HB 611 - AS INTRODUCED
1999 SESSION
HOUSE BILL 611
AN ACT relative to performance standards for telephone companies providing noncompetitive services.
SPONSORS: Rep. MacGillivray, Hills 21; Rep. Norelli, Rock 31
COMMITTEE: Science, Technology and Energy
This bill authorizes the public utilities commission to adopt performance standards for the provision of noncompetitive services by telephone utilities.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
99-0826
03/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord One Thousand Nine Hundred and Ninety-Nine
AN ACT relative to performance standards for telephone companies providing noncompetitive services.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Purpose. The general court finds that in cases where a competitive supplier of telephone services is also the only supplier of non-competitive services, that its non-competitive customers must not receive inferior service to its competitive customers. To this end, performance standards should be set up for such suppliers for the provision of all services for which there are few or no competitive suppliers.
2 New Subdivision; Performance Standards for Telephone Utilities. Amend RSA 374 by inserting after section 58 the following new subdivision:
Performance Standards for Telephone Utilities
374:59 Performance Standards for Telephone Utilities.
I. The commission is authorized to promote and adopt performance standards for telephone utilities that are also providers of competitive telephone services for performance of installation of service, connection of service, porting of telephone numbers to competitive suppliers, and other services for which there are few or no competitive suppliers.
II. The commission is authorized to impose administrative fines not to exceed $100 per day per line or line requested for failure to comply with any performance standards adopted by the commission pursuant to paragraph I.
3 Study by Public Utilities Commission; Sanctions Against Telephone Utilities. The public utilities commission shall study options for sanctions in addition to those provided in RSA 374:59, II, as inserted by this act, against a telephone utility that fails to provide adequate noncompetitive services, such as those described in RSA 374:59, I, as inserted by this act. The options that the commission shall study shall include terminating part or all of a telephone utility's permission to provide competitive telephone services, or terminating all or part of its franchise. The commission shall report its findings to the telecommunications oversight committee on or before October 1, 1999.
4 Effective Date.
I. Section 2 of this act shall take effect January 1, 2000.
II. The remainder of this act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.