R746.  Public Service Commission, Administration.
R746-360. Universal Public Telecommunications Service Support Fund
R746-360-4.  Application of Fund Surcharges to Customer Billings.
[	A.  Commencement of Surcharge Assessments -- Commencing June 1, 1998, end-user surcharges shall be the source of revenues to support the fund.  Surcharges will be applied to intrastate retail rates, and shall not apply to wholesale services.
	B.  Surcharge Based on a Uniform Percentage of Retail Rates -- The retail surcharge shall be a uniform percentage rate, determined and reviewed annually by the Commission and billed and collected by all retail providers.
	C.  Surcharge -- The surcharge to be assessed is as follows:
	1.  through September 30, 2016, 1 percent of billed intrastate retail rates; and
	2.  beginning October 1, 2016, 1.65 percent of billed intrastate retail rates.]
	(1)(a)  "Access line" is defined at Utah Code Subsection 54-8b-2(1).
	(b)  For purposes of applying the statutory definition of "access line," the "functional equivalent of a circuit-switched connection from an end-user to the public switched network" means equipment or technology that allows an end-user to place or receive a real-time voice communication.
	(c)  Providers of access lines and functionally equivalent connections are hereafter referred to jointly as "providers."	(2)  Through July 31, 2017, providers shall remit to the Commission 1.65 percent of billed intrastate retail rates.
	(3)(a)  As of August 1, 2017, and unless Subsection R746-360-4(5) applies, providers shall collect from their end-user customers $0.36 per month per access line:
	(i)  that has a physical endpoint within the State of Utah; or
	(ii)  as to which the provider has record of an associated address within the State of Utah.
	(b)  The surcharge shall apply directly to each end-user as a separate charge and shall not be included in, nor paid from, the provider's rates or telecommunications revenues. 
	(4)(a)  A provider shall remit to the Commission no less than 98.69 percent of its total monthly surcharge collections.
	(b)  A provider may retain a maximum of 1.31 percent of its total monthly surcharge collections to offset the costs of administering this rule.
	(5)(a)  An end-user may petition the Commission for a waiver of the surcharge set forth in Subsection R746-360-4(3). Any such petition shall be adjudicated as an informal administrative proceeding.
	(b)  An end-user that petitions for a waiver of the surcharge has the burden to provide billing records or other substantial documentary evidence demonstrating that, at all times and continuously during the six calendar months preceding the date of petition, the access line being assessed was not used to access Utah intrastate telecommunications services.
	(6)(a)  An exemption granted under Subsection R746-360-4(5) is valid for a period of one calendar year from the date of issuance.
	(b)  Following the expiration of an exemption, and upon notice from the Commission, the end-user's provider shall assess the surcharge each month, until such time as the provider is notified by the Commission that a renewed exemption has been granted.
	(c)  Any assessment remitted to the Commission between the expiration of an exemption and the approval of a petition for renewal of the exemption shall be non-refundable.
	(d)(i)  The end-user shall bear the sole responsibility to know the expiration date of an exemption granted to the end-user and to ensure that an application for renewal is filed at least 30 days prior to the date of expiration.
	(ii)  At any proceeding to review a petition for renewal of an exemption, evidence that the end-user was unaware of the expiration date shall be inadmissible.
	(iii)  A petition for renewal of an exemption is deemed granted unless the Commission issues an order of denial within 30 days of the date on which the petition is filed.

KEY:  affordable base rate, public utilities, telecommunications, universal service fund
Date of Enactment or Last Substantive Amendment:  [October 24, 2016]
Notice of Continuation:  November 13, 2013
Authorizing, and Implemented or Interpreted Law:  54-3-1; 54-4-1; 54-8b-15[(8)]