LOW-INCOME TELECOMM. ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

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AN ACT
RELATING TO TELECOMMUNICATIONS; AMENDING THE RURAL
TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACT OF NEW MEXICO TO ESTABLISH A
LOW-INCOME TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANCE PROGRAM AND
RESTRUCTURE THE EXISTING BROADBAND PROGRAM; MAKING CONFORMING
AND CLEAN-UP AMENDMENTS; REQUIRING REPORTS; ESTABLISHING
STATE RURAL UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND BUDGET CAPS; REPEALING THE
LOW INCOME TELEPHONE SERVICE ASSISTANCE ACT; AMENDING,
REPEALING AND ENACTING SECTIONS OF THE NMSA 1978.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. Section 63-9A-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1985,
Chapter 242, Section 5, as amended) is amended to read:
“63-9A-5. REGULATION BY COMMISSION.--
A. Except as otherwise provided in the New Mexico
Telecommunications Act, each public telecommunications
service is declared to be affected with the public interest
and, as such, subject to the provisions of that act,
including the regulation thereof as provided in that act.
B. Except in cases regarding the fixing of rates
pursuant to Section 63-7-1.1 NMSA 1978, the commission has
exclusive jurisdiction to regulate incumbent local exchange
carriers that serve fifty thousand or more access lines
within the state to the extent authorized by the New Mexico
Telecommunications Act; provided that:
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(1) the commission's jurisdiction includes
the regulation of wholesale rates, including access charges
and interconnection agreements consistent with federal law
and its enforcement and determinations of participation in
low-income telephone service assistance programs pursuant to
the Rural Telecommunications Act of New Mexico; and
(2) incumbent local exchange carriers
regulated pursuant to this section shall be regulated in the
same manner as incumbent rural telecommunications carriers
are regulated pursuant to the Rural Telecommunications Act of
New Mexico.
C. Any rules adopted by the commission for the
regulation of incumbent local exchange carriers pursuant to
the New Mexico Telecommunications Act shall preserve and not
alter:
(1) the rights and obligations of any
entity, including the commission, established pursuant to
federal law, including 47 U.S.C. Sections 251 and 252, or
established pursuant to any state law, rule, procedure,
regulation or order related to interconnection, intercarrier
compensation, intercarrier complaints, wholesale rights and
obligations or any wholesale rate or schedule that is filed
with and maintained by the commission;
(2) the rights and obligations of any
competitive telecommunications service provider holding a
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certificate of public convenience and necessity, or the
rights and obligations of any competitive carrier to obtain
such a certificate;
(3) the authority of the commission to
resolve consumer complaints regarding basic local exchange
service; provided, however, that the commission's authority
to resolve such complaints shall be limited to resolving
issues of consumer protection and shall not include the
authority to determine or fix rates, provider of last resort
obligations or service quality standards except as expressly
set forth in the New Mexico Telecommunications Act;
(4) the authority of the commission to
establish reasonable quality of service standards; provided,
however, that the enforcement of such standards shall be
limited to the commission's fining authority set forth in
Section 63-7-23 NMSA 1978 and the authority to seek an
injunction set forth in Section 63-9-19 NMSA 1978;
(5) the rights and obligations of any
entity, including the commission, regarding the fund;
(6) the rights and obligations of any
entity, including the commission, regarding access to
emergency service to the extent consistent with the Enhanced
911 Act; or
(7) the rights and obligations of any
entity, including the commission, regarding the
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administration of slamming and cramming rules,
telecommunications relay service and numbering resources to
the extent permitted by and consistent with federal law.
D. The provisions of the New Mexico
Telecommunications Act do not apply to incumbent rural
telecommunications carriers."
SECTION 2. Section 63-9D-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1989,
Chapter 25, Section 5, as amended) is amended to read:
"63-9D-5. IMPOSITION OF SURCHARGE.--
A. A 911 emergency surcharge is imposed in the
amount of one dollar ($1.00) to be billed to each subscriber
access line by a communications service provider, on each
active number for a commercial mobile radio service
subscriber and on the number of VoIP lines for which the VoIP
service provider enables the capacity for simultaneous calls,
regardless of actual usage, to be connected to the public
switched telephone network during the period for which the
fixed charge is imposed. The surcharge is imposed on all
subscribers whose place of primary use, as defined in the
federal Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Act, is in
New Mexico; provided, however, that the surcharge shall not
be imposed upon subscribers receiving reduced rates as a
result of the low-income telecommunications assistance
program pursuant to the Rural Telecommunications Act of
New Mexico; and provided further that the surcharge shall not
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apply to prepaid wireless communication service; and provided
further that a 911 emergency surcharge shall not be assessed
on the provision of broadband internet access service.
