Texas Utilities Code Title 2, Chapter 56 - Telecommunications Assistance And Universal Service Fund

SUBCHAPTER A GENERAL PROVISIONS

• Texas Section 56.001 - Definitions
  In this chapter: (1) "Department" means the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services. (2) "Designated provider" means a telecommunications provider designated by the commission to...

SUBCHAPTER B UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND

• Texas Section 56.002 - Conflict Of Provisions
  If this chapter conflicts with another provision of this title, this chapter prevails. Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
• Texas Section 56.021 - Universal Service Fund Established
  The commission shall adopt and enforce rules requiring local exchange companies to establish a universal service fund to: (1) assist telecommunications providers in providing basic...
• Texas Section 56.022 - Uniform Charge
  (a) The universal service fund is funded by a statewide uniform charge payable by each telecommunications provider that has access to the customer base. (b)...
• Texas Section 56.023 - Commission Powers And Duties
  (a) The commission shall: (1) in a manner that assures reasonable rates for basic local telecommunications service, adopt eligibility criteria and review procedures, including a...
• Texas Section 56.024 - Reports; Confidentiality
  (a) The commission may require a telecommunications provider to provide a report or information necessary to assess contributions and disbursements to the universal service fund....
• Texas Section 56.025 - Maintenance Of Rates And Expansion Of Fund For Certain Companies
  (a) In addition to the authority provided by Section 56.021: (1) for each local exchange company that serves fewer than 31,000 access lines and each...
• Texas Section 56.026 - Prompt And Efficient Disbursements
  The commission shall make each disbursement from the universal service fund promptly and efficiently so that a telecommunications provider does not experience an unnecessary cash-flow...
• Texas Section 56.028 - Universal Service Fund Reimbursement For Certain Intralata Service
  On request of an incumbent local exchange company that is not an electing company under Chapters 58 and 59, the commission shall provide reimbursement through...
• Texas Section 56.030 - Affidavits Of Compliance
  On or before September 1 of each year, a telecommunications provider that receives disbursements from the universal service fund shall file with the commission an...
• Texas Section 56.031 - Adjustments: Texas High Cost Universal Service Plan
  The commission may revise the monthly per line support amounts to be made available from the Texas High Cost Universal Service Plan after notice and...
• Texas Section 56.032 - Adjustments: Small And Rural Incumbent Local Exchange Company Universal Service Plan
  (a) For purposes of this section, "consumer price index" means the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, as published by the federal Bureau of...

SUBCHAPTER D STATEWIDE TELECOMMUNICATIONS RELAY ACCESS SERVICE

• Texas Section 56.033 - Support Available To Deregulated Markets
  (a) An incumbent local exchange company may not receive support from the universal service fund for a deregulated market that has a population of at...
• Texas Section 56.101 - Purpose
  The purpose of this subchapter is to provide for the uniform and coordinated provision by one telecommunications carrier of a statewide telecommunications relay access service...
• Texas Section 56.102 - Telecommunications Relay Access Service
  (a) The commission shall adopt and enforce rules establishing a statewide telecommunications relay access service for the use of a person with an impairment of...
• Texas Section 56.103 - Telecommunications Relay Access Service Requirements
  (a) The telecommunications relay access service shall provide a person with an impairment of hearing or speech with access to the telecommunications network in this...
• Texas Section 56.104 - Telecommunications Relay Access Service Charges
  (a) For a call made using the telecommunications relay access service, the person calling or called: (1) may not be charged for a call that...
• Texas Section 56.105 - Trial Service Costs And Design Information
  If the commission orders a local exchange company to provide for a trial telecommunications relay access service for persons with an impairment of hearing or...
• Texas Section 56.106 - Telecommunications Relay Access Service Assessments
  (a) The commission shall set appropriate assessments for all telecommunications utilities to fund the telecommunications relay access service. (b) In setting an assessment, the commission...
• Texas Section 56.107 - Universal Service Fund Surcharge
  (a) A telecommunications utility may recover the utility's universal service fund assessment for the telecommunications relay access service through a surcharge added to the utility...
• Texas Section 56.108 - Selection Of Telecommunications Relay Access Service Carrier
  (a) The commission shall select one telecommunications carrier to provide the statewide telecommunications relay access service. (b) The commission shall make a written award of...
• Texas Section 56.1085 - Special Features For Relay Access Service
  (a) The commission may contract for a special feature for the state's telecommunications relay access service if the commission determines: (1) the feature will benefit...
• Texas Section 56.109 - Compensation Of Carrier
  (a) The telecommunications carrier selected to provide the telecommunications relay access service under Section 56.108 or the carrier selected to provide a special feature for...
• Texas Section 56.110 - Advisory Committee
  (a) An advisory committee to assist the commission in administering this subchapter is composed of the following persons appointed by the commission: (1) two persons...
• Texas Section 56.111 - Advisory Committee Duties
  The advisory committee shall: (1) monitor the establishment, administration, and promotion of the statewide telecommunications relay access service; (2) advise the commission in pursuing a...
• Texas Section 56.112 - Advisory Committee Support And Costs
  (a) The commission shall provide to the advisory committee: (1) clerical and staff support; and (2) a secretary to record committee meetings. (b) The costs...

