HF 1778

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to telecommunications; providing for 
  1.3             telecommunications pricing plans for state government 
  1.4             under oversight of public utilities commission; 
  1.5             proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, 
  1.6             chapter 237. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  [237.066] [STATE GOVERNMENT PRICING PLANS.] 
  1.9      Subdivision 1.  [PURPOSE.] A state government 
  1.10  telecommunications pricing plan is authorized and found to be in 
  1.11  the public interest as it will: 
  1.12     (1) provide and assure availability of high quality, 
  1.13  technologically advanced telecommunications services at a 
  1.14  reasonable cost to the state; 
  1.15     (2) avoid staffing, maintenance, and capital costs 
  1.16  problems, as well as the technology risks and other problems 
  1.17  associated with a state-owned or state-operated 
  1.18  telecommunications system; and 
  1.19     (3) further the state telecommunications goals as set forth 
  1.20  in section 237.011. 
  1.21     Subd. 2.  [PROGRAM PARTICIPATION.] (a) A state government 
  1.22  telecommunications pricing plan may be available to serve 
  1.23  individually or collectively:  state agencies; educational 
  1.24  institutions; public corporations; and political subdivisions of 
  1.25  the state. 
  1.26     (b) For purposes of this subdivision, "educational 
  2.1   institution" means a school as defined in section 120A.22, 
  2.2   subdivision 4, other than a home school; a Minnesota public 
  2.3   post-secondary institution; a nonprofit two-year trade and 
  2.4   technical school granting associate degrees; or a private, 
  2.5   residential, nonprofit two-year or four-year, liberal arts, 
  2.6   degree-granting college or university located in Minnesota. 
  2.7      Subd. 3.  [RATES.] Notwithstanding section 237.09, 237.14, 
  2.8   237.60, subdivision 3, or 237.74, a telephone company or a 
  2.9   telecommunications carrier may, individually or in cooperation 
  2.10  with other telephone companies or telecommunications carriers, 
  2.11  develop and offer basic or advanced telecommunications services 
  2.12  at discounted or reduced rates as a state government 
  2.13  telecommunications pricing plan.  Any telecommunications 
  2.14  services provided under any state government telecommunications 
  2.15  pricing plan shall be used exclusively by those entities 
  2.16  described in subdivision 2 subject to the plan solely for their 
  2.17  own use and shall not be made available to any other entities by 
  2.18  resale, sublease, or in any other way. 
  2.19     Subd. 4.  [APPLICABILITY TO OTHER CUSTOMERS.] A telephone 
  2.20  company or telecommunications carrier providing 
  2.21  telecommunications services under a state government 
  2.22  telecommunications pricing plan is not required to provide any 
  2.23  other person or entity those services at the rates made 
  2.24  available to the state. 
  2.25     Subd. 5.  [COMMISSION REVIEW.] The terms and conditions of 
  2.26  any state government telecommunications pricing plan must be 
  2.27  submitted to the commission for its review and approval within 
  2.28  90 days before implementation to: 
  2.29     (1) ensure that the terms and conditions benefit the state 
  2.30  and not any private entity; 
  2.31     (2) ensure that the rates for any telecommunications 
  2.32  service in any state government telecommunications pricing plan 
  2.33  are at or below any applicable tariffed rates; and 
  2.34     (3) ensure that the state telecommunications pricing plan 
  2.35  meets the requirements of this section and is in the public 
  2.36  interest. 
  3.1      The commission shall reject any state government 
  3.2   telecommunications pricing plan that does not meet these 
  3.3   criteria. 
  3.4      Sec. 2.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  3.5      Section 1 is effective the day following final enactment.