An Act To Ensure Regulatory Parity among Telecommunications Providers
Sec. 1. 35-A MRSA §7101, sub-§6 is enacted to read:
Sec. 2. 35-A MRSA §7110 is enacted to read:
§ 7110. Regulatory parity among telecommunications providers
For the purposes of this subsection, "eligible telecommunications carrier" and "incumbent local exchange carrier" have the meanings provided by the commission by rule.
Sec. 3. Commission plan. By December 31, 2011, the Public Utilities Commission shall submit a plan to the Legislature describing the actions necessary to be implemented by the Legislature and the commission to ensure that, by January 1, 2013, all telecommunications providers, whether currently regulated or not, are regulated equally. The plan must include drafts of statutory changes necessary to achieve this result. The commission shall give due consideration to the preservation of provisions regarding an obligation to serve as carrier of last resort, eligible telecommunications carrier or the wholesale obligations of incumbent local exchange carriers. The commission shall include in the plan provisions that allow a telecommunications provider to be subject to regulatory requirements that do not apply to other telecommunications providers if it chooses.
summary
This bill sets a state goal of creating a nondiscriminatory regulatory structure for all telecommunications providers, for the purpose of fostering continued competition and ensuring a free market for telecommunications services. In recognition that the Public Utilities Commission has already established a less burdensome regulatory structure for competitive telephone utilities regulated by the commission, as a first step this legislation requires that regulatory structure to be extended to all telephone utilities regulated by the commission by January 1, 2012. The 2nd step directs the commission to submit a plan to the Legislature describing the actions necessary to ensure that, by January 1, 2013, all telecommunications providers are regulated equally.