H-1923.2 _______________________________________________
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1703
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State of Washington 53rd Legislature 1993 Regular Session
By House Committee on Energy & Utilities (originally sponsored by Representatives Johanson, Grant and Jacobsen; by request of Utilities & Transportation Commission)
Read first time 03/03/93.
AN ACT Relating to alternate operator service companies; amending RCW 80.36.522; adding a new section to chapter 80.36 RCW; and creating a new section.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature finds that: (a) It is in the public interest to ensure that alternate operator services companies operating in the state offer services and charges that are for the public convenience and advantage; (b) while the legislature has required alternate operator services companies to meet this standard since 1990, prior to that time some companies were registered with little or no oversight as to their services or charges; and (c) there are a large number of consumer complaints regarding the services and charges of alternate operator services companies.
(2) Therefore, the legislature finds that: (a) It is in the public interest to provide for review of the services and charges of companies which have not been required to demonstrate that they are operating for the public interest and convenience; (b) it is appropriate in compliant cases against these companies, for these companies to carry the burden of proving that their services and charges are for the public convenience and advantage; and (c) requiring the company to bear this burden of proof shall be only a temporary necessity in order to allow the utilities and transportation commission to perform an efficient and effective review of these companies.
Sec. 2. RCW 80.36.522 and 1990 c 247 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) All alternate operator service
companies providing services within the state shall register with the
commission as a telecommunications company before providing alternate operator
services. The commission may deny an application for registration of an
alternate operator services company if, after a hearing, it finds that the
services ((and)) or charges to be offered by the company are not
for the public convenience and advantage.
(2) The commission may suspend the
registration of an alternate operator services company if, after ((a))
hearing, it finds (a) that the company does not meet the service,
accounting, or disclosure requirements of the commission, or (b) that
its charges are not for the public convenience and advantage.
((Any)) (3) An alternate operator
services company that provides service without being properly registered with
the commission shall be subject to a penalty of not less than five hundred
dollars and not more than one thousand 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.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 80.36 RCW to read as follows:
(1) In a complaint filed by the commission alleging that an alternate operator services company's charges are not for the public convenience and advantage, the burden shall be on the alternate operator services company to demonstrate that its charges are for the public convenience and advantage.
(2) RCW 80.36.522(2) and subsection (1) of this section do not apply to telecommunications companies providing operator services to the public registered with the commission before January 1, 1987. Alternate operator services companies registered as telecommunications companies after January 1, 1987, are exempt from the requirement of RCW 80.36.090 that they provide alternate operator services to the public.
(3) This section shall expire on July 1, 1996.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.
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