An Act To Prohibit Telephone Line-item Charges Not Representing Services Requested by the Customer or Required by Law
Maine Legislature, Session 124, LD 0127
Committee Amendment CA_A_H32 (House)
Amends: 35-A MRSA §7102, 35-A MRSA §7109

FffiST REGULAR SESSION 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ,,{i " to H.P. 111, L.D. 127, Bill, "An Act To 
Prohibit Telephone Line-item Charges Not Representing Services Requested by the 
Customer or Required by Law" 
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following: 
'An Act To Prohibit Telepbone Charges Not Representing Services or Fees 
Requested by the Customer or Authorized by the Government' 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the 
summary and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 1. 35-A MRSA §7102, sub-§l-B is enacted to read: 
I-B. 
Line-item charge. "Line-item charge" means a discrete charge identified 
separately on a customer's telephone bill. 
Sec. 2. 35-A MRSA §7109 is enacted to read:' 
§7109. Unlawful telephone charges 
1. Unauthorized and duplicative line-item charges prohibited. A telephone 
utility may not charge a customer for, or include as a separate line-item charge on the 
customer's bill, any charge unless that charge represents: 
A. An actual service or fee authorized by the customer; or 
B. An actual tax, fee or charge authorized or required by federal or state law or by a 
federal or state agency rule or order. 
A telephone utility may not include in a line-item charge on a customer's bill any element 
of the telephone utility's costs that is charged for elsewhere on the customer's bill. 
. 2. Description of line-item charges required. A telephone utility shall provide on 
the customer's bill a brief, clear, nonmisleading, plain language description of each line-
item charge included on the bill and the authorized service, tax or fee represented by that 
line-item charge. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
fllt·l 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "~ " to H.P. Ill, L.D. 127 
3. Enforcement. In addition to any authority the commission may have pursuant to 
other law, the commission may impose an administrative penalty upon a telephone utility 
for violation of this section. The amount of any administrative penalty imposed under this 
subsection may not exceed $1,000 per violator for violations arising out of the same 
incident or complaint and must be based on: 
A. The severity of the violation, including the intent of the violator and the nature, 
circumstances, extent and gravity of any prohibited acts; 
. 
B. The history of previous violations by the violator; 
C. The amount necessary to deter future violations;· 
D. Good faith attempts to comply after notification of a violation; and 
E. Such other matters as justice requires. 
The commission shall provide a simple process for a customer of a telephone utility to 
report to the commission a line-item charge that the customer believes may violate this 
section. 
This subsection is not intended to limit any enforcement action or penalty pursued by the 
Attorney General for violations of Title 5, chapter 10 where applicable.' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment strikes the bill and does the following. 
1. It prohibits a telephone utility from charging a customer for any service, tax or fee 
that is not authorized by the customer or authorized or required by the State or the Federal 
Government. 
.. It specifies that a charge may only be listed as a separate line-item charge on the 
bill when the charge represents a service or fee authorized by the customer or a tax, fee or 
charge authorized or required by the State or the Federal Government. It also adds 
language to prohibit a telephone utility from including in a line-item charge anything that 
is charged for elsewhere on the customer's bill. 
3. It requires that a clear description of line-item charges be included on telephone 
bills. 
4. It authorizes the Public Utilities Commission to impose an administrative penalty 
for violations up to $1,000 per violator for violations arising out of the same incident or 
complaint. It requires the commission to provide a simple process for a customer to report 
a line-item charge the customer believes may be in violation. Finally, it clarifies that this 
provision is not intended to limit any enforcement action or penalty pursued by the 
Attorney General under the Maine Unfair Trade Practices Act. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attacbed) 
COMMI 
EE AMENDMENT 
'::\\ 
I 
I / 
) 
) 
) 
J7 
\ , 
~) 
Revised: 03/17/09 fl;?ac:.. 
LD127 
LR427(02) 
An Act To Prohibit Telephone Line-item Charges Not Representing Services Requested by the 
Customer or Required by Law 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment "A" 
. 
Committee: Utilities and Energy 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Minor cost increase - General Fund 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
( 
\ 
This bill prohibits a telephone utility from including line item charges on a phone bill unless those charges are 
required by the federal or state law or requested by the customer. Further the bill grants authority to the Public 
Utilities Commission (PUC) to assess an administrative penalty of up to $1000 per violation for noncompliance with 
the new line item restrictions. The PUC has the discretion to assess the penalty based upon severity of the violation, 
the company's hi&torical compliance, good faith attempts to comply after being notified ofthe violation and other 
conditions. At this time, the PUC does not project any revenue from fines. Additional costs to the PUC associated 
with rulemaking can be absorbed within existing budgeted resources. This bill does not limit any enforcement action 
or penalty pursued by the Attorney General under the Unfair Trade Practices Act. 
LR0427(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1