SENATE BILL 4
50th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2011
INTRODUCED BY
Carlos R. Cisneros
FOR THE SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE
AN ACT
RELATING TO TELECOMMUNICATIONS; PROVIDING THAT CERTAIN RETAIL TELECOMMUNICATIONS RATES MAY BE REMOVED FROM THE PUBLIC REGULATION COMMISSION JURISDICTION DUE TO EFFECTIVE COMPETITION.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. Section 63-9A-8 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1985, Chapter 242, Section 8, as amended) is amended to read:
"63-9A-8. REGULATION OF RATES AND CHARGES.--
A. In accordance with the policy established in the New Mexico Telecommunications Act, the commission shall, by its own motion or upon petition by any interested party, hold hearings to determine if any public telecommunications service is subject to effective competition in the relevant market area, which may include a local exchange area or combination of local exchange areas or the telecommunications company's service territory. When the commission has made a determination that a service or part of a service is subject to effective competition, the commission shall, consistent with Section 63-9A-9 NMSA 1978 and the purposes of the New Mexico Telecommunications Act, [modify, reduce or] eliminate rules, regulations and other requirements applicable to the provision of such service, including the fixing and determining of specific rates, tariffs or fares for the service. The commission's action may include the detariffing of service or the establishment of minimum rates [which will] that cover the incremental costs for the service. Such modification shall be consistent with the maintenance of the availability of access to local exchange service at affordable rates and comparable message [telecommunication] telecommunications service rates, as established by the commission, for comparable markets or market areas, except that volume discounts or other discounts based on reasonable business purposes shall be permitted. Upon petition or request of an affected telecommunications company, the commission, upon a finding that the requirements of [Subsection] Subsections B and C of this section are met, shall [modify] eliminate the same or similar regulatory requirements for those providers of comparable public telecommunications services, including interexchange carriers and competitive local exchange carriers, in the same relevant markets so that there shall be parity of regulatory standards and requirements for all such providers. The commission shall issue its final order on such petition or request within one hundred twenty days from the petition or request date.
B. [In determining whether] The commission shall determine that a service is subject to effective competition [the commission shall consider the following:
(1) the extent to which services are reasonably available from alternate providers in the relevant market area;
(2) the ability of alternate providers to make functionally equivalent or substitute services readily available at competitive rates, terms and conditions; and
(3) existing economic or regulatory barriers] upon a determination that:
(1) a comparable service or facility is available from a supplier other than an incumbent telecommunications company in the relevant market area being considered by the commission; and
(2) market forces in that market are sufficient to assure just and reasonable rates without regulation.
C. When considering whether conditions provided in Subsection B of this section have been met in the relevant market area, the commission shall rely on evidence concerning the following:
(1) the presence or absence of wireless communications services;
(2) the presence or absence of cable telephony services;
(3) the presence or absence of voice over internet protocol services; and
(4) the extent to which the incumbent telecommunications company has lost switched access lines to other providers.
D. A carrier that is currently regulated under an alternative form of regulation plan shall continue to be subject to the terms and conditions of that plan. However, upon a finding of effective competition by the commission, the commission shall review any existing alternative form of regulation plans to ensure that those plans are consistent with the finding of effective competition. The commission's review and determination shall be completed within sixty days of the commission's finding of effective competition.
E. If, pursuant to Subsection A of this section, effective competition is found to be present in relevant markets that account for over fifty percent of the retail switched access lines served by the affected telecommunications company, the elimination of the regulatory requirements shall apply to the company's entire service area. The affected telecommunications company shall be required to charge the same basic local exchange rates and apply the same service quality performance plans for intrastate retail services across the company's entire service area.
[C.] F. No provider of public telecommunications service may use current revenues earned or expenses incurred in conjunction with any noncompetitive service to subsidize competitive public telecommunications services. In order to avoid cross-subsidization of competitive services by noncompetitive telecommunications services, prices or rates charged for a competitive telecommunications service shall cover the cost for the provision of the service. In any proceeding held pursuant to this section, the party [providing] claiming that the service is priced below incremental costs shall bear the burden of proving that the prices charged for competitive telecommunications services do not cover [cost] incremental costs and violate antitrust or predatory pricing laws.
[D.] G. The commission may, upon its own motion or on the petition of an interested party and after notice to all interested parties and customers and a hearing, reclassify any service previously determined to be a competitive telecommunications service if after a hearing the commission finds that a service is not subject to effective competition."
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