Oklahoma § 17-139.105 - Credit of End User Common Line Charge for qualifying

§ 17-139.105. Credit of End User Common Line Charge for qualifying

customers - Oklahoma Lifeline Fund - Documentation.

A. Each local exchange telecommunications service provider who

receives funding from the Oklahoma Lifeline Fund shall file tariffs

with the Corporation Commission implementing a program to provide a

full waiver of the End User Common Line Charge on the monthly basic

service rate of qualifying customers. Eligibility criteria for this

program shall comply with the provisions of 47 C.F.R., Section

69.104(k)(1) and shall be limited to customers who:

1. Are eligible for or receive assistance or benefits, as

certified by the Department of Human Services, under programs

providing:

a.

Temporary Assistance to Needy Families,

b.

Food Stamps,

c.

Medical Assistance, or

d.

Supplemental Security Income;

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 17. Corporation Commission

2. Are eligible for or receive assistance or benefits, as

certified by the State Department of Rehabilitation Services, under

programs providing vocational rehabilitation, including, but not

limited to, aid to the deaf or hard-of-hearing; or

3. Are eligible for or receive assistance or benefits, as

certified by the Oklahoma Tax Commission, pursuant to the Sales Tax

Relief Act.

B. There is hereby created within the Corporation Commission

the "Oklahoma Lifeline Fund". The Commission shall administer and

maintain the Oklahoma Lifeline Fund to help ensure that low-income

Oklahomans are provided financial assistance in maintaining basic

local exchange telecommunications service. Proceeds from the

Oklahoma Lifeline Fund shall be distributed to all local exchange

telecommunications service providers who are required to file

lifeline tariffs.

C. The Oklahoma Lifeline Fund charges shall be levied,

collected, and administered pursuant to Section 139.107 of this

title. Telecommunications carriers may, at their option, recover

from their retail customers who are not eligible for lifeline

assistance, on an equitable basis, the amount of the lifeline

charges paid by the carrier. The Oklahoma Lifeline Fund charges

shall not be subject to state or local taxes or franchise fees.

D. An eligible telecommunications carrier may not receive

reimbursements from the Oklahoma Lifeline Fund unless it

demonstrates that its rates have been reduced by an amount equal to

the amount of the Lifeline payments which have been previously

included in the rate structure of the carrier. A carrier shall be

eligible for support from the Oklahoma Lifeline Fund for any amount

which is greater than the amount which has been previously included

in the rate structure of the carrier.

E. After May 16, 2013, an eligible telecommunications carrier

shall not receive reimbursements from the Oklahoma Lifeline Fund

until it provides documentation in the approved format to the

Director of the Public Utility Division of the Corporation

Commission confirming its compliance with federal and state

guidelines and rules and establishes an ongoing process for

providing documentation in the approved format to the Director of

the Public Utility Division of the Corporation Commission

demonstrating that the eligible telecommunications carrier:

1. Is collecting and maintaining reliable records regarding the

verification of initial and continued eligibility for Lifeline

services; and

2. Is in compliance with the Corporation Commission and Federal

Communications Commission rules and regulations for Lifeline

services.

F. In order to satisfy the provisions of paragraph 1 of

subsection E of this section, an eligible telecommunications carrier

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 17. Corporation Commission

shall obtain in writing the following information from the customer

seeking Lifeline service:

1. The customer's name;

2. The last four digits of the customer's social security

number or tribal identification number if the customer does not have

a social security number;

3. The customer's date of birth; and

4. The customer's billing address.

G. Additionally, an eligible telecommunications carrier seeking

reimbursement from the Oklahoma Universal Service Fund for the

provisioning of Lifeline service must obtain a certified statement

in writing from the customer at the time Lifeline services are

initially requested and on an annual basis thereafter that:

1. The customer seeking Lifeline services participates in one

of the programs listed in subsection A of this section;

2. The telephone service location to which the certification

applies is the customer's primary residential service address rather

than a second home or business;

3. If in the future the customer no longer participates in or

qualifies for at least one of the programs listed in subsection A of

this section, the customer will notify the eligible

telecommunications carrier within thirty (30) days;

4. The telephone service which is being requested is listed in

the customer's legal name;

5. The customer is eighteen (18) years of age or older and is

not claimed as a dependent on another person's tax return; and

6. The customer's residence will only receive one Lifeline

service benefit and, to the best of the customer's knowledge, is not

already receiving Lifeline service.

H. If the customer seeking Lifeline service does not have a

primary residential address, the eligible telecommunications carrier

seeking reimbursement from the Oklahoma Universal Service Fund for

the provision of Lifeline service must obtain a certified statement

in writing from the customer that the address provided is temporary

and that the customer will recertify his or her temporary address

every ninety (90) days.

I. In order to obtain reimbursement from the Oklahoma Universal

Service Fund, the eligible telecommunications carrier must also

obtain a certified statement in writing from the customer, at the

time Lifeline services are initially requested and on an annual

basis thereafter, that the customer has read, understands and

acknowledges the following:

1. The eligible telecommunications carrier or its duly

appointed representative has authorization to access any records

required to verify the statements made by the customer in order to

confirm continued participation in any of the programs listed in

subsection A of this section, and authorizes representatives of

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 17. Corporation Commission

those programs to discuss with and/or provide copies to the eligible

telecommunications carrier or its duly appointed representative to

verify the customer's eligibility for and participation in any of

the programs listed in subsection A of this section; and

2. The eligible telecommunications carrier is authorized to

transmit to any governmental entity or its designee handling a

Lifeline accountability database the customer's full name, full

residential address, date of birth, and the last four digits of the

customer's social security number or tribal identification number if

the customer does not have a social security number, the telephone

number associated with the Lifeline service provided, the date on

which Lifeline service will or has begun, the date on which the

Lifeline service ends, the amount of support sought by the company

and the means through which one qualifies for program benefits. The

customer must also acknowledge that transmission of this information

is required to ensure the proper administration of the Lifeline

program and that if the customer refuses to have this information

transmitted to the administrator, he or she will be denied Lifeline

service; and

3. The eligible telecommunications carrier seeking

reimbursement from the Oklahoma Universal Service Fund for the

provisioning of Lifeline services shall also note on the certified

written statement obtained from the customer the name of the

employee or representative who verified the customer's eligibility

for Lifeline service and the type of documentation reviewed.

I. The Corporation Commission is authorized to promulgate rules

necessary to implement the provisions of this section, including the

establishment of fines of up to Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00)

per day per violation. A telecommunications carrier may be fined by

the Corporation Commission for marketing practices determined by an

administrative law judge to be in violation of the Corporation

Commission's rules and noncompliance with other provisions of the

Oklahoma Lifeline Fund program rules, as the Corporation Commission

may deem proper after notice and opportunity for hearing.

J. The amount reimbursed from the Oklahoma Lifeline Fund for

the provision of Lifeline service shall not exceed two cents ($0.02)

per month per Lifeline subscriber.

Added by Laws 1997, c. 408, § 5, eff. July 1, 1997. Amended by Laws

1998, c. 246, § 10, eff. Nov. 1, 1998; Laws 2013, c. 304, § 1,

emerg. eff. May 16, 2013; Laws 2014, c. 94, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2014.