Title 35-A, Title 35-A

Two or more water-related entities may organize a regional water council by forming a nonprofit corporation under Title 13‑B, as long as one of the organizing members is a water utility. The membership of a regional water council is restricted to water-related entities. A water u…

The organizational documents of a regional water council must provide for representation of each member. The documents must specify the organizational structure, the method of withdrawal, the method of terminating the council and the grounds for suspension of members.

1. Powers. A regional water council may: A. Study an issue common to 2 or more of the members of the regional water council that it considers appropriate, including, but not limited to, matters affecting water supply, watershed protection, water use policies, regional economic co…

A regional water council shall adopt bylaws designating the officers of the council and providing for the conduct of its business.

A regional water council may employ staff and consult and retain experts that it considers necessary.

1. Expenses. The members of a regional water council may contribute funds to meet the expenses of the council. Services of personnel, use of equipment and office space and other necessary services may be accepted from members as part of their financial support. 2. Funds; limitati…

1. Public Utilities Commission. The commission may receive, obtain and distribute state, federal or other funds supporting regional water council tasks and may provide assistance to regional water councils as appropriate. This subsection does not require the commission to determi…

1. Universal service. The Legislature declares and finds that the 50-year effort to bring affordable, universally available telephone service to the public has served the State well; universal telephone service has contributed to the State's economic, social and political integra…

The Legislature declares and finds the following. [PL 1991, c. 654, §1 (NEW); PL 1991, c. 654, §5 (AFF).] 1. Privacy right. Telephone subscribers have a right to privacy and the protection of this right to privacy is of paramount concern to the State. 2. Exercise of right. To exe…

1. Definitions. As used in this section, the term "intrastate access rates" means rates that a telecommunications service provider pays for access to a local exchange carrier's facilities and services in order to provide intrastate interexchange service. 2. Access rates. 3. Consu…

As used in this Part, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings. [PL 1987, c. 141, Pt. A, §6 (NEW).] 1. Emergency. "Emergency" means a situation in which property or human or animal life is in jeopardy and the prompt summoning of aid …

1. Low-income support. The commission shall require telephone utilities to participate in statewide outreach programs designed to increase the number of low-income telephone customers on the network through increased participation in any universal service program approved by the …

1. Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings. A. "Qualified library" means a public library as defined in Title 27, section 110, subsection 10; a research center as defined in Title 27, section 11…

1. Prepaid wireless fee. This section governs the fees and surcharges related to prepaid wireless telecommunications services, referred to in this section as "the prepaid wireless fee." The amount of the prepaid wireless fee is the sum of the following fees: A. The amount of the …

Caller-ID services provided in this State are subject to the following. [PL 1991, c. 654, §4 (NEW); PL 1991, c. 654, §5 (AFF).] 1. Per-call blocking. At least 2 months prior to initiating any caller-ID service, and throughout the period that caller-ID service is offered to subscr…

Beginning January 1, 2022, a telephone utility that offers any service to subscribers in the State designed to reduce the number of calls received by a subscriber that are made using an automated telephone calling device or an artificial or prerecorded voice shall inform each sub…

1. Unauthorized change of carrier. This subsection governs the initiation of a change in a customer's local or intrastate interexchange carrier that is not authorized by that consumer. A. Notwithstanding Title 32, chapter 69, subchapter 5 or Title 32, section 14716, and except as…

1. Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings. A. "Billing agent" means a telephone utility that includes in a bill it sends to a customer a charge for a product or service offered by a service pro…

The commission may designate an appropriate entity to be the sole entity entitled to use the 2-1-1 telephone number assigned by the Federal Communications Commission to be used for access to information and referral services. A designation may not extend for more than 3 years but…

1. Unauthorized and duplicative line-item charges prohibited. A telephone utility may not charge a customer for, or include as a separate line-item charge on the customer's bill, any charge unless that charge represents: A. An actual service or fee authorized by the customer; or …

1. Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings. A. "North American Numbering Plan Administrator" has the same meaning as in section 7104, subsection 1‑A, paragraph A. [PL 2023, c. 144, §5 (NEW).] B.…

As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings. [PL 2011, c. 623, Pt. A, §18 (NEW).] 1. Access to directory assistance. "Access to directory assistance" means access to a service that includes, but is not limited t…

1. Initial designation of service providers. An entity that was an incumbent local exchange carrier as of January 1, 2012 shall provide provider of last resort service within its service area. 2. Reassignment of service provider obligation. A service provider may petition the com…

The initial rates for provider of last resort service are those rates in effect for basic local exchange service for each incumbent local exchange carrier in the service area of that carrier as of January 1, 2012.

