Bill Text: FL S1018 | 2018 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Designation of Eligible Telecommunications Carriers
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Failed) 2018-03-10 - Died in Messages [S1018 Detail]
Download: Florida-2018-S1018-Comm_Sub.html
Florida Senate - 2018 CS for CS for SB 1018 By the Committees on Governmental Oversight and Accountability; and Communications, Energy, and Public Utilities; and Senators Bean and Stargel 585-02918-18 20181018c2 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to designation of eligible 3 telecommunications carriers; amending s. 364.10, F.S.; 4 revising the term “eligible telecommunications 5 carrier”; authorizing the Public Service Commission to 6 designate any commercial mobile radio service provider 7 as an eligible telecommunications carrier for the 8 purpose of providing Lifeline service; deleting a 9 provision requiring carriers to allow subscribers to 10 demonstrate continued eligibility for Lifeline service 11 under certain conditions; requiring subscribers to 12 furnish proof of eligibility upon request from the 13 carrier or the Federal Communications Commission or 14 its designee; revising the carriers that may provide 15 Lifeline service; revising Lifeline service 16 eligibility; deleting obsolete provisions; revising 17 the entities with which the commission may exchange 18 certain information; amending s. 364.107, F.S.; 19 revising the entities to which certain information 20 relating to Lifeline service eligibility may be 21 released; providing an effective date. 22 23 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 24 25 Section 1. Section 364.10, Florida Statutes, is amended to 26 read: 27 364.10 Lifeline service.— 28 (1)(a) An eligible telecommunications carrier shall provide 29 a Lifeline Assistance Plan to qualified residential subscribers, 30 as defined in the eligible telecommunications carrier’s 31 published schedules. For the purposes of this section, the term 32 “eligible telecommunications carrier” means a telecommunications 33 company, as defined by s. 364.02, which is designated as an 34 eligible telecommunications carrier by the commission pursuant 35 to 47 C.F.R. s. 54.201. Notwithstanding the provision of s. 36 364.011 that exempts certain commercial mobile radio service 37 providers from commission oversight, the term “eligible 38 telecommunications carrier” includes any commercial mobile radio 39 service provider designated by the commission pursuant to 47 40 C.F.R. s. 54.201 and the commission is authorized to make such a 41 designation, upon petition, for the limited purpose of providing 42 Lifeline service. 43 (b) An eligible telecommunications carrier mustshalloffer 44 a consumer who applies for or receives Lifeline service the 45 option of blocking all toll calls or, if technically capable, 46 placing a limit on the number of toll calls a consumer can make. 47 The eligible telecommunications carrier may not charge the 48 consumer an administrative charge or other additional fee for 49 blocking the service. 50 (c) An eligible telecommunications carrier may not collect 51 a service deposit in order to initiate Lifeline service if the 52 qualifying low-income consumer voluntarily elects toll blocking 53 or toll limitation. If the qualifying low-income consumer elects 54 not to place toll blocking on the line, an eligible 55 telecommunications carrier may charge a service deposit. 56 (d) An eligible telecommunications carrier may not charge 57 Lifeline subscribers a monthly number-portability charge. 58 (e)1. An eligible telecommunications carrier must notify a 59 Lifeline subscriber of impending termination of Lifeline service 60 if the company has a reasonable basis for believing that the 61 subscriber no longer qualifies for such service. Notification of 62 pending termination must be in the form of a letter that is 63 separate from the subscriber’s bill. 64 2. An eligible telecommunications carrier shall allow a65subscriber 60 days following the date of the pending termination66letter to demonstrate continued eligibility.The subscriber must 67 present proof of continued eligibility upon request of the 68 eligible telecommunications carrier or the Federal 69 Communications Commission or its designee. An eligible 70 telecommunications carrier may transfer a subscriber off of 71 Lifeline service, pursuant to its tariff, if the subscriber 72 fails to demonstrate continued eligibility. 73 3. The commission shall establish procedures for such 74 notification and termination. 75 (f) An eligible telecommunications carrier mustshall76 timely credit a consumer’s bill with the Lifeline Assistance 77 credit as soon as practicable, but no later than 60 days 78 following receipt of notice of eligibility from the Office of 79 Public Counsel or proof of eligibility from the consumer. 80 (2)(a) AnEach local exchange telecommunications company81that has more than 1 million access lines and that is designated82as aneligible telecommunications carrier, includingshall,and83 any commercial mobile radio service provider designated as an 84 eligible telecommunications carrier pursuant to 47 U.S.C. s. 85 214(e) may,upon filing a notice of election to do so with the86commission,provide Lifeline service to any otherwise eligible 87 customer or potential customer who meets an income eligibility 88 test at 135150percent or less of the federal poverty income 89 guidelines for Lifeline customers.Such a test for eligibility90must augment, rather than replace, the eligibility standards91established by federal law and based on participation in certain92low-income assistance programs. Each intrastate interexchange93telecommunications company shall file or publish a schedule94providing at a minimum the intrastate interexchange95telecommunications company’s current Lifeline benefits and96exemptions to Lifeline customers who meet the income eligibility97test set forth in this subsection.The Office of Public Counsel 98 shall certify and maintain claims submitted by a customer for 99 eligibility under the income test authorized by this subsection. 