Pub.L. 104-105 To amend the Farm Credit Act of 1971 to provide regulatory relief, and for other purposes. <> ...

	Web GovRecords.org

        modification of the application of a requirement or requirements 
        of subsection (b) or (c) to telephone exchange service 
        facilities specified in such petition. The State commission 
        shall grant such petition to the extent that, and for such 
        duration as, the State commission determines that such 
        suspension or modification--
                    ``(A) is necessary--
                          ``(i) to avoid a significant adverse economic 
                      impact on users of telecommunications services 
                      generally;
                          ``(ii) to avoid imposing a requirement that is 
                      unduly economically burdensome; or
                          ``(iii) to avoid imposing a requirement that 
                      is technically infeasible; and
                    ``(B) is consistent with the public interest, 
                convenience, and necessity.
        The State commission shall act upon any petition filed under 
        this paragraph within 180 days after receiving such petition. 
        Pending such action, the State commission may suspend 
        enforcement of the requirement or requirements to which the 
        petition applies with respect to the petitioning carrier or 
        carriers.

    ``(g) Continued Enforcement of Exchange Access and Interconnection 
Requirements.--On and after the date of enactment of the 
Telecommunications Act of 1996, each local exchange carrier, to the 
extent that it provides wireline services, shall provide exchange 
access, information access, and exchange services for such access to 
interexchange carriers and information service providers in accordance 
with the same equal access and nondiscriminatory interconnection 
restrictions and obligations (including receipt of compensation) that 
apply to such carrier on the date immediately preceding the date of 
enactment of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 under any court order, 
consent decree, or regulation, order, or policy of the Commission, until 
such restrictions and obligations are explicitly superseded by 
regulations prescribed by the Commission after such date of enactment. 
During the period beginning on such date of enactment and until such 
restrictions and obligations are so superseded, such restrictions and 
obligations shall be enforceable in the same manner as regulations of 
the Commission.
    ``(h) Definition of Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier.--
            ``(1) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term 
        `incumbent local exchange carrier' means, with respect to an 
        area, the local exchange carrier that--
                    ``(A) on the date of enactment of the 
                Telecommunications Act of 1996, provided telephone 
                exchange service in such area; and
                    ``(B)(i) on such date of enactment, was deemed to be 
                a member of the exchange carrier association pursuant to 
                section 69.601(b) of the Commission's regulations (47 
                C.F.R. 69.601(b)); or
                    ``(ii) is a person or entity that, on or after such 
                date of enactment, became a successor or assign of a 
                member described in clause (i).
            ``(2) Treatment of comparable carriers as incumbents.--The 
        Commission may, by rule, provide for the treatment of a local 
        exchange carrier (or class or category thereof)

[[Page 110 STAT. 66]]

        as an incumbent local exchange carrier for purposes of this 
        section if--
                    ``(A) such carrier occupies a position in the market 
                for telephone exchange service within an area that is 
                comparable to the position occupied by a carrier 
                described in paragraph (1);
                    ``(B) such carrier has substantially replaced an 
                incumbent local exchange carrier described in paragraph 
                (1); and
                    ``(C) such treatment is consistent with the public 
                interest, convenience, and necessity and the purposes of 
                this section.

    ``(i) Savings Provision.--Nothing in this section shall be construed 
to limit or otherwise affect the Commission's authority under section 
201.

``SEC. 252. <<NOTE: 47 USC 252.>>  PROCEDURES FOR NEGOTIATION, 
            ARBITRATION, AND APPROVAL OF AGREEMENTS.

    ``(a) Agreements Arrived at Through Negotiation.--
            ``(1) Voluntary negotiations.--Upon receiving a request for 
        interconnection, services, or network elements pursuant to 
        section 251, an incumbent local exchange carrier may negotiate 
        and enter into a binding agreement with the requesting 
        telecommunications carrier or carriers without regard to the 
        standards set forth in subsections (b) and (c) of section 251. 
        The agreement shall include a detailed schedule of itemized 
        charges for interconnection and each service or network element 
        included in the agreement. The agreement, including any 
        interconnection agreement negotiated before the date of 
        enactment of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, shall be 
        submitted to the State commission under subsection (e) of this 
        section.
            ``(2) Mediation.--Any party negotiating an agreement under 
        this section may, at any point in the negotiation, ask a State 
        commission to participate in the negotiation and to mediate any 
        differences arising in the course of the negotiation.

