SB 152

1AN ACT
2  RELATING TO TELECOMMUNICATIONS; AMENDING THE RURAL
3  TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACT OF NEW MEXICO TO ESTABLISH A
4  LOW-INCOME TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANCE PROGRAM AND
5  RESTRUCTURE THE EXISTING BROADBAND PROGRAM; MAKING CONFORMING
6  AND CLEAN-UP AMENDMENTS; REQUIRING REPORTS; ESTABLISHING
7  STATE RURAL UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND BUDGET CAPS; REPEALING THE
8  LOW INCOME TELEPHONE SERVICE ASSISTANCE ACT; AMENDING,
9  REPEALING AND ENACTING SECTIONS OF THE NMSA 1978.
10
11 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
12      SECTION 1.    Section 63-9A-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1985,
13 Chapter 242, Section 5, as amended) is amended to read:
14      “63-9A-5.    REGULATION BY COMMISSION.--
15A.     Except as otherwise provided in the New Mexico
16 Telecommunications Act, each public telecommunications
17 service is declared to be affected with the public interest
18 and, as such, subject to the provisions of that act,
19 including the regulation thereof as provided in that act.
20B.     Except in cases regarding the fixing of rates
21 pursuant to Section 63-7-1.1 NMSA 1978, the commission has
22 exclusive jurisdiction to regulate incumbent local exchange
23 carriers that serve fifty thousand or more access lines
24 within the state to the extent authorized by the New Mexico
25 Telecommunications Act; provided that:  SFC/SB 152
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1(1)   the commission's jurisdiction includes
2  the regulation of wholesale rates, including access charges
3  and interconnection agreements consistent with federal law
4  and its enforcement and determinations of participation in
5  low-income telephone service assistance programs pursuant to
6  the Rural Telecommunications Act of New Mexico; and
7(2)   incumbent local exchange carriers
8  regulated pursuant to this section shall be regulated in the
9  same manner as incumbent rural telecommunications carriers
10 are regulated pursuant to the Rural Telecommunications Act of
11 New Mexico.
12C.   Any rules adopted by the commission for the
13 regulation of incumbent local exchange carriers pursuant to
14 the New Mexico Telecommunications Act shall preserve and not
15 alter:
16(1)   the rights and obligations of any
17 entity, including the commission, established pursuant to
18 federal law, including 47 U.S.C. Sections 251 and 252, or
19 established pursuant to any state law, rule, procedure,
20 regulation or order related to interconnection, intercarrier
21 compensation, intercarrier complaints, wholesale rights and
22 obligations or any wholesale rate or schedule that is filed
23 with and maintained by the commission;
24(2)   the rights and obligations of any
25 competitive telecommunications service provider holding a       SFC/SB 152
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1  certificate of public convenience and necessity, or the
2  rights and obligations of any competitive carrier to obtain
3  such a certificate;
4(3)   the authority of the commission to
5  resolve consumer complaints regarding basic local exchange
6  service; provided, however, that the commission's authority
7  to resolve such complaints shall be limited to resolving
8  issues of consumer protection and shall not include the
9  authority to determine or fix rates, provider of last resort
10 obligations or service quality standards except as expressly
11 set forth in the New Mexico Telecommunications Act;
12(4)   the authority of the commission to
13 establish reasonable quality of service standards; provided,
14 however, that the enforcement of such standards shall be
15 limited to the commission's fining authority set forth in
16 Section 63-7-23 NMSA 1978 and the authority to seek an
17 injunction set forth in Section 63-9-19 NMSA 1978;
18(5)   the rights and obligations of any
19 entity, including the commission, regarding the fund;
20(6)   the rights and obligations of any
21 entity, including the commission, regarding access to
22 emergency service to the extent consistent with the Enhanced
23 911 Act; or
24(7)   the rights and obligations of any
25 entity, including the commission, regarding the  SFC/SB 152
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1  administration of slamming and cramming rules,
2  telecommunications relay service and numbering resources to
3  the extent permitted by and consistent with federal law.
4D.     The provisions of the New Mexico
5  Telecommunications Act do not apply to incumbent rural
6  telecommunications carriers."
