85R13215 JXC-F
By: Cook H.B. No. 4177
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to adjustments to universal service plan support for small
and rural incumbent local exchange companies.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 56, Utilities Code, is
amended by adding Section 56.0321 to read as follows:
Sec. 56.0321. ADJUSTMENTS: SMALL AND RURAL INCUMBENT LOCAL
EXCHANGE COMPANY UNIVERSAL SERVICE PLAN. (a) For each incumbent
local exchange company that serves fewer than 31,000 access lines
and is not an electing company under Chapter 58 or 59, the monthly
support amounts under a plan established under Section 56.021(1)(B)
that the company is eligible to receive on August 31, 2017, may not
be adjusted before December 1, 2018.
(b) Beginning December 1, 2018, an incumbent local exchange
company that serves fewer than 31,000 access lines and is not an
electing company under Chapter 58 or 59 is entitled to receive the
monthly per line support amount that the company was eligible to
receive pursuant to the final order issued by the commission in
Docket No. 18516, unless the commission adjusts the company's level
of support under Section 56.031 or this section.
(c) The commission by rule shall establish procedures,
standards, and criteria to determine the appropriate level of
support for an incumbent local exchange company that is subject to
this section. In adopting rules required by this subsection, the
commission:
(1) shall establish an application process, including
an opportunity for a contested case hearing, to adjust the support
provided to a company subject to this section;
(2) shall prescribe standards and criteria to evaluate
whether a rate increase is an appropriate source of revenue for a
company subject to this section as an alternative to maintaining or
increasing the level of support provided to the company;
(3) may prescribe standards and criteria to determine
the appropriate mechanism to adjust the support available to a
company subject to this section, including rate rebalancing;
(4) may prescribe standards and criteria to determine
the appropriate mechanism necessary to maintain reasonable rates
for local exchange telephone service for a company subject to this
section; and
(5) may prescribe the information a company subject to
this chapter may be required to provide to the commission for the
commission to determine the appropriate level of support and
whether rate increases are an appropriate source of revenue.
(d) This section does not restrict the commission's
authority under Chapter 53 or this chapter.
SECTION 2. Section 56.032, Utilities Code, is repealed.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2017.