SUBCHAPTER E SPECIALIZED TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

• Texas Section 56.113 - Advisory Committee Compensation And Expenses
  A member of the advisory committee serves without compensation but is entitled to reimbursement at rates established for state employees for travel and per diem...
• Texas Section 56.151 - Specialized Telecommunications Assistance Program
  (a) The executive commissioner, after consulting with the department, by rule shall establish a specialized telecommunications assistance program to provide financial assistance to individuals with...
• Texas Section 56.152 - Eligibility
  The executive commissioner, after consulting with the department, by rule shall prescribe eligibility standards for individuals, including deaf individuals and individuals who have an impairment...
• Texas Section 56.153 - Vouchers
  (a) The department shall determine a reasonable price for a basic specialized telecommunications device that permits, or basic specialized services that permit, telephone network access...
• Texas Section 56.154 - Department Duties
  (a) Not later than the 45th day after the date the department receives a voucher a telecommunications device distributor presents for payment or a voucher...
• Texas Section 56.155 - Recovery Of Specialized Telecommunications Device Assistance Program Surcharge
  (a) The commission shall allow a telecommunications utility to recover the universal service fund assessment related to the specialized telecommunications assistance program through a surcharge...

SUBCHAPTER F SERVICE TO UNCERTIFICATED AREA

• Texas Section 56.156 - Promotion Of Program
  The department may promote the program established under this subchapter by means of participation in events, advertisements, pamphlets, brochures, forms, pins, or other promotional items...
• Texas Section 56.201 - Definition
  In this subchapter, "permanent residential or business premises" means a premises that has permanent facilities for water, wastewater, and electricity. Added by Acts 2001, 77th...
• Texas Section 56.202 - Designation Of Provider
  (a) Notwithstanding Section 54.001, the commission may designate a telecommunications provider under this section to provide voice-grade services to permanent residential or business premises that...
• Texas Section 56.203 - Petition For Service
  Persons residing in permanent residential premises or owners of permanent residential or business premises that are not included within the certificated area of a holder...
• Texas Section 56.204 - Contents Of Petition
  (a) A petition for designation of a service provider must: (1) state with reasonable particularity the locations of the permanent residential or business premises for...
• Texas Section 56.205 - Hearing
  If the commission finds that the petition complies with Section 56.204, the commission shall hold an evidentiary hearing to determine if a telecommunications provider is...
• Texas Section 56.206 - Denial Of Petition
  The commission shall deny a petition if the commission determines that services cannot be extended to the petitioning premises at a reasonable cost. In making...
• Texas Section 56.207 - Order
  In any order granting a petition, the commission shall: (1) approve the facilities to be deployed based on the estimated costs of deployment submitted in...
• Texas Section 56.208 - Designation Of Provider
  (a) In determining which nominated telecommunications provider the commission will designate to provide service to the petitioning premises, the commission shall consider the relative estimated...
• Texas Section 56.209 - Recovery Of Costs
  (a) If, after a hearing, the commission designates a telecommunications provider to serve the petitioning premises, the commission shall permit the designated provider to recover...
• Texas Section 56.210 - Aid To Construction Charge; Contract For Services
  The commission shall establish a reasonable aid to construction charge, not to exceed $3,000, to be assessed each petitioner. The commission may not require a...
• Texas Section 56.211 - Permanent Premises Required
  A telecommunications provider may not under any circumstances be required to extend service to a location that is not a permanent residential or business premises...
• Texas Section 56.212 - Subsequent Related Petitions
  (a) If the commission approves a petition requesting service, residents of permanent residential premises or owners of permanent residential or business premises in reasonable proximity...
• Texas Section 56.213 - Preferred Provider
  (a) A provider who is designated to serve petitioning premises located within an uncertificated area under this subchapter is the preferred provider for any permanent...

SUBCHAPTER G FUNDING FOR CERTAIN TELECOMMUNICATIONS UTILITIES

• Texas Section 56.214 - Certificate Not Amended
  The designation of a provider to serve permanent residential or business premises within an uncertificated area under this subchapter does not have the effect of:...
• Texas Section 56.251 - Definition
  In this subchapter, "successor utility" has the meaning assigned by Section 54.301. Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 76, Sec. 7, eff. Sept. 1,
• Texas Section 56.252 - Telecommunications Utilities Eligible To Receive Funding Under This Subchapter
  A telecommunications utility may receive funding under this subchapter only if: (1) the telecommunications utility is eligible to receive universal service funding under Section 56.023(b);...
• Texas Section 56.253 - Determination Of Successor Utility's Costs To Be Recovered
  (a) At the time the commission designates the successor utility under Section 54.303, the commission shall determine the extent to which the utility should recover...

SUBCHAPTER H AUDIO NEWSPAPER PROGRAM

• Texas Section 56.254 - Recovery Of Costs
  The commission order designating the successor utility under Section 54.303 shall authorize the utility to recover the costs determined under Section 56.253. The costs may...
• Texas Section 56.301 - Audio Newspaper Assistance Program
  The commission by rule shall establish a program to provide from the universal service fund financial assistance for a free telephone service for blind and...

Last modified: September 28, 2016