7SECTION 2.    Section 63-9D-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1989,
8  Chapter 25, Section 5, as amended) is amended to read:
9"63-9D-5.    IMPOSITION OF SURCHARGE.--
10A.     A 911 emergency surcharge is imposed in the
11 amount of one dollar ($1.00) to be billed to each subscriber
12 access line by a communications service provider, on each
13 active number for a commercial mobile radio service
14 subscriber and on the number of VoIP lines for which the VoIP
15 service provider enables the capacity for simultaneous calls,
16 regardless of actual usage, to be connected to the public
17 switched telephone network during the period for which the
18 fixed charge is imposed.    The surcharge is imposed on all
19 subscribers whose place of primary use, as defined in the
20 federal Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Act, is in
21 New Mexico; provided, however, that the surcharge shall not
22 be imposed upon subscribers receiving reduced rates as a
23 result of the low-income telecommunications assistance
24 program pursuant to the Rural Telecommunications Act of
25 New Mexico; and provided further that the surcharge shall not    SFC/SB 152
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1  apply to prepaid wireless communication service; and provided
2  further that a 911 emergency surcharge shall not be assessed
3  on the provision of broadband internet access service.
4B.   A communications service provider shall bill
5  and collect the surcharge from subscribers whose places of
6  primary use, as defined in the federal Mobile
7  Telecommunications Sourcing Act, are in New Mexico.   The
8  surcharge required to be collected by the communications
9  service provider shall be added to and stated clearly and
10 separately in the billings to the subscriber.    The surcharge
11 collected by the communications service provider shall not be
12 considered revenue of the communications service provider.
13C.   A billed subscriber is liable for payment of
14 the 911 emergency surcharge until it has been paid to the
15 communications service provider.
16D.   A communications service provider has no
17 obligation to take legal action to enforce the collection of
18 the surcharge; an action may be brought by or on behalf of
19 the department.   A communications service provider, upon
20 request and not more than once a year, shall provide to the
21 department a list of the surcharge amounts uncollected, along
22 with the names and addresses of subscribers who carry a
23 balance that can be determined by the communications service
24 provider to be nonpayment of the surcharge.     The
25 communications service provider shall not be held liable for     SFC/SB 152
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1  uncollected surcharge amounts."
2SECTION 3.    Section 63-9F-11 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1993,
3  Chapter 54, Section 11, as amended) is amended to read:
4"63-9F-11.    IMPOSITION OF SURCHARGE.--
5A.   A telecommunications relay service surcharge of
6  one and sixty-six hundredths percent is imposed on the gross
7  amount paid:
8(1)   by customers, except customers whose
9  telephone service rates are reduced as a result of the
10 low-income telecommunications assistance program pursuant to
11 the Rural Telecommunications Act of New Mexico, for
12 intrastate telecommunications services provided in this
13 state;
14(2)   by customers for the intrastate portion
15 of interconnected voice over internet protocol service;
16(3)   by customers for intrastate mobile
17 telecommunications services that originate and terminate in
18 the same state, regardless of where the mobile
19 telecommunications services originate, terminate or pass
20 through, provided by home service providers to customers
21 whose place of primary use is in New Mexico; and
22(4)   by a prepaid consumer in a retail
23 transaction.
24B.   The telecommunications relay service surcharge
25 shall be included on the monthly bill of each customer of a       SFC/SB 152
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1  local exchange company or other telecommunications company
2  providing intrastate telecommunications services,
3  interconnected voice over internet protocol services or
4  intrastate mobile telecommunications services and paid at the
5  time of payment of the monthly bill.     Receipts from selling
6  those services to any other telecommunications company or
7  provider for resale are not subject to the surcharge.     The
8  customer is liable for the payment of the surcharge to the
9  provider of intrastate mobile telecommunications services,
10 the provider of interconnected voice over internet protocol
11 services or the local exchange company or other
12 telecommunications company providing intrastate
13 telecommunications services to the customer.
