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TITLE 16ECONOMIC REGULATION
PART 2PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION OF TEXAS
CHAPTER 26SUBSTANTIVE RULES APPLICABLE TO TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE PROVIDERS
SUBCHAPTER PTEXAS UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND
RULE §26.420Administration of Texas Universal Service Fund (TUSF)

    (B) Prior to August 31, 2007, if an electing LEC, as defined in §26.5 of this title (relating to Definitions), reduces rates in conjunction with receiving disbursements from the TUSF, the commission may not reduce the amount of those disbursements below the initial level of disbursements upon implementation of the TUSF, except that:

      (i) if a local end user customer of the electing company switches to another local service provider that serves the customer entirely through the use of its own facilities and not partially or solely through the use of unbundled network elements, the electing LEC's disbursement may be reduced by the amount attributable to that customer under PURA §56.021(1); or

      (ii) if a local end user customer of the electing company switches to another local service provider, and the new local service provider serves the customer partially or solely through the use of unbundled network elements provided by the electing LEC, the electing LEC's disbursement attributable to that customer under PURA §56.021(1) may be reduced according to the commission established equitable allocation formula for the disbursement as described in §26.403(e)(3)(C) of this title (relating to Texas High Cost Universal Service Plan (THCUSP)).

    (C) The commission may adjust disbursements from the universal service fund to companies using technologies other than traditional wireline or landline technologies to meet provider of last resort obligations.

(h) True-up. The assessment amount determined pursuant to subsections (e) and (f) of this section shall be subject to true-up as determined by the TUSF administrator and approved by the commission. True-ups shall be limited to a three year period for under-reporting and a one year period for over-reporting.

(i) Sale or transfer of exchanges.

  (1) An ETP that acquires exchanges from an unaffiliated small or rural ILEC receiving support for those exchanges pursuant to §26.404 of this title, shall receive the per-line support amount for which those exchanges were eligible prior to the sale or transfer.

  (2) An ETP that acquires exchanges from an unaffiliated ETP receiving support for those exchanges pursuant to §26.403 of this title, shall receive the per-line support amount for which those exchanges were eligible prior to the transfer of the exchanges.

(j) Proprietary information. The commission and the TUSF administrator are subject to the Texas Open Records Act, Texas Government Code, Chapter 552. Information received by the TUSF administrator from the individual telecommunications providers shall be treated as proprietary only under the following circumstances:

  (1) An individual telecommunications provider who submits information to the TUSF administrator shall be responsible for designating it as proprietary at the time of submission. Information considered to be confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision, may be properly designated as proprietary.

  (2) An individual telecommunications provider who submits information designated as proprietary shall stamp on the face of such information "PROPRIETARY PURSUANT TO PUC SUBST. R. §26.420(j)".

  (3) The TUSF administrator may disclose all information from an individual telecommunications provider to the telecommunications provider who submitted it or to the commission and its designated representatives without notifying the telecommunications provider.

  (4) All third party requests for information shall be directed through the commission. If the commission or the TUSF administrator receives a third party request for information that a telecommunications provider has designated proprietary, the commission shall notify the telecommunications provider. If the telecommunications provider does not voluntarily waive the proprietary designation, the commission shall submit the request and the responsive information to the Office of the Attorney General for an opinion regarding disclosure pursuant to the Texas Open Records Act, Texas Government Code, Chapter 552, Subchapter G.


Source Note: The provisions of this §26.420 adopted to be effective August 10, 1999, 24 TexReg 6035; amended to be effective October 4, 2001, 26 TexReg 7530; amended to be effective June 17, 2002, 27 TexReg 5201; amended to be effective November 27, 2002, 27 TexReg 10915; amended to be effective July 20, 2006, 31 TexReg 5616; amended to be effective November 19, 2006, 31 TexReg 9285; amended to be effective April 7, 2014, 39 TexReg 2499; amended to be effective November 7, 2017, 42 TexReg 6143

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