§ 39-1-61 - Rhode Island telecommunications education access fund.
SECTION 39-1-61
§ 39-1-61 Rhode Island telecommunicationseducation access fund. – (a) Preamble. For the past ten (10) years, the schools and libraries ofRhode Island have benefited from a regulatory agreement with Verizon and itspredecessor companies that has provided up to two million dollars ($2,000,000)annually for support of telecommunications lines for internet access. Inaddition, the funds provided for in the original regulatory agreement and everydollar generated hereunder leverages a one dollar and twenty-seven cents($1.27) federal E-Rate match. With the regulatory agreement approaching itstermination and the advent of more advanced technologies, it is the intent ofthis section to provide a continued source of funding for internet access foreligible public and private schools and libraries.
(b) Definitions. As used in this section, thefollowing terms have the following meanings:
(1) "Department" means the Rhode Island department ofelementary and secondary education.
(2) "Division" means the Division of Public Utilities andCarriers.
(3) "Telecommunications education access fund" means theprograms and funding made available to qualified libraries and schools toassist in paying the costs of acquiring, installing and usingtelecommunications technologies to access the internet.
(c) Purpose. The purpose of the telecommunicationseducation access fund shall be to fund a basic level of internet connectivityfor all of the qualified schools (kindergarten through grade 12) and librariesin the state.
(d) Authority. The division shall establish, by ruleor regulation, an appropriate funding mechanism to recover from the generalbody of ratepayers the costs of providing telecommunications technology toaccess the internet.
(1) The general assembly shall determine the amount of amonthly surcharge to be levied upon each residence and business telephoneaccess line or trunk in the state, including PBX trunks and centrex equivalenttrunks and each service line or trunk, and upon each user interface number orextension number or similarly identifiable line, trunk, or path to or from adigital network. The department will provide the general assembly withinformation and recommendations regarding the necessary level of funding toeffectuate the purposes of this article. The surcharge shall be billed by eachtelecommunications services provider and shall be payable to thetelecommunications services provider by the subscriber of thetelecommunications services. State, local and quasi-governmental agencies shallbe exempt from the surcharge. The surcharge shall be deposited in a restrictedreceipt account, hereby created within the department of elementary andsecondary education and known as the telecommunications education access fund,to pay any and all costs associated with subsection (b)(3). The amount of thesurcharge shall not exceed thirty-five cents ($.35) per access line or trunk.
(2) The surcharge is hereby determined to be twenty-six cents($.26) per access line or trunk.
(3) The amount of the surcharge shall not be subject to thesales and use tax imposed under chapter 18 of title 44 nor be included withinthe gross earnings of the telecommunications corporation providingtelecommunications service for the purpose of computing the tax under chapter13 of title 44.
(e) Administration. The division, with input from thedepartment, shall administer the telecommunications education access fundconsistent with the requirements of the Universal Service (E-Rate) program. Thedivision of taxation shall collect from the telecommunications serviceproviders the amounts of the surcharge collected from their subscribers. Thedepartment, with the approval of the division, shall publish requests forproposals that do not favor any particular technology, evaluate competitivebids, and select products and services that best serve the internet accessneeds of schools and libraries. In doing so, the department shall endeavor toobtain all available E-Rate matching funds. The department is furtherauthorized and encouraged to seek matching funds from all local, state, andfederal public or private entities. The department shall approve dispersement[disbursement] of funds under this section in accordance with thedivision's directives. Unsuccessful bids may be appealed to the division. Thedivision shall annually review the department's disbursements from this accountto ensure that the department's decisions do not favor any competitor.
(f) Eligibility. All schools seeking support from thefund must be eligible for Universal Service (E-Rate) support and meet thedefinition of "elementary school" or "secondary school" in the Elementary andSecondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (20 U.S.C. § 8801). Schoolsoperating as a for-profit business or with endowments exceeding fifty milliondollars ($50,000,000) are not eligible for support. All libraries seekingsupport from the fund must meet the definition of "library" or "libraryconsortium" in the Library Services and Technology Act, P.L. 104-208, §211 et seq., 110 Stat. 3009 (1996) and must be eligible for assistance from astate library administrative agency under that act. Only libraries that havebudgets that are completely separate from any schools (including, but notlimited to, elementary and secondary, colleges and universities) shall beeligible to receive support. Libraries operating as a for-profit business shallnot be eligible for support.
(g) Effective date. The effective date of assessmentfor the telecommunications education access fund shall be January 1, 2004.