Oregon Statutes - Chapter 759 - Telecommunications Utility Regulation

759.005 Definitions.
As used in this chapter: (1) �Competitive telecommunications provider� means a telecommunications services provider that has been classified as a competitive telecommunications provider by the...
759.010 [1987 c.447 §2; 1989 c.17 §2; repealed by 2005 c.232 §2]
759.015 Legislative findings on universal telecommunications service.
The Legislative Assembly finds and declares that it is the goal of the State of Oregon to secure and maintain high-quality universal telecommunications service at...
759.016 Legislative findings on broadband services.
The Legislative Assembly finds and declares: (1) That it is the goal of this state to promote access to broadband services for all Oregonians in...
759.020 Certificate of authority; application; procedure; criteria; intrastate toll service level.
(1) No person, corporation, company, association of individuals or their lessees, trustees, or receivers shall provide intrastate telecommunications service on a for-hire basis without a...
759.025 Certificates of authority for persons, companies and corporations providing services on January 1, 1986.
(1) Notwithstanding ORS 759.020, the Public Utility Commission shall issue to any person, company or corporation providing intrastate telecommunications services that are subject to regulation...
759.027 Shared telecommunications service provider; alternative access to local exchange telecommunications services.
If the Public Utility Commission finds upon notice and investigation that customers of shared telecommunications services have no alternative access to local exchange telecommunications services,...
759.030 [Formerly 757.825; 1991 c.301 §1; repealed by 2005 c.232 §6]
759.035 Duty to furnish adequate and safe service at reasonable rates.
Every telecommunications utility is required to furnish adequate and safe service, equipment and facilities, and the charges made by any public utility for any service...
759.036 Commission authority.
Except as otherwise provided by law, the Public Utility Commission shall have authority to determine the manner and extent of the regulation of telecommunications services...
759.040 Exemptions for certain unaffiliated utilities with fewer than 50,000 access lines.
(1) Subject to subsection (6) of this section, ORS 759.180 to 759.190 do not apply to new or revised tariff schedules filed with the Public...
759.045 Special rules for utilities exempted from regulation under ORS 759.040.
The Public Utility Commission shall adopt specific rules to apply to telecommunications utilities which are exempted from certain regulation under ORS 759.040. An objective of...
759.050 Competitive zone service regulation.
(1) As used in this section: (a) �Competitive zone� means a telecommunications service area within all or part of a local exchange, described both by...
759.052 Commission authority to exempt telecommunications services from regulation.
(1)(a) Upon petition by any interested party and following notice and investigation, the Public Utility Commission may exempt in whole or in part from regulation...
759.054 Price listing for product or service offered as part of local exchange telecommunications services.
(1) If the Public Utility Commission determines that a product or service offered by a telecommunications utility as part of local exchange telecommunications services can...
759.056 Price listing for product or service offered as part of interexchange telecommunications services.
(1) If the Public Utility Commission determines that a product or service offered by a telecommunications utility as part of interexchange telecommunications services can be...
759.058 Commission action on petition under ORS 759.052, 759.054 or 759.056.
Within 60 days of a filing under ORS 759.052, 759.054 or 759.056, the Public Utility Commission shall either determine the appropriateness of the filing or...
759.060 Information submitted by local exchange telecommunications utilities; rules exempting disclosure.
(1) The Public Utility Commission, by rule, shall specify information submitted to the commission by local exchange telecommunications utilities or cooperatives that is exempt from...
759.075 Authority to construct lines and facilities; condemnation power; procedure.
(1) Any telecommunications utility may: (a) Enter upon lands within this state for the purpose of examining, locating and surveying the line thereof and also...
759.080 Use of property outside limits of municipal corporation; agreement; condemnation upon failure to agree.
When it is necessary or convenient, in the location of any poles or lines mentioned in ORS 759.075, to appropriate any part of any public...
759.100 [1987 c.447 §5; repealed by 2005 c.232 §14]
759.105 [1989 c.484 §7; renumbered 759.219 in 2005]
759.110 [1987 c.447 §6; repealed by 2005 c.232 §14]
759.115 [1987 c.447 §7; repealed by 2005 c.232 §14]
759.120 Form and manner of accounts prescribed by commission.
(1) Every telecommunications utility shall keep and render to the Public Utility Commission, in the manner and form prescribed by the commission, uniform accounts of...
759.125 Records and accounts prescribed by commission; prohibition on other records or accounts; exception; blanks for reports.
(1) The Public Utility Commission shall prescribe the accounts and records required to be kept and every telecommunications utility is required to keep and render...