B. A communications service provider shall bill
and collect the surcharge from subscribers whose places of
primary use, as defined in the federal Mobile
Telecommunications Sourcing Act, are in New Mexico. The
surcharge required to be collected by the communications
service provider shall be added to and stated clearly and
separately in the billings to the subscriber. The surcharge
collected by the communications service provider shall not be
considered revenue of the communications service provider.
C. A billed subscriber is liable for payment of
the 911 emergency surcharge until it has been paid to the
communications service provider.
D. A communications service provider has no
obligation to take legal action to enforce the collection of
the surcharge; an action may be brought by or on behalf of
the department. A communications service provider, upon
request and not more than once a year, shall provide to the
department a list of the surcharge amounts uncollected, along
with the names and addresses of subscribers who carry a
balance that can be determined by the communications service
provider to be nonpayment of the surcharge. The
communications service provider shall not be held liable for
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uncollected surcharge amounts."
SECTION 3. Section 63-9F-11 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1993,
Chapter 54, Section 11, as amended) is amended to read:
"63-9F-11. IMPOSITION OF SURCHARGE.--
A. A telecommunications relay service surcharge of
one and sixty-six hundredths percent is imposed on the gross
amount paid:
(1) by customers, except customers whose
telephone service rates are reduced as a result of the
low-income telecommunications assistance program pursuant to
the Rural Telecommunications Act of New Mexico, for
intrastate telecommunications services provided in this
state;
(2) by customers for the intrastate portion
of interconnected voice over internet protocol service;
(3) by customers for intrastate mobile
telecommunications services that originate and terminate in
the same state, regardless of where the mobile
telecommunications services originate, terminate or pass
through, provided by home service providers to customers
whose place of primary use is in New Mexico; and
(4) by a prepaid consumer in a retail
transaction.
B. The telecommunications relay service surcharge
shall be included on the monthly bill of each customer of a
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local exchange company or other telecommunications company
providing intrastate telecommunications services,
interconnected voice over internet protocol services or
intrastate mobile telecommunications services and paid at the
time of payment of the monthly bill. Receipts from selling
those services to any other telecommunications company or
provider for resale are not subject to the surcharge. The
customer is liable for the payment of the surcharge to the
provider of intrastate mobile telecommunications services,
the provider of interconnected voice over internet protocol
services or the local exchange company or other
telecommunications company providing intrastate
telecommunications services to the customer.
C. For the purposes of the surcharge imposed on a
retail transaction pursuant to Paragraph (4) of Subsection A
of this section:
(1) the surcharge shall be collected by the
seller from the prepaid consumer with respect to each retail
transaction occurring in this state. The amount of the
surcharge shall be either separately stated on an invoice,
receipt or other similar document that is provided to the
prepaid consumer by the seller or otherwise disclosed to the
prepaid consumer;
(2) for the purposes of Paragraph (1) of
this subsection, a retail transaction that is effected in
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person by a prepaid consumer at a business location of the
seller shall be treated as occurring in this state if that
business location is in this state, and any other retail
transaction is treated as occurring in this state if the
retail transaction is treated as occurring in this state for
purposes of the Gross Receipts and Compensating Tax Act;
(3) the surcharge is the liability of the
prepaid consumer and not of the seller or any provider;
provided that the seller shall be liable to remit all
surcharges collected from the prepaid consumer as provided in
this subsection, including all such surcharges that the
seller is deemed to collect where the amount of the surcharge
has not been separately stated on an invoice, receipt or
other similar document provided to the prepaid consumer by
the seller;
(4) the amount of the surcharge that is
collected by a seller from a prepaid consumer, if such amount
is separately stated on an invoice, receipt or other similar
document provided to the prepaid consumer by the seller,
shall not be included in the base for measuring any tax, fee,
surcharge or other charge that is imposed by this state, any
political subdivision of this state or any intergovernmental
agency;
(5) when prepaid wireless communications
service is sold with one or more other products or services
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for a single, non-itemized price, the percentage specified in
Subsection A of this section shall apply to the entire
non-itemized price unless the seller elects to apply such
percentage to:
(a) if the amount of the prepaid
wireless communications service is disclosed to the prepaid
consumer as a dollar amount, such dollar amount; or
(b) if the seller can identify the
portion of the price that is attributable to the prepaid
wireless communications service by reasonable and verifiable
standards from its books and records that are kept in the
regular course of business for other purposes, including
non-tax purposes, such portion;
(6) if a minimal amount of prepaid wireless
communications service is sold with a prepaid wireless device
for a single, non-itemized price, the seller may elect not to
apply the percentage specified in Subsection A of this
section to such transaction. For the purposes of this
