Bill Text: FL S0814 | 2010 | Regular Session | Enrolled

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Bill Title: Lifeline Telecommunications Service [EPSC]

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Passed) 2010-06-03 - Approved by Governor; Chapter No. 2010-190 [S0814 Detail]

Download: Florida-2010-S0814-Enrolled.html

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ENROLLED 
2010 Legislature                                   CS for SB 814 
2010814er 
1 
2         An act relating to Lifeline telecommunications 
3         service; amending s. 364.10, F.S.; authorizing any 
4         commercial mobile radio service provider designated as 
5         an eligible telecommunications carrier to offer 
6         Lifeline services; authorizing the Department of 
7         Children and Family Services, the Department of 
8         Education, the Public Service Commission, and the 
9         Office of Public Counsel to exchange certain 
10         information with eligible telecommunications carriers 
11         and certain commercial mobile radio service providers 
12         so the carriers and providers can identify and enroll 
13         an eligible person in the Lifeline and Link-Up 
14         programs; maintaining confidentiality of the 
15         information; requiring that the commission, the 
16         Department of Children and Family Services, the Office 
17         of Public Counsel, and each eligible 
18         telecommunications carrier convene a Lifeline 
19         Workgroup by a specified date; providing an effective 
20         date. 
21 
22  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
23 
24         Section 1. Paragraphs (a) and (h) of subsection (3) of 
25  section 364.10, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 
26         364.10 Undue advantage to person or locality prohibited; 
27  Lifeline service.— 
28         (3)(a) Each local exchange telecommunications company that 
29  has more than 1 million access lines and that is designated as 
30  an eligible telecommunications carrier shall, and any commercial 
31  mobile radio service provider designated as an eligible 
32  telecommunications carrier pursuant to 47 U.S.C. s. 214(e) may, 
33  upon filing a notice of election to do so with the commission, 
34  provide Lifeline service to any otherwise eligible customer or 
35  potential customer who meets an income eligibility test at 150 
36  percent or less of the federal poverty income guidelines for 
37  Lifeline customers. Such a test for eligibility must augment, 
38  rather than replace, the eligibility standards established by 
39  federal law and based on participation in certain low-income 
40  assistance programs. Each intrastate interexchange 
41  telecommunications company shall file or publish a schedule 
42  providing at a minimum the intrastate interexchange 
43  telecommunications carrier’s current Lifeline benefits and 
44  exemptions to Lifeline customers who meet the income eligibility 
45  test set forth in this subsection. The Office of Public Counsel 
46  shall certify and maintain claims submitted by a customer for 
47  eligibility under the income test authorized by this subsection. 
48         (h)1. By December 31, 2010 2007, each state agency that 
49  provides benefits to persons eligible for Lifeline service shall 
50  undertake, in cooperation with the Department of Children and 
51  Family Services, the Department of Education, the commission, 
52  the Office of Public Counsel, and telecommunications companies 
53  designated eligible telecommunications carriers providing 
54  Lifeline services, the development of procedures to promote 
55  Lifeline participation. The departments, the commission, and the 
56  Office of Public Counsel may exchange sufficient information 
57  with the appropriate eligible telecommunications carriers and 
58  any commercial mobile radio service provider electing to provide 
59  Lifeline service under paragraph (a), such as a person’s name, 
60  date of birth, service address, and telephone number, so that 
61  the carriers can identify and enroll an eligible person in the 
62  Lifeline and Link-Up programs. The information remains 
63  confidential pursuant to s. 364.107 and may only be used for 
64  purposes of determining eligibility and enrollment in the 
65  Lifeline and Link-Up programs. 
66         2. If any state agency determines that a person is eligible 
67  for Lifeline services, the agency shall immediately forward the 
68  information to the commission to ensure that the person is 
69  automatically enrolled in the program with the appropriate 
70  eligible telecommunications carrier. The state agency shall 
71  include an option for an eligible customer to choose not to 
72  subscribe to the Lifeline service. The Public Service Commission 
73  and the Department of Children and Family Services shall, no 
74  later than December 31, 2007, adopt rules creating procedures to 
75  automatically enroll eligible customers in Lifeline service. 
76         3. By December 31, 2010, the commission, the Department of 
77  Children and Family Services, and the Office of Public Counsel, 
78  and each eligible telecommunications carrier offering Lifeline 
79  and Link-Up services shall convene a Lifeline Workgroup to 
80  discuss how the eligible subscriber information in subparagraph 
81  1. will be shared, the obligations of each party with respect to 
82  the use of that information, and the procedures to be 
83  implemented to increase enrollment and verify eligibility in 
84  these programs shall enter into a memorandum of understanding 
85  establishing the respective duties of the commission, the 
86  department, and the public counsel with respect to the automatic 
87  enrollment procedures no later than December 31, 2007. 
88         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.