STATES
UTAH -- Bill repealing merger of agencies goes to Gov. Leavitt
LA. -- PSC to seek reconsideration of allowing AT&T to sue commissioners

TEXAS -- PUC to enroll Lifeline customers automatically
WIS. -- Bill would bar passing on costs of city-owned cable TV to
nonsubscribers
MASSACHUSETTS -- WorldCom joins AT&T call for Verizon to cut UNE rates
TEXAS -- SW Bell performance measurement penalties total almost $2.6
million
NEW YORK -- Meeting set to organize opposition against Verizon DSL
WASHINGTON -- Bill would extend ban on mandatory local measured service
IOWA -- Legislator takes aim at telemarketers
MISSOURI -- PSC approves asset transfer from SWBT to SBC Services
OHIO -- PUC sets schedule for considering unresolved OSS issues

FUTURE OF REGULATION
UTAH
Bill repealing merger of agencies goes to Gov. Leavitt

The Legislature has approved HB 184 to repeal a controversial measure
(HB 320) approved by the Utah Legislature last year to fold the
Committee of Consumer Services into the Division of Public Utilities.
(1/24/00 a.m.)  HB 184 passed through both chambers within two days.
Absent repeal, HB 320, which wasn't scheduled to take effect until July
1, would combine and rename the entities as the Office of Public
Advocate.

Rep. David Ure (R., District 53), who sponsored HB 320, now is
sponsoring the bill to repeal it.  The legislative staff told TR he
decided the time isn't right to overhaul the structure of the state's
utility regulatory apparatus given current concerns about adequate
supplies of electricity in the West.  Questar Gas Co. had pushed for HB
320 last year.

The DPU is charged with representing the public interest before the
Public Service Commission and ensuring that all utility customers have
access to safe and reliable service at reasonable prices.  The Committee
of Consumer Services represents residential, small commercial, and
agricultural consumers before the commission.

Because HB 320 would combine the two missions into a single entity,
interest groups were concerned the bill would decrease the amount of
information available to the PSC when making decisions.

Consumer group opposition to HB 320 during the 2000 legislative session
persuaded Gov. Michael O. Leavitt (R.) to call for a review of the law
after the session concluded in March.  Leavitt allowed the bill to
become law without signing it.

SECTION 251/252
LOUISIANA
PSC to seek reconsideration of allowing AT&T to sue commissioners

The Public Service Commission has decided to ask the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (New Orleans) to reconsider its Jan. 16
ruling that the 11th Amendment doesn't protect the PSC from a lawsuit
filed by AT&T Corp, a commission staff member told TR.  (1/18/01 p.m.)
The PSC has 45 days from Jan. 16 to file for rehearing, the staff member
said.

In 1997 AT&T filed suit against the PSC over an interconnection
agreement the commission arbitrated between AT&T and BellSouth
Telecommunications, Inc.  AT&T alleged that the agreement favored
BellSouth and that the PSC's arbitration didn't comply with sections 251
and 252 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.  In addition, AT&T
brought a suit against the five commissioners under the Ex parte Young
doctrine, seeking relief from any arbitration determination that didn't
comply with sections 251 and 252 of the Act.

Reversing the district court's ruling against AT&T, the appeals court
maintained that the PSC waived its 11th Amendment sovereign immunity by
voluntarily accepting and fulfilling its assigned role in the federal
regulation of local competition under the federal Telecommunications Act
of 1996.  Furthermore, the appeals court ruled that AT&T's suit against
the individual commissioners could proceed even if the PSC were
protected under the 11th Amendment.  (Case no. 99-30421, AT&T
Communications v. BellSouth Telecommunications Inc.; Louisiana Public
Service Commission; Don Owen; Irma Muse Dixon; Dale Sittig; James M.
Field; Jack A. Blossman)

UNIVERSAL SERVICE
TEXAS
PUC to enroll Lifeline customers automatically

The Public Utility Commission yesterday approved rules allowing eligible
customers to be enrolled in the Lifeline program automatically.
(8/21/00 a.m.)  The rules require the PUC to work with local telephone
companies and the Department of Human Services to set up the Lifeline
Automatic Enrollment Program.

The department will identify customers who are eligible for the program
and provide their names to the local telephone companies.  The program
is scheduled to begin March 1.  (Project no. 21329)

VIDEO
WISCONSIN
Bill would bar passing on costs of city-owned cable TV to nonsubscribers

A bill introduced in the Senate would prohibit a municipality that owns
and operates a cable TV system from passing on the cost of the system to
nonsubscribers.  The prohibition wouldn't apply to a municipality that
began operating a cable TV system before the legislation's effective
date.

A municipality that began operating a cable TV system on or after the
legislation's effective date would be allowed to pass on to
nonsubscribers only the costs of public, educational, and governmental
access channels and the costs of debt service on public improvement
bonds for the construction, renovation, or expansion of the
municipality's cable TV system.

A municipality that owns and operates a cable TV system would have to
maintain records that include (1) the cost of franchise fees, pole
rentals, and all other expenses that the municipality would incur if it
were a nonmunicipal cable TV operator that had been granted a franchise
and (2) the amount, source, and cost of working capital used for the
municipality's cable TV system.

