Sec. 1. 35-A MRSA §102, sub-§19, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 141, Pt. A, §6, is amended to read:

19. Telephone utility. "Telephone utility" includes every person, its lessees, trustees, receivers or trustees appointed by any court, owning, controlling, operating or managing any that provides telephone line service for compensation within inside this State.

Sec. 2. 35-A MRSA §102, sub-§18-A is enacted to read:

18-A.__Telephone service.__"Telephone service" is the offering of a service that transmits communications by telephone, whether the communications are accomplished with or without the use of transmission wires.

Sec. 3. 35-A MRSA §102, sub-§20, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 141, Pt. A, §6, is repealed.

SUMMARY

This bill clarifies that all persons offering telephone services for compensation, including so-called "switchless resellers," are telephone utilities. The bill revises the definition of "telephone utility" by specifying that a telephone utility offers "telephone service" rather than having to own, control, operate, or manage a "telephone line" itself; establishes a new definition of "telephone service"; and repeals the definition of "telephone line."