Texas Administrative Code › Title 16 - ECONOMIC REGULATION › Part 2 - PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION OF TEXAS › Chapter 21 - INTERCONNECTION AGREEMENTS FOR TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE PROVIDERS › Subchapter A - GENERAL PROVISIONS AND DEFINITIONS › Section 21.3 - Definitions

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
The following terms, when used in this chapter, shall have
					 the following meanings, unless the context or specific language of a section
					 clearly indicates otherwise:
(1)
				  Administrative review--Process under which an application may be approved
				  without a formal hearing.
(2)
				  Affected person--The definition of affected person is that definition given in
				  the Public Utility Regulatory Act, §11.003(1).
(3) Application--A written application,
				  petition, complaint, notice of intent, appeal, or other pleading that initiates
				  a proceeding.
(4) Arbitration--A
				  form of dispute resolution in which each party presents its position on any
				  unresolved issues to an impartial third person(s) who renders a decision on the
				  basis of the information and arguments submitted.
(5) Arbitration hearing--The hearing
				  conducted by an arbitrator to resolve any issue submitted to the arbitrator. An
				  arbitration hearing is not a contested case under the Administrative Procedure
				  Act, Texas Government Code §§
										RSA
				  2001.001, et. seq.
(6) Arbitration team--Employees of the
				  commission assigned to serve as arbitrators in a dispute resolution proceeding.
				  One or more members of the arbitration team may serve as the presiding
				  officer(s) of a dispute resolution proceeding. The Arbitration team does not
				  include commission employees specifically assigned to advise
				  commissioners.
(7) Arbitrator--The
				  commission, any commissioner, or any commission employee selected to serve as
				  the presiding officer in a compulsory arbitration hearing.
(8) Authorized representative--A person who
				  enters an appearance on behalf of a party, or on behalf of a person seeking to
				  be a party or otherwise to participate, in a proceeding. The appearance may be
				  entered in person or by subscribing the representative's name upon any pleading
				  filed on behalf of the party or person seeking to be a party or otherwise to
				  participate in the proceeding. The authorized representative shall be
				  considered to remain a representative of record unless a statement or pleading
				  to the contrary is filed or stated in the record.
(9) Commission--The Public Utility Commission
				  of Texas.
(10) Commissioner--One of
				  the members of the Public Utility Commission of Texas.
(11) Complainant--A person who files a
				  complaint intended to initiate a dispute resolution proceeding.
(12) Compulsory arbitration--The arbitration
				  proceeding conducted by the commission or its designated arbitrator pursuant to
				  the commission's authority under FTA §252.
(13) Contested case--A proceeding, including
				  a ratemaking or licensing proceeding, in which the legal rights, duties, or
				  privileges of a party are to be determined by a state agency after an
				  opportunity for adjudicative hearing.
(14) Control number--Number assigned by the
				  commission's Central Records to a docket, project, or tariff.
(15) Days--Calendar days, not working days,
				  unless otherwise specified by this chapter or the commission's substantive
				  rules.
(16) Decision Point List
				  (DPL)--A matrix established before the submittal of testimony that includes the
				  specific issues to be decided in a dispute resolution proceeding.
(17) Dispute resolution proceeding--A
				  proceeding conducted by a presiding officer or commission employee in
				  accordance with this chapter. A dispute resolution proceeding is not a
				  contested case subject to the Administrative Procedure Act, Texas Government
				  Code §§
										RSA
				  2001.001, et. seq. A dispute resolution
				  proceeding may include formal or informal proceedings.
(18) Docket--A proceeding under this
				  chapter.
(19) FTA--The federal
				  Telecommunications Act of 1996, Public Law Number 104-104, 110 Stat.56 (1996),
				  (codified at
				  47
				  U.S.C. §§151 et seq.).
(20) Hearing--Any proceeding at which
				  evidence is taken on the merits of the matters at issue, not including
				  prehearing conferences.
(21)
				  Informal settlement conference--One or more optional, informal meetings between
				  parties to an interconnection agreement and commission staff in which
				  commission staff assist the parties to reach settlement as to all or some of
				  the disputed issues.
(22)
				  Mediation--A voluntary dispute resolution process in which a neutral third
				  party, including, but not limited to, a member of the commission staff, assists
				  the parties in reaching agreement. The mediator does not have the authority to
				  impose a resolution.
(23) Party--A
				  party to negotiations under Subchapter D Dispute Resolution or a party to an
				  agreement under Subchapter E Post-Interconnection Dispute Resolution.
(24) Person--An individual, partnership,
				  corporation, association, governmental subdivision, entity, or public or
				  private organization.
(25)
				  Petition--A written document complying with §
										RSA
				  21.33 of this title (relating to Formal
				  Requisites of Pleadings and Documents to be Filed with the Commission) intended
				  to initiate a dispute resolution proceeding with the commission.
(26) Petitioner--A person who files a
				  petition intended to initiate a dispute resolution proceeding with the
				  commission.
(27) Pleading--A
				  written document submitted by a party, or a person seeking to participate in a
				  proceeding, setting forth allegations of fact, claims, requests for relief,
				  legal argument, and/or other matters relating to a proceeding.
(28) Prehearing conference--Any conference or
				  meeting of the parties, prior to the hearing on the merits, on the record and
				  presided over by the presiding officer.
(29) Presiding officer--The commission, any
				  commissioner, any hearings examiner or administrative law judge, or arbitrator
				  presiding over a proceeding or any portion thereof.
(30) Proceeding--Any hearing, investigation,
				  inquiry or other fact-finding or decision-making procedure, including the
				  denial of relief or the dismissal of a complaint, conducted by the
				  commission.
(31) Project--A
				  rulemaking or other proceeding that is not a docket or a tariff.
(32) PURA--The Public Utility Regulatory Act,
				  Texas Utilities Code, Title 2, as it may be amended from time to
				  time.
(33) Respondent--A person
				  against whom a petition has been filed.
(34) Working day--A day on which the
				  commission is open for the conduct of business.