Florida Senate - 2022 SB 7036
By the Committee on Regulated Industries
580-02101-22 20227036__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to Lifeline telecommunications
3 service; amending s. 364.10, F.S.; requiring a
4 Lifeline service subscriber to present proof of
5 continued eligibility to certain entities upon
6 request; deleting provisions authorizing certain local
7 exchange telecommunications companies and commercial
8 mobile radio service providers to provide Lifeline
9 service to customers who meet certain income
10 requirements; revising the entities required to
11 cooperate in the development of procedures for
12 promoting the Lifeline service; authorizing certain
13 participant information to be exchanged with the
14 Federal Communications Commission or its designee;
15 revising requirements for state agencies to coordinate
16 with the commission or its designee and verify
17 participant eligibility in Lifeline qualifying
18 programs; deleting provisions requiring certain
19 entities to form a Lifeline Workgroup for sharing
20 subscriber information; amending s. 364.107, F.S.;
21 authorizing the release of certain confidential and
22 exempt Lifeline Assistance Plan participant
23 information to the commission or its designee for
24 specified purposes; providing an effective date.
25
26 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
27
28 Section 1. Paragraphs (e) and (f) of subsection (1) and
29 subsection (2) of section 364.10, Florida Statutes, are amended
30 to read:
31 364.10 Lifeline service.—
32 (1)
33 (e)1. An eligible telecommunications carrier must notify a
34 Lifeline subscriber of impending termination of Lifeline service
35 if the company has a reasonable basis for believing that the
36 subscriber no longer qualifies for the service. Notification of
37 pending termination must be in the form of a letter that is
38 separate from the subscriber’s bill.
39 2. An eligible telecommunications carrier shall allow a
40 subscriber 60 days following the date of the pending termination
41 letter to demonstrate continued eligibility. The subscriber must
42 present proof of continued eligibility upon request of the
43 eligible telecommunications carrier, or the Federal
44 Communications Commission or its designee. An eligible
45 telecommunications carrier may transfer a subscriber off of
46 Lifeline service, pursuant to its tariff, if the subscriber
47 fails to demonstrate continued eligibility.
48 3. The commission shall establish procedures for such
49 notification and termination.
50 (f) An eligible telecommunications carrier shall timely
51 credit a consumer’s bill with the Lifeline Assistance credit as
52 soon as practicable, but no later than 60 days following receipt
53 of notice of eligibility from the Office of Public Counsel or
54 proof of eligibility from the consumer.
55 (2)(a) Each local exchange telecommunications company that
56 has more than 1 million access lines and that is designated as
57 an eligible telecommunications carrier shall, and any commercial
58 mobile radio service provider designated as an eligible
59 telecommunications carrier pursuant to 47 U.S.C. s. 214(e) may,
60 upon filing a notice of election to do so with the commission,
61 provide Lifeline service to any otherwise eligible customer or
62 potential customer who meets an income eligibility test at 150
63 percent or less of the federal poverty income guidelines for
64 Lifeline customers. Such a test for eligibility must augment,
65 rather than replace, the eligibility standards established by
66 federal law and based on participation in certain low-income
67 assistance programs. Each intrastate interexchange
68 telecommunications company shall file or publish a schedule
69 providing at a minimum the intrastate interexchange
70 telecommunications company’s current Lifeline benefits and
71 exemptions to Lifeline customers who meet the income eligibility
72 test set forth in this subsection. The Office of Public Counsel
73 shall certify and maintain claims submitted by a customer for
74 eligibility under the income test authorized by this subsection.
75 (b) Each eligible telecommunications carrier subject to
76 this subsection shall provide to each state and federal agency
77 providing benefits to persons eligible for Lifeline service
78 applications, brochures, pamphlets, or other materials that
79 inform the persons of their eligibility for Lifeline, and each
80 state agency providing the benefits shall furnish the materials
81 to affected persons at the time they apply for benefits.
82 (b)(c) An eligible telecommunications carrier may not
83 discontinue basic local telecommunications service to a
84 subscriber who receives Lifeline service because of nonpayment
85 by the subscriber of charges for nonbasic services billed by the
86 telecommunications company, including long-distance service. A
87 subscriber who receives Lifeline service shall pay all
88 applicable basic local telecommunications service fees,
89 including the subscriber line charge, E-911, telephone relay
90 system charges, and applicable state and federal taxes.
