GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1991

H	3 
HOUSE BILL 1046
Committee Substitute Favorable 5/6/91
Third Edition Engrossed 5/9/91

Short Title:  Study Pay Phone Cut-off.	(Public)
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Sponsors:
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Referred to:
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April 22, 1991

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO REQUIRE THE UTILITIES COMMISSION TO OVERSEE A STUDY OF THE FEASIBILITY OF LIMITING DURATION OF COIN-OPERATED AND COINLESS PUBLIC TELEPHONE CALLS.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  The State Utilities Commission shall authorize one or more telephone companies, including at least one of the two largest companies operating in the State, to conduct a pilot program within the State in accordance with this act.  The program shall be conducted individually by each of the telephone companies participating in the program, and shall be designed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness, public benefit, and feasibility of implementing a limitation on the duration of local telephone  calls placed at coin-operated and coinless public telephones.  Participating companies shall alter a certain number of coin-operating and coinless public telephones in one of the following manners:  a) so that the telephones automatically terminate the connection on a local call after a period of between seven and ten minutes; or b) so that the telephones time local calls in predetermined increments with a local charge applied to each increment.  The number of telephones to be altered, the number of minutes after which the cut-off occurs, and the increments of time shall be determined by the participating companies.  The number of telephones to be altered shall be determined by identifying the number necessary to reliably evaluate the cost-effectiveness and usefulness of the program.  Participating telephone companies shall provide to the Utilities Commission upon request all information necessary to evaluate the program.
Sec. 2.  The length of the pilot program provided for in Section 1 of this act shall be at least six months but no longer than one year and shall be completed no later than December 31, 1992.
Sec. 3.  The State Utilities Commission shall report the results and conclusions from the program to the Joint Legislative Utility Review Committee within three months of the completion of the pilot program, but not later than March 1, 1993. 
Sec. 4.  This act is effective upon ratification.