0001| HOUSE BILL 194
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0002| 43RD LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - SECOND SESSION, 1998
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0003| INTRODUCED BY
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0004| BEN LUJAN
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0005|
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0006|
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0007|
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0008| FOR THE REVENUE STABILIZATION AND TAX POLICY COMMITTEE
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0009|
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0010| AN ACT
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0011| RELATING TO TELECOMMUNICATIONS; AMENDING THE NEW MEXICO
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0012| TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACT TO PROVIDE FOR AN ALTERNATIVE FORM OF
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0013| REGULATION OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANIES; FUNDING A STUDY OF
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0014| THE FEASIBILITY OF STATEWIDE EXTENDED AREA SERVICE AND A STUDY
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0015| OF WAYS TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF NEW MEXICO HOUSEHOLDS WITH
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0016| TELEPHONE SERVICE; AMENDING AND ENACTING SECTIONS OF THE NMSA
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0017| 1978; MAKING AN APPROPRIATION; DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.
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0018|
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0019| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
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0020| Section 1. A new section of the New Mexico
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0021| Telecommunications Act is enacted to read:
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0022| "[|NEW MATERIAL|] ADDITIONAL DEFINITIONS.--As used in the
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0023| New Mexico Telecommunications Act:
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0024| A. "basic local exchange service" means retail
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0025| local exchange service provided to an end-user customer
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0001| consisting of one-party, voice-grade, touch-tone access
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0002| capable of originating and terminating two-way switched,
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0003| voice-grade telecommunications within a local exchange area,
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0004| including access to telephone relay systems, directory
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0005| assistance, a white page directory listing, interexchange
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0006| carriers and emergency services, including 911 and enhanced
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0007| 911;
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0008| B. "retail public telecommunications service"
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0009| means public telecommunications service provided to an end-
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0010| user customer for the customer's own use and not for resale;
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0011| C. "unbundled elements" means network elements
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0012| that the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 defines and
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0013| requires certain telecommunications companies to unbundle and
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0014| provide at technically feasible points to requesting
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0015| telecommunications carriers as defined in that federal act;
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0016| and
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0017| D. "wholesale public telecommunications service"
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0018| means public telecommunications service, including the
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0019| provision of unbundled elements, provided by one
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0020| telecommunications company to another for resale or for the
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0021| other's use in providing public telecommunications service."
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0022| Section 2. A new section of the New Mexico
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0023| Telecommunications Act is enacted to read:
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0024| "[|NEW MATERIAL|] ALTERNATIVE FORM OF REGULATION--
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0025| RESIDENTIAL RATE PRICE CAP.--
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0001| A. Subject to the requirements and limitations of
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0002| this section, a telecommunications company may file an
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0003| application with the commission for exclusion from rate-of-
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0004| return regulation and the rate-making procedures and
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0005| requirements otherwise provided by state statute.
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0006| B. As a prerequisite for approval of the
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0007| application, the applicant shall cap the price for residential
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0008| basic local exchange service at its level on the date the
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0009| application is filed. The price cap shall remain in place
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0010| until the later of two years after the date the application is
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0011| filed or January 1, 2001 and shall be strictly enforced. No
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0012| price increase for residential basic local exchange service
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0013| shall be allowed during the period the price cap is in effect,
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0014| except for increases authorized by the commission and
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0015| necessitated by state or federal law, rule or administrative
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0016| order; franchise fees; or universal service fund surcharges.
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0017| C. The application shall include a price
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0018| regulation plan prescribing procedures for establishing and
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0019| changing prices, terms and conditions for all retail public
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0020| telecommunications service, including new public
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0021| telecommunications service not previously introduced, in a
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0022| manner consistent with any rules adopted by the commission.
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0023| The procedures shall include streamlined requirements for the
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0024| commission's review and approval of increases in rates for
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0025| residential basic local exchange service after expiration of
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0001| the price cap required by Subsection B of this section.
