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2007 SESSION

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062794428
HOUSE BILL NO. 1632 Offered January 10, 2007 Prefiled November 9, 2006 A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 53.1-1.1 and 56-234 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 1 of Chapter 1 of Title 53.1 a section numbered 53.1-1.2, relating to the regulation of rates and other payments for telephone service for incarcerated persons; State Corporation Commission review; fund established. ---------- Patron-- Morgan ---------- Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor ----------

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1.  That §§ 53.1-1.1 and 56-234 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted and that the Code of Virginia is amended by adding in Article 1 of Chapter 1 of Title 53.1 a section numbered 53.1-1.2 as follows:

§ 53.1-1.1. Telephone systems within correctional facilities.

The Department of Corrections shall offer debit or prepaid telephone systems, in addition to any existing collect calling systems, which allow telephone calls to be placed to the telephone number or numbers on an approved call list. Such debit or prepaid telephone systems may be established with shall be provided at the lowest available rates applicable for such service in accordance with schedules filed with the State Corporation Commission.

§ 53.1-1.2. Contracts for the provision of inmate telephone services.

A. The total amount of any commissions, lease payments, and other fees payable by the provider of telecommunications services to the Commonwealth or any agency or political subdivision thereof under the terms of a contract for the provision of any collect calling system or debit or prepaid telephone system operated for persons incarcerated in a state, local, or regional correctional facility in the Commonwealth that is entered into, renewed, or amended on or after July 1, 2007, shall not exceed, over the term of the contract, 10% of the amounts paid by the persons who use the service pursuant to the contract.

B. The State Corporation Commission shall determine pursuant to its authority in § 56-234, on its own motion or upon petition of a party to such contract, whether the commissions, lease payments, and other fees payable pursuant to the terms of the contract comply with the requirements of subsection A. 

C. The portion of any commissions, lease payments, or other fees collected by the Commonwealth or any agency or political subdivision thereof under such a contract that exceeds the 10% limitation established by subsection A shall be paid into and credited to a special nonreverting fund in the state treasury to be known as the Prisoner Telephone Rate Fund (the Fund), which fund is hereby created and shall be established on the books of the Comptroller.  Any moneys remaining in the Fund, including interest thereon, at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund but shall remain in the Fund.  Moneys in the Fund shall be used solely for the purpose of reducing the surcharges or rates payable by incarcerated persons for calls under the contract under which the excess commissions, lease payments, or other fees were collected.  The State Corporation Commission shall determine how moneys from the Fund shall be applied to reduce the surcharges or rates payable under the applicable contract.  Expenditures and disbursements from the Fund shall be made by the State Treasurer on warrants issued by the Comptroller upon written request signed by the chairman of the State Corporation Commission.

§ 56-234. Duty to furnish adequate service at reasonable and uniform rates.

A.  It shall be the duty of every public utility to furnish:

1. Furnish reasonably adequate service and facilities at reasonable and just rates to any person, firm or corporation along its lines desiring same. It shall be their duty to charge; and

2. Charge uniformly therefor all persons, corporations or municipal corporations using such service under like conditions. However, no provision of law shall be deemed to preclude voluntary rate or rate design tests or experiments, or other experiments involving the use of special rates, where such experiments have been approved by order of the Commission after notice and hearing and a finding that such experiments are necessary in order to acquire information which is or may be in furtherance of the public interest.

B.  The charge for such service shall be at the lowest rate applicable for such service in accordance with schedules filed with the Commission pursuant to § 56-236.

C.  No provision of law shall be deemed to preclude voluntary rate or rate design tests or experiments, or other experiments involving the use of special rates, where such experiments have been approved by order of the Commission after notice and hearing and a finding that such experiments are necessary in order to acquire information which is or may be in furtherance of the public interest.

But, subjectD. Subject to the provisions of § 56-232.1, nothing contained herein in this section or in § 56-481.1 shall apply to (i) schedules any:

1. Schedule of rates for any telecommunications service provided to the public by virtue of any contract with, (ii) for any service the Commonwealth or any agency or political subdivision thereof, except to the extent provided with respect to (i) rates for debit or prepaid telephone systems as provided in § 53.1-1.1 and (ii) commissions, lease payments, and other fees payable by the provider of telecommunications services to the Commonwealth or any agency or political subdivision thereof under the terms of a contract for the provision of any collect calling system or debit or prepaid telephone system as provided in § 53.1-1.2;

2. Service provided under or relating to a contract for telecommunications services with the state government or any agency thereof, or (iii) contracts;

3. Contract for service rendered by any telephone company to, the state government or any agency thereof,; or

4. Schedule of rates or contracts for service rendered by any other public utility to any municipal corporation or to the state or federal government.

E. The provisions hereof of this section shall not apply to or in any way affect any proceeding pending in the State Corporation Commission on or before July 1, 1950, and shall not confer on the Commission any jurisdiction not now vested in it with respect to any such proceeding.