Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada to regulate public utilities that provide telecommunication service to the public. (Chapter 704 of NRS) Existing law requires any person who owns, controls, operates, maintains or has any contemplation of owning, controlling or operating a public utility to obtain a certificate of public convenience and necessity from the Commission before beginning operation or construction of any line, plant or system or any extension thereof. (NRS 704.330) Section 2 of this bill provides that a person is not a public utility that is required to be regulated by the Commission if the person: (1) is engaged in the business of furnishing a telecommunication service for compensation; (2) serves 25 persons or less; and (3) earned $50,000 or less from the gross sales of intrastate telecommunications services during the immediately preceding 12 months. Sections 6 and 19 of this bill make conforming changes to reflect the renumbering of certain subsections by section 2. Section 1 of this bill requires the Commission to annually review each person who holds a certificate of public convenience and necessity to provide telecommunication service to determine whether the person continues to operate as a public utility in this State. Section 1 requires the Commission to revoke a certificate of public convenience and necessity granted to such a person if, after a reasonable investigation and hearing, the Commission determines that the person: (1) no longer owns, controls, maintains or operates as a public utility; (2) the person does not plan to start, continue or resume operating as a public utility in this State by a definite date; and (3) the person has no definite plan to own, control or operate a public utility that is otherwise required to obtain a certificate of public convenience and necessity. Sections 4 and 5 of this bill require the Commission to conduct hearings and issue orders under section 1 in the same manner as the Commission conducts hearings and issues orders for other matters relating to certificates of public convenience and necessity. Existing law authorizes a board of county commissioners to grant certain public utilities the franchise, right and privilege to construct, install, operate and maintain lines, mains and other utility equipment in any unincorporated town in the county and along the public roads and highways of the county. (NRS 709.050) Existing law also authorizes a local government to: (1) manage the use of any public right-of-way or highway by video service providers; and (2) require a video service provider to pay a franchise fee for the privilege of providing video service through a network that occupies or uses any public right-of-way or highway within the jurisdiction of the local government. (NRS 711.640, 711.670) Section 14 of this bill authorizes a local government to adopt an ordinance to grant a broadband service provider or broadband infrastructure provider the franchise, right and privilege to construct, install, operate and maintain broadband equipment and broadband service lines in the public right-of-way and along the highways in the jurisdiction of the local government. Section 14 requires a broadband service provider or broadband infrastructure provider to obtain a franchise from a local government that has adopted such an ordinance before constructing or installing any broadband equipment or broadband service lines within the jurisdiction of the local government. If a local government has not adopted an ordinance, section 14 requires a broadband service provider or broadband infrastructure provider to enter into an agreement with the local government concerning the use and occupation of the public right-of-way or highway. Section 15 of this bill: (1) prescribes the requirements of such an ordinance, agreement or franchise; and (2) authorizes a local government to impose a fee against a broadband service provider or broadband infrastructure provider for the privilege of using and occupying the public right-of-way or highway of the local government. Section 16 of this bill requires that such a fee: (1) be assessed equally and uniformly; and (2) reflect a reasonable charge for the use and occupation of the public right-of-way or highway, which may not exceed 5 percent of the gross revenue of the broadband service provider or broadband infrastructure provider earned by providing services within the jurisdiction of the local government. Section 17 of this bill authorizes a local government to take certain regulatory actions with respect to its management of the use and occupation of its public right-of-way or highway by broadband service providers and broadband infrastructure providers. Section 18 of this bill excludes a fee imposed by a local government pursuant to section 16 from certain prohibitions on the ability of a local government to adopt or increase certain other fees for business licenses. Sections 10 and 12 of this bill exclude persons who are regulated by the Commission as public utilities and persons who are authorized to construct and operate a video service network from the definition of broadband infrastructure provider and broadband service provider, respectively. Sections 9, 11 and 13 of this bill define certain other terms, and section 8 of this bill establishes the applicability of those definitions to the provisions of sections 8-17. Section 3 of this bill establishes the applicability of the existing definition of “electric utility” for purposes of section 1.

Statutes affected:
As Introduced: 704.021, 704.3296, 704.360, 704.635, 704.669, 354.5989, 459A.010
BDR: 704.021, 704.3296, 704.360, 704.635, 704.669, 354.5989, 459A.010