paragraph, an amount of service denominated as ten minutes or
less, or five dollars ($5.00) or less, is minimal;
(7) surcharges collected by sellers shall be
remitted to the taxation and revenue department at the times
and in the manner provided with respect to the Gross Receipts
and Compensating Tax Act. The department shall establish
registration and payment procedures that substantially
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coincide with the registration and payment procedures that
apply to the Gross Receipts and Compensating Tax Act. A
seller shall be permitted to deduct and retain three percent
of surcharges that are collected by the seller from the
prepaid consumer;
(8) the audit and appeal procedures
applicable to the Gross Receipts and Compensating Tax Act
shall apply to the surcharge;
(9) the taxation and revenue department
shall establish procedures by which a seller of prepaid
wireless communications services may document that a sale is
not a retail transaction, which procedures shall
substantially coincide with the procedures for documenting
sale for resale transactions for the Gross Receipts and
Compensating Tax Act; and
(10) notwithstanding Paragraph (1) of this
subsection, if a 911 surcharge is imposed on prepaid wireless
communications service pursuant to the Enhanced 911 Act, the
taxation and revenue department shall promulgate rules to
permit sellers to combine the surcharge imposed pursuant to
this section and the surcharge imposed pursuant to the
Enhanced 911 Act into a single surcharge on the invoice,
receipt or other similar document that is provided to the
prepaid consumer. The department shall ensure that
appropriate surcharge revenues are directed proportionately
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to the respective 911 and telecommunications relay service
funds.
D. A telecommunications company providing
intrastate telecommunications services, a home service
provider providing intrastate mobile telecommunications
services and a seller of interconnected voice over internet
protocol services shall, on sales subject to the
telecommunications relay service surcharge, assess and
collect the surcharge and remit the surcharge collected
monthly to the taxation and revenue department on or before
the twenty-fifth day of the month following collection. The
department shall administer and enforce the collection of the
surcharge in accordance with the Tax Administration Act.
E. The taxation and revenue department shall
transfer the following amounts of the net receipts of the
telecommunications relay service surcharge collected, less
any amount deducted in accordance with Subsection F of this
section, within the month following the month in which the
surcharge is collected:
(1) twenty percent to the telecommunications
access fund; and
(2) eighty percent to the 988 lifeline fund.
F. The taxation and revenue department may deduct
an amount not to exceed three percent of the
telecommunications relay service surcharge collected as a
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charge for the administrative costs of collection and shall
remit that amount to the state treasurer for deposit in the
general fund each month.
G. The commission and the health care authority
shall report to the revenue stabilization and tax policy
committee annually by September 30 the following information
with respect to the prior fiscal year:
(1) the amount and source of revenue
received by the telecommunications access fund and the 988
lifeline fund;
(2) the amount and category of expenditures
from the funds; and
(3) the balance of the funds on that
June 30."
SECTION 4. Section 63-9H-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1999,
Chapter 295, Section 3, as amended by Laws 2021, Chapter 118,
Section 1 and by Laws 2021, Chapter 120, Section 8) is
amended to read:
"63-9H-3. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Rural
Telecommunications Act of New Mexico:
A. "affordable rates" means rates for basic
service that promote universal service, giving consideration
to the economic conditions of households in the service area
and costs to provide service in the area in which service is
provided;
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B. "basic service" means service that is provided
that is consistent with the federal act:
(1) to a rural end-user customer; or
(2) to a rural or non-rural end-user
customer pursuant to the low-income telecommunications
assistance program;
C. "broadband infrastructure" means facilities and
equipment used to provide internet service, excluding
telecommunications equipment owned, controlled or operated by
a public or private end user;
D. "cable service" means the transmission to
subscribers of video programming or other programming service
and subscriber interaction, if any, that is required for the
selection or use of the video programming or other
programming service;
E. "commission" means the public regulation
commission;
F. "comparable carrier" means an eligible
telecommunications carrier established prior to enactment of
the Rural Telecommunications Act of New Mexico that has a
similar number of access lines as an eligible
telecommunications carrier established after enactment of
that act;
G. "digital equity" means information technology
needed for civic and cultural participation, employment,
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education, business and economic development, lifelong
learning and access to essential services generally available
to residents regardless of their racial grouping,
socioeconomic status or cultural identity;
H. "digital inclusion" means access to and the
ability to use information technologies;
I. "eligible telecommunications carrier" means an
eligible telecommunications carrier as defined in the federal
act;
J. "federal act" means the federal
Telecommunications Act of 1996;
K. "fund" means the state rural universal service
fund;
L. "incumbent local exchange carrier" means a
person that:
(1) was designated as an eligible
telecommunications carrier by the state corporation
