Public Act 100-0719
 
SB2908 EnrolledLRB100 19089 SMS 34346 b


  
    AN ACT concerning regulation.
  
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:
  
 
 
    Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended  by changing 
Section 13-406.1 as follows:
 
    (220 ILCS 5/13-406.1)
    (Section scheduled to be repealed on December 31, 2020)
    Sec. 13-406.1. Large Electing Provider transition to 
IP-based networks and service.
    (a)   As used in this Section:
    "Alternative voice service" means service that includes 
all of the applicable functionalities for voice telephony 
services described in 47 CFR 54.101(a).
    "Existing customer" means a residential customer of the 
Large Electing Provider who is subscribing to a 
telecommunications service on the date the Large Electing 
Provider sends its notice under paragraph (1) of subsection (c) 
of this Section of its intent to cease offering and providing 
service. For purposes of this Section, a residential customer 
of the Large Electing Provider whose service has been 
temporarily suspended, but not finally terminated as of the 
date that the Large Electing Provider sends that notice, shall 
be deemed to be an "existing customer".
    "Large Electing Provider" means an Electing Provider, as 
defined in Section 13-506.2 of this Act, that (i) reported in 
its annual competition report for the year 2016 filed with the 
Commission under Section 13-407 of this Act and 83 Ill. Adm. 
Code 793 that it provided at least 700,000 access lines to end 
users; and (ii) is affiliated with a provider of commercial 
mobile radio service, as defined in 47 CFR 20.3, as of January 
1, 2017.
    "New customer" means a residential customer who is not 
subscribing to a telecommunications service provided by the 
Large Electing Provider on the date the Large Electing Provider 
sends its notice under paragraph (1) of subsection (c) of this 
Section of its intent to cease offering and providing that 
service.
    "Provider" includes every corporation, company, 
association, firm, partnership, and individual and their 
lessees, trustees, or receivers appointed by a court that sell 
or offer to sell an alternative voice service.
    "Reliable access to 9-1-1" means access to 9-1-1 that 
complies with the applicable rules, regulations, and 
guidelines established by the Federal Communications 
Commission and the applicable provisions of the Emergency 
Telephone System Act and implementing rules.
    "Willing provider" means a provider that voluntarily 
participates in the request for service process.
    (b)   Beginning June 30, 2017, a Large Electing Provider may, 
to the extent permitted by and consistent with federal law, 
including, as applicable, approval by the Federal 
Communications Commission of the discontinuance of the 
interstate-access component of a telecommunications service, 
cease to offer and provide a telecommunications service to an 
identifiable class or group of customers, other than voice 
telecommunications service to residential customers or a 
telecommunications service to a class of customers under 
subsection (b-5) of this Section, upon 60 days' notice to the 
Commission and affected customers.
    (b-5) Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in this 
Section 13-406.1, beginning December 31, 2021, a Large Electing 
Provider may, to the extent permitted by and consistent with 
federal law, including, if applicable, approval by the Federal 
Communications Commission of the discontinuance of the 
interstate-access component of a telecommunication service, 
cease to offer and provide a telecommunications service to one 
or more of the following classes or groups of customers upon 60 
days' notice to the Commission and affected customers: (1) 
electric utilities, as defined in Section 16-102 of this Act; 
(2) public utilities, as defined in Section 3-105 of this Act, 
that offers natural gas or water services; (3) electric, gas, 
and water utilities that are excluded from the definition of 
public utility under paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of Section 
3-105 of this Act; (4) water companies as described in 
paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of Section 3-105 of this Act; 
(5) natural gas cooperatives as described in paragraph (4) of 
subsection (b) of Section 3-105 of this Act; (6) electric 
cooperatives as defined in Section 3-119 of this Act; (7) 
entities engaged in the commercial generation of electric power 
and energy; (8) the functional divisions of public agencies, as 
defined in Section 2 of the Emergency Telephone System Act, 
that provide police or firefighting services; and (9) 9-1-1 
Authorities, as defined in Section 2 of the Emergency Telephone 
System Act; provided that the date shall be extended to 
December 21, 2022, for (i) an electric utility, as defined in 
Section 16-102 of this Act, that serves more than 3 million 
customers in the State; and (ii) an entity engaged in the 
commercial generation of electric power and energy that 
operates one or more nuclear power plants in the State. 
    (c)   Beginning June 30, 2017, a Large Electing Provider may, 
to the extent permitted by and consistent with federal law, 
cease to offer and provide voice telecommunications service to 
an identifiable class or group of residential customers, which, 
for the purposes of this subsection (c), shall be referred to 
as "requested service", subject to compliance with the 
following requirements:
        (1)   No less than 255 days prior to providing notice to 
    the Federal Communications Commission of its intent to 
    discontinue the interstate-access component of the 
    requested service, the Large Electing Provider shall:
            (A)   file a notice of the proposed cessation of the 
        requested service with the Commission, which shall 
        include a statement that the Large Electing Provider 
        will comply with any service discontinuance rules and 
        regulations of the Federal Communications Commission 
        pertaining to compatibility of alternative voice 
        services with medical monitoring devices; and
            (B)   provide notice of the proposed cessation of the 
        requested service to each of the Large Electing 
        Provider's existing customers within the affected 
        geographic area by first-class mail separate from 
        customer bills. If the customer has elected to receive 
        electronic billing, the notice shall be sent 
        electronically and by first-class mail separate from 
        customer bills. The notice provided under this 
        subparagraph (B) shall describe the requested service, 
