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H0624......................................................by STATE AFFAIRS
TELEPHONE CORPORATIONS - ANTITRUST - Amends and adds to existing law to
clarify and limit the exemption from antitrust liability for telephone
corporations that have elected regulation pursuant to Chapter 6, Title 62,
Idaho Code; and to permit the Idaho Public Utilities Commission to
establish minimum pricing of basic local exchange service.
02/09 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/10 Rpt prt - to St Aff
02/11 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
02/12 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
02/16 3rd rdg - PASSED - 52-18-0
AYES -- Andersen, Barraclough, Barrett, Bedke, Bell, Black, Block,
Boe, Bolz, Campbell, Cannon, Clark, Collins, Crow, Cuddy, Deal,
Denney, Eberle, Edmunson, Eskridge, Field(18), Field(23), Gagner,
Garrett, Jones, Kellogg(Nonini), Kulczyk, Lake, Langford, McKague,
Meyer, Miller, Mitchell, Naccarato, Nielsen, Raybould, Ridinger,
Ring, Rydalch, Sayler, Schaefer, Shepherd, Shirley, Skippen,
Smith(30), Smith(24), Smylie, Snodgrass, Stevenson, Wills, Wood, Mr.
Speaker
NAYS -- Bauer, Bayer, Bradford, Douglas, Ellsworth, Harwood, Henbest,
Jaquet, Langhorst, Martinez, McGeachin, Moyle, Pasley-Stuart, Ringo,
Roberts, Robison, Sali, Trail
Absent and excused -- None
Floor Sponsor - Deal
Title apvd - to Senate
02/17 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to St Aff
03/08 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
03/09 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
03/17 Ret'd to St Aff
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]]
Fifty-seventh Legislature Second Regular Session - 2004
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE BILL NO. 624
BY STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO TELEPHONE CORPORATIONS; AMENDING SECTION 62-617, IDAHO CODE, TO
3 CLARIFY AND LIMIT THE EXEMPTION FROM ANTITRUST LIABILITY FOR TELEPHONE
4 CORPORATIONS THAT HAVE ELECTED REGULATION PURSUANT TO CHAPTER 6, TITLE 62,
5 IDAHO CODE; AND AMENDING CHAPTER 6, TITLE 62, IDAHO CODE, BY THE ADDITION
6 OF A NEW SECTION 62-622A, IDAHO CODE, TO PERMIT THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES
7 COMMISSION TO DETERMINE WHETHER A TELEPHONE CORPORATION NOT REGULATED PUR-
8 SUANT TO TITLE 61, IDAHO CODE, IS PROVIDING BASIC LOCAL EXCHANGE SERVICE
9 AT A PRICE BELOW ITS AVERAGE VARIABLE COSTS AND TO ENABLE THE COMMISSION
10 TO ESTABLISH SUCH PRICE AT THE AVERAGE VARIABLE COST OF PROVIDING SUCH
11 SERVICE.
12 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
13 SECTION 1. That Section 62-617, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
14 amended to read as follows:
15 62-617. TELEPHONE CORPORATION ANTITRUST LIABILITY. No action under the
16 antitrust laws or any other provision or doctrine of law of the state of Idaho
17 shall lie against a telephone corporation for providing service in compliance
18 with any order of the commission. Provided however, this section shall not
19 apply to the provision of any service for which the commission has approved or
20 acknowledged an election pursuant to section 62-605(1), Idaho Code, except to
21 the extent such service thereafter is the subject of a specific commission
22 order pursuant to title 62, Idaho Code.
23 SECTION 2. That Chapter 6, Title 62, Idaho Code, be, and the same is
24 hereby amended by the addition thereto of a NEW SECTION, to be known and des-
25 ignated as Section 62-622A, Idaho Code, and to read as follows:
26 62-622A. COMMISSION AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH MINIMUM PRICING OF BASIC LOCAL
27 EXCHANGE SERVICE. A telephone corporation may file a petition with the commis-
28 sion alleging that another telephone corporation, not subject to regulation
29 pursuant to title 61, Idaho Code, is offering basic local exchange service to
30 customers in a local exchange area at a price below its average variable cost
31 of providing such service in the local exchange area. The commission shall, if
32 after a hearing it finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the allega-
33 tions contained in the petition are true, establish a minimum price for basic
34 local exchange service of the telephone corporation in the local exchange
35 area, which minimum price shall reflect the telephone corporation's average
36 variable cost of providing such service.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 13909
The proposal is a companion bill to HB502, legislation
authorizing telephone corporations to elect an alternative form
of regulation for basic local exchange services.
The proposal amends section 62-617, Idaho Code, to clarify that,
as to telephone corporations who have exercised the election for
alternative regulation, the existing exemption from antitrust
laws applies only to the extent that the telephone corporations
service is the subject of a specific public utilities commission
order that is entered after the election has been made pursuant
to title 62, Idaho Code. This amendment is requested on behalf of
the Idaho Telephone Association.
The proposal also adds a new section to address the potential
issue of predatory pricing by any telephone corporation and
authorizes the Idaho Public Utilities Commission to take such
action as may be necessary to assure that telephone corporations
do not price basic local exchange service below the company's
average variable cost of providing the basic local exchange
service. This provision is in accord with general antitrust
principles and is intended to prevent anti-competitive pricing of
basic service. This addition is made at the request of MCI
Communications.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact to this proposal.
Contact
Name: Bill Roden
Phone: 208/336-7930
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE H 624