Fla. Gov. Jeb Bush (R) signed a bill to repeal parts of a 2003 ph...
Fla. Gov. Jeb Bush (R) signed a bill to repeal parts of a 2003 phone deregulation and rate rebalancing law. The main provision targeted by SB-142 let incumbent telcos raise basic local rates up to 20% annually at the…
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end of 2006. The new law limits local rate increases to inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index, minus 1%. Higher increases would have to be cost-justified. Another provision repealed by SB- 142 would have let incumbents certify basic services as competitive. Now, incumbents must petition the PSC to approve reclassification. Other provisions allow incumbents to change prices for nonbasic services on a day’s notice, and carriers to publish price lists instead of filing tariffs. The act also waives carrier-of-last-resort obligations for incumbents when property developers make exclusive or preferred-provider service arrangements with a competitor. An incumbent must give notice to the PSC and developers when it wants out of the obligation.