91 (c)(d) An eligible telecommunications carrier may not
92 refuse to connect, reconnect, or provide Lifeline service
93 because of unpaid toll charges or nonbasic charges other than
94 basic local telecommunications service.
95 (d)(e) An eligible telecommunications carrier may require
96 that payment arrangements be made for outstanding debt
97 associated with basic local telecommunications service,
98 subscriber line charges, E-911, telephone relay system charges,
99 and applicable state and federal taxes.
100 (e)(f) An eligible telecommunications carrier may block a
101 Lifeline service subscriber’s access to all long-distance
102 service, except for toll-free numbers, and may block the ability
103 to accept collect calls if when the subscriber owes an
104 outstanding amount for long-distance service or amounts
105 resulting from collect calls. However, the eligible
106 telecommunications carrier may not impose a charge for blocking
107 long-distance service. The eligible telecommunications carrier
108 shall remove the block at the request of the subscriber without
109 additional cost to the subscriber upon payment of the
110 outstanding amount. An eligible telecommunications carrier may
111 charge a service deposit before removing the block.
112 (f)1.(g)1. Each state agency that provides benefits to
113 persons eligible for Lifeline service shall undertake, in
114 cooperation with the Department of Children and Families, the
115 Department of Education, the commission, the Office of Public
116 Counsel, and telecommunications companies designated eligible
117 telecommunications carriers providing Lifeline services, the
118 development of procedures to promote Lifeline participation. The
119 department and departments, the commission, and the Office of
120 Public Counsel may exchange sufficient information with the
121 appropriate eligible telecommunications carriers, or the Federal
122 Communications Commission or its designee and any commercial
123 mobile radio service provider electing to provide Lifeline
124 service under paragraph (a), such as a person’s name, date of
125 birth, service address, and telephone number, so that eligible
126 customers the carriers can be enrolled identify and enroll an
127 eligible person in the Lifeline and Link-Up programs. The
128 information remains confidential and exempt pursuant to s.
129 364.107 and may only be used for purposes of determining
130 eligibility and enrollment in the Lifeline and Link-Up programs.
131 2. If any state agency determines that a person is eligible
132 for a Lifeline qualifying program services, the agency must
133 coordinate with the Federal Communications Commission or its
134 designee to verify eligibility for the Lifeline service shall
135 immediately forward the information to the commission to ensure
136 that the person is automatically enrolled in the program with
137 the appropriate eligible telecommunications carrier. The state
138 agency shall include an option for an eligible customer to
139 choose not to subscribe to the Lifeline service. The Public
140 Service Commission and the Department of Children and Families
141 shall adopt rules creating procedures to automatically enroll
142 eligible customers in Lifeline service.
143 3. The commission, the Department of Children and Families,
144 the Office of Public Counsel, and each eligible
145 telecommunications carrier offering Lifeline and Link-Up
146 services shall convene a Lifeline Workgroup to discuss how the
147 eligible subscriber information in subparagraph 1. will be
148 shared, the obligations of each party with respect to the use of
149 that information, and the procedures to be implemented to
150 increase enrollment and verify eligibility in these programs.
151 (g)(h) The commission shall report to the Governor, the
152 President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
153 Representatives by December 31 of each year on the number of
154 customers who are subscribing to Lifeline service and the
155 effectiveness of any procedures to promote participation.
156 (h)(i) The commission may undertake appropriate measures to
157 inform low-income consumers of the availability of the Lifeline
158 and Link-Up programs.
159 (i)(j) The commission shall adopt rules to administer this
160 section.
161 Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 364.107, Florida
162 Statutes, is amended to read:
163 364.107 Public records exemption; Lifeline Assistance Plan
164 participants.—
165 (2) Information made confidential and exempt under
166 subsection (1) may be released to the applicable
167 telecommunications carrier, or to the Federal Communications
168 Commission or its designee, for purposes directly connected with
169 eligibility for, verification related to, or auditing of a
170 Lifeline Assistance Plan.
171 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022.