Today’s Regulatory Mix: Minnesota Delays 911 Plan Annual Updates but Continues Other 911 Related Obligations, Montana Enacts Two-Year Statute of Limitations for Overbilling, Rural Broadband Financing Flexibility Act Reintroduced
Minnesota Delays 911 Plan Annual Updates but Continues Other 911 Related Obligations
Due to an ongoing 911 project to establish statewide points of interconnection for 9-1-1 call delivery, the Minnesota Department of Public Service Emergency Communications Network (ECN) has paused the submission of 9-1-1 CLEC Plans. However, in the interim carriers are to continue to submit the ECN Yearly Compliance Letter and the Carrier Profile worksheet to the ECN.
Montana Enacts Two-Year Statute of Limitations for Overbilling
Montana enacted a law that provides for a two-year statute of limitation for overbilling of tariffed telecommunications charges to be consistent with the federal limitations period. “Overbilling” means presenting a bill to a customer of a regulated telecommunications company with charges that overstate the amount owed by the customer pursuant to the tariff for the service as approved by and on file with the state commission.
Rural Broadband Financing Flexibility Act Reintroduced
Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R- W.Va.) and Maggie Hassan (D- N.H.) reintroduced the Rural Broadband Financing Flexibility Act to promote broadband projects in rural areas across the country. The bill would offer state and local governments options to finance broadband projects, including the issuance of tax-exempt bonds, public-private partnerships, federal tax credits, and federal bond payment assistance. “This legislation will provide additional funding opportunities for communities looking to invest in rural broadband. I’m proud to team up with Senator Hassan again to reintroduce this legislation that will help close the digital divide in West Virginia and across rural America by incentivizing buildout and expanding financing options,” Senator Capito said.
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The Regulatory Mix, Inteserra’s blog of telecom related regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of an Inteserra Briefing.
