Whereas, it is necessary that the State immediately adopt legislation to direct implementation of a Universal Service Fund prior to May 30,2001 to address access rate reductions directed by the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 35-A, section 7101-B; and

Whereas, the First Regular Session of the 120th Legislature will not adjourn more than 90 days prior to May 30, 2001; and

Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, therefore,

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

Sec. 1. 35-A MRSA §7104, sub-§3, as amended by PL 1999, c. 60, §1, is repealed.

Sec. 2. 35-A MRSA §7104, sub-§§5 to 10 are enacted to read:

5.__Authority; universal service fund.__The commission shall adopt rules to establish a universal service fund.__The rules established by this subsection must be consistent with the goals set forth in any federal universal service support mechanism adopted by this Title, the Federal Communications Commission and the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, Public Law 104-104, 110 Stat. 56 and must:

A.__Identify and make explicit any embedded or implicit subsidies existing in intrastate rates and provide support for the loss of subsidies that result from the reduction of a telephone utility's access charges.__The rules adopted under this paragraph must be adopted by May 30, 2001; and

B.__Provide support to telephone utilities with high costs for the provisioning of telephone utility service to ensure that basic service rates are comparable throughout the entirety of the State.__The rules adopted under this paragraph must be adopted by May 30, 2002.

Rules adopted under this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter II-A.

6.__Funding.__The commission may require providers of intrastate telecommunications services to contribute to a