SECTION 190.308 - EMERGENCY TELEPHONE SERVICE

The act prohibits a political subdivision from imposing a fine or penalty on the owner of a pay telephone or an owner of property on which a pay telephone is located, for any improper calls made from the pay phone to an emergency telephone service.

SECTION 392.460 - CARRIER OF LAST RESORT OBLIGATION

The act waives the carrier of last resort obligation for incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) in 3 situations involving an owner of newly developed property who gives certain preferential treatment to an alternative local phone service provider. Any such ILEC must notify the Public Service Commission (PSC) of the waiver within 120 days.

An ILEC that does not meet the criteria for the automatic waiver of its carrier of last resort obligation may request a waiver from the PSC. The PSC must render a decision within 90 days of any such request, but may delay a decision with cause.

Owners of newly developed property for which an ILEC's carrier of last resort obligation has been waived must inform subsequent owners and occupants of the waiver and provide certain information about the alternative phone service provider.

An ILEC's carrier of last resort obligation shall be re-instated if the criteria allowing the waiver no longer apply, no phone service is being provided to the newly developed property, and the property owner requests the ILEC to provide service to the property. In such a case, the ILEC must notify the PSC that it has assumed the obligation. The ILEC shall have a reasonable amount of time in which to install its infrastructure and may request reasonable fees from the property owner for any excess costs it incurs to provide service to the property at that time.

ILECs may request payment from property owners with multitenant structures when the ILEC provides service to such structures but it is not economically reasonable for the ILEC to do so.

The act allows an ILEC to meet its carrier of last resort obligation using any form of technology. A waiver of carrier of last resort obligation under the act does not apply to an ILEC's same obligation in other locations. The carrier of last resort obligation does not extend to any other company providing service to a newly developed property for which the ILEC's obligation has been waived.

This act is similar to SB 698 (2010), SS/SCS/HCS/HB 495 (2009), and HB 878 (2009).

ERIKA JAQUES