BP BHEAD INT H

AN ACT Relating to competitive conditions and rates for providers of alternate operator services or private pay telephone services; amending RCW 80.36.510 and 80.36.520; adding new sections to chapter 80.36 RCW; and prescribing penalties.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1. RCW 80.36.510 and 1988 c 91 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

The legislature finds that a growing number of companies provide, in a nonresidential setting, telecommunications services necessary to long distance service without disclosing the services provided or the rate, charge or fee. The legislature finds that provision of these services without disclosure to consumers is a deceptive trade practice. The legislature further finds that providers of alternate operator services who disclose service and rate information to consumers as required by law, provide a valuable service to consumers in the state of Washington. It is the intent of the legislature, to foster fair competitive conditions, including fair rates, for providers of alternate operator services.

Sec. 2. RCW 80.36.520 and 1988 c 91 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

The utilities and transportation commission shall by rule require, at a minimum, that any telecommunications company, operating as or contracting with an alternate operator services company, subject to the limitation in section 3(5) of this act, assure appropriate disclosure to consumers of the provision and the rate, charge or fee of services provided by an alternate operator services company.

For the purposes of this chapter, "alternate operator services company" means a person other than a local exchange company, providing a connection to intrastate or interstate long-distance services from places including, but not limited to, hotels, motels, hospitals, and customer-owned pay telephones.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 80.36 RCW to read as follows:

(1) Each provider of private pay telephone services, other than a local exchange company, that is not already subject to registration requirements as a provider of alternate operator services under RCW 80.36.522, shall pay to the commission reasonable fees set by the commission to defray the cost of the inspection program established in subsection (7) of this section. These fees shall be in lieu of the fee imposed by RCW 80.24.010. Any provider of private pay telephone services that provides services without being properly registered with the commission is subject to a penalty of not more than one hundred dollars for each and every offense. In case of a continuing offense, every day's continuance shall be a separate offense. The penalty shall be recovered in an action as provided in RCW 80.04.400.

(2) Each provider of private pay telephone services, other than a local exchange company, shall post the pay telephones under its control with information as required by the utilities and transportation commission through its regulations, including at a minimum the name and address of the owner of the private pay telephone, the name and address of the presubscribed provider of operator services, a toll-free number to call for rate information and if applicable, a statement that the rates for operator services at that telephone may be different from prevailing rates.

(3) Each provider of private pay telephone services, beginning not later than thirty days after the effective date of this section, shall ensure that each of its telephones presubscribed to a provider of operator services allows the consumer to use "800," "900," "950," and where available "10XXX" access numbers to obtain access to the provider of operator services desired by the consumer. For purposes of this subsection, "consumer" means a person initiating any intrastate telephone call using operator services.

(4) Each provider of alternate operator services shall audibly identify itself to consumers on each telephone call, by means of statements made once prior to completion of processing of the call, indicating the provider's name as registered with the utilities and transportation commission, and including a statement that consumers may obtain rate quotes by requesting them from the provider, and giving appropriate dialing instructions for such rate quotes when the rates for the call are greater than the rates charged by the prevailing carrier for an identical call.

(5) The utilities and transportation commission shall neither adopt nor enforce any rule which would penalize an alternate operator services provider that is not also a private pay telephone provider, for acts or omissions of a private pay telephone provider that violate either subsection (2) or (3) of this section, or both subsections (2) and (3) of this section. Notwithstanding the provisions of RCW 80.04.090, the utilities and transportation commission shall not require an alternate operator services provider that is otherwise in compliance with the requirements of this section and RCW 80.36.520, 80.36.522, 80.36.524, and section 4 of this act to keep its books of accounts in any manner other than generally accepted accounting principles.

(6) The utilities and transportation commission shall adopt and enforce rules that require any provider of alternate operator services that provides operator services to a provider of private pay telephone services that has been found to have violated either subsection (2) or (3) of this section, or both subsections (2) and (3) of this section, and has not ceased the violations after having been notified and directed to cease the violations by either the provider of alternate operator services or the commission, to discontinue providing alternate operator services to any location at which those violations have occurred. A provider of alternate operator services shall, within ten days of receiving written notification of violations at a presubscribed location by the commission, notify the provider of pay telephone services involved and direct the provider to cease the violations immediately. If, upon the expiration of thirty days from the notice to the provider of pay telephone services, the violations have not ceased, the provider of alternate operator services shall immediately discontinue services at all such locations. The utilities and transportation commission shall notify all providers of alternate operator services registered to do business in Washington of any such discontinuance, and no registered provider of alternate operator services may provide service to a provider of pay telephone services whose service has been discontinued for such uncorrected violations, until the commission verifies that the violations have ceased.

(7) The commission shall adopt rules establishing and maintaining an inspection program to ensure that providers of private pay telephone services and alternate operator services comply with the requirements of this section and RCW 80.36.520, 80.36.522, 80.36.524, and section 4 of this act. The cost of this program shall be defrayed by the registration and annual fees collected from providers of private pay telephone services and alternate operator services as established in this section.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 80.36 RCW to read as follows:

(1) Each provider of alternate operator services shall annually notify, in writing, each provider of private pay telephone services to which that provider of alternate operator services is presubscribed, and shall also notify each such provider of pay telephone services in writing at the time of initial presubscription, of the requirements of Washington statutes and rules that apply to providers of private pay telephone services.

(2) Each provider of alternate operator services shall discontinue service to any location operated by a provider of private pay telephones when notified by the utilities and transportation commission that the provider of private pay telephone services at that location has violated the statutes and rules applicable to private pay telephone services. Any provider of alternate operator services that fails to discontinue service to a location after notice of violations from the commission or to provide timely notices to providers of private pay telephone services as required under subsection (1) of this section, is subject to a penalty of up to one hundred dollars for each such failure. In the case of continuing violations, each day's continuation shall be a separate violation.