14C.   For the purposes of the surcharge imposed on a
15 retail transaction pursuant to Paragraph (4) of Subsection A
16 of this section:
17(1)   the surcharge shall be collected by the
18 seller from the prepaid consumer with respect to each retail
19 transaction occurring in this state.     The amount of the
20 surcharge shall be either separately stated on an invoice,
21 receipt or other similar document that is provided to the
22 prepaid consumer by the seller or otherwise disclosed to the
23 prepaid consumer;
24(2)   for the purposes of Paragraph (1) of
25 this subsection, a retail transaction that is effected in  SFC/SB 152
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1  person by a prepaid consumer at a business location of the
2  seller shall be treated as occurring in this state if that
3  business location is in this state, and any other retail
4  transaction is treated as occurring in this state if the
5  retail transaction is treated as occurring in this state for
6  purposes of the Gross Receipts and Compensating Tax Act;
7(3)   the surcharge is the liability of the
8  prepaid consumer and not of the seller or any provider;
9  provided that the seller shall be liable to remit all
10 surcharges collected from the prepaid consumer as provided in
11 this subsection, including all such surcharges that the
12 seller is deemed to collect where the amount of the surcharge
13 has not been separately stated on an invoice, receipt or
14 other similar document provided to the prepaid consumer by
15 the seller;
16(4)   the amount of the surcharge that is
17 collected by a seller from a prepaid consumer, if such amount
18 is separately stated on an invoice, receipt or other similar
19 document provided to the prepaid consumer by the seller,
20 shall not be included in the base for measuring any tax, fee,
21 surcharge or other charge that is imposed by this state, any
22 political subdivision of this state or any intergovernmental
23 agency;
24(5)   when prepaid wireless communications
25 service is sold with one or more other products or services     SFC/SB 152
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1  for a single, non-itemized price, the percentage specified in
2  Subsection A of this section shall apply to the entire
3  non-itemized price unless the seller elects to apply such
4  percentage to:
5(a)   if the amount of the prepaid
6  wireless communications service is disclosed to the prepaid
7  consumer as a dollar amount, such dollar amount; or
8(b)   if the seller can identify the
9  portion of the price that is attributable to the prepaid
10 wireless communications service by reasonable and verifiable
11 standards from its books and records that are kept in the
12 regular course of business for other purposes, including
13 non-tax purposes, such portion;
14(6)   if a minimal amount of prepaid wireless
15 communications service is sold with a prepaid wireless device
16 for a single, non-itemized price, the seller may elect not to
17 apply the percentage specified in Subsection A of this
18 section to such transaction.    For the purposes of this
19 paragraph, an amount of service denominated as ten minutes or
20 less, or five dollars ($5.00) or less, is minimal;
21(7)   surcharges collected by sellers shall be
22 remitted to the taxation and revenue department at the times
23 and in the manner provided with respect to the Gross Receipts
24 and Compensating Tax Act.    The department shall establish
25 registration and payment procedures that substantially  SFC/SB 152
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1  coincide with the registration and payment procedures that
2  apply to the Gross Receipts and Compensating Tax Act.    A
3  seller shall be permitted to deduct and retain three percent
4  of surcharges that are collected by the seller from the
5  prepaid consumer;
6(8)    the audit and appeal procedures
7  applicable to the Gross Receipts and Compensating Tax Act
8  shall apply to the surcharge;
9(9)    the taxation and revenue department
10 shall establish procedures by which a seller of prepaid
11 wireless communications services may document that a sale is
12 not a retail transaction, which procedures shall
13 substantially coincide with the procedures for documenting
14 sale for resale transactions for the Gross Receipts and
15 Compensating Tax Act; and
16(10)   notwithstanding Paragraph (1) of this
17 subsection, if a 911 surcharge is imposed on prepaid wireless
18 communications service pursuant to the Enhanced 911 Act, the
19 taxation and revenue department shall promulgate rules to
20 permit sellers to combine the surcharge imposed pursuant to
21 this section and the surcharge imposed pursuant to the
22 Enhanced 911 Act into a single surcharge on the invoice,
23 receipt or other similar document that is provided to the
24 prepaid consumer.   The department shall ensure that
25 appropriate surcharge revenues are directed proportionately     SFC/SB 152
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1  to the respective 911 and telecommunications relay service
2  funds.
3D.   A telecommunications company providing
4  intrastate telecommunications services, a home service
5  provider providing intrastate mobile telecommunications
6  services and a seller of interconnected voice over internet
7  protocol services shall, on sales subject to the
8  telecommunications relay service surcharge, assess and
9  collect the surcharge and remit the surcharge collected
10 monthly to the taxation and revenue department on or before
11 the twenty-fifth day of the month following collection.     The
12 department shall administer and enforce the collection of the
13 surcharge in accordance with the Tax Administration Act.
14E.   The taxation and revenue department shall
15 transfer the following amounts of the net receipts of the
16 telecommunications relay service surcharge collected, less
17 any amount deducted in accordance with Subsection F of this
18 section, within the month following the month in which the
19 surcharge is collected:
20(1)   twenty percent to the telecommunications
21 access fund; and
22(2)   eighty percent to the 988 lifeline fund.
23F.   The taxation and revenue department may deduct
24 an amount not to exceed three percent of the
25 telecommunications relay service surcharge collected as a  SFC/SB 152
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1  charge for the administrative costs of collection and shall
2  remit that amount to the state treasurer for deposit in the
3  general fund each month.
