S-4170               _______________________________________________

                                                   SENATE BILL NO. 6611

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              50th Legislature                              1988 Regular Session

By Senators Bluechel and Benitz

Read first time 1/27/88 and referred to Committee on  Energy & Utilities.

AN ACT Relating to telephone exchanges; and amending RCW 80.36.230.

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

        Sec. 1.  Section 80.36.230, chapter 14, Laws of 1961 as amended by section 37, chapter 450, Laws of 1985 and RCW 80.36.230 are each amended to read as follows:

          The commission is hereby granted the power to prescribe exchange area boundaries and/or territorial boundaries for telecommunications companies.

The commission shall alter exchange area boundaries and/or territorial boundaries for telephone companies either upon its own volition when such alteration is justified by reason of service improvements or upon receipt of a petition meeting the requirements set forth below:

(1) A majority of the persons whose phone service would be affected must have signed the petition for change;

(2) The phone company that would receive the new subscribers must have declared in writing an ability and willingness to serve such subscribers;

(3) The exchange area boundaries and/or territorial boundaries of the area in question must not have been changed for at least seven years;

(4) The change must not result in the creation of a noncontiguous exchange for either of the telephone companies involved; and

(5) Fair and reasonable compensation, as established by the commission, must be paid to the entity whose property is taken.