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0002| D. The commission shall approve the application
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0003| and price regulation plan if the requirements of this section
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0004| are satisfied. The commission shall review and complete
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0005| action on the application and price regulation plan within one
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0006| hundred twenty days after the date the application is filed.
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0007| If the commission does not act within that period, the
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0008| application and the price regulation plan shall be deemed
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0009| approved one hundred twenty days after the date the
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0010| application is filed.
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0011| E. The effective date of the price regulation plan
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0012| approved pursuant to this section for an incumbent local
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0013| exchange carrier shall be no sooner than January 1, 1999."
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0014| Section 3. A new section of the New Mexico
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0015| Telecommunications Act is enacted to read:
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0016| "[|NEW MATERIAL|] QUALITY OF SERVICE STANDARDS.--
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0017| A. The commission may adopt rules establishing
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0018| minimum statewide service standards and enforcement mechanisms
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0019| applicable to the provision of wholesale and retail public
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0020| telecommunications service. Prior to issuing the standards,
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0021| the commission shall invite and consider comments and
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0022| information from all interested parties and, to the extent
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0023| possible, shall seek consensus on the scope and content of the
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0024| standards.
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0025| B. The minimum statewide service standards shall
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0001| be based on the record before the commission; shall be
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0002| practical, reasonable and technologically neutral; and shall
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0003| apply such conditions and prerequisites to the purchaser as
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0004| may be reasonably necessary to enable the provider to satisfy
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0005| its obligations. Wholesale public telecommunications service
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0006| standards shall be imposed and applied in a mutual and
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0007| reciprocal manner.
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0008| C. The commission shall establish procedures to
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0009| monitor and enforce compliance with the standards, which shall
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0010| include procedures for the expedited hearing and resolution of
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0011| complaints within one hundred twenty days after filing the
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0012| complaint."
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0013| Section 4. Section 63-9A-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1985,
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0014| Chapter 242, Section 5) is amended to read:
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0015| "63-9A-5. ~[REGULATION BY COMMISSION]~ |DELEGATION OF
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0016| AUTHORITY|.--
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0017| |A.| Except as otherwise provided in the New
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0018| Mexico Telecommunications Act, each public telecommunications
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0019| service is declared to be affected with the public interest
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0020| and, as such, subject to the provisions of that act, including
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0021| the regulation thereof as ~[hereinafter]~ provided |in that
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0022| act.|
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0023| |B. The commission shall have general and
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0024| exclusive power and jurisdiction to regulate every
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0025| telecommunications company with respect to its rates and
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0001| service regulations for public telecommunications service in
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0002| accordance with the provisions and subject to the limitations
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0003| and reservations of the New Mexico Telecommunications Act.
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0004| The commission may do all things reasonably necessary and
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0005| appropriate to implement the provisions of the federal
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0006| Telecommunications Act of 1996 and to exercise the authority
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0007| and to perform the duties that the federal act provides may be
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0008| performed by a state commission.