SB 23 has been referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Utilities,
Veterans, and Military Affairs.  Sen. Rodney Moen (D., District 31)
introduced it.

SECTION 251/252
MASSACHUSETTS
WorldCom joins AT&T call for Verizon to cut UNE rates

WorldCom, Inc., has asked the Department of Telecommunications and
Energy to force Verizon New England, Inc., to reduce its unbundled
network element (UNE) rates to "levels that reflect forward-looking
economic costs."  The WorldCom request came in a letter supporting AT&T
Corp.'s petition for lower Verizon UNE rates.

AT&T's petition had urged the DTE to withdraw its support for Verizon's
application to the FCC for authority to enter the interLATA (local
access and transport area) market in Massachusetts unless Verizon
reduced its rates.  WorldCom and AT&T assert that neither the rates
Verizon submitted in July nor the revised rates it submitted in October
are low enough to "allow economically viable competition via the
UNE-platform."  (1/3/00 a.m.)

WorldCom said the "most efficient and straightforward approach" to
promoting local competition is "to order that specific reduced rates be
put in place and to make clear that those rates will act as a ceiling in
pending and future rate cases."  (DTE 01-20)

LONG DISTANCE
TEXAS
SW Bell performance measurement penalties total almost $2.6 million

Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. has paid almost $2.6 million to the
Public Utility Commission for failing to meet performance measurements
established in its compliance monitoring proceeding from January 2000
through November 2000, the PUC staff told TR.  The proceeding aims to
ensure SW Bell's compliance with the market entry requirements of
section 271 of the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996.

In June 2000 the FCC granted SW Bell authority to enter the Texas
interLATA service market.  (Project nos. 20000, 20400, and 21000)

ADVANCED SERVICES
NEW YORK
Meeting set to organize opposition against Verizon DSL

Silicon Alley Station and the New Networks Institute are sponsoring a
Feb. 5 meeting in Manhattan to discuss the "slow" rollout of digital
subscriber line (DSL) service in New York.  The groups said
"overwhelming anecdotal evidence" shows DSL service delivery has "lagged
well behind" demand.

The organizers blame Verizon New York, Inc., saying the company has been
"less than cooperative" in providing network access to competitive DSL
companies.  They claim Verizon has "frequently missed install
appointments, erroneously disqualified locations, and inadvertently
disabled working circuits."

The groups hope to attract consumer advocates, competitive DSL
providers, public officials, and concerned customers to the meeting,
where they will present a Broadband Bill of Rights and propose a
complaint resolution process.

Silicon Alley Station is an Internet radio network,
http://siliconalley.net, and the New Networks Institute is a broadband
research and consulting firm.  More information about the Feb. 5 meeting
is available at http://www.newnetworks.com.

CUSTOMER-AFFECTING
WASHINGTON
Bill would extend ban on mandatory local measured service

Rep. Aaron Reardon (D., District 38) has introduced HB 1287 to extend
the deadline for ending the ban against mandatory local measured service
from June 1, 2001, until June 1, 2005.  When companies offer measured
service plans, customers often are charged on the number of calls, the
time of day, the distance traveled, and the length of the call.  In
extending the ban against mandatory local measured service, HB 1287
ensures that customers are given a flat-rate option for their local
telephone service.

HB 1287 awaits consideration by the House Technology,
Telecommunications, and Energy Committee.

CUSTOMER-AFFECTING
IOWA
Legislator takes aim at telemarketers

Rep. Mark Smith (D., District 64) has introduced HF 78 to create a
no-call list for telephone subscribers who don't want to receive calls
from telemarketers.  The Department of Justice would be responsible for
administering the list.

Telephone subscribers would have to pay $10 to be placed on the list and
$5 each year to renew their listings.  Telephone solicitors would be
charged a $50 fee to access the list.  The Department of Justice would
have to adopt rules for administering the list.

Telemarketers making unsolicited telephone calls would have to identify
themselves immediately after making contact with a telephone subscriber.

HF 78 has been referred to the House Commerce and Regulation Committee.



AFFILIATE
MISSOURI
PSC approves asset transfer from SWBT to SBC Services

The Public Service Commission has granted Southwestern Bell Telephone
Co.'s request for authority to transfer some of its support assets to
SBC Services, Inc.  Both companies are wholly owned subsidiaries of SBC
Communications, Inc.  SBC Services intends to use the assets to offer
services to other SBC Communications subsidiaries, including SW Bell.

The order is available at
http://www.psc.state.mo.us/orders/01231368.htm.

LONG DISTANCE
OHIO
PUC sets schedule for considering unresolved OSS issues

The Public Utilities Commission has requested briefs and written
testimony by Feb. 1 on the remaining unresolved issues from
collaborative discussions on Ameritech-Ohio's operation support system.
Replies are due Feb. 22.

The remaining disputed issues include whether (1) the performance
measures should be applicable to special access services, (2)
Ameritech's billing system will support all unbundled network elements,
(3) Ameritech will expand its hours of availability, and (4) Ameritech
should be able to impose charges under its facilities modification
policy.  (Case no. 00-942-TP-COI - In the Matter of the Investigation
Into Ameritech-Ohio's Entry Into In-Region InterLATA Service Under
Section 271 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996)

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