PRINTER'S NO. 3386
No. 2311 Session of 2008
INTRODUCED BY PARKER, EACHUS, HELM, BELFANTI, BLACKWELL,
DONATUCCI, FRANKEL, GEORGE, GOODMAN, HARKINS, HORNAMAN,
JOSEPHS, KULA, LEVDANSKY, MANDERINO, McGEEHAN, MUNDY, MYERS,
PASHINSKI, SIPTROTH, STERN, THOMAS AND WHEATLEY,
MARCH 10, 2008
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON CONSUMER AFFAIRS, MARCH 10, 2008
AN ACT
1 Amending Title 66 (Public Utilities) of the Pennsylvania
2 Consolidated Statutes, providing for Lifeline and Link Up
3 service discounts.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. Title 66 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
7 Statutes is amended by adding a section to read:
8 § 1329. Lifeline and Link Up service discounts.
9 (a) Policy.--The General Assembly finds and declares that it
10 is the policy of this Commonwealth to ensure that low-income
11 individuals are able to connect to and maintain in-home access
12 to protected telephone services and ensure that increased
13 enrollment of eligible customers in Lifeline and Link Up
14 services provided through the Federal Universal Service Fund
15 (USF) will provide eligible customers with more affordable rates
16 and will promote universal service.
17 (b) Automatic enrollment for Lifeline service discount.--
1 Within six months of the effective date of this section, the
2 commission shall adopt, by order, procedures providing for the
3 automatic enrollment of eligible customers to receive Lifeline
4 service discounts consistent with this section. The discounts
5 received by customers who are automatically enrolled pursuant to
6 the provisions of this chapter shall be limited to those
7 received from the USF, or its successor, as set forth in Tier
8 One and Tier Two of 47 CFR § 54.403(a)(1) and (2) (relating to
9 Lifeline support amount).
10 (1) The commission shall require all eligible
11 telecommunications carriers certificated to provide local
12 exchange service to provide automatic enrollment in Lifeline
13 service to all eligible telecommunications customers that
14 receive local exchange service from that carrier.
15 (2) The commission shall require that all eligible
16 telecommunications customers who receive Lifeline service
17 discounts shall not be subject to any mandatory restrictions
18 with respect to their ability to subscribe to any other
19 telecommunications services, except those restrictions that
20 would apply to all customers regarding failure to pay or
21 other basis for service restrictions.
22 (3) Within six months of the effective date of this
23 section, the commission, the Department of Public Welfare and
24 any other appropriate State agencies shall enter into a
25 memorandum of understanding to facilitate implementation of
26 automatic enrollment and any other steps appropriate to
27 promote universal telephone service. The memorandum of
28 understanding shall ensure the development and accessibility
29 of a database which identifies customers who qualify for
30 Lifeline and Link Up services. The database shall be made
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1 available to all eligible telecommunications carriers in a
2 manner which does not delay the customer subscription process
3 and which does not cause eligible telecommunications carriers
4 to incur additional costs in order to access the database.
5 (4) A customer who is automatically enrolled in Lifeline
6 service may choose to decline the Lifeline service discount
7 or may enroll in an alternative Lifeline discounted service
8 that may be offered by an eligible telecommunications
9 carrier, as approved by the commission.
10 (5) Nothing in this section shall prevent an eligible
11 telecommunications carrier from offering voluntary enrollment
12 in alternative Lifeline and Link Up services that provide
13 greater discount levels or impose other conditions on
14 customers who enroll in those alternative services.
15 (6) An eligible telecommunications carrier shall protect
16 as confidential customer-specific information as part of any
17 automatic enrollment process and shall not use such
18 information for any purpose other than the identification of
19 customers eligible for Lifeline, Link Up or other low-income
20 universal service assistance.
21 (c) Income-based enrollment.--The order shall also establish
22 Lifeline eligibility criteria that shall allow consumers to
23 receive Lifeline and Link Up service discounts on a voluntary
24 basis, to the extent permitted by Federal law and regulations,
25 based upon the consumers' certification that their household
26 income is less than or equal to 150% of the Federal poverty
27 level.
28 (d) Link Up and Lifeline service enrollment.--Whenever a
29 prospective customer seeks to subscribe to local service from an
30 eligible telecommunications carrier, the carrier shall
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1 explicitly advise the customer of the availability of Lifeline
2 and Link Up services and shall make reasonable efforts to
3 determine whether the customer qualifies for such service. Upon
4 determining that a customer qualifies for the Lifeline and Link
5 Up services, the carrier shall apply the Link Up discount to the
6 customer's initial bill and the Lifeline discount to each
7 monthly bill unless the customer explicitly declines to accept
8 the discount.
9 (e) Consumer outreach.--Eligible telecommunications carriers
10 shall inform existing customers of the availability of the
11 Lifeline and Link Up discount programs when negotiating a
12 payment arrangement with a customer, when a notice of proposed
13 service suspension is provided and on the bill twice annually.
14 The written notices shall be conspicuous and shall provide
15 appropriate eligibility, benefits and contact information for
16 customers who wish to learn of the enrollment requirements.
17 (f) Definitions.--The following words and phrases when used
18 in this section shall have the meanings given to them in this
19 subsection unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
20 "Basic residential telephone service." The provision of a
21 connection between the end user customer and a local exchange
22 telecommunications company switch, dial tone necessary to place
23 local calls, touch-tone service and unlimited local usage.
24 "Eligible telecommunications carrier." A carrier designated
25 by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission pursuant to 47 CFR
26 § 54.201 (relating to definition of eligible telecommunications
27 carriers, generally), as eligible to receive support from the
28 Federal Universal Service Fund.
29 "Eligible telecommunications customer." A customer of an
30 eligible telecommunications carrier who qualifies for Lifeline
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1 or Link Up service discounts pursuant to the requirements of 47
2 CFR § 54.409 (relating to consumer qualification for Lifeline)
3 or 54.415 (relating to consumer qualification for Link Up).
4 "Incumbent local exchange telecommunications company." A
5 carrier and its successors, assigns and subsidiaries authorized
6 by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to provide local
7 telecommunications services prior to July 8, 1993.
8 "Lifeline service." A discounted rate local service offering
9 as set forth in 47 CFR § 54.401 (relating to Lifeline defined).
10 "Link Up service." A discount program for qualifying low-
11 income consumers to reduce the cost of commencing telephone
12 service as set forth in 47 CFR § 54.411 (relating to Link Up
13 program defined).
14 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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