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 must shall offer
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 a
65 subscriber 60 days following the date of the pending termination
66 letter 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 must shall
76 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) An Each local exchange telecommunications company
81 that has more than 1 million access lines and that is designated
82 as an eligible telecommunications carrier, including shall, and
83 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 the
86 commission, provide Lifeline service to any otherwise eligible
87 customer or potential customer who meets an income eligibility
88 test at 135 150 percent or less of the federal poverty income
89 guidelines for Lifeline customers. Such a test for eligibility
90 must augment, rather than replace, the eligibility standards
91 established by federal law and based on participation in certain
92 low-income assistance programs. Each intrastate interexchange
93 telecommunications company shall file or publish a schedule
94 providing at a minimum the intrastate interexchange
95 telecommunications company’s current Lifeline benefits and
96 exemptions to Lifeline customers who meet the income eligibility
97 test 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 must shall provide 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 must shall pay 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 if when the 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 department departments, 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 customers the
154 carriers can be enrolled identify and enroll an eligible person
155 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 than
167 December 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.