Section 374:22-q Public Interest Payphones.
I. There is hereby established a public interest payphone fund into which shall only be deposited moneys received pursuant to RSA 471-C:8, IV and this paragraph. The state treasurer may invest moneys in the fund as provided by law, with interest received on such investment credited to the fund. Moneys in the fund shall be nonlapsing and continually appropriated to the commission to be used only to fund the maintenance of public interest payphones. At the end of each biennium, any moneys in excess of $30,000 shall be transferred to the general fund.
II. ""Public interest payphone'' means a payphone or payphone site which the commission has determined to be necessary in the interest of public health, safety, or welfare, where there would otherwise not be a payphone, in accordance with 47 U.S.C. section 276(b)(2). The owner or person in control of the payphone site may object in writing to the commission to the designation of the public interest payphone. The commission shall not designate a payphone or payphone site as a public interest payphone if such objection is received by the commission prior to designation; if the objection is received after designation, the commission shall remove the designation immediately upon receipt of the objection. The commission shall make payment of fair compensation from the fund to providers of payphones that have been designated by the commission as public interest payphones, where such providers are required by the commission to maintain the payphones. No other state or state associated funds shall be used to maintain public interest payphones other than those contained in the fund, without further authorization from the legislature.
III. Any public utility or non-utility pay telephone services provider that operates any plant or equipment or any part of same for the conveyance of telephone or telegraph messages that elects to remove the last pay telephone at a site shall provide prior written notice to the commission, to the owner of the property where the payphone is located, and to the public of the intended removal of the payphone. The provider shall notify the commission and the owner at least 60 days prior to removal. Posting notice on the payphone at least 30 days prior to removal shall constitute adequate public notice. The notice shall include notification that any person may file a petition with the commission to designate the payphone as a public interest payphone. Once a payphone or payphone site has been designated as a public interest payphone, the payphone may not be removed unless the commission removes the public interest payphone designation. The commission shall adopt rules, pursuant to RSA 541-A, to implement this subdivision.
Source. 2004, 132:2, eff. July 18, 2004.