commission in Docket #97-93-TC by order dated October 23,
1997, or that provided local exchange service in this state
on February 8, 1996; or
(2) became a successor or assignee of an
incumbent local exchange carrier;
M. "incumbent rural telecommunications carrier"
means an incumbent local exchange carrier that serves fewer
than fifty thousand access lines within the state and has
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been designated as an eligible telecommunications carrier by
the state corporation commission or the public regulation
commission;
N. "local exchange area" means a geographic area
encompassing one or more local communities, as described in
maps, tariffs or rate schedules filed with the commission,
where local exchange rates apply;
O. "local exchange service" means the transmission
of two-way interactive switched voice communications
furnished by a telecommunications carrier within a local
exchange area;
P. "long distance service" means
telecommunications service between local exchange areas that
originate and terminate within the state;
Q. "office" means the office of broadband access
and expansion;
R. "private telecommunications service" means a
system, including its construction, maintenance or operation
for the provision of telecommunications service, or any
portion of that service, by a person for the sole and
exclusive use of that person and not for resale, directly or
indirectly. For purposes of this definition, the person that
may use the service includes any affiliates of the person if
at least eighty percent of the assets or voting stock of the
affiliates is owned by the person. If any other person uses
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the telecommunications service, whether for hire or not, the
private telecommunications service is a public
telecommunications service;
S. "public telecommunications service" means the
transmission of signs, signals, writings, images, sounds,
messages, data or other information of any nature by wire,
radio, lightwaves or other electromagnetic means originating
and terminating in this state regardless of actual call
routing. "Public telecommunications service" does not
include the provision of terminal equipment used to originate
or terminate the service; private telecommunications service;
broadcast transmissions by radio, television and satellite
broadcast stations regulated by the federal communications
commission; radio common carrier services, including mobile
telephone service and radio paging; or cable service;
T. "rural area" means an unincorporated area or a
city, a town or an incorporated area with a population of
twenty thousand or less as reflected in the most recent
federal decennial census or applicable tribal census;
U. "statewide broadband plan" means the plan
developed by the office pursuant to the Broadband Access and
Expansion Act;
V. "telecommunications carrier" means a person
that provides public telecommunications service;
W. "underserved" means an area or property that
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does not have access to fixed and mobile internet service
offering speeds greater than one hundred megabits per second
downstream and twenty megabits per second upstream; and
X. "unserved" means an area or property that
either does not have access to fixed and mobile internet
service at all or only has access to internet service
offering speeds below twenty-five megabits per second
downstream or three megabits per second upstream."
SECTION 5. Section 63-9H-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1999,
Chapter 295, Section 4, as amended) is amended to read:
"63-9H-4. REGULATION BY COMMISSION.--
A. Except as otherwise provided in the Rural
Telecommunications Act of New Mexico or the federal act, each
public telecommunications service is declared to be affected
with the public interest and, as such, subject to the
provisions of those acts, including the regulation thereof as
provided in those acts.
B. The commission has exclusive jurisdiction to
regulate incumbent rural telecommunications carriers only in
the manner and to the extent authorized by the Rural
Telecommunications Act of New Mexico, and Section 63-7-1.1
NMSA 1978 does not apply; provided, however, that the
commission's jurisdiction includes the regulation of
wholesale rates, including access charges and interconnection
agreements consistent with federal law and its enforcement
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and a determination of participation in low-income telephone
service assistance programs pursuant to the Rural
Telecommunications Act of New Mexico.
C. The commission shall adopt rules consistent
with the requirement for relaxed regulation for incumbent
rural telecommunications carriers set forth in the Rural
Telecommunications Act of New Mexico that provide for:
(1) reduced filing requirements for
applicants in rate increase proceedings under the Rural
Telecommunications Act of New Mexico and proceedings under
that act seeking payments from the fund; and
(2) expedited consideration in all
proceedings initiated pursuant to the Rural
Telecommunications Act of New Mexico in order to reduce the
cost and burden for incumbent rural telecommunications
carriers and other applicants."
SECTION 6. Section 63-9H-6 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1999,
Chapter 295, Section 6, as amended) is amended to read:
"63-9H-6. STATE RURAL UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND--
ESTABLISHMENT.--
A. The commission shall implement and maintain a
"state rural universal service fund" to maintain and support
universal service provided by eligible telecommunications
carriers, including commercial mobile radio services
carriers, as are determined by the commission. As used in
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this section, "universal service" means basic local exchange
service, comparable retail alternative services at affordable
rates, service pursuant to a low-income telecommunications
assistance plan and broadband internet access service to
unserved and underserved areas as determined by the
commission.