4G.   The commission and the health care authority
5  shall report to the revenue stabilization and tax policy
6  committee annually by September 30 the following information
7  with respect to the prior fiscal year:
8(1)   the amount and source of revenue
9  received by the telecommunications access fund and the 988
10 lifeline fund;
11(2)   the amount and category of expenditures
12 from the funds; and
13(3)   the balance of the funds on that
14 June 30."
15      SECTION 4.     Section 63-9H-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1999,
16 Chapter 295, Section 3, as amended by Laws 2021, Chapter 118,
17 Section 1 and by Laws 2021, Chapter 120, Section 8) is
18 amended to read:
19      "63-9H-3.     DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Rural
20 Telecommunications Act of New Mexico:
21A.   "affordable rates" means rates for basic
22 service that promote universal service, giving consideration
23 to the economic conditions of households in the service area
24 and costs to provide service in the area in which service is
25 provided;  SFC/SB 152
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1B.   "basic service" means service that is provided
2  that is consistent with the federal act:
3(1)   to a rural end-user customer; or
4(2)   to a rural or non-rural end-user
5  customer pursuant to the low-income telecommunications
6  assistance program;
7C.   "broadband infrastructure" means facilities and
8  equipment used to provide internet service, excluding
9  telecommunications equipment owned, controlled or operated by
10 a public or private end user;
11D.   "cable service" means the transmission to
12 subscribers of video programming or other programming service
13 and subscriber interaction, if any, that is required for the
14 selection or use of the video programming or other
15 programming service;
16E.   "commission" means the public regulation
17 commission;
18F.   "comparable carrier" means an eligible
19 telecommunications carrier established prior to enactment of
20 the Rural Telecommunications Act of New Mexico that has a
21 similar number of access lines as an eligible
22 telecommunications carrier established after enactment of
23 that act;
24G.   "digital equity" means information technology
25 needed for civic and cultural participation, employment,  SFC/SB 152
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1  education, business and economic development, lifelong
2  learning and access to essential services generally available
3  to residents regardless of their racial grouping,
4  socioeconomic status or cultural identity;
5H.   "digital inclusion" means access to and the
6  ability to use information technologies;
7I.   "eligible telecommunications carrier" means an
8  eligible telecommunications carrier as defined in the federal
9  act;
10J.   "federal act" means the federal
11 Telecommunications Act of 1996;
12K.   "fund" means the state rural universal service
13 fund;
14L.   "incumbent local exchange carrier" means a
15 person that:
16(1)   was designated as an eligible
17 telecommunications carrier by the state corporation
18 commission in Docket #97-93-TC by order dated October 23,
19 1997, or that provided local exchange service in this state
20 on February 8, 1996; or
21(2)   became a successor or assignee of an
22 incumbent local exchange carrier;
23M.   "incumbent rural telecommunications carrier"
24 means an incumbent local exchange carrier that serves fewer
25 than fifty thousand access lines within the state and has       SFC/SB 152
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1  been designated as an eligible telecommunications carrier by
2  the state corporation commission or the public regulation
3  commission;
4N.     "local exchange area" means a geographic area
5  encompassing one or more local communities, as described in
6  maps, tariffs or rate schedules filed with the commission,
7  where local exchange rates apply;
8O.     "local exchange service" means the transmission
9  of two-way interactive switched voice communications
10 furnished by a telecommunications carrier within a local
11 exchange area;
12P.     "long distance service" means
13 telecommunications service between local exchange areas that
14 originate and terminate within the state;
15Q.     "office" means the office of broadband access
16 and expansion;
17R.     "private telecommunications service" means a
18 system, including its construction, maintenance or operation
19 for the provision of telecommunications service, or any
20 portion of that service, by a person for the sole and
21 exclusive use of that person and not for resale, directly or
22 indirectly.    For purposes of this definition, the person that
23 may use the service includes any affiliates of the person if
24 at least eighty percent of the assets or voting stock of the
25 affiliates is owned by the person.    If any other person uses     SFC/SB 152
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1  the telecommunications service, whether for hire or not, the
2  private telecommunications service is a public
3  telecommunications service;
4S.    "public telecommunications service" means the
5  transmission of signs, signals, writings, images, sounds,
6  messages, data or other information of any nature by wire,
7  radio, lightwaves or other electromagnetic means originating
8  and terminating in this state regardless of actual call
9  routing.   "Public telecommunications service" does not
10 include the provision of terminal equipment used to originate
11 or terminate the service; private telecommunications service;
12 broadcast transmissions by radio, television and satellite
13 broadcast stations regulated by the federal communications
14 commission; radio common carrier services, including mobile
15 telephone service and radio paging; or cable service;
16T.    "rural area" means an unincorporated area or a
17 city, a town or an incorporated area with a population of
18 twenty thousand or less as reflected in the most recent
19 federal decennial census or applicable tribal census;
20U.    "statewide broadband plan" means the plan
21 developed by the office pursuant to the Broadband Access and
22 Expansion Act;
23V.    "telecommunications carrier" means a person
24 that provides public telecommunications service;
25W.    "underserved" means an area or property that     SFC/SB 152
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1  does not have access to fixed and mobile internet service
2  offering speeds greater than one hundred megabits per second
3  downstream and twenty megabits per second upstream; and
4X.     "unserved" means an area or property that
5  either does not have access to fixed and mobile internet
6  service at all or only has access to internet service
7  offering speeds below twenty-five megabits per second
8  downstream or three megabits per second upstream."
