Florida Senate - 2022 (PROPOSED BILL) SPB 7036 FOR CONSIDERATION By the Committee on Regulated Industries 580-01899-22 20227036pb 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to Lifeline telecommunications 3 service; amending s. 364.10, F.S.; requiring a 4 Lifeline service subscriber to present proof of 5 continued eligibility to certain entities upon 6 request; deleting provisions authorizing certain local 7 exchange telecommunications companies and commercial 8 mobile radio service providers to provide Lifeline 9 service to customers who meet certain income 10 requirements; revising the entities required to 11 cooperate in the development of procedures for 12 promoting the Lifeline service; authorizing certain 13 participant information to be exchanged with the 14 Federal Communications Commission or its designee; 15 revising requirements for state agencies to coordinate 16 with the commission or its designee and verify 17 participant eligibility in Lifeline qualifying 18 programs; deleting provisions requiring certain 19 entities to form a Lifeline Workgroup for sharing 20 subscriber information; amending s. 364.107, F.S.; 21 authorizing the release of certain confidential and 22 exempt Lifeline Assistance Plan participant 23 information to the commission or its designee for 24 specified purposes; providing an effective date. 25 26 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 27 28 Section 1.Paragraphs (e) and (f) of subsection (1) and 29 subsection (2) of section 364.10, Florida Statutes, are amended 30 to read: 31 364.10Lifeline service. 32 (1) 33 (e)1.An eligible telecommunications carrier must notify a 34 Lifeline subscriber of impending termination of Lifeline service 35 if the company has a reasonable basis for believing that the 36 subscriber no longer qualifies for the service. Notification of 37 pending termination must be in the form of a letter that is 38 separate from the subscribers bill. 39 2.An eligible telecommunications carrier shall allow a 40 subscriber 60 days following the date of the pending termination 41 letter to demonstrate continued eligibility. The subscriber must 42 present proof of continued eligibility upon request of the 43 eligible telecommunications carrier, or the Federal 44 Communications Commission or its designee. An eligible 45 telecommunications carrier may transfer a subscriber off of 46 Lifeline service, pursuant to its tariff, if the subscriber 47 fails to demonstrate continued eligibility. 48 3.The commission shall establish procedures for such 49 notification and termination. 50 (f)An eligible telecommunications carrier shall timely 51 credit a consumers bill with the Lifeline Assistance credit as 52 soon as practicable, but no later than 60 days following receipt 53 of notice of eligibility from the Office of Public Counsel or 54 proof of eligibility from the consumer. 55 (2)(a)Each local exchange telecommunications company that 56 has more than 1 million access lines and that is designated as 57 an eligible telecommunications carrier shall, and any commercial 58 mobile radio service provider designated as an eligible 59 telecommunications carrier pursuant to 47 U.S.C. s. 214(e) may, 60 upon filing a notice of election to do so with the commission, 61 provide Lifeline service to any otherwise eligible customer or 62 potential customer who meets an income eligibility test at 150 63 percent or less of the federal poverty income guidelines for 64 Lifeline customers. Such a test for eligibility must augment, 65 rather than replace, the eligibility standards established by 66 federal law and based on participation in certain low-income 67 assistance programs. Each intrastate interexchange 68 telecommunications company shall file or publish a schedule 69 providing at a minimum the intrastate interexchange 70 telecommunications companys current Lifeline benefits and 71 exemptions to Lifeline customers who meet the income eligibility 72 test set forth in this subsection. The Office of Public Counsel 73 shall certify and maintain claims submitted by a customer for 74 eligibility under the income test authorized by this subsection. 75 (b)Each eligible telecommunications carrier subject to 76 this subsection shall provide to each state and federal agency 77 providing benefits to persons eligible for Lifeline service 78 applications, brochures, pamphlets, or other materials that 79 inform the persons of their eligibility for Lifeline, and each 80 state agency providing the benefits shall furnish the materials 81 to affected persons at the time they apply for benefits. 82 (b)(c)An eligible telecommunications carrier may not 83 discontinue basic local telecommunications service to a 84 subscriber who receives Lifeline service because of nonpayment 85 by the subscriber of charges for nonbasic services billed by the 86 telecommunications company, including long-distance service. A 87 subscriber who receives Lifeline service shall pay all 88 applicable basic local telecommunications service fees, 89 including the subscriber line charge, E-911, telephone relay 90 system charges, and applicable state and federal taxes. 