrastate interexchange 72
telecommunications company's current Lifeline benefits and 73
exemptions to Lifeline customers who meet the income eligibility 74
test set forth in this subsection. The Office of Public Co unsel 75
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
shall certify and maintain claims submitted by a customer for 76
eligibility under the income test authorized by this subsection. 77
(a)(b) Each eligible telecommunications carrier subject to 78
this subsection shall provide to each state and federal agency 79
providing benefits to persons eligible for Lifeline service 80
applications, brochures, pamphlets, or other materials that 81
inform the persons of their eligibility for Lifeline, and each 82
state agency providing the benefits shall furnish the materials 83
to affected persons at the time they apply for benefits. 84
(b)(c) An eligible telecommunications carrier may not 85
discontinue basic local telecommunications service to a 86
subscriber who receives Lifeline service because of nonpayment 87
by the subscriber of charges for nonbasic services billed by the 88
telecommunications company, including long -distance service. A 89
subscriber who receives Lifeline service shall pay all 90
applicable basic local telecommunications service fees, 91
including the subscriber line charge, E -911, telephone relay 92
system charges, and applicable state and federal taxes. 93
(c)(d) An eligible telecommunications carrier may not 94
refuse to connect, reconnect, or provide Lifeline service 95
because of unpaid toll charges or nonbasic charges other than 96
basic local telecommunications service. 97
(d)(e) An eligible telecommunications carrier may require 98
that payment arrangements be made for outstanding debt 99
associated with basic local telecommunications service, 100
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
subscriber line charges, E -911, telephone relay system ch arges, 101
and applicable state and federal taxes. 102
(e)(f) An eligible telecommunications carrier may block a 103
Lifeline service subscriber's access to all long -distance 104
service, except for toll -free numbers, and may block the ability 105
to accept collect calls if when the subscriber owes an 106
outstanding amount for long -distance service or amounts 107
resulting from collect calls. However, the eligible 108
telecommunications carrier may not impose a charge for blocking 109
long-distance service. The eligible telecommunications carrier 110
shall remove the block at the request of the subscriber without 111
additional cost to the subscriber upon payment of the 112
outstanding amount. An eligible telecommunications carrier may 113
charge a service deposit before removing the block. 114
(f)(g)1. Each state agency that provides benefits to 115
persons eligible for Lifeline service shall undertake, in 116
cooperation with the Department of Children and Families, the 117
Department of Education, the commission, the Office of Public 118
Counsel, and telecommunications co mpanies designated eligible 119
telecommunications carriers providing Lifeline services, the 120
development of procedures to promote Lifeline participation. The 121
department and departments, the commission, and the Office of 122
Public Counsel may exchange sufficient i nformation with the 123
appropriate eligible telecommunications carriers or the Federal 124
Communications Commission or its designee and any commercial 125
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
mobile radio service provider electing to provide Lifeline 126
service under paragraph (a) , such as a person's name , date of 127
birth, service address, and telephone number, so that eligible 128
customers can be enrolled the carriers can identify and enroll 129
an eligible person in the Lifeline and Link -Up programs. The 130
information remains confidential and exempt pursuant to s. 131
364.107 and may only be used for purposes of determining 132
eligibility and enrollment in the Lifeline and Link -Up programs. 133
2. If any state agency determines that a person is 134
eligible for a Lifeline qualifying program Lifeline services, 135
the agency must coordinate with the Federal Communications 136
Commission or its designee to verify eligibility for the 137
Lifeline program shall immediately forward the information to 138
the commission to ensure that the person is automatically 139
enrolled in the program with the approp riate eligible 140
telecommunications carrier. The state agency shall include an 141
option for an eligible customer to choose not to subscribe to 142
the Lifeline service. The Public Service Commission and the 143
Department of Children and Families shall adopt rules cre ating 144
procedures to automatically enroll eligible customers in 145
Lifeline service. 146
3. The commission, the Department of Children and 147
Families, the Office of Public Counsel, and each eligible 148
telecommunications carrier offering Lifeline and Link -Up 149
services shall convene a Lifeline Workgroup to discuss how the 150
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
eligible subscriber information in subparagraph 1. will be 151
shared, the obligations of each party with respect to the use of 152
that information, and the procedures to be implemented to 153
increase enrollment and verify eligibility in these programs. 154
(g)(h) The commission shall report to the Governor, the 155
President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of 156
Representatives by December 31 each year on the number of 157
customers who are subscribing to Lifelin e service and the 158
effectiveness of any procedures to promote participation. 159
(h)(i) The commission may undertake appropriate measures 160
to inform low-income consumers of the availability of the 161
Lifeline and Link-Up programs. 162
(i)(j) The commission shall ad opt rules to administer this 163
section. 164
Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 364.107, Florida 165
Statutes, is amended to read: 166
364.107 Public records exemption; Lifeline Assistance Plan 167
participants.— 168
(2) Information made confidential and exempt under 169
subsection (1) may be released to the applicable 170
telecommunications carrier or the Federal Communications 171
Commission or its designee for purposes directly connected with 172
eligibility for, verification related to, or auditing of a 173
Lifeline Assistance Plan. 174
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 175