    ``(b) Agreements Arrived at Through Compulsory Arbitration.--
            ``(1) Arbitration.--During the period from the 135th to the 
        160th day (inclusive) after the date on which an incumbent local 
        exchange carrier receives a request for negotiation under this 
        section, the carrier or any other party to the negotiation may 
        petition a State commission to arbitrate any open issues.
            ``(2) Duty of petitioner.--
                    ``(A) A party that petitions a State commission 
                under paragraph (1) shall, at the same time as it 
                submits the petition, provide the State commission all 
                relevant documentation concerning--
                          ``(i) the unresolved issues;
                          ``(ii) the position of each of the parties 
                      with respect to those issues; and
                          ``(iii) any other issue discussed and resolved 
                      by the parties.
                    ``(B) A party petitioning a State commission under 
                paragraph (1) shall provide a copy of the petition and 
                any documentation to the other party or parties not 
                later than the day on which the State commission 
                receives the petition.

[[Page 110 STAT. 67]]

            ``(3) Opportunity to respond.--A non-petitioning party to a 
        negotiation under this section may respond to the other party's 
        petition and provide such additional information as it wishes 
        within 25 days after the State commission receives the petition.
            ``(4) Action by state commission.--
                    ``(A) The State commission shall limit its 
                consideration of any petition under paragraph (1) (and 
                any response thereto) to the issues set forth in the 
                petition and in the response, if any, filed under 
                paragraph (3).
                    ``(B) The State commission may require the 
                petitioning party and the responding party to provide 
                such information as may be necessary for the State 
                commission to reach a decision on the unresolved issues. 
                If any party refuses or fails unreasonably to respond on 
                a timely basis to any reasonable request from the State 
                commission, then the State commission may proceed on the 
                basis of the best information available to it from 
                whatever source derived.
                    ``(C) The State commission shall resolve each issue 
                set forth in the petition and the response, if any, by 
                imposing appropriate conditions as required to implement 
                subsection (c) upon the parties to the agreement, and 
                shall conclude the resolution of any unresolved issues 
                not later than 9 months after the date on which the 
                local exchange carrier received the request under this 
                section.
            ``(5) Refusal to negotiate.--The refusal of any other party 
        to the negotiation to participate further in the negotiations, 
        to cooperate with the State commission in carrying out its 
        function as an arbitrator, or to continue to negotiate in good 
        faith in the presence, or with the assistance, of the State 
        commission shall be considered a failure to negotiate in good 
        faith.

    ``(c) Standards for Arbitration.--In resolving by arbitration under 
subsection (b) any open issues and imposing conditions upon the parties 
to the agreement, a State commission shall--
            ``(1) ensure that such resolution and conditions meet the 
        requirements of section 251, including the regulations 
        prescribed by the Commission pursuant to section 251;
            ``(2) establish any rates for interconnection, services, or 
        network elements according to subsection (d); and
            ``(3) provide a schedule for implementation of the terms and 
        conditions by the parties to the agreement.

    ``(d) Pricing Standards.--
            ``(1) Interconnection and network element charges.--
        Determinations by a State commission of the just and reasonable 
        rate for the interconnection of facilities and equipment for 
        purposes of subsection (c)(2) of section 251, and the just and 
        reasonable rate for network elements for purposes of subsection 
        (c)(3) of such section--
                    ``(A) shall be--
                          ``(i) based on the cost (determined without 
                      reference to a rate-of-return or other rate-based 
                      proceeding) of providing the interconnection or 
                      network element (whichever is applicable), and
                          ``(ii) nondiscriminatory, and
                    ``(B) may include a reasonable profit.

[[Page 110 STAT. 68]]