        identify the earliest date on which the Large Electing 
        Provider intends to cease offering or providing the 
        telecommunications service, provide a telephone number 
        by which the existing customer may contact a service 
        representative of the Large Electing Provider, and 
        provide a telephone number by which the existing 
        customer may contact the Commission's Consumer 
        Services Division. The notice shall also include the 
        following statement in English and in Spanish:
                "If you do not believe that an alternative 
            voice service including reliable access to 9-1-1 
            is available to you, from either [name of Large 
            Electing Provider] or another provider of wired or 
            wireless voice service where you live, you have the 
            right to request the Illinois Commerce Commission 
            to investigate the availability of alternative 
            voice service including reliable access to 9-1-1. 
            To do so, you must submit such a request either in 
            writing or by signing and returning a copy of this 
            notice, no later than (insert date), 60 days after 
            the date of the notice to the following address:
            Chief Clerk of the Illinois Commerce Commission
            527 East Capitol Avenue
            Springfield, Illinois 62706
                You must include in your request a reference to 
            the notice you received from [Large Electing 
            Provider's name] and the date of notice.".
            Thirty days following the date of notice, the Large 
        Electing Provider shall provide each customer to which 
        the notice was sent a follow-up notice containing the 
        same information and reminding customers of the 
        deadline for requesting the Commission to investigate 
        alternative voice service with access to 9-1-1.
        (2) After June 30, 2017, and only in a geographic area 
    for which a Large Electing Provider has provided notice of 
    proposed cessation of the requested service to existing 
    customers under paragraph (1) of this subsection (c), an 
    existing customer of that provider may, within 60 days 
    after issuance of such notice, request the Commission to 
    investigate the availability of alternative voice service 
    including reliable access to 9-1-1 to that customer. For 
    the purposes of this paragraph (2), existing customers who 
    make such a request are referred to as "requesting existing 
    customers". The Large Electing Provider may cease to offer 
    or provide the requested service to existing customers who 
    do not make a request for investigation beginning 30 days 
    after issuance of the notice required by paragraph (5) of 
    this subsection (c).
            (A)   In response to all requests and investigations 
        under this paragraph (2), the Commission shall conduct 
        a single investigation to be commenced 75 days after 
        the receipt of notice under paragraph (1) of this 
        subsection (c), and completed within 135 days after 
        commencement. The Commission shall, within 135 days 
        after commencement of the investigation, make one of 
        the findings described in subdivisions (i) and (ii) of 
        this subparagraph (A) for each requesting existing 
        customer.
                (i) If, as a result of the investigation, the 
            Commission finds that service from at least one 
            provider offering alternative voice service 
            including reliable access to 9-1-1 through any 
            technology or medium is available to one or more 
            requesting existing customers, the Commission 
            shall declare by order that, with respect to each 
            requesting existing customer for which such a 
            finding is made, the Large Electing Provider may 
            cease to offer or provide the requested service 
            beginning 30 days after the issuance of the notice 
            required by paragraph (5) of this subsection (c).
                (ii) If, as a result of the investigation, the 
            Commission finds that service from at least one 
            provider offering alternative voice service, 
            including reliable access to 9-1-1, through any 
            technology or medium is not available to one or 
            more requesting existing customers, the Commission 
            shall declare by order that an emergency exists 
            with respect to each requesting existing customer 
            for which such  a finding is made.
            (B)   If the Commission declares an emergency under 
        subdivision (ii) of subparagraph (A) of this paragraph 
        (2) with respect to one or more requesting existing 
        customers, the Commission shall conduct a request for 
        service process to identify a willing provider of 
        alternative voice service including reliable access to 
        9-1-1. A provider shall not be required to participate 
        in the request for service process. The willing 
        provider may utilize any form of technology that is 
        capable of providing alternative voice service 
        including reliable access to 9-1-1, including, without 
        limitation, Voice over Internet Protocol services and 
        wireless services. The Commission shall, within 45 
        days after the issuance of an order finding that an 
        emergency exists, make one of the determinations 
        described in subdivisions (i) and (ii) of this 
        subparagraph (B) for each requesting existing customer 
        for which an emergency has been declared.
                (i) If the Commission determines that another 
            provider is willing and capable of providing 
            alternative voice service including reliable 
            access to 9-1-1 to one or more requesting existing 
            customers for which an emergency has been 
            declared, the Commission shall declare by order 
            that, with respect to each requesting existing 
            customer for which such  a determination is made, 
            the Large Electing Provider may cease to offer or 
            provide the requested service beginning 30 days 
            after the issuance of the notice required by 
            paragraph (5) of this Section.
                (ii) If the Commission determines that for one 
            or more of the requesting existing customers for 
            which an emergency has been declared there is no 
