DAR File No. 41645
This rule was published in the June 1, 2017, issue (Vol. 2017, No. 11) of the Utah State Bulletin.
Public Service Commission, Administration
Section R746-343-15
Surcharge
Notice of Proposed Rule
(Amendment)
DAR File No.: 41645
Filed: 05/15/2017 12:57:41 PM
RULE ANALYSIS
Purpose of the rule or reason for the change:
The purpose of this change is to comply with S.B. 130, which was passed during the 2017 General Session and which requires that the telecommunications support the program for deaf, hard of hearing, and severely speech impaired persons be funded from the Utah Universal Public Telecommunications Service Support Fund (UUSF) rather than through a separate, dedicated surcharge.
Summary of the rule or change:
The rule requiring telecommunications corporations to assess their customers $0.02 per month for each residential and business telephone number is removed. The Public Service Commission (PSC) emphasizes that S.B. 130 goes into effect on 07/01/2017, on which date Section R746-343-15 will be preempted by the statute. Therefore, even though the first possible effective date for this repeal is 07/10/2017, telecommunications providers that have been collecting the $0.02 dedicated surcharge may terminate that collection as of 07/01/2017.
Statutory or constitutional authorization for this rule:
- Title 54, Chapter 8b
Anticipated cost or savings to:
the state budget:
For many years, the PSC and the Division of Public Utilities have been administering the program through which deaf, hard of hearing, and severely speech impaired persons are provided with assistive telecommunications devices and other telephony support. The agencies have the budget necessary to continue administering this program. The Legislature's decision to change the program's funding source is not anticipated to impact the state budget.
local governments:
Local governments are not required to comply with or administer Section R746-343-15. Its removal is not anticipated to pose a fiscal impact to local government.
small businesses:
Small businesses that are required to contribute to the UUSF will be required to comply with the PSC's associated rules. This section removal is part and parcel of the PSC's compliance with S.B. 130 (2017). In order to comply with the new legislation, the PSC has determined to impose a $0.36 monthly per-connection surcharge to fund both the UUSF and the program for deaf, hard of hearing, and severely speech impaired individuals. The fiscal impact of the adjusted per-connection surcharge is discussed in a companion filing. (EDITOR'S NOTE: A proposed amendment to Section R746-360-4 is under Filing No. 41644 in this issue, June 1, 2017, of the Bulletin.)
persons other than small businesses, businesses, or local governmental entities:
Affected persons that are required to contribute to the UUSF will be required to comply with the PSC's associated rules. This section removal is part and parcel of the PSC's compliance with S.B. 130 (2017). In order to comply with the new legislation, the PSC has determined to impose a $0.36 monthly per-connection surcharge to fund both the UUSF and the program for deaf, hard of hearing, and severely speech impaired individuals. The fiscal impact of the adjusted per-connection surcharge is discussed in a companion filing under Filing No. 41644.
Compliance costs for affected persons:
Affected persons that are required to contribute to the UUSF will be required to comply with the PSC's associated rules. This section removal is part and parcel of the PSC's compliance with S.B. 130 (2017). In order to comply with the new legislation, the PSC has determined to impose a $0.36 monthly per-connection surcharge to fund both the UUSF and the program for deaf, hard of hearing, and severely speech impaired individuals. The fiscal impact of the adjusted per-connection surcharge is discussed in a companion filing under Filing No. 41644.
Comments by the department head on the fiscal impact the rule may have on businesses:
As stated in the rule analysis, no fiscal impact to businesses is anticipated from the removal of this section. Affected businesses will continue to contribute to the program through the UUSF surcharge, the fiscal impact of which is discussed in a companion filing under Filing No. 41644.
Thad LeVar, Chair
The full text of this rule may be inspected, during regular business hours, at the Office of Administrative Rules, or at:
Public Service CommissionAdministration
HEBER M WELLS BLDG
160 E 300 S
SALT LAKE CITY, UT 84111-2316
Direct questions regarding this rule to:
- Sheri Bintz at the above address, by phone at 801-530-6714, by FAX at 801-530-6796, or by Internet E-mail at [email protected]
- Jennie Jonsson at the above address, by phone at 801-530-6763, by FAX at , or by Internet E-mail at [email protected]
Interested persons may present their views on this rule by submitting written comments to the address above no later than 5:00 p.m. on:
07/03/2017
This rule may become effective on:
07/10/2017
Authorized by:
Jennie Jonsson, Administrative Law Judge
RULE TEXT
R746. Public Service Commission, Administration.
R746-343. Rule for Deaf, Severely Hearing or Speech Impaired Person.
[R746-343-15. Surcharge.
A. The surcharge will be imposed on each telephone number
of each residential and business customer in this state.
B. The surcharge established by the Commission in
accordance with Subsection 54-8b-10(4) is $.02 per month for each
residential and business telephone number, subject to the
limitation on surcharges related to mobile telecommunication
service specified in Utah Code Ann. Subsection
54-8b-10(4)(b)(ii).
C. Subject to Subsection R746-343-15(D), the telephone
number surcharge will be collected by each telecommunications
corporation providing public telecommunications service to the
customer and submitted, less administrative cost, to the Public
Service Commission on a quarterly basis.
D. The provider will submit its budget for annual review
by the Public Service Commission.
E. The telephone surcharge need not be collected by a
telecommunications corporation if the amount collected would be
less than the actual administrative costs of that collection. In
that case, the telecommunications corporation shall submit to the
Commission, in lieu of the revenue from the surcharge collection, a
breakdown of the anticipated costs and the expected revenue from
the collection showing that the costs exceed the
revenue.]
KEY: assistive devices and technology, speech/hearing [
impairments
]
assistance, [
surcharges,
]telecommunications
Date of Enactment or Last Substantive Amendment: [October 24, 2016]2017
Notice of Continuation: December 10, 2012
Authorizing, and Implemented or Interpreted Law: 54-8b[-10]
Additional Information
More information about a Notice of Proposed Rule is available online.
The Portable Document Format (PDF) version of the Bulletin is the official version. The PDF version of this issue is available at https://rules.utah.gov/publicat/bull_pdf/2017/b20170601.pdf. The HTML edition of the Bulletin is a convenience copy. Any discrepancy between the PDF version and HTML version is resolved in favor of the PDF version.
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For questions regarding the content or application of this rule, please contact Sheri Bintz at the above address, by phone at 801-530-6714, by FAX at 801-530-6796, or by Internet E-mail at [email protected]; Jennie Jonsson at the above address, by phone at 801-530-6763, by FAX at , or by Internet E-mail at [email protected]. For questions about the rulemaking process, please contact the Office of Administrative Rules.