9SECTION 5.    Section 63-9H-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1999,
10 Chapter 295, Section 4, as amended) is amended to read:
11      "63-9H-4.    REGULATION BY COMMISSION.--
12A.     Except as otherwise provided in the Rural
13 Telecommunications Act of New Mexico or the federal act, each
14 public telecommunications service is declared to be affected
15 with the public interest and, as such, subject to the
16 provisions of those acts, including the regulation thereof as
17 provided in those acts.
18B.     The commission has exclusive jurisdiction to
19 regulate incumbent rural telecommunications carriers only in
20 the manner and to the extent authorized by the Rural
21 Telecommunications Act of New Mexico, and Section 63-7-1.1
22 NMSA 1978 does not apply; provided, however, that the
23 commission's jurisdiction includes the regulation of
24 wholesale rates, including access charges and interconnection
25 agreements consistent with federal law and its enforcement       SFC/SB 152
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1  and a determination of participation in low-income telephone
2  service assistance programs pursuant to the Rural
3  Telecommunications Act of New Mexico.
4C.     The commission shall adopt rules consistent
5  with the requirement for relaxed regulation for incumbent
6  rural telecommunications carriers set forth in the Rural
7  Telecommunications Act of New Mexico that provide for:
8(1)   reduced filing requirements for
9  applicants in rate increase proceedings under the Rural
10 Telecommunications Act of New Mexico and proceedings under
11 that act seeking payments from the fund; and
12(2)   expedited consideration in all
13 proceedings initiated pursuant to the Rural
14 Telecommunications Act of New Mexico in order to reduce the
15 cost and burden for incumbent rural telecommunications
16 carriers and other applicants."
17      SECTION 6.     Section 63-9H-6 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1999,
18 Chapter 295, Section 6, as amended) is amended to read:
19      "63-9H-6.     STATE RURAL UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND--
20 ESTABLISHMENT.--
21A.     The commission shall implement and maintain a
22 "state rural universal service fund" to maintain and support
23 universal service provided by eligible telecommunications
24 carriers, including commercial mobile radio services
25 carriers, as are determined by the commission.     As used in     SFC/SB 152
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1  this section, "universal service" means basic local exchange
2  service, comparable retail alternative services at affordable
3  rates, service pursuant to a low-income telecommunications
4  assistance plan and broadband internet access service to
5  unserved and underserved areas as determined by the
6  commission.
7B.    The fund shall be financed by a surcharge on
8  intrastate retail public telecommunications services to be
9  determined by the commission, excluding services provided
10 pursuant to a low-income telecommunications assistance plan
11 billed to end-user customers by a telecommunications carrier,
12 and excluding all amounts from surcharges, gross receipts
13 taxes, excise taxes, franchise fees and similar charges.      For
14 the purpose of funding the fund, the commission has the
15 authority to apply the surcharge on intrastate retail public
16 telecommunications services provided by telecommunications
17 carriers, including commercial mobile radio services and
18 voice over internet protocol services, at a competitively and
19 technologically neutral rate or rates to be determined by the
20 commission.    The commission may establish the surcharge as a
21 percentage of intrastate retail public telecommunications
22 services revenue or as a fixed amount applicable to each
23 communication connection.   For purposes of this section, a
24 "communication connection" means a voice-enabled telephone
25 access line, wireless voice connection, unique voice over  SFC/SB 152
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1  internet protocol service connection or other uniquely
2  identifiable functional equivalent as determined by the
3  commission.    Such surcharges shall be competitively and
4  technologically neutral.    Money deposited in the fund is not
5  public money, and the administration of the fund is not
6  subject to the provisions of law regulating public funds.