            other provider willing and capable of providing 
            alternative voice service including reliable 
            access to 9-1-1, the Commission shall issue an 
            order requiring the Large Electing Provider to 
            provide alternative voice service including 
            reliable access to 9-1-1 to each requesting 
            existing customer utilizing any form of technology 
            capable of providing alternative voice service 
            including reliable access to 9-1-1, including, 
            without limitation, continuation of the requested 
            service, Voice over Internet Protocol services, 
            and wireless services, until another willing 
            provider is available. A Large Electing Provider 
            may fulfill the requirement through an affiliate 
            or another provider. The Large Electing Provider 
            may request that such an order be rescinded upon a 
            showing that an alternative voice service 
            including reliable access to 9-1-1 has become 
            available to the requesting existing customer from 
            another provider.
        (3)   If the Commission receives no requests for 
    investigation from any existing customer under paragraph 
    (2) of this subsection (c) within 60 days after issuance of 
    the notice under paragraph (1) of this subsection (c), the 
    Commission shall provide written notice to the Large 
    Electing Provider of that fact no later than 75 days after 
    receipt of notice under paragraph (1) of this subsection 
    (c). Notwithstanding any provision of this subsection (c) 
    to the contrary, if no existing customer requests an 
    investigation under paragraph (2) of this subsection (c), 
    the Large Electing Provider may immediately provide the 
    notice to the Federal Communications Commission as 
    described in paragraph (4) of this subsection (c).
        (4)   At the same time that it provides notice to the 
    Federal Communications Commission of its intent to 
    discontinue the interstate-access component of the 
    requested service, the Large Electing Provider shall:
            (A) file a notice of proposal to cease to offer and 
        provide the requested service with the Commission; and
            (B) provide a notice of proposal to cease to offer 
        and provide the requested service to existing 
        customers and new customers receiving the service at 
        the time of the notice within each affected geographic 
        area, with the notice made by first-class mail or 
        within customer bills delivered by mail or equivalent 
        means of notice, including electronic means if the 
        customer has elected to receive electronic billing. 
        The notice provided under this subparagraph (B) shall 
        include a brief description of the requested service, 
        the date on which the Large Electing Provider intends 
        to cease offering or providing the telecommunications 
        service, and a statement as required by 47 CFR 63.71 
        that describes the process by which the customer may 
        submit comments to the Federal Communications 
        Commission.
        (5)   Upon approval by the Federal Communications 
    Commission of its request to discontinue the 
    interstate-access component of the requested service and 
    subject to the requirements of any order issued by the 
    Commission under subdivision (ii) of subparagraph (B) of 
    paragraph (2) of this subsection (c), the Large Electing 
    Provider may immediately cease to offer the requested 
    service to all customers not receiving the service on the 
    date of the Federal Communications Commission's approval 
    and may cease to offer and provide the requested service to 
    all customers receiving the service at the time of the 
    Federal Communications Commission's approval upon 30 days' 
    notice to the Commission and affected customers. Notice to 
    affected customers under this paragraph (5) shall be 
    provided by first-class mail separate from customer bills. 
    The notice provided under this paragraph (5) shall describe 
    the requested service, identify the date on which the Large 
    Electing Provider intends to cease offering or providing 
    the telecommunications service, and provide a telephone 
    number by which the existing customer may contact a service 
    representative of the Large Electing Provider.
        (6)   The notices provided for in paragraph (1) of this 
    subsection (c) are not required as a prerequisite for the 
    Large Electing Provider to cease to offer or provide a 
    telecommunications service in a geographic area where 
    there are no residential customers taking service from the 
    Large Electing Provider on the date that the Large Electing 
    Provider files notice to the Federal Communications 
    Commission of its intent to discontinue the 
    interstate-access component of the requested service in 
    that geographic area.
        (7)    For a period of 45 days following the date of a 
    notice issued under paragraph (5) of this Section, an 
    existing customer (i) who is located in the affected 
    geographic area subject to that notice; (ii) who was 
    receiving the requested service as of the date of the 
    Federal Communications Commission's approval of the Large 
    Electing Provider's request to discontinue the 
    interstate-access component of the requested service; 
    (iii) who did not make a timely request for investigation 
    under paragraph (2) of this subsection (c); and (iv) whose 
    service will be or has been discontinued under paragraph 
    (5), may request assistance from the Large Electing 
    Provider in identifying providers of alternative voice 
    service including reliable access to 9-1-1. Within 15 days 
    of the request, the Large Electing Provider shall provide 
    the customer with a list of alternative voice service 
    providers. 
        (8)   Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, 
    except as expressly authorized by this subsection (c), the 
    Commission may not, upon its own motion or upon complaint, 
    investigate, suspend, disapprove, condition, or otherwise 
    regulate the cessation of a telecommunications service to 
    an identifiable class or group of customers once initiated 
    by a Large Electing Provider under subsection (b) or (b-5) 
    of this Section or this subsection (c). 

(Source: P.A. 100-20, eff. 7-1-17.)
 
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law. 
  


Effective Date:  8/3/2018