96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2009 and 2010
HB2655

 

Introduced 2/20/2009, by Rep. Patrick J Verschoore

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
220 ILCS 5/4-604 new
220 ILCS 5/4-605 new

    Amends the Public Utilities Act. Provides that the Illinois Commerce Commission shall conduct a comprehensive workforce analysis study of each telecommunications carrier with more than 35,000 subscriber lines to determine the adequacy of the total in-house staffing in each job classification or job title critical to maintaining quality and reliability and restoring service in each telecommunications carrier's service territory. Provides that each report shall contain specified information for the period beginning in 1995 and ending in 2007. Provides that the Commission must present the results of the study to the General Assembly no later than January 1, 2010. Provides that a telecommunications carrier shall bear the costs of issuing any required reports and it shall not be entitled to recovery of any costs incurred in complying with specified provisions. Provides that the Commission shall develop benchmarks for employee staffing levels for each classification and employee training for each classification within 12 months after the required report is due. Effective immediately.


LRB096 10275 MJR 20443 b

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB2655 LRB096 10275 MJR 20443 b

1     AN ACT concerning utilities.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by adding
5 Sections 4-604 and 4-605 as follows:
 
6     (220 ILCS 5/4-604 new)
7     Sec. 4-604. Telecommunications carrier workforce and
8 high-speed internet study.
9     (a) The Commission shall conduct a comprehensive workforce
10 analysis study of each telecommunications carrier with more
11 than 35,000 subscriber lines to determine the adequacy of the
12 total in-house staffing in each job classification or job title
13 critical to maintaining quality and reliability and restoring
14 service in the telecommunications carrier's service territory.
15 Each report shall contain a yearly detailed comparison
16 beginning with 1995 and ending in 2007 of the telecommunication
17 carrier's ratio of:
18         (1) in-house workers (commonly referred to as "cable
19     splicers", "business technicians", "customer technicians",
20     "facility technicians", "cable technicians", "equipment
21     technicians", "equipment installers", or "switching
22     technicians") to customers;
23         (2) customer service call-center employees to

 

 

HB2655 - 2 - LRB096 10275 MJR 20443 b

1     customers; and
2         (3) customer engineering employees to customers.
3     The staffing shall be reported for each telecommunications
4 carrier's named service area, district, division, outlying
5 area, village, municipality, reporting point, region, or
6 exchange. The analysis shall determine the total number of
7 contractor employees in the same manner as the in-house
8 analysis. Each yearly report shall contain the total amount of
9 overtime worked in each geographic area or exchange by each
10 classification for the corresponding year.
11     Each yearly report shall contain the total number of
12 customers in each exchange of each telecommunications carrier
13 that have high-speed internet service offered to them.
14     (b) The Commission must present the results of the study to
15 the General Assembly no later than January 1, 2010.
16     (c) A telecommunications carrier shall bear the costs of
17 issuing any reports required by this Section and it shall not
18 be entitled to recovery of any costs incurred in complying with
19 this Section.
 
20     (220 ILCS 5/4-605 new)
21     Sec. 4-605. Adequate employment for in-house
22 telecommunications carrier employees. The Commission shall
23 develop benchmarks for employee staffing levels for each
24 classification and employee training for each classification
25 within 12 months after the report required by Section 4-604 of

 

 

HB2655 - 3 - LRB096 10275 MJR 20443 b

1 this Act is due.
 
2     Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
3 becoming law.