A JOINT MEMORIAL
REQUESTING THE NEW MEXICO LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL TO DIRECT THE
APPROPRIATE INTERIM LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE TO STUDY THE INCONSISTENCY BETWEEN
STATE AND FEDERAL LAW WHEREBY AN INCUMBENT LOCAL EXCHANGE CARRIER PROVIDING
SERVICES IN THE STATE MEETS THE DEFINITION OF A RURAL TELEPHONE COMPANY UNDER
FEDERAL LAW BUT DOES NOT MEET THE DEFINITION OF AN INCUMBENT RURAL
TELECOMMUNICATIONS CARRIER UNDER STATE LAW.
WHEREAS, an incumbent local
exchange carrier is either regulated under the Rural Telecommunications Act of
New Mexico if the carrier has fewer than fifty thousand
access lines or regulated under the New Mexico Telecommunications Act if the
carrier has more than fifty thousand access lines; and
WHEREAS, if a local exchange
carrier is regulated under the Rural Telecommunications Act of New Mexico, it
is considered an incumbent rural telecommunications carrier and is subject to
relaxed regulation; and
WHEREAS, if a local exchange
carrier is regulated under the New Mexico Telecommunications Act, it is
essentially considered a large incumbent carrier regardless of whether it has
fifty thousand one access lines or hundreds of thousands of access lines; and
WHEREAS, a large incumbent
carrier is subject to an alternate form of regulation, as approved by the
public regulation commission, which includes price caps for residential and
business local exchange service as well as quality of service and consumer
protection standards; and
WHEREAS, local exchange
carriers in the state range in size from a small carrier with a few hundred access
lines, to a medium size carrier of approximately ninety-seven thousand access
lines, to the largest carrier with more than seven hundred thousand access
lines; and
WHEREAS, in some cases, an
incumbent local exchange carrier in the state that does not meet the definition
of an incumbent rural telecommunications carrier under New Mexico law is
considered a rural telephone company under federal law; and
WHEREAS, the levels of
regulation differ significantly for those incumbent local exchange carriers regulated
under the Rural Telecommunications Act of New Mexico and those regulated under
the New Mexico Telecommunications Act; and
WHEREAS, no middle tier of
regulation exists under
New Mexico law; and
WHEREAS, the legislature has
declared, specifically in the Rural Telecommunications Act of New Mexico, that
rural carriers should be subject to more relaxed regulation and that the cost
of regulation should be reduced; and
WHEREAS, the legislature has
also declared in the
Rural Telecommunications Act of New Mexico that in helping
to create a competitive telecommunications environment in the state, there
should be consistency with the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996; and
WHEREAS, under the New Mexico
Telecommunications Act, the legislature has declared not only the need to
create a competitive telecommunications environment, but also the need to
encourage investment in telecommunications infrastructure; and
WHEREAS, the role of government
and the legislature should be to help achieve those objectives and to fashion a
regulatory environment that not only streamlines regulation, but also enhances
economic development and encourages investment in the state, and further
promotes the value that telecommunications services bring to the citizens of
the state of New Mexico, particularly in rural areas;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED
BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the New Mexico legislative
council be requested to direct the appropriate interim legislative committee to
study the most appropriate means to address the situation where an incumbent
local exchange carrier does not meet the definition of an incumbent rural
telecommunications carrier under New Mexico law but does meet the definition of
a rural telephone company under federal law; as it considers changes in law to
create consistency in regulation, to consider issues such as the need for
relaxed regulation, reduction of regulatory costs, certainty of regulatory
requirements, quality of service, consumer protection, the characteristics of
the service area and the encouragement of economic development; and to report
its findings to the first session of the forty-seventh legislature; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that
copies of this memorial be transmitted to the co-chairs of the New Mexico
legislative council and the members of the public regulation commission.