§ 7503 - Fiscal agent - Vermont Statutes

§ 7503. Fiscal agent

(a) A fiscal agent shall be selected to receive and distribute funds under this chapter for the Vermont telecommunications relay service, for the Vermont lifeline program, for enhanced 911 services, and, subject to further legislative authorization, to reduce the cost to customers of basic telecommunications service in high-cost areas.

(b) The fiscal agent shall be selected by the public service board after competitive bidding. No telecommunications service provider shall be eligible to be the fiscal agent. The duties of the fiscal agent shall be determined by a contract with a term not greater than three years.

(c) In order to finance grants and other expenditures that have been approved by the public service board, the fiscal agent may borrow money from time to time in anticipation of receipts during the current fiscal year. No such note shall have a term of repayment in excess of one year, but the fiscal agent may pledge its receipts in the current and future years to secure repayment. Financial obligations of the fiscal agent are not guaranteed by the state of Vermont.

(d) The fiscal agent shall be audited annually by a certified public accountant in a manner determined by and under the direction of the public service board.

(e) The financial accounts of the fiscal agent shall be available at reasonable times to any telecommunications service provider in this state. The public service board may investigate the accounts and practices of the fiscal agent and may enter orders concerning the same.

(f) The fiscal agent acts as a fiduciary and holds funds in trust for the ratepayers until the funds have been disbursed as provided pursuant to sections 7511 through 7515 of this chapter. (Added 1993, No. 197 (Adj. Sess.), § 5; amended 2005, No. 171 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)