392.220. Rates, schedules, suspension of, when--revocation of certificate of service, penalty. - Missouri Statutes

Rates, schedules, suspension of, when--revocation of certificate ofservice, penalty.

392.220. 1. Every telecommunications company shall print and filewith the commission schedules showing the rates, rentals and charges forservice of each and every kind by or over its facilities between points inthis state and between each point upon its facilities and all points uponall facilities leased or operated by it and between each point upon itsfacilities or upon any facility leased or operated by it and all pointsupon the line of any other telecommunications company whenever a throughservice or joint rate shall have been established between any two points.If no joint rate over through facilities has been established, the severalcompanies joined over such through facilities shall file with thecommission the separately established rates and charges applicable wherethrough service is afforded. Such schedule shall plainly state the placesbetween which telecommunications service will be rendered and shall alsostate separately all charges and all privileges or facilities granted orallowed and any rules or regulations or forms of contract which may in anywise change, affect or determine any or the aggregate of the rates, rentalsor charges for the service rendered. Such schedule shall be plainlyprinted and kept open to public inspection. The commission shall have thepower to prescribe the form of every such schedule and may from time totime prescribe, by order, changes in the form thereof. The commissionshall also have power to establish rules and regulations for keeping suchschedules open to public inspection and may from time to time modify thesame. Every telecommunications company shall file with the commission asand when required by it a copy of any contract, agreement or arrangement inwriting with any other telecommunications company or with any othercorporation, association or person relating in any way to the construction,maintenance or use of telecommunications facilities or service by or ratesand charges over or upon any facilities.

2. Unless the commission otherwise orders, and except for the ratescharged by a telephone cooperative for providing telecommunications servicewithin an exchange or within a local calling scope as determined by thecommission other than the rates for exchange access service, no changeshall be made in any rate, charge or rental, or joint rate, charge orrental which shall have been filed by a telecommunications company incompliance with the requirements of sections 392.190 to 392.530, exceptafter thirty days' notice to the commission, which notice shall plainlystate the changes proposed to be made in the schedule then in force and thetime when the changed rate, charge or rental shall go into effect; and allproposed changes shall be shown by filing new schedules or shall be plainlyindicated upon the schedules filed and in force at the time and kept opento public inspection. The commission for good cause shown may allowchanges in rates, charges or rentals without requiring the thirty days'notice, under such conditions as it may prescribe. All such changes shallbe immediately indicated upon its schedules by such telecommunicationscompany. No telecommunications company shall charge, demand, collect orreceive a different compensation for any service rendered or to be renderedthan the charge applicable to such service as specified in its schedule onfile and in effect at that time. No telecommunications company shallrefund or remit directly or indirectly any portion of the rate or charge sospecified, nor extend to any person or corporation any form of contract oragreement, or any rule or regulation, or any privilege or facility otherthan such privileges and facilities as are contemplated by sections392.200, 392.245, and 392.455, except such as are specified in its schedulefiled and in effect at the time and regularly and uniformly extended to allpersons and corporations under like circumstances for a like orsubstantially similar service.

3. No telecommunications company subject to the provisions of thislaw shall, directly or indirectly, give any free or reduced service, or anyfree pass or frank for the provision of telecommunications services betweenpoints within this state, except to its officers, employees, agents,surgeons, physicians, attorneys at law and their families; to persons orcorporations exclusively engaged in charitable and eleemosynary work andministers of religions; to officers and employees of other telegraphcorporations and telephone corporations, railroad corporations and streetrailroad corporations; public education institutions, public libraries andnot-for-profit health care institutions. This subsection shall not applyto state, municipal or federal contracts.

4. Any proposed rate or charge for any new telecommunications servicewhich has not previously been provided by a telecommunications company toits Missouri customers may be suspended by the commission for a period notto exceed thirty days from the proposed effective date of such proposedrate or charge. This subsection shall not be applicable to any new priceor method of pricing for a service presently being offered by anytelecommunications company to its Missouri customers. Upon proposing arate or charge for a telecommunications service which has not previouslybeen provided by a telecommunications company to its Missouri customers,the offeror must file with the commission its justification for consideringsuch offering a new service and such other information as may be requiredby rule or regulation, and must identify that service as beingnoncompetitive, transitionally competitive or competitive. If the offeroris a noncompetitive or transitionally competitive telecommunicationscompany and it proposes such service as a transitionally competitive orcompetitive telecommunications service, the telecommunications serviceshall be treated as a transitionally competitive telecommunications serviceuntil such time as the commission finally determines the appropriateclassification. If the offeror is a competitive telecommunications companyand it proposes such service as a competitive service, the competitiveclassification proposed by the offeror of the service shall apply untilsuch time as the commission finally determines the appropriateclassification. Such final determination by the commission of theappropriate classification of such service may be made by the commissionafter the end of the maximum thirty-day suspension period, but any suchdecision by the commission issued after the maximum thirty-day suspensionperiod shall be prospective in nature. The commission shall expediteproceedings under this subsection in order to facilitate the rapidintroduction of new telecommunications products and services into themarketplace.

5. Unless the commission otherwise orders, any change in rates orcharges, or change in any classification or tariff resulting in a change inrates or charges, for any telephone cooperative shall be filed, on aninformational basis, with the commission at least thirty days prior to thedate for implementation of such change. Nothing contained in this sectionshall be construed as conferring jurisdiction upon the commission over therates charged by a telephone cooperative for providing telecommunicationsservice within an exchange or within a local calling scope as determined bythe commission, except for exchange access service.

6. If after notice and hearing, the commission determines that atelecommunications company has violated the requirements of section 392.200or this section, it may revoke the certificate of service authority underwhich that telecommunications company operates and shall direct its generalcounsel to initiate an action under section 386.600, RSMo, to recoverpenalties from such telecommunications company in an amount not to exceedthe revenues received as a result of such violation multiplied by three orthe gross jurisdictional operating revenues of that company for thepreceding twelve months, the provisions of section 386.570, RSMo,notwithstanding.

(RSMo 1939 § 5665, A.L. 1987 H.B. 360, A.L. 1988 S.B. 481, A.L. 1991 S.B. 269, A.L. 1993 S.B. 160, A.L. 1996 S.B. 507 merged with S.B. 630, A.L. 2008 H.B. 1779)

Prior revisions: 1929 § 5209; 1919 § 10497