7  The commission shall not apply this surcharge to a private
8  telecommunications network; to the state, a county, a
9  municipality or other governmental entity; to a public school
10 district; to a public institution of higher education; to
11 eligible households that participate in the low-income
12 telecommunications assistance program; to an Indian nation,
13 tribe or pueblo; or to Native American customers who reside
14 on tribal or pueblo land.
15C.    The fund shall be competitively and
16 technologically neutral, equitable and nondiscriminatory in
17 its collection and distribution of funds, portable between
18 eligible telecommunications carriers and additionally shall
19 provide a specific, predictable and sufficient support
20 mechanism as determined by the commission that ensures
21 universal service in the state.
22D.    The commission shall:
23(1)   establish eligibility criteria for
24 participation in the fund consistent with federal law that
25 ensure the availability of universal service at affordable       SFC/SB 152
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1  rates.   The eligibility criteria shall not restrict or limit
2  an eligible telecommunications carrier from receiving federal
3  universal service support;
4(2)   provide for the collection of the
5  surcharge on a competitively neutral basis and for the
6  administration and disbursement of money from the fund;
7(3)   determine those services and areas
8  requiring support from the fund;
9(4)   provide for the separate administration
10 and disbursement of federal universal service funds
11 consistent with federal law; and
12(5)   establish affordability benchmark rates
13 for local residential and business services that shall be
14 utilized in determining the level of support from the fund.
15 The process for determining subsequent adjustments to the
16 benchmark shall be established through a rulemaking.
17E.   All incumbent telecommunications carriers and
18 competitive carriers already designated as eligible
19 telecommunications carriers for the fund shall be eligible
20 for participation in the fund.     All other carriers that
21 choose to become eligible to receive support from the fund
22 may petition the commission to be designated as an eligible
23 telecommunications carrier for the fund.     The commission may
24 grant eligible carrier status to a competitive carrier in a
25 rural area upon a finding that granting the application is in     SFC/SB 152
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1  the public interest.     In making a public interest finding,
2  the commission may consider at least the following items:
3(1)   the impact of designation of an
4  additional eligible carrier on the size of the fund;
5(2)   the unique advantages and disadvantages
6  of the competitor's service offering; and
7(3)   any commitments made regarding the
8  quality of service.
9F.   The commission shall adopt rules, including a
10 provision for variances, for the implementation and
11 administration of the fund in accordance with the provisions
12 of this section.    The rules shall enumerate the appropriate
13 uses of fund support and any restrictions on the use of fund
14 support by eligible telecommunications carriers.     The rules
15 shall require that through December 31, 2028, an eligible
16 telecommunications carrier receiving support from the fund
17 pursuant to Subsection K, L, M or N of this section shall
18 expend no less than sixty percent of the support it receives
19 to deploy and maintain broadband internet access services in
20 rural areas of the state.     In subsequent years, the rules
21 shall require that an eligible telecommunications carrier
22 receiving support from the fund pursuant to Subsection K, L,
23 M or N of this section shall expend no less than one hundred
24 percent of the support it receives to deploy and maintain
25 broadband internet access services.     The rules also shall       SFC/SB 152
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1  provide for annual reporting by eligible telecommunications
2  carriers verifying that the reporting carrier continues to
3  meet the requirements for designation as an eligible
4  telecommunications carrier for purposes of the fund and is in
5  compliance with the commission's rules, including the
6  provisions regarding use of support from the fund.
7G.   The commission shall, upon implementation of
8  the fund, select a neutral third-party administrator to
9  collect, administer and disburse money from the fund under
10 the supervision and control of the commission pursuant to
11 established criteria and rules promulgated by the commission.
12 The administrator may be reasonably compensated for the
13 specified services from the surcharge proceeds to be received
14 by the fund pursuant to Subsection B of this section.   For
15 purposes of this subsection, the commission shall not be a
16 neutral third-party administrator.
17H.   The fund established by the commission shall
18 ensure the availability of universal service as determined
19 by the commission at affordable rates in rural areas of the
20 state; provided, however, that nothing in this section shall
21 be construed as granting any authority to the commission to
22 regulate broadband internet access services.
23I.   The commission shall ensure that intrastate
24 switched access charges are equal to interstate switched
25 access charges established by the federal communications        SFC/SB 152
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1  commission as of January 1, 2006.     Nothing in this section
2  shall preclude the commission from considering further
3  adjustments to intrastate switched access charges based on
4  changes to interstate switched access charges.
