BILL: Senate Bill 2116

SUBJECT: Requires telecommunications companies to notify customers of increases in the price of services prior to the effective date of the increase.

DESCRIPTION: The legislation creates a new set of obligations for telephone companies to adhere to by establishing a matrix of notification regulations regarding communications with our customers. Telephone companies would be required to:

• Essential Local Exchange Service: Notification 15 days prior to increases of more than one percent.
• Nonessential Local Exchange Service: Notification 1 day prior to increases of more than five percent.
• Intrastate Message Toll Service: Notification 1 day prior to any price increase of change in the terms and conditions that lead to a price increase.

The bill would further mandate that a telco that fails to provide the required notification would have to refund any billed amount and that customers would not be liable for any of the increases.

IMPACT ON INDEPENDENT TELEPHONE COMPANIES: The Association believes that increasing the jurisdiction of the Public Service Commission to monitor changes in customers' bills and price increases is not justified. The Association testified and demonstrated the outstanding job that the independent telephone industry in North Dakota did in communicating with customers of our companies. Attached to every committee member's testimony were numerous examples from telco newsletters, newspaper advertisements and bill inserts that demonstrated the independent telephone companies' commitment to customer communications, including price increases. We told committee members the proposal was not needed and that the locally-owned industry was not the problem, but would bear the brunt of the requirements.

ASSOCIATION RECOMMENDATION: Oppose SB 2116

January, 2003