759.130 Closing date of accounts; filing balance sheet; audit.
(1) The accounts shall be closed annually on December 31 and a balance sheet of that date promptly taken therefrom. On or before April 1...
759.135 Depreciation accounts; undepreciated investment allowed in rates; conditions.
(1) Every telecommunications utility shall carry a proper and adequate depreciation account. The Public Utility Commission shall ascertain and determine the proper and adequate rates...
759.175 Filing rate schedules and data with commission.
(1) Every telecommunications utility shall file with the Public Utility Commission, within a time to be fixed by the commission, schedules showing all rates, tolls...
759.180 Hearing on reasonableness of rates; procedures; exceptions.
(1)(a) Except as provided in ORS 759.195 and 759.410 and ORS 759.052, 759.054 or 759.056, whenever any telecommunications utility files with the Public Utility Commission...
759.182 Rate schedules for service promotions; rules.
(1) A telecommunications utility may file rate schedules for service promotions that are offered by the utility for the purpose of: (a) Increasing the use...
759.185 Suspension of rates pending hearing; time limitation; refund of revenue collected; interim rates.
(1) The Public Utility Commission may, pending such investigation and determination, order the suspension of the rate or schedule of rates, provided the initial period...
759.190 Notice of schedule change.
No change shall be made in any schedule, including schedules of joint rates, except upon 30 days� notice to the Public Utility Commission. All changes...
759.195 Price listing of services; conditions; maximum rates; essential services; justification by utility of rates for price-listed services.
(1) Except as provided in subsection (6) of this section, upon petition of a telecommunications utility that provides local exchange service directly, or is affiliated...
759.200 Inclusion of amortizations in rates; deferral of certain expenses or revenues; limitation on amounts; prohibited uses.
(1) In addition to powers otherwise vested in the Public Utility Commission, and subject to the limitations contained in subsection (5) of this section, under...
759.205 Conformance of rates charged with schedule.
No telecommunications utility shall charge, demand, collect or receive a greater or less compensation for any service performed by it within the state, or for...
759.210 Classification of service and rates; considerations.
(1) The Public Utility Commission shall provide for a comprehensive classification of service for each telecommunications utility. The classification may take into account the quantity...
759.215 Public access to schedules.
(1) A copy of so much of all schedules, including schedules of joint rates and charges, as the Public Utility Commission deems necessary for the...
759.217 Effect of tax credit under ORS 315.511.
The Public Utility Commission may not require a reduction in a rate or a schedule of rates as a result of a tax credit under...
759.218 Revenues and expenses of unregulated activities.
(1) A telecommunications utility may not use revenues earned from, or allocate expenses to, that portion of the utility�s business that is regulated under this...
759.219 Certain taxes as operating expense; charge pro rata to users; condition.
The privilege tax authorized by ORS 221.515, or other similar exactions imposed by any municipality in this state upon telecommunications utilities for use and occupancy...
759.220 Joint rates and classifications; procedure; considerations.
(1) A telecommunications utility may establish reasonable through service and joint rates and classifications with other telecommunications utilities. Telecommunications utilities establishing joint rates shall establish just...
759.225 Application of ORS 759.220 to unincorporated associations and cooperative corporations.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, ORS 759.220 applies to any unincorporated association or cooperative corporation providing intrastate telecommunications service. The application of ORS 759.220...
759.230 Measured service rate for business customers; restriction.
(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the Public Utility Commission shall not authorize a telecommunications utility to implement a rate schedule that includes...
759.235 Mandatory measured service rate; prohibition.
(1) The Public Utility Commission shall be prohibited from requiring any call aggregator, telephone customer or class of customers to pay for local exchange telephone...
759.240 Measuring quality of service; standards; rules.
(1) The Public Utility Commission shall ascertain and prescribe for each kind of telecommunications utility suitable and convenient standard commercial units of service. These shall...
759.245 Examination and testing of measuring appliances.
(1) The Public Utility Commission may provide for the examination and testing of any and all appliances used for the measuring of any service of...
759.250 Contracts for special services; procedure for filing and approval; subsequent review and investigation.
(1) A telecommunications utility may enter into a contract with any customer for the provision of a telecommunications service that the Public Utility Commission determines...
759.255 Setting prices without regard to return on utility investment; petition; findings; conditions; application of statutes to approved plan.
(1) In addition to powers vested in the Public Utility Commission under ORS 759.195, and subject to the limitations contained in subsections (2) to (4)...
759.257 Extended area service: Portland to Scappoose.
(1) Two-way, flat rate or measured extended area service shall be provided by each telecommunications utility providing service between the Portland EAS Region and the...
