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91_SB0873
LRB9101332JSpcA
1 AN ACT to amend the Public Utilities Act by changing
2 Section 13-506.1.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by
6 changing Section 13-506.1 as follows:
7 (220 ILCS 5/13-506.1) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 13-506.1)
8 (Section scheduled to be repealed on July 1, 2001)
9 Sec. 13-506.1. Alternative forms of regulation for
10 noncompetitive services.
11 (a) Notwithstanding any of the ratemaking provisions of
12 this Article or Article IX that are deemed to require rate of
13 return regulation, the Commission may implement alternative
14 forms of regulation in order to establish just and reasonable
15 rates for noncompetitive telecommunications services
16 including, but not limited to, price regulation, earnings
17 sharing, rate moratoria, or a network modernization plan.
18 The Commission is authorized to adopt different forms of
19 regulation to fit the particular characteristics of different
20 telecommunications carriers and their service areas.
21 In addition to the public policy goals declared in
22 Section 13-103, the Commission shall consider, in determining
23 the appropriateness of any alternative form of regulation,
24 whether it will:
25 (1) reduce regulatory delay and costs over time;
26 (2) encourage innovation in services;
27 (3) promote efficiency;
28 (4) facilitate the broad dissemination of technical
29 improvements to all classes of ratepayers;
30 (5) enhance economic development of the State; and
31 (6) provide for fair, just, and reasonable rates.
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1 (b) A telecommunications carrier providing
2 noncompetitive telecommunications services may petition the
3 Commission to regulate the rates or charges of its
4 noncompetitive services under an alternative form of
5 regulation. The telecommunications carrier shall submit with
6 its petition its plan for an alternative form of regulation.
7 The Commission shall review and may modify or reject the
8 carrier's proposed plan. The Commission also may initiate
9 consideration of alternative forms of regulation for a
10 telecommunications carrier on its own motion. The Commission
11 may approve the plan or modified plan and authorize its
12 implementation only if it finds, after notice and hearing,
13 that the plan or modified plan at a minimum:
14 (1) is in the public interest;
15 (2) will produce fair, just, and reasonable rates
16 for telecommunications services;
17 (3) responds to changes in technology and the
18 structure of the telecommunications industry that are, in
19 fact, occurring;
20 (4) constitutes a more appropriate form of
21 regulation based on the Commission's overall
22 consideration of the policy goals set forth in Section
23 13-103 and this Section;
24 (5) specifically identifies how ratepayers will
25 benefit from any efficiency gains, cost savings arising
26 out of the regulatory change, and improvements in
27 productivity due to technological change;
28 (6) will maintain the quality and availability of
29 telecommunications services; and
30 (7) will not unduly or unreasonably prejudice or
31 disadvantage any particular customer class, including
32 telecommunications carriers.
33 (c) An alternative regulation plan approved under this
34 Section shall provide, as a condition for Commission approval
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1 of the plan, that for the first 3 years the plan is in
2 effect, basic residence service rates shall be no higher than
3 those rates in effect 180 days before the filing of the plan.
4 This provision shall not be used as a justification or
5 rationale for an increase in basic service rates for any
6 other customer class. For purposes of this Section, "basic
7 residence service rates" shall mean monthly recurring charges
8 for the telecommunications carrier's lowest priced primary
9 residence network access lines, along with any associated
10 untimed or flat rate local usage charges. Nothing in this
11 subsection (c) shall preclude the Commission from approving
12 an alternative regulation plan that results in rate
13 reductions provided all the requirements of subsection (b)
14 are satisfied by the plan.
15 (d) Any alternative form of regulation granted for a
16 multi-year period under this Section shall provide for annual
17 or more frequent reporting to the Commission to document that
18 the requirements of the plan are being properly implemented.
19 (e) Upon petition by the telecommunications carrier or
20 any other person or upon its own motion, the Commission may
21 rescind its approval of an alternative form of regulation if,
22 after notice and hearing, it finds that the conditions set
23 forth in subsection (b) of this Section can no longer be
24 satisfied. Any person may file a complaint alleging that the
25 rates charged by a telecommunications carrier under an
26 alternative form of regulation are unfair, unjust,
27 unreasonable, unduly discriminatory, or are otherwise not
28 consistent with the requirements of this Article; provided,
29 that the complainant shall bear the burden of proving the
30 allegations in the complaint.
31 (f) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to
32 authorize the Commission to render Sections 9-241, 9-250, and
33 13-505.2 inapplicable to noncompetitive services.
34 (g) Beginning one year after the effective date of this
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1 amendatory Act of the 91st General Assembly, the Commission
2 shall not approve or permit the continued use of an
3 alternative regulation plan by any local exchange carrier
4 unless it determines, after notice and hearing, that the
5 carrier is in full compliance with the requirements of the
6 federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 related to the
7 development of competitive local exchange telecommunications
8 markets.
9 (Source: P.A. 87-856.)
10 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
11 becoming law.