            ``(2) Charges for transport and termination of traffic.--
                    ``(A) In general.--For the purposes of compliance by 
                an incumbent local exchange carrier with section 
                251(b)(5), a State commission shall not consider the 
                terms and conditions for reciprocal compensation to be 
                just and reasonable unless--
                          ``(i) such terms and conditions provide for 
                      the mutual and reciprocal recovery by each carrier 
                      of costs associated with the transport and 
                      termination on each carrier's network facilities 
                      of calls that originate on the network facilities 
                      of the other carrier; and
                          ``(ii) such terms and conditions determine 
                      such costs on the basis of a reasonable 
                      approximation of the additional costs of 
                      terminating such calls.
                    ``(B) Rules of construction.--This paragraph shall 
                not be construed--
                          ``(i) to preclude arrangements that afford the 
                      mutual recovery of costs through the offsetting of 
                      reciprocal obligations, including arrangements 
                      that waive mutual recovery (such as bill-and-keep 
                      arrangements); or
                          ``(ii) to authorize the Commission or any 
                      State commission to engage in any rate regulation 
                      proceeding to establish with particularity the 
                      additional costs of transporting or terminating 
                      calls, or to require carriers to maintain records 
                      with respect to the additional costs of such 
                      calls.
            ``(3) Wholesale prices for telecommunications services.--For 
        the purposes of section 251(c)(4), a State commission shall 
        determine wholesale rates on the basis of retail rates charged 
        to subscribers for the telecommunications service requested, 
        excluding the portion thereof attributable to any marketing, 
        billing, collection, and other costs that will be avoided by the 
        local exchange carrier.

    ``(e) Approval by State Commission.--
            ``(1) Approval required.--Any interconnection agreement 
        adopted by negotiation or arbitration shall be submitted for 
        approval to the State commission. A State commission to which an 
        agreement is submitted shall approve or reject the agreement, 
        with written findings as to any deficiencies.
            ``(2) Grounds for rejection.--The State commission may only 
        reject--
                    ``(A) an agreement (or any portion thereof) adopted 
                by negotiation under subsection (a) if it finds that--
                          ``(i) the agreement (or portion thereof) 
                      discriminates against a telecommunications carrier 
                      not a party to the agreement; or
                          ``(ii) the implementation of such agreement or 
                      portion is not consistent with the public 
                      interest, convenience, and necessity; or
                    ``(B) an agreement (or any portion thereof) adopted 
                by arbitration under subsection (b) if it finds that the 
                agreement does not meet the requirements of section 251, 
                including the regulations prescribed by the Commission 
                pursuant to section 251, or the standards set forth in 
                subsection (d) of this section.

[[Page 110 STAT. 69]]

            ``(3) Preservation of authority.--Notwithstanding paragraph 
        (2), but subject to section 253, nothing in this section shall 
        prohibit a State commission from establishing or enforcing other 
        requirements of State law in its review of an agreement, 
        including requiring compliance with intrastate 
        telecommunications service quality standards or requirements.
            ``(4) Schedule for decision.--If the State commission does 
        not act to approve or reject the agreement within 90 days after 
        submission by the parties of an agreement adopted by negotiation 
        under subsection (a), or within 30 days after submission by the 
        parties of an agreement adopted by arbitration under subsection 
        (b), the agreement shall be deemed approved. No State court 
        shall have jurisdiction to review the action of a State 
        commission in approving or rejecting an agreement under this 
        section.
            ``(5) Commission to act if state will not act.--If a State 
        commission fails to act to carry out its responsibility under 
        this section in any proceeding or other matter under this 
        section, then the Commission shall issue an order preempting the 
        State commission's jurisdiction of that proceeding or matter 
        within 90 days after being notified (or taking notice) of such 
        failure, and shall assume the responsibility of the State 
        commission under this section with respect to the proceeding or 
        matter and act for the State commission.
            ``(6) Review of state commission actions.--In a case in 
        which a State fails to act as described in paragraph (5), the 
        proceeding by the Commission under such paragraph and any 
        judicial review of the Commission's actions shall be the 
        exclusive remedies for a State commission's failure to act. In 
        any case in which a State commission makes a determination under 
        this section, any party aggrieved by such determination may 
        bring an action in an appropriate Federal district court to 
        determine whether the agreement or statement meets the 
        requirements of section 251 and this section.

    ``(f) Statements of Generally Available Terms.--
            ``(1) In general.--A Bell operating company may prepare and 
        file with a State commission a statement of the terms and 
        conditions that such company generally offers within that State 
        to comply with the requirements of section 251 and the 
        regulations thereunder and the standards applicable under this 
        section.
            ``(2) State commission review.--A State commission may not 
        approve such statement unless such statement complies with 
        subsection (d) of this section and section 251 and the 
        regulations thereunder. Except as provided in section 253, 
        nothing in this section shall prohibit a State commission from 
        establishing or enforcing other requirements of State law in its 
        review of such statement, including requiring compliance with 
        intrastate telecommunications service quality standards or 
        requirements.

Other Popular 104th Congressional Public Laws Documents:

Other Documents:

104th Congressional Public Laws Records and Documents