91 (c)(d)An eligible telecommunications carrier may not 92 refuse to connect, reconnect, or provide Lifeline service 93 because of unpaid toll charges or nonbasic charges other than 94 basic local telecommunications service. 95 (d)(e)An eligible telecommunications carrier may require 96 that payment arrangements be made for outstanding debt 97 associated with basic local telecommunications service, 98 subscriber line charges, E-911, telephone relay system charges, 99 and applicable state and federal taxes. 100 (e)(f)An eligible telecommunications carrier may block a 101 Lifeline service subscribers access to all long-distance 102 service, except for toll-free numbers, and may block the ability 103 to accept collect calls if when the subscriber owes an 104 outstanding amount for long-distance service or amounts 105 resulting from collect calls. However, the eligible 106 telecommunications carrier may not impose a charge for blocking 107 long-distance service. The eligible telecommunications carrier 108 shall remove the block at the request of the subscriber without 109 additional cost to the subscriber upon payment of the 110 outstanding amount. An eligible telecommunications carrier may 111 charge a service deposit before removing the block. 112 (f)1.(g)1.Each state agency that provides benefits to 113 persons eligible for Lifeline service shall undertake, in 114 cooperation with the Department of Children and Families, the 115 Department of Education, the commission, the Office of Public 116 Counsel, and telecommunications companies designated eligible 117 telecommunications carriers providing Lifeline services, the 118 development of procedures to promote Lifeline participation. The 119 department and departments, the commission, and the Office of 120 Public Counsel may exchange sufficient information with the 121 appropriate eligible telecommunications carriers, or the Federal 122 Communications Commission or its designee and any commercial 123 mobile radio service provider electing to provide Lifeline 124 service under paragraph (a), such as a persons name, date of 125 birth, service address, and telephone number, so that eligible 126 customers the carriers can be enrolled identify and enroll an 127 eligible person in the Lifeline and Link-Up programs. The 128 information remains confidential and exempt pursuant to s. 129 364.107 and may only be used for purposes of determining 130 eligibility and enrollment in the Lifeline and Link-Up programs. 131 2.If any state agency determines that a person is eligible 132 for a Lifeline qualifying program services, the agency must 133 coordinate with the Federal Communications Commission or its 134 designee to verify eligibility for the Lifeline service shall 135 immediately forward the information to the commission to ensure 136 that the person is automatically enrolled in the program with 137 the appropriate eligible telecommunications carrier. The state 138 agency shall include an option for an eligible customer to 139 choose not to subscribe to the Lifeline service. The Public 140 Service Commission and the Department of Children and Families 141 shall adopt rules creating procedures to automatically enroll 142 eligible customers in Lifeline service. 143 3.The commission, the Department of Children and Families, 144 the Office of Public Counsel, and each eligible 145 telecommunications carrier offering Lifeline and Link-Up 146 services shall convene a Lifeline Workgroup to discuss how the 147 eligible subscriber information in subparagraph 1. will be 148 shared, the obligations of each party with respect to the use of 149 that information, and the procedures to be implemented to 150 increase enrollment and verify eligibility in these programs. 151 (g)(h)The commission shall report to the Governor, the 152 President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of 153 Representatives by December 31 of each year on the number of 154 customers who are subscribing to Lifeline service and the 155 effectiveness of any procedures to promote participation. 156 (h)(i)The commission may undertake appropriate measures to 157 inform low-income consumers of the availability of the Lifeline 158 and Link-Up programs. 159 (i)(j)The commission shall adopt rules to administer this 160 section. 161 Section 2.Subsection (2) of section 364.107, Florida 162 Statutes, is amended to read: 163 364.107Public records exemption; Lifeline Assistance Plan 164 participants. 165 (2)Information made confidential and exempt under 166 subsection (1) may be released to the applicable 167 telecommunications carrier, or to the Federal Communications 168 Commission or its designee, for purposes directly connected with 169 eligibility for, verification related to, or auditing of a 170 Lifeline Assistance Plan. 171 Section 3.This act shall take effect July 1, 2022.