N.J.S.A. 48:2-21.16 — Findings, declarations

48:2-21.16. Findings, declarations 1. a. The Legislature finds and declares that it is the policy of the State to: (1) Maintain universal telecommunications service at affordable rates. (2) Ensure that customers pay only reasonable charges for local exchange telecommunications services, which shall be available on a non-discriminatory basis. (3) Ensure that rates for noncompetitive telecommunications services do not subsidize the competitive ventures of providers of telecommunications service. (4) Provide diversity in the supply of telecommunications services and products in telecommunications markets throughout the State. (5) Permit the board the authority to approve alternative forms of regulation in order to address changes in technology and the structure of the telecommunications industry; to modify the regulation of competitive services; and to promote economic development. b. The Legislature further finds and declares that: (1) In a competitive marketplace, traditional utility regulation is not necessary to protect the public interest and that competition will promote efficiency, reduce regulatory delay, and foster productivity and innovation. (2) Whether measured by the number of interexchange companies operating in New Jersey, the variety and number of services and/or competitive alternatives, or barriers to entry, the interexchange telecommunications marketplace in New Jersey is sufficiently competitive to relieve interexchange telecommunications carriers from traditional utility regulation. (3) Permitting the competitive interexchange telecommunications marketplace to operate without traditional utility regulation will produce a wider selection of services at competitive market-based prices. (4) The board has found the interexchange telecommunications market place sufficiently competitive to relieve interexchange carriers from traditional utility regulation but found it lacked the authority to eliminate unnecessary regulatory constraints under the existing public utility statute. (5) It is in the public interest to relieve interexchange telecommunications carriers from traditional utility regulation. L.1991,c.428,s.1. 48:2-21.17 Definitions. 2. As used in this act: "Alternative form of regulation" means a form of regulation of telecommunications services other than traditional rate base, rate of return regulation to be determined by the board and may include, but not be limited to, the use of an index, formula, price caps, or zone of rate freedom. "Assess" means, in relation to the Director of the Division of Rate Counsel in, but not of, the Department of the Treasury, the making of any assessment or statement of the compensation and expense of counsel, experts and assistants employed by rate counsel and billed by the Director of the Division of Rate Counsel in, but not of, the Department of the Treasury as a final agency order or determination to a local exchange telecommunications company or an interexchange telecommunications carrier filing a petition with the Board of Regulatory Commissioners pursuant to the provisions of this act. "Board" means the Board of Regulatory Commissioners or its predecessor agency. "Competitive service" means any telecommunications service determined by the board to be competitive prior to the effective date of this act or determined to be competitive pursuant to section 4 or 5 of this act, or any telecommunications service not regulated by the board. "Interexchange telecommunications carrier" means a carrier, other than a local exchange telecommunications company, authorized by the board to provide long-distance telecommunications services. "LATA" means Local Access Transport Area as defined by the board in conformance with applicable federal law. "Local exchange telecommunications company" means a carrier authorized by the board to provide local telecommunications services. "Protected telephone services" means any of the following telecommunications services provided by a local exchange telecommunications company, unless the board determines, after notice and hearing, that any of these services is competitive or should no longer be a protected telephone service: telecommunications services provided to business or residential customers for the purpose of completing local calls; touch-tone service or similar service; access services other than those services that the board has previously found to be competitive; toll service provided by a local exchange telecommunications company; and the ordering, installation and restoration of these services. "Rate counsel" means the Division of Rate Counsel in, but not of, the Department of the Treasury acting pursuant to sections 46 through 54 of P.L.2005, c.155 (C.52:27EE-46 through C.52:27EE-54), as amended and supplemented by P.L.2010, c.34 (C.52:27EE-86 et al.). "Telecommunications service" means any telecommunications service which is subject to regulation by the board pursuant to Title 48 of the Revised Statutes. L.1991, c.428, s.2; amended 2010, c.34, s.13.

This is the verbatim text of N.J.S.A. 48:2-21.16, retrieved from the New Jersey Legislature's public statute corpus. Statutes are amended periodically — for the most current version, check the external source link above. Kyzer is not a law firm and this page is not legal advice.