19910327.docx

Minutes of Decision Meeting
March 27, 1991 - 10:00 a.m.
In attendance:
Commissioners Joe Miller, Ralph Nelson and Marsha Smith and staff members Mike Gilmore, Lynn Anderson, Birdelle Brown, Bev Barker and Myrna Walters.
First matter discussed was an additional item - Idaho Power Company's Petition for Declaratory Ruling in the Jay Hulet Matter - IPC-E-91-5.
Commissioner Miller said the reason for expedited hearing is because of the irrigation season.
Bev Barker said Jay Hulet is already planting.
Mike Gilmore said the threshold is why isn't IPC telling Hulet this.  Then if Hulet has a problem, he can come to the Commission.
Commissioner Smith said IPC should just deny turning him on and he can come to the Commission.
Mike Gilmore said we haven't heard from Hulet.  Just want to make Commission aware of it in case someone is here Friday or Monday asking for a hearing.
Commissioner Nelson said having been through this for 2/3 years and knowing the situation, we have customer deposit requirements.  If we make an exception for Hulet we would be in trouble.
Commissioner Smith said she thought IPC was pretty sensitive of this customer.
Commissioner Miller said - guess we could if we wanted to, determine that the Agreement of '89 is valid and binding, that the company is not obligated to provide service unless Hulet complies with the terms of this agreement.
Commissioner Nelson said we can find that Hulet still owes $440,000 to IPC from the 1988 season.
Commissioner Miller said if the company is basically uncertain as to its legal right to proceed under this agreement or under the tariff and recognizing that he has already planted and if they do not provide service they would be subject to all kinds of problems, wonder if the agreement is valid.  Guess basic choices are to say to the company you do what you think you are permitted or require
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to do and if a dispute arises we will decide later or say you are permitted under these tariffs to provide in the manner you have outlined.
Commissioner Nelson said or say at this point Commission does not intend to interfere with binding tariffs and agreement.
Commissioner Miller said - don't have to decide it right this instant but it is good that Mike Gilmore asked Commissioners to focus on it.
Mike Gilmore suggested that Myrna Walters serve it on the parties and ask them to respond.
Bev Barker said she thought IPC was trying to get a jump on Hulet.
Commissioner Miller said we could serve it and set it for hearing sometime next week (at least set a date and see what happens between now and then) - April 8 or 9.
Mike Gilmore suggested telling Hulet to file by the Friday before.
Was further discussion on Rule 10 - PAY TELEPHONES.
Commissioner Nelson asked what a table top phone was?
Bev Barker said they are phones that you can get at restaurants or truck stops where they bring them to you.
Commissioner Nelson said you can have a call made and add it to your restaurant bill.  It is not a coin operated phone so it is not a payphone.
Commissioner Smith suggested commenting to their comment in our comments.
Amplification question - How many are to be amplified?
Commissioner Smith said they need to be adequately served but just don't know if we can say 1 - 3, 1 - 10, etc.
Commissioner Nelson said if you have a payphone at K Mart it probably should be amplified because you can't hear at times just because of traffic.  Thought it should be single payphones should be amplified.
Asked about cost.
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Commissioner Miller said it was a real quandry to him.  Don't like U. S. West's suggestion but on the other hand, saying how many is hard.
Commissioner Smith suggested you could take U. S. West's suggestion and tell Centa to request those.
Asked what the Telecommunication Act requires?
Bev Barker responded.  Said amplification wasn't addressed.  (Said hearing aid compatible is how it is worded.)
Problem is they would have to retrofit existing or put in new ones.
Lynn Anderson suggested grandfathering.
Commissioner Smith said she thought it was reasonable to put a list of places where we consider requests have been made and require this.  Asked if we were just requiring it of U. S. West?  How about customer-owned payphones?
Mike Gilmore said it would apply to all payphones.
Commissioner Smith said it would be reasonable to have a list and say others upon request.
Mike Gilmore asked how many?
Commissioner Miller said the advantage of the bank rule is presumably you will have a number of phones at high volume ... will have more of a need.
Commissioner Smith asked if there could be a rule that says their goal is that amplified phones be available and go case by case?
Spoke to different providers pointing to each other, saying have him do it.
Commissioner Nelson said he thought 1 - 4 was reasonable in Idaho.
Commissioner Miller said maybe that is the best we can do.
Commissioner Nelson said he would go further and say they should be available in public facilities, governmental offices, hospitals, etc.
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Bev Barker suggested - could grandfather on current payphones and set threshold on current payphones and set threshold date on phones that have to be amplified.
Commissioner Nelson said he thought we should specifically say new phones should generally be hearing amplified except when they are in a bank and then one in four.
Bev Barker said to avoid finger-pointing, you could say new ones have to be and old ones have to be replaced with amplified by a certain time.
Commissioner Miller asked if we have any idea of the cost to require what Bev Barker suggested.
Bev Barker spoke to where the volume control is - hand set or phone itself - it is related to what kind of phone you have.  
Commissioner Miller asked - which way are we headed?
Mike Gilmore said after September - all new must be amplified - one in four?
Commissioner Smith said that takes care of the future, but what about now?
Commissioner MIller said he worried about imposing additional cost on them.
**Need replacement cost figures.
Mike Gilmore asked about making certain offices bite the bullet now.
Commissioner Nelson suggested handling those by request.
Mike Gilmore asked if the rule should speak to "on request" for all facilities?
Commissioner Nelson said if U. S. West is saying handle it on a request basis, maybe we should try it that way.
Commissioner Miller said that is what he would like to do for existing situations.  DOn't even know what we are imposing for new phones.  Think that is appropriate to do that.