5J.     To ensure that providers of intrastate retail
6  communications service contribute to the fund and to further
7  ensure that the surcharge determined pursuant to Subsection B
8  of this section to be paid by the end-user customer will be
9  held to a minimum, the commission shall adopt rules, or take
10 other appropriate action, to require all such providers to
11 participate in a plan to ensure accurate reporting.
12K.     The commission shall authorize payments from
13 the fund to incumbent local exchange carriers, in combination
14 with revenue-neutral rate rebalancing up to the affordability
15 benchmark rates.    Beginning in 2018, the commission shall
16 make access reduction support payments in the amount made
17 from the fund in base year 2014, adjusted each year
18 thereafter by:
19(1)   the annual percentage change in the
20 number of access lines served by the incumbent local exchange
21 carriers receiving such support for the prior calendar year,
22 as compared to base year 2014; and
23(2)   changes in the affordability benchmark
24 rates that have occurred since 2014.
25L.     Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection K   SFC/SB 152
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1  of this section, the annual amount of access reduction
2  support payments for an eligible incumbent local exchange
3  carrier in each year shall be equal to the annual access
4  reduction support payments for that eligible incumbent local
5  exchange carrier for the year 2023.
6M.   The commission shall determine the methodology
7  to be used to authorize payments to all other carriers that
8  apply for and receive eligible carrier status; provided that:
9(1)   an eligible incumbent telecommunications
10 carrier that is not eligible for funding pursuant to rate
11 rebalancing in Subsection K of this section and that has been
12 previously authorized pursuant to Subsection N of this
13 section for need-based support may apply for ongoing fund
14 support at the annual amount previously authorized in 2023;
15(2)   the commission shall award an applicant
16 ongoing fund support at no less than the average access line
17 amount of funding support for comparable carriers;
18(3)   the commission shall act upon a request
19 for ongoing fund support within one hundred twenty days of
20 the filing of the request; and
21(4)   nothing in this subsection shall limit
22 the commission's authority to adopt rules regarding
23 appropriate uses of fund support and any restrictions on the
24 use of the fund support by eligible telecommunications
25 carriers.  SFC/SB 152
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1N.    The commission may also authorize payments from
2  the fund to incumbent rural telecommunications carriers or to
3  telecommunications carriers providing comparable retail
4  alternative services that have been designated as eligible
5  telecommunications carriers serving in rural areas of the
6  state upon a finding, based on factors that may include a
7  carrier's regulated revenues, expenses or investment, by the
8  commission that such payments are needed to ensure the
9  widespread availability and affordability of universal
10 service.   The commission shall decide cases filed pursuant to
11 this subsection with reasonable promptness, with or without a
12 hearing, but no later than six months following the filing of
13 an application seeking payments from the fund, unless the
14 commission finds that a longer time will be required, in
15 which case the commission may extend the period for an
16 additional three months."
17      SECTION 7.    A new section of the Rural
18 Telecommunications Act of New Mexico is enacted to read:
19      "LOW-INCOME TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANCE AND BROADBAND
20 PROGRAMS--REPORTS.--
21A.    By January 1, 2027, the commission shall
22 promulgate rules to implement a low-income telecommunications
23 assistance program to ensure affordable access to
24 telecommunications services to eligible low-income households
25 in New Mexico.    Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection        SFC/SB 152
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1  shall:
2(1)    complement the lifeline program
3  administered by the federal communications commission or a
4  successor federal broadband affordability program;
5(2)    mirror quality of service standards for
6  fixed broadband and mobile broadband provided to a broadband
7  serviceable location established by the federal
8  communications commission;
9(3)    establish a mechanism by which a
10 participating eligible telecommunications carrier may be
11 reimbursed from the fund for reduced rates provided to
12 eligible households at levels up to the retail charges for
13 qualifying services;
14(4)    require participating eligible
15 telecommunications carriers to use the national verifier or
16 national lifeline accountability database administered by the
17 federal communications commission, a successor federal
18 broadband affordability database or an alternative mechanism
19 approved by the commission to verify eligible households
20 under Paragraph (5) of this subsection; and
21(5)    provide for an eligible
22 telecommunications carrier to provide assistance in the form
23 of reduced rates to households that:
24(a)   include a student identified by the
25 public education department who is determined to be at risk        SFC/SB 152
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1  pursuant to the final judgment in the Yazzie/Martinez v.