100 (b) Each eligible telecommunications carrier subject to 101 this subsection mustshallprovide to each state and federal 102 agency providing benefits to persons eligible for Lifeline 103 service applications, brochures, pamphlets, or other materials 104 that inform the persons of their eligibility for Lifeline, and 105 each state agency providing the benefits shall furnish the 106 materials to affected persons at the time they apply for 107 benefits. 108 (c) An eligible telecommunications carrier may not 109 discontinue basic local telecommunications service to a 110 subscriber who receives Lifeline service because of nonpayment 111 by the subscriber of charges for nonbasic services billed by the 112 telecommunications company, including, but not limited to, long 113 distance service. A subscriber who receives Lifeline service 114 mustshallpay all applicable basic local telecommunications 115 service fees, including the subscriber line charge, E-911, 116 telephone relay system charges, and applicable state and federal 117 taxes. 118 (d) An eligible telecommunications carrier may not refuse 119 to connect, reconnect, or provide Lifeline service because of 120 unpaid toll charges or nonbasic charges other than basic local 121 telecommunications service. 122 (e) An eligible telecommunications carrier may require that 123 payment arrangements be made for outstanding debt associated 124 with basic local telecommunications service, subscriber line 125 charges, E-911, telephone relay system charges, and applicable 126 state and federal taxes. 127 (f) An eligible telecommunications carrier may block a 128 Lifeline service subscriber’s access to all long-distance 129 service, except for toll-free numbers, and may block the ability 130 to accept collect calls ifwhenthe subscriber owes an 131 outstanding amount for long-distance service or amounts 132 resulting from collect calls. However, the eligible 133 telecommunications carrier may not impose a charge for blocking 134 long-distance service. The eligible telecommunications carrier 135 shall remove the block at the request of the subscriber without 136 additional cost to the subscriber upon payment of the 137 outstanding amount. An eligible telecommunications carrier may 138 charge a service deposit before removing the block. 139 (g)1.By December 31, 2010,Each state agency that provides 140 benefits to persons eligible for Lifeline service shall 141 undertake, in cooperation with the Department of Children and 142 Families,the Department of Education,the commission, the 143 Office of Public Counsel, and telecommunications companies 144 designated eligible telecommunications carriers providing 145 Lifeline services, the development of procedures to promote 146 Lifeline participation. The departmentdepartments, the 147 commission, and the Office of Public Counsel may exchange 148 sufficient information with the appropriate eligible 149 telecommunications carriers or the Federal Communications 150 Commission, or its designee and any commercial mobile radio 151 service provider electing to provide Lifeline service under 152 paragraph (a), such as a person’s name, date of birth, service 153 address, and telephone number, so that eligible customersthe154carrierscan be enrolledidentify and enrollan eligible person155 in the Lifeline and Link-Up programs. The information remains 156 confidential and exempt pursuant to s. 364.107 and may only be 157 used for purposes of determining eligibility and enrollment in 158 the Lifeline and Link-Up programs. 159 2. If any state agency determines that a person is eligible 160 for Lifeline services, the agency shall immediately forward the 161 information to the commission to ensure that the person is 162 automatically enrolled in the program with the appropriate 163 eligible telecommunications carrier. The state agency shall 164 include an option for an eligible customer to choose not to 165 subscribe to the Lifeline service. The Public Service Commission 166 and the Department of Children and Families shall, no later than167December 31, 2007,adopt rules creating procedures to 168 automatically enroll eligible customers in Lifeline service. 169 3.By December 31, 2010,The commission, the Department of 170 Children and Families, the Office of Public Counsel, and each 171 eligible telecommunications carrier offering Lifeline and Link 172 Up services shall convene a Lifeline Workgroup to discuss how 173 the eligible subscriber information in subparagraph 1. will be 174 shared, the obligations of each party with respect to the use of 175 that information, and the procedures to be implemented to 176 increase enrollment and verify eligibility in these programs. 177 (h) The commission shall report to the Governor, the 178 President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of 179 Representatives by December 31 each year on the number of 180 customers who are subscribing to Lifeline service and the 181 effectiveness of any procedures to promote participation. 182 (i) The commission may undertake appropriate measures to 183 inform low-income consumers of the availability of the Lifeline 184 and Link-Up programs. 185 (j) The commission shall adopt rules to administer this 186 section. 187 Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 364.107, Florida 188 Statutes, is amended to read: 189 364.107 Public records exemption; Lifeline Assistance Plan 190 participants.— 191 (2) Information made confidential and exempt under 192 subsection (1) may be released to the applicable 193 telecommunications carrier, the Federal Communications 194 Commission, or the Federal Communications Commission designee 195 for purposes directly connected with eligibility for, 196 verification related to, or auditing of a Lifeline Assistance 197 Plan. 198 Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming law.