1. Price cap ILEC rate requirements. The provisions of sections 304 and 307 do not apply to a price cap ILEC with respect to the rates for provider of last resort service. A price cap ILEC shall post on its publicly accessible website the rates, terms and conditions for provider …

A service provider in accordance with rules adopted by the commission: [PL 2011, c. 623, Pt. A, §18 (NEW).] 1. Information. Shall provide customers adequate and timely information about provider of last resort service including posting in an easily discoverable location on its pu…

If a service provider offers an ancillary service to any customer, it shall offer that service to its provider of last resort service customers individually in conjunction with provider of last resort service and may not require that the ancillary service be bundled with any othe…

1. Service quality reporting. The commission by rule shall establish service quality indicators with respect to which service providers shall regularly report. The service quality indicators may relate only to: A. Network trouble rates; [PL 2011, c. 623, Pt. A, §18 (NEW).] B. The…

1. Service quality metrics reporting. A price cap ILEC shall report to the commission quarterly on service quality using the following metrics, using rolling one-year averages, in areas where provider of last resort service is available: A. Network trouble rates; [PL 2015, c. 462…

Notwithstanding section 112, the commission may not require a service provider: [PL 2011, c. 623, Pt. A, §18 (NEW).] 1. Infrastructure maps. To provide to the commission infrastructure maps that contain a level of detail that is greater than the infrastructure maps filed for that…

The commission shall adopt rules to implement this subchapter. Except as otherwise provided in this subchapter, rules adopted under this section are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the provisions listed in subsections 1 to 4 do not apply to a telephone utility except service providers with respect to the provision of provider of last resort service: [PL 2011, c. 623, Pt. A, §18 (NEW).] 1. Regulation and control of…

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the provisions listed in subsections 1 to 5 do not apply to a telephone utility except service providers with respect to the provision of provider of last resort service and local exchange carriers with respect to federal interconnectio…

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the provisions listed in subsection 1 do not apply to a telephone utility except service providers with respect to the provision of provider of last resort service and local exchange carriers: [PL 2011, c. 623, Pt. A, §18 (NEW).] 1. Org…

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a person, insofar as that person is providing interconnected voice over Internet protocol service, is not subject to any regulation under this Title as a telephone utility or as a public utility unless the person is providing provider o…

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a person, insofar as that person is a dark fiber provider, is not subject to any regulation under this Title as a telephone utility or as a public utility. Nothing in this section affects the application of any provision of this Title t…

The rate charged by a telephone utility for a local telephone call made from a public or semipublic pay telephone shall be the same throughout its service territory for calls of equal duration.

1. Rate reduction. The commission shall establish a 70% rate reduction for usage-sensitive intrastate toll calls made on lines, or via credit cards assigned to lines, used for making calls from certified deaf, hard-of-hearing, late-deafened or speech-impaired persons who must rel…

1. Petition. Upon written petition of 50 or more customers of a local exchange carrier who receive local, flat-rate, basic service within no more than a single exchange area, the commission shall open a proceeding to investigate expanding that basic service calling area. The comm…

1. Notice of charges. Any person who owns, controls, operates or manages a public telephone shall provide a written notice within the immediate vicinity of the telephone and plainly visible to any person using the telephone. The notice must: A. Identify the name, address and tele…

A telephone utility is not required to publish a hard-copy telephone directory. If a provider of provider of last resort service discontinues publishing a hard-copy directory, it shall offer its provider of last resort service customers the option to receive a telephone directory…

1. Placement of public telephones. Any person placing public telephones in any public place after December 31, 1983, shall provide that at least one public telephone is wheelchair accessible if the public place is otherwise wheelchair accessible. If a public place in which one or…

The commission shall retain jurisdiction over the sale or lease of volume control and low-speech power telephone equipment and of bone conductor receivers, pursuant to section 103, until it makes an affirmative finding, based on full consideration of an evidentiary record, that t…

1. State buildings. The Department of Administrative and Financial Services shall require the installation and maintenance of telecommunication devices for communication for persons who are deaf, hard of hearing, late deafened or speech impaired who rely on those devices for tele…

1. Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings. A. "Critical incident" means a situation in which there is probable cause to believe that a person is holding a hostage while committing a crime or wh…

1. Public-interest pay phone locations. In order to ensure access to pay phones in a manner that fulfills the requirements of the public health, safety and welfare, the commission shall establish by rule a process for reviewing and approving requests for public-interest pay phone…