Mo. Rev. Stat. § 392.220 — MO Code / Chapter 392 / Section 392.220
392.220 Rates, schedules, suspension of, when — revocation of certificate of ...
Status: in_force

392.220. Rates, schedules, suspension of, when — revocation of certificate of service, penalty. — 1. Every telecommunications company shall print and file with the commission schedules showing the rates, rentals and charges for service of each and every kind by or over its facilities between points in this state and between each point upon its facilities and all points upon all facilities leased or operated by it and between each point upon its facilities or upon any facility leased or operated by it and all points upon the line of any other telecommunications company whenever a through service or joint rate shall have been established between any two points. If no joint rate over through facilities has been established, the several companies joined over such through facilities shall file with the commission the separately established rates and charges applicable where through service is afforded. Such schedule shall plainly state the places between which telecommunications service will be rendered and shall also state separately all charges and all privileges or facilities granted or allowed and any rules or regulations or forms of contract which may in any wise change, affect or determine any or the aggregate of the rates, rentals or charges for the service rendered. Such schedule shall be plainly printed and kept open to public inspection. The commission shall have the power to prescribe the form of every such schedule and may from time to time prescribe, by order, changes in the form thereof. The commission shall also have power to establish rules and regulations for keeping such schedules open to public inspection and may from time to time modify the same. Every telecommunications company shall file with the commission as and when required by it a copy of any contract, agreement or arrangement in writing with any other telecommunications company or with any other corporation, association or person relating in any way to the construction, maintenance or use of telecommunications facilities or service by or rates and charges over or upon any facilities.

2. Unless the commission otherwise orders, and except for the rates charged by a telephone cooperative for providing telecommunications service within an exchange or within a local calling scope as determined by the commission other than the rates for exchange access service, no change shall be made in any rate, charge or rental, or joint rate, charge or rental which shall have been filed by a telecommunications company in compliance with the requirements of sections 392.190 to 392.530 , except after thirty days' notice to the commission, which notice shall plainly state the changes proposed to be made in the schedule then in force and the time when the changed rate, charge or rental shall go into effect; and all proposed changes shall be shown by filing new schedules or shall be plainly indicated upon the schedules filed and in force at the time and kept open to public inspection. The commission for good cause shown may allow changes in rates, charges or rentals without requiring the thirty days' notice, under such conditions as it may prescribe. All such changes shall be immediately indicated upon its schedules by such telecommunications company. No telecommunications company shall charge, demand, collect or receive a different compensation for any service rendered or to be rendered than the charge applicable to such service as specified in its schedule on file and in effect at that time. No telecommunications company shall refund or remit directly or indirectly any portion of the rate or charge so specified, nor extend to any person or corporation any form of contract or agreement, or any rule or regulation, or any privilege or facility other than such privileges and facilities as are contemplated by sections 392.200 , 392.245 , and 392.455 , except such as are specified in its schedule filed and in effect at the time and regularly and uniformly extended to all persons and corporations under like circumstances for a like or substantially similar service.

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

4. Any proposed rate or charge for any new telecommunications service which has not previously been provided by a telecommunications company to its Missouri customers may be suspended by the commission for a period not to exceed thirty days from the proposed effective date of such proposed rate or charge. This subsection shall not be applicable to any new price or method of pricing for a service presently being offered by any telecommunications company to its Missouri customers. Upon proposing a rate or charge for a telecommunications service which has not previously been provided by a telecommunications company to its Missouri customers, the offeror must file with the commission its justification for considering such offering a new service and such other information as may be required by rule or regulation, and must identify that service as being noncompetitive, transitionally competitive or competitive. If the offeror is a noncompetitive or transitionally competitive telecommunications company and it proposes such service as a transitionally competitive or competitive telecommunications service, the telecommunications service shall be treated as a transitionally competitive telecommunications service until such time as the commission finally determines the appropriate classification. If the offeror is a competitive telecommunications company and it proposes such service as a competitive service, the competitive classification proposed by the offeror of the service shall apply until such time as the commission finally determines the appropriate classification. Such final determination by the commission of the appropriate classification of such service may be made by the commission after the end of the maximum thirty-day suspension period, but any such decision by the commission issued after the maximum thirty-day suspension period shall be prospective in nature. The commission shall expedite proceedings under this subsection in order to facilitate the rapid introduction of new telecommunications products and services into the marketplace.

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

6. If after notice and hearing, the commission determines that a telecommunications company has violated the requirements of section 392.200 or this section, it may revoke the certificate of service authority under which that telecommunications company operates and shall direct its general counsel to initiate an action under section 386.600 to recover penalties from such telecommunications company in an amount not to exceed the revenues received as a result of such violation multiplied by three or the gross jurisdictional operating revenues of that company for the preceding twelve months, the provisions of section 386.570 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 (1958) Where telephone company serving a number of communities fixed its rates on a system-wide basis, a holding that city licenses or gross receipts taxes of some of the cities served should be collected from telephone users in cities which levied the taxes was reasonable. State ex rel. City of West Plains v. Pub. Serv. Comm. (Mo.), 310 S.W.2d 925. (1968) Held that limitation of damages in rate schedule are binding on customers and failure to correct error in two consecutive listings and with notice from customer held to be negligent but not "willful, wanton or reckless" so as to allow recovery for loss of business. Warner v. Southwestern Bell Telephone Company (Mo.), 428 S.W.2d 596.