759.259 Extended area service: Portland to Molalla.
(1) Two-way, flat rate or measured extended area service shall be provided by each telecommunications utility providing service between the Portland EAS Region and the...
759.260 Unjust discrimination in rates.
(1) Except as provided in ORS 759.265, no telecommunications utility or any agent or officer thereof shall, directly or indirectly, by any device, charge, demand,...
759.265 Practices not constituting unjust discrimination.
(1) ORS 759.260 does not prevent any telecommunications utility from giving free service, or reduced rates therefor, to: (a) Its officers, directors, employees and members...
759.267 Service promotion activities.
A telecommunications utility may promote the use of its services by offering a waiver of part or all of a recurring or a nonrecurring charge,...
759.270 Reducing rates for persons furnishing part of facilities; rental of customer facilities; furnishing meters and appliances.
(1) No telecommunications utility shall demand, charge, collect or receive from any person less compensation for any service rendered or to be rendered by the...
759.275 Undue preferences and prejudices.
(1) No telecommunications utility shall make or give undue or unreasonable preference or advantage to any particular person or locality, or shall subject any particular...
759.280 Soliciting or accepting rebates or special advantage.
No person shall knowingly solicit, accept or receive any rebate, concession or discrimination in respect to any service whereby any such service shall, by any...
759.285 Charging rates based on cost of property not presently providing service.
No telecommunications utility shall, directly or indirectly, by any device, charge, demand, collect or receive from any customer, rates which are derived from a rate...
759.290 [1989 c.621 §2; repealed by 2007 c.823 §6]
759.300 �Stocks� defined.
As used in ORS 759.300 to 759.360, �stocks� means stocks, stock certificates or other evidence of interest or ownership. [1987 c.447 §28]
759.305 Power to regulate issuance of telecommunications stocks.
The power of telecommunications utilities to issue stocks and bonds, notes and other evidences of indebtedness and to create liens on their property situated within...
759.310 When issuance of securities void.
All stocks and bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness and any security of a telecommunications utility shall be void when issued: (1) Without an...
759.315 Purposes for which securities may be issued; order required; exceptions.
(1) A telecommunications utility may issue stocks and bonds, notes and other evidences of indebtedness, and securities for the following purposes and no others, except...
759.320 Application of ORS 759.315.
ORS 759.315 does not apply to the issuance, renewal or assumption of liability on any evidence of indebtedness when such issuance, renewal or assumption is...
759.325 Application of ORS 759.375.
ORS 759.375 does not apply to any mortgage or other encumbrance upon any real or personal property given to secure payment of any evidence of...
759.330 Hearings and supplemental orders for securities issuance; joint approval for issuance by utility operating in another state.
(1) To enable the Public Utility Commission to determine whether the commission will issue an order under ORS 759.315, the commission may hold a hearing...
759.335 Obligation of state as consequence of approval of issuance.
No provision of ORS 759.300 to 759.360, and no deed or act done or performed under or in connection therewith, shall be held or construed...
759.340 Conditional approval of issuance.
The Public Utility Commission may by order grant permission for the issue of stocks or bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness in the amount...
759.345 Use of proceeds from issuance; accounting.
(1) No telecommunications utility shall, without the consent of the Public Utility Commission, apply the issue of any stock or bond, note or other evidence...
759.350 Limitation on authority of utility to guarantee debt of another.
No telecommunications utility shall assume any obligation or liability as guarantor, indorser, surety or otherwise in respect to the securities of any other person, firm...
759.355 Issuance or use of proceeds contrary to commission order.
No telecommunications utility shall directly or indirectly, issue or cause to be issued any stock or bond, note or other evidence of indebtedness in nonconformity...
759.360 Prohibited acts regarding issuance of securities.
No person shall: (1) Knowingly authorize, direct, aid in, issue or execute, or cause to be issued or executed, any stock or bond, note or...
759.375 Approval prior to sale, mortgage or disposal of operative utility property.
(1) A telecommunications utility doing business in Oregon shall not, without first obtaining the Public Utility Commission�s approval of such transaction: (a) Sell, lease, assign...
759.380 Purchase of stock or property of another utility.
(1) No telecommunications utility shall, directly or indirectly, purchase, acquire or become the owner of any of the stocks or bonds or property utilized for...
759.385 Contracts regarding use of utility property; filing with commission; investigation.
(1) When any telecommunications utility doing business in this state, except a telecommunications carrier that has elected to be subject to ORS 759.405 and 759.410,...