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Bev Barker said it seemed like the costliest state of the art phone was $900.  That was about $400 over your basic standard phone.  That included central computerization.
Commissioner Miller said lets take Mike Gilmore's suggestion of September 1991 for cutover date and for existing phones do it on a per request basis.
Commissioner Miller said the next question is incoming ring question.
Commissioner Smith said she wondered if we should require payphones unless the owner requests otherwise.  There ought to be some premises where the owner could say I don't want it to ring.
Commissioner Nelson suggested where there was another phone.
Lynn Anderson said he thought motivation was revenue.
Commissioner Nelson said he thought generally those phones should ring.
Commissioner Smith asked if 7-11s have phones?
Commissioner Nelson said he was against local phone companies making the decision.
If it is not going to ring back it should so state that.
Birdelle Brown asked about volume control?
Commissioner Nelson said he wanted it in there that if they have a phone that didn't ring, it should say so.
Commissioner Miller asked if there was some way to accommodate if an owner didn't want it to ring?
Commissioner Nelson said if the premise owner requests it okay, but don't want local law enforcement person to request it.
Commissioner Smith said she thought perhaps a waiver procedure would be burdensome.
Lynn Anderson said he liked the waiver process because we would deny 99%.
Commissioner Nelson asked if it shouldn't be for a time certain, not forever.
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Commissioner Smith responded as to the difference between waiver and request from premise owner.  Waiver would require Commission action.  That would be more involved.
Commissioner Nelson said he was in favor of the phone ringing, generally.
Commissioner Smith said the only people who had a deep interest in not having it ring would go through that process.
**Decided to try that to see what kind of response Commission gets.
Mike Gilmore is to try to come up with what the right waiver process should be.
Commissioner Smith said she had no p]problem with AT&T on Page 33 of the Decision Memo.
Dial pad - Mike Gilmore explained this.
Commissioner Miller quoted what Fone America objected to.
Asked about U. S. West's "other methods"?
Commissioner Smith said she thought key pads should be active.  Then they can decide whether to put a "dumb phone" in.
**Yes to dial pads.
Rule 10.2
Decision on unanswered calls - you can't charge for them.  Add in "knowingly".
Rule 10.5.
Would take out third party except for prisons.
**Agreed to prison exception .
Directories -
Decided on diligent effort or reasonable measures.
Commissioner Miller said he didn't think AT&T was unreasonable on Page 37.  (dialing instructions for completing calls and reaching MTS companies).
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Commissioner Smith said she didn't know why we should have special instructions for intralata toll carriers.  Couldn't they use their own carrier.  Didn't get it.
Mike Gilmore said - can't believe they are talking about a real problem, must only be hypothetical.
**Liked putting the address of the payphone.
Mike Gilmore suggested saying - on remote phones put mile post.
Commissioner Nelson asked about trunk lines and multi-lines being available?
Lynn Anderson said he thought it was in response to request from Department of Transportation.
Seemed to be the rule is use a PAL line.  If not, handle it on an individual basis.
**Commissioner Miller said to say - use PAL lines.
Bev Barker spoke to Eileen Benner's thinking their might be businesses or hotels that might want to put payphones behind the PBX.
One problem is it is not identified as a payphone.
Decision:  Say PAL lines.'
Commissioner Miller asked about not having in the rule rate questions?
Mike Gilmore said initial response was they agree.  Then questioned it.  Agree in theory but if you don't put it in the rule where are you going to put it?
PAL line rates are tariffed.  If you have a tariff you don't need it in the rule.  There is no sense duplicating the rule.
Commissioner Smith said she thought you might want different rate for different companies.
Decision:  Leave it out of the rule if it is in the tariff.
Page 39 - Order No. 22719 - further clarification of the LEC's role in disconnection.
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Commissioner Smith said she thought this should be parallel with what we did in Monday's decision meeting regarding turn off of service without written order of the Commission.
Mike Gilmore asked - they can't disconnect service without order from the Commission?
Bev Barker said right now all companies are cooperating in this area except U. S. West.
Mike Gilmore said OSPs are different from payphones - are talking instrument-specific.
Commissioner Nelson said he thought the company shouldn't be required to act as a cop but they are going to be more aware of violations than we are and they can call those to our attention and if we say shut it off ... don't know if they should make that decision.  Maybe Commission should say when it should be shutoff.
Bev Barker gave instance of Contel calling about payphones without emergency access.
Commissioner Smith said she could see both sides of this.  If we put out a rule, we had better be prepared to enforce it.
Bev Barker said what we were thinking is once these were in effect, would do review of the state.
Commissioner Smith said she was willing to let the rule stand.
Mike Gilmore said the obligation hasn't changed, just moved within the rules to another section.
Commissioner Miller asked about commissions on privately-owned payphones?
Commissioner Smith said they get the coin box.
Decision:  don't interrupt it if it is working.
10.14 - Okay.
Rule 10.21 - Removal of Pay Telephones.
Commissioner Smith said they don't have to tell the Commission when it is temporarily removed for repairs.
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Thought about adding "returned within reasonable amount of time".
Commissioner Miller asked if it should say:  is to be returned within days certain?
Mike Gilmore suggested 2 weeks.
Agreed.
Meeting adjourned.
        DATED at Boise, Idaho this       day of May, 1991.

PRESIDENT

COMMISSIONER

COMMISSIONER
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Commission Secretary
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