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0009| C. Consistent with the New Mexico
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0010| Telecommunications Act and the federal Telecommunications Act
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0011| of 1996, the commission shall have full power and authority
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0012| to:
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0013| (1) hear and resolve complaints between and
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0014| among telecommunications companies and between customers and
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0015| telecommunications companies, including without limitation
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0016| those relating to service quality, interconnection, access to
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0017| ducts and rights of way, provision of unbundled elements,
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0018| tariffs for public telecommunications service and rates and
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0019| charges for all regulated services; and
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0020| (2) make and enforce rules to implement the
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0021| federal Telecommunications Act of 1996.|"
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0022| Section 5. Section 63-9A-8 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1985,
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0023| Chapter 242, Section 8, as amended) is amended to read:
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0024| "63-9A-8. REGULATION OF RATES AND CHARGES.--
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0025| A. In accordance with the policy established in
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0001| the New Mexico Telecommunications Act, the commission shall,
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0002| by its own motion or upon petition by any interested party,
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0003| hold hearings to determine if any public telecommunications
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0004| service is subject to effective competition in the relevant
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0005| market area. When the commission has made a determination
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0006| that a service or part of a service is subject to effective
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0007| competition, the commission shall, consistent with the
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0008| purposes of the New Mexico Telecommunications Act, modify,
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0009| reduce or eliminate rules, regulations and other requirements
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0010| applicable to the provision of such service, including the
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0011| fixing and determining of specific rates, tariffs or fares for
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0012| the service. The commission's action may include the
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0013| detariffing of service or the establishment of minimum rates
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0014| which will cover the costs for the service. Such modification
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0015| shall be consistent with the maintenance of the availability
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0016| of access to local exchange service at affordable rates and
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0017| comparable message ~[telecommunication]~ |telecommunications|
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0018| service rates, as established by the commission, for
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0019| comparable markets or market areas, except that volume
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0020| discounts or other discounts based on reasonable business
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0021| purposes shall be permitted. Upon petition or request of an
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0022| affected telecommunications company, the commission, upon a
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0023| finding that the requirements of Subsection C of this section
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0024| are met, shall modify the same or similar regulatory
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0025| requirements for those providers of comparable public
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0001| telecommunications service in the same relevant markets so
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0002| that there shall be parity of regulatory standards and
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0003| requirements for all such providers.
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0004| B. In determining whether a service is subject to
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0005| effective competition, the commission shall consider the
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0006| following:
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0007| (1) the extent to which services are
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0008| reasonably available from alternate providers in the relevant
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0009| market area;
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0010| (2) the ability of alternate providers to
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0011| make functionally equivalent or substitute services readily
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0012| available at competitive rates, terms and conditions; and
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0013| (3) existing economic or regulatory barriers.
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0014| C. No provider of public telecommunications
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0015| service may use current revenues earned or expenses incurred
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0016| in conjunction with any noncompetitive service to subsidize
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0017| competitive public telecommunications service. In order to
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0018| avoid cross-subsidization of competitive services by
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0019| noncompetitive telecommunications services, prices or rates
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0020| charged for a competitive telecommunications service shall
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0021| cover the cost for the provision of the service. In any
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0022| proceeding held pursuant to this section, the party providing
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0023| the service shall bear the burden of proving that the prices
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0024| charged for competitive telecommunications services cover
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0025| cost.
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0001| D. The commission may, upon its own motion or on
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0002| the petition of an interested party and after notice to all
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0003| interested parties and customers and a hearing, reclassify any
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0004| service previously determined to be a competitive
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0005| telecommunications service if after a hearing the commission
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0006| finds that a service is not subject to effective competition.
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0007| |E. Notwithstanding any provision of this section
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0008| to the contrary, each telecommunications company shall have
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0009| the same flexibility in marketing and pricing its services in
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0010| any relevant market area as any telecommunications company
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0011| with which it is competing in that area.|"
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0012| Section 6. APPROPRIATION.--
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0013| A. Seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) is
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0014| appropriated from the general fund to the following agencies
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0015| for expenditure in fiscal year 1999 for the following
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0016| purposes:
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0017| (1) twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) to
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0018| the state corporation commission to conduct a study of the
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0019| feasibility of statewide extended area service and to report
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0020| its findings to the revenue stabilization and tax policy
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0021| committee for its consideration and recommendations, including
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0022| proposed legislation, to the first session of the forty-fourth
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0023| legislature; and
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0024| (2) fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) to the
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0025| legislative council service to conduct a study and develop
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0001| legislation for the consideration of the revenue stabilization
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0002| and tax policy committee and any other appropriate interim
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0003| committee determining and providing for ways to increase the
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0004| number of New Mexico households with telephone service and to
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0005| make that service as affordable as possible, applying the
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0006| principles of competition and universal service funding.
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0007| B. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance
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0008| remaining from the appropriations in Subsection A of this
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0009| section at the end of fiscal year 1999 shall revert to the
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0010| general fund.
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0011| || Section 7. EMERGENCY.--It is necessary for the public
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0012| peace, health and safety that this act take effect
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0013| immediately.
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0014|
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