759.390 Contracts with affiliated interests; procedure; use in rate proceedings.
(1) As used in this section, �affiliated interest� with a telecommunications utility means: (a) Every person owning or holding directly or indirectly five percent or...
759.393 Applicability of ORS 759.385 and 759.390.
(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the filing of proposed contracts under ORS 759.385 and 759.390 shall constitute a telecommunications utility�s...
759.394 [1991 c.899 §4; repealed by 1999 c.809 §5]
759.395 [1987 c.447 §45; repealed by 1991 c.315 §1]
759.400 Definitions.
As used in ORS 759.400 to 759.455: (1) �Basic telephone service� means local exchange telecommunications service defined as basic by rule of the Public Utility...
759.405 Election of regulation under ORS 759.405 and 759.410; conditions; Telecommunications Infrastructure Account; remedy for failure of utility to comply with conditions.
(1) A telecommunications carrier may elect to be subject to this section and ORS 759.410. The telecommunications carrier shall notify, in writing, the Public Utility...
759.410 Intent of ORS 759.410; establishing maximum and minimum price for telecommunications services; packaging services; notice of price change, new service; enforcement.
(1) It is the intent of the Legislative Assembly that: (a) The State of Oregon cease regulation of telecommunications carriers on a rate of return...
759.415 Order in rate proceeding filed prior to January 1, 1999, to establish maximum rate for affected telecommunications services; dismissal of rate proceeding filed after January 1, 1999.
(1) In a rate proceeding brought by a telecommunications carrier that elects to be subject to ORS 759.405 and 759.410, or by the Public Utility...
759.420 Application of ORS 759.400 to 759.455 to wholesale transactions regulated under federal law.
Nothing in ORS 759.400 to 759.455 is intended to affect, alter or in any way modify wholesale transactions regulated by the federal Telecommunications Act of...
759.425 Universal service fund; commission to establish price for basic telephone service; universal service surcharge; application to cellular services.
(1) The Public Utility Commission shall establish and implement a competitively neutral and nondiscriminatory universal service fund to ensure basic telephone service is available at...
759.430 Approval of projects funded by carrier�s Telecommunications Infrastructure Account; Connecting Oregon Communities Advisory Board.
(1)(a) Notwithstanding ORS 285A.075 (2), the Oregon Economic and Community Development Commission shall approve plans and plan modifications for projects funded by a telecommunications carrier�s...
759.435 Assessment of telecommunications infrastructure and community needs; contents; report.
(1) The Economic and Community Development Department, in collaboration with affected telecommunications carriers, the Connecting Oregon Communities Advisory Board, representatives of local communities and other...
759.440 Additional funding for evaluating project plans.
The Economic and Community Development Department may request approval from the Emergency Board for the transfer of additional funds from a telecommunications carrier�s Telecommunications Infrastructure...
759.445 Connecting Oregon Communities Fund; School Technology Account; Public Access Account.
(1) There is established in the State Treasury, separate and distinct from the General Fund, the Connecting Oregon Communities Fund. Moneys in the fund shall...
759.450 Minimum service quality standards; rules; customer impact indices; factors; wholesale services; improvement plan; penalties; exceptions.
(1) It is the intent of the Legislative Assembly that every telecommunications carrier and those telecommunications utilities and competitive telecommunications providers that provide wholesale services...
759.455 Prohibited acts; commission action on allegation of violation; penalties; judicial review.
(1) Unless exempt from compliance under section 251(f) of the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 (47 U.S.C. 251(f)), a telecommunications utility shall not: (a) Discriminate...
759.500 Definitions for ORS 759.500 to 759.570.
As used in ORS 759.500 to 759.570, unless the context requires otherwise: (1) �Allocated territory� means a geographic area for which the Public Utility Commission...
759.505 [1987 c.447 §54; repealed by 2005 c.232 §32]
759.506 Purpose of allocated territory laws.
(1) The purpose of establishing allocated territories under ORS 759.500 to 759.570 is to ensure that telecommunications utilities, cooperative corporations and municipalities certified by the...
759.510 [1987 c.447 §55; repealed by 2005 c.232 §32]
759.515 [1987 c.447 §56; repealed by 2005 c.232 §32]
759.520 [1987 c.447 §57; repealed by 2005 c.232 §32]
759.525 [1987 c.447 §58; 2005 c.22 §509; repealed by 2005 c.232 §32]
759.530 [1987 c.447 §59; repealed by 2005 c.232 §32]
759.535 Application to serve unserved territory; hearing; notice.
(1) A telecommunications utility, cooperative corporation or municipality that desires to provide local exchange telecommunications service in a territory that is not served by another...
