Legislature(2013 - 2014)BARNES 124
04/06/2013 03:15 PM House LABOR & COMMERCE
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB196 | |
| HB169 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 196 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 169 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HB 169-RCA REGULATION OF TELEPHONE DIRECTORIES
4:09:39 PM
CHAIR OLSON announced that the final order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 169, "An Act relating to the authority of the
Regulatory Commission of Alaska to regulate the production and
distribution of telephone directories."
4:09:47 PM
ANNA LATHAM, Staff, Representative Kurt Olson, Alaska State
Legislature, stated HB 169 would eliminate the requirement for
regulation and production of telephone directories by the
Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA). Currently, the Alaska
Administrative Code (AAC) requires the RCA oversight on the
production and distribution of white page directories. She
specified that this bill only applies to the white pages and not
to the yellow page directories. With the widespread use of cell
phones, people now create their own directories with address
books on their phones and other mobile devices and no longer
rely on white page directories. According to a 2008 Gallup
survey, only 11 percent of households across the U.S. rely on
white page directories. These directories are increasingly
incomplete since they are cyclical, distributed only once per
year, and do not include mobile listings.
MS. LATHAM said according to the National Center for Health
Statistics, in 2009, one of every four households did not have a
land line and relied completely on cell service. She explained
that many customers with land lines request their numbers be
unlisted, and therefore, the phone numbers are unpublished;
sometimes [the amount of unpublished numbers] reaches 40
percent. Consumers have expressed strong opinions about
receiving printed directories and often return them. Many
consumers express concern over environmental implications of
distributing paper directories, which are immediately recycled.
Finally, many places throughout the state do not offer recycling
and these directories go directly to landfills. In an effort to
modernize Alaska's regulatory requirements, HB 169 would allow
telecommunication providers to directly meet the wants and needs
of their customers.
4:12:05 PM
REPRESENTATIVE RENIBLD moved to adopt the proposed committee
substitute (CS) for HB 169, labeled 28-LS0593\U, Nauman, 4/5/13,
as the working document.
[CHAIR OLSON treated it as though he had objected for the
purpose of discussion.]
MS. LATHAM explained that the proposed committee substitute,
Version U, eliminates [subsection c] and thus deletes the
definition for "competitive local exchange market". The
rationale was to streamline the legislation and eliminate the
possibility of phone wars.
4:13:00 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER said he uses the white pages. He asked
if the RCA requires a telephone service provider to issue white
pages.
MS. LATHAM answered that all telecommunications providers within
the state are required to distribute and produce telephone
directories. In further response, she agreed this bill would
make it optional.
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked whether any white page directories
will be distributed once it becomes optional.
MS. LATHAM recalled 16 states plus the District of Columbia have
adopted similar legislation, but all have optional programs.
Each state offers options to address the lack of a directory.
She recalled Ohio has a call center and California requires
every phone bill must include the phone number for customers to
request a phone directory.
CHAIR OLSON removed his objection. There being no further
objection, Version U was before the committee.
4:14:29 PM
LEONARD STEINBERG, Senior Vice President, Legal Regulatory &
Government Affairs, Alaska Communications, stated that he would
like to testify in support of HB 169, which he said will correct
an ambiguity in the law. The Alaska Public Utility Act, AS
42.05, specifically describes the boundaries of RCA's authority.
With respect to telecommunications, the statute precisely
defines the technical characteristics of the services to be
regulated. He said the RCA's jurisdiction does not extend to
the production and distribution of telephone books, yet for
years local exchange telephone companies have been required by
the RCA to produce printed copies of white page telephone
directories. This bill would provide needed clarification by
removing this issue from the RCA's purview. Telephone books
lack the usefulness they once had and are largely unwanted by
customers. In fact, telephone directories do not include
wireless numbers, or those used by Skype, Face Time or other
voice-over-Internet providers. Numerous land line customers
have requested their numbers be unlisted and as more customers
use personal, digital, and Internet-based directories, customers
have become increasingly upset about receiving unwanted
telephone directories. The RCA recently granted partial and
temporary relief from the mandatory regulations, allowing an
opt-in for subscribers to request continued deliveries of white
pages, but the results in Anchorage are very telling. Of
120,000 subscribers less than 5,000 requested continued delivery
of the book from the prior cycle.
4:17:25 PM
MR. STEINBERG said while the RCA has granted limited relief, the
need for subsequent rulemaking means the final outcome is
uncertain and will take at least four to five years of
regulatory oversight and proceedings to determine. The
additional proceedings would create unnecessary work for Alaska
Communications Systems (ACS) and similarly situated companies
and for the RCA, particularly in light of the questionable
authority to regulate telephone directories. The ACS strongly
believes AS 42.05.145 never contemplated the regulation of phone
books and urges the legislature to act now to make that clear
and to ensure that white-page directories are not subject to
further regulatory oversight. He said ACS supports the proposed
committee substitute for HB 169, Version U.
MARK MODERO, General Communication Incorporated (GCI), stated
that GCI supports Version U.
CHAIR OLSON, after first determining no one else wished to
testify, closed public testimony on HB 169.
4:19:41 PM
REPRESENTATIVE REINBOLD moved to report the proposed committee
substitute, (CS) for HB 169, labeled 28-LS0593\U, Nauman,
4/5/13, out of committee with individual recommendations and the
accompanying fiscal notes. There being no objection,
CSHB 169(L&C) was reported from the House Labor and Commerce
Standing Committee.