2  State of New Mexico consolidated lawsuit;
3(b)   meet the eligibility criteria of
4  one or more need-based assistance programs administered by
5  the health care authority; or
6(c)   are eligible for support under the
7  federal lifeline program or a successor program.
8B.   Subject to state and federal laws and
9  regulations governing the sharing of confidential
10 information, the public education department and health care
11 authority shall cooperate with the commission and eligible
12 telecommunications carriers in identifying those persons
13 eligible for assistance from the low-income
14 telecommunications assistance program.
15C.   The commission shall adopt rules to establish
16 and implement a broadband program to provide funding to
17 assist eligible telecommunications carriers in the
18 construction or maintenance of rural broadband infrastructure
19 to ensure that all New Mexico residents have access to
20 broadband internet access service that meets the quality of
21 service standards established pursuant to the Broadband
22 Access and Expansion Act or by the federal communications
23 commission if state standards are not established pursuant to
24 the Broadband Access and Expansion Act; provided that rules
25 adopted pursuant to this subsection shall:  SFC/SB 152
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1(1)   consider applications for funding on a
2  technology-neutral basis;
3(2)   require that applications for funding be
4  submitted to the office for prioritization and alignment with
5  the statewide broadband plan;
6(3)   require that the awards of support be
7  consistent with federal universal service support programs;
8  and
9(4)   require tribal consent for all
10 applications that propose to provide service on the sovereign
11 land of an Indian nation, tribe or pueblo in New Mexico.
12D.   By October 1 of each year, the commission shall
13 make a report to the interim committee that studies economic
14 and rural development, the legislative finance committee, the
15 legislative education study committee and the interim
16 committee that studies technology and telecommunications
17 regarding the status of the broadband program and the
18 low-income telecommunications assistance program.   The report
19 shall be shared with the office, the public education
20 department and the health care authority.   The report shall
21 include, at a minimum:
22(1)   the number of households receiving
23 assistance from the low-income telecommunications assistance
24 program pursuant to this section;
25(2)   the number of households in New Mexico     SFC/SB 152
                                                                  Page 29
1  eligible for low-income telecommunications assistance
2  pursuant to this section based on eligible households
3  identified by the public education department, the health
4  care authority and the federal communications commission;
5(3)   the estimated cost of providing
6  low-income telecommunications assistance to all eligible
7  households in New Mexico;
8(4)   the service areas that received funding
9  awards from the broadband program, the amounts of those
10 awards and the nature of the awards;
11(5)   the proposed construction time lines for
12 all new broadband construction;
13(6)   a comparison of the annual broadband
14 operation and maintenance funding provided by the commission
15 each year, broken down by individual carrier;
16(7)   recommendations for changes to the
17 structure, size and purposes of the fund, including:
18(a)   whether the cap on the low-income
19 telecommunications assistance program provided for in
20 Subsection C of Section 8 of this 2026 act should be
21 modified, maintained or eliminated; and
22(b)   whether the cap on the broadband
23 program provided for in Subsection B of Section 8 of this
24 2026 act should be modified, maintained or eliminated;
25(8)   details regarding collaboration with the   SFC/SB 152
                                                                  Page 30
1  office in the implementation and operation of the broadband
2  program; and
3(9)   details regarding collaboration with the
4  public education department and the health care authority in
5  the implementation and operation of the low-income
6  telecommunications assistance program."
7SECTION 8.    A new section of the Rural
8  Telecommunications Act of New Mexico is enacted to read:
9"STATE RURAL UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND BUDGET CAPS.--The
10 total obligations of the fund determined by the commission,
11 plus administrative expenses and a prudent fund balance,
12 shall not exceed a cap of:
13A.    eighteen million dollars ($18,000,000) pursuant
14 to the access reduction support, need-based support and
15 comparable carrier support in Subsections K through N of
16 Section 63-9H-6 NMSA 1978;
17B.    twelve million dollars ($12,000,000) pursuant
18 to the broadband program in Subsection C of Section 7 of this
19 2026 act; and
20C.    pursuant to the low-income telecommunications
21 assistance program:
22(1)   ten million dollars ($10,000,000) in the
23 first year of the program; and
24(2)   forty-five million dollars ($45,000,000)
25 per year in subsequent years of the program."  SFC/SB 152
                                                                    Page 31
1SECTION 9.    REPEAL.--Sections 63-9C-1 through 63-9C-6
2  NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1987, Chapter 197, Sections 1 through
3  6, as amended) are repealed.
4SECTION 10.    EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the
5  provisions of this act is July 1, 2026.  SFC/SB 152
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