759.540 [1987 c.447 §61; repealed by 2005 c.232 §32]
759.545 [1987 c.447 §62; repealed by 2005 c.232 §32]
759.550 [1987 c.447 §63; repealed by 2005 c.232 §32]
759.555 [1987 c.447 §64; repealed by 2005 c.232 §32]
759.560 Assignment or transfer of allocated territory.
(1) The rights acquired by an allocation of territory may only be assigned or transferred with the approval of the Public Utility Commission after a...
759.565 Injunction against unauthorized provision of service.
In the event an allocated territory is served by a person that is not authorized by the Public Utility Commission to provide local exchange telecommunications...
759.570 Application of law to local government.
(1) ORS 759.500 to 759.570 may not be construed or applied to restrict the powers granted to cities to issue franchises or to restrict the...
759.575 [1987 c.447 §68; repealed by 1993 c.204 §5]
759.580 Power of commission to require service to unserved territory.
The Public Utility Commission has power to require any telecommunications utility, after a public hearing of all parties interested, to extend its line, plant or...
759.585 Definitions for ORS 759.585 to 759.595.
As used in ORS 759.585 to 759.595, �unserved person� means a person: (1) Who does not have local exchange telecommunications service; (2) Who is applying...
759.590 Application for service by unserved person; rules.
(1) An unserved person may file an application with the Public Utility Commission for an order directing another telecommunications utility to provide local exchange service...
759.595 Criteria for granting application for service; effect on other territorial allocation.
(1) The Public Utility Commission shall grant an application filed under ORS 759.590 if the commission finds that: (a) The telecommunications utility in whose territory...
759.600 [1989 c.574 §5; repealed by 1991 c.307 §4]
759.650 Definitions for ORS 759.650 to 759.675.
As used in ORS 759.650 to 759.675, unless the context requires otherwise: (1) �Attachment� means any wire or cable for the transmission of intelligence by...
759.655 Authority of commission to regulate attachments.
The Public Utility Commission of Oregon shall have the authority to regulate in the public interest the rates, terms and conditions for attachments by licensees...
759.660 Fixing charges or rates; criteria; costs of hearing.
(1) Whenever the Public Utility Commission of Oregon finds, after hearing had upon complaint by a licensee or people�s utility district or a telecommunications utility...
759.665 Considerations in determining just and reasonable rate.
A just and reasonable rate shall assure the telecommunications utility or people�s utility district the recovery from the licensee of not less than all the...
759.670 Presumption of reasonableness of rates set by agreement.
Agreements regarding rates, terms and conditions of attachments shall be deemed to be just, fair and reasonable unless the Public Utility Commission finds upon complaint...
759.675 Regulatory procedure.
The procedures of the Public Utility Commission for petition, regulation and enforcement relative to attachments, including any rights of appeal from any decision thereof, shall...
759.690 Operator service provider duties to service users; rules.
(1) As used in this section: (a) �Call aggregator� means a person who furnishes a telephone for use by the public, including but not limited...
759.700 Definitions for ORS 759.700 to 759.720.
As used in ORS 759.700 to 759.720: (1) �Information provider� means any person, company or corporation that operates an information delivery service on a pay-per-call...
759.705 Program message preamble; information to be included.
(1) An information provider that does business in this state shall include a preamble in its program messages. (2) The preamble must: (a) Describe the...
759.710 Pay-per-call information; disclosure.
(1) An information provider that advertises pay-per-call services that are broadcast by radio or television, contained in home videos or that appear on movie screens...
759.715 Information service blocking; suspension or termination of telephone service for nonpayment of information service charges.
(1) Local exchange carriers shall make information delivery service blocking available to all customers as soon as such a system becomes technically available to local...
759.720 Action against information provider for failure to comply with law; remedies; customer liability for charges.
(1) Any customer, telecommunications utility or local exchange carrier who suffers damages from a violation of ORS 646.608, 646.639 and 759.700 to 759.720 by an...
759.730 Unauthorized changes in telecommunications carriers (�slamming�); rules.
(1) The Public Utility Commission may by rule assume primary responsibility for resolving consumer complaints relating to changes in a consumer�s telecommunications carrier, as defined...
759.900 Liability of utility; effect on other remedies; liability for personal injury or property damage.
(1) Any telecommunications utility which does, or causes or permits to be done, any matter, act or thing prohibited by this chapter or ORS chapter...
759.990 Penalties.
(1) Any telecommunications utility violating ORS 759.260 commits a Class A violation, and upon conviction the court shall impose a fine of not less than...

Last modified: August 7, 2008