B. The fund shall be financed by a surcharge on
intrastate retail public telecommunications services to be
determined by the commission, excluding services provided
pursuant to a low-income telecommunications assistance plan
billed to end-user customers by a telecommunications carrier,
and excluding all amounts from surcharges, gross receipts
taxes, excise taxes, franchise fees and similar charges. For
the purpose of funding the fund, the commission has the
authority to apply the surcharge on intrastate retail public
telecommunications services provided by telecommunications
carriers, including commercial mobile radio services and
voice over internet protocol services, at a competitively and
technologically neutral rate or rates to be determined by the
commission. The commission may establish the surcharge as a
percentage of intrastate retail public telecommunications
services revenue or as a fixed amount applicable to each
communication connection. For purposes of this section, a
"communication connection" means a voice-enabled telephone
access line, wireless voice connection, unique voice over
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internet protocol service connection or other uniquely
identifiable functional equivalent as determined by the
commission. Such surcharges shall be competitively and
technologically neutral. Money deposited in the fund is not
public money, and the administration of the fund is not
subject to the provisions of law regulating public funds.
The commission shall not apply this surcharge to a private
telecommunications network; to the state, a county, a
municipality or other governmental entity; to a public school
district; to a public institution of higher education; to
eligible households that participate in the low-income
telecommunications assistance program; to an Indian nation,
tribe or pueblo; or to Native American customers who reside
on tribal or pueblo land.
C. The fund shall be competitively and
technologically neutral, equitable and nondiscriminatory in
its collection and distribution of funds, portable between
eligible telecommunications carriers and additionally shall
provide a specific, predictable and sufficient support
mechanism as determined by the commission that ensures
universal service in the state.
D. The commission shall:
(1) establish eligibility criteria for
participation in the fund consistent with federal law that
ensure the availability of universal service at affordable
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rates. The eligibility criteria shall not restrict or limit
an eligible telecommunications carrier from receiving federal
universal service support;
(2) provide for the collection of the
surcharge on a competitively neutral basis and for the
administration and disbursement of money from the fund;
(3) determine those services and areas
requiring support from the fund;
(4) provide for the separate administration
and disbursement of federal universal service funds
consistent with federal law; and
(5) establish affordability benchmark rates
for local residential and business services that shall be
utilized in determining the level of support from the fund.
The process for determining subsequent adjustments to the
benchmark shall be established through a rulemaking.
E. All incumbent telecommunications carriers and
competitive carriers already designated as eligible
telecommunications carriers for the fund shall be eligible
for participation in the fund. All other carriers that
choose to become eligible to receive support from the fund
may petition the commission to be designated as an eligible
telecommunications carrier for the fund. The commission may
grant eligible carrier status to a competitive carrier in a
rural area upon a finding that granting the application is in
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the public interest. In making a public interest finding,
the commission may consider at least the following items:
(1) the impact of designation of an
additional eligible carrier on the size of the fund;
(2) the unique advantages and disadvantages
of the competitor's service offering; and
(3) any commitments made regarding the
quality of service.
F. The commission shall adopt rules, including a
provision for variances, for the implementation and
administration of the fund in accordance with the provisions
of this section. The rules shall enumerate the appropriate
uses of fund support and any restrictions on the use of fund
support by eligible telecommunications carriers. The rules
shall require that through December 31, 2028, an eligible
telecommunications carrier receiving support from the fund
pursuant to Subsection K, L, M or N of this section shall
expend no less than sixty percent of the support it receives
to deploy and maintain broadband internet access services in
rural areas of the state. In subsequent years, the rules
shall require that an eligible telecommunications carrier
receiving support from the fund pursuant to Subsection K, L,
M or N of this section shall expend no less than one hundred
percent of the support it receives to deploy and maintain
broadband internet access services. The rules also shall
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provide for annual reporting by eligible telecommunications
carriers verifying that the reporting carrier continues to
meet the requirements for designation as an eligible
telecommunications carrier for purposes of the fund and is in
compliance with the commission's rules, including the
provisions regarding use of support from the fund.
G. The commission shall, upon implementation of
the fund, select a neutral third-party administrator to
collect, administer and disburse money from the fund under
the supervision and control of the commission pursuant to
established criteria and rules promulgated by the commission.
The administrator may be reasonably compensated for the
specified services from the surcharge proceeds to be received
by the fund pursuant to Subsection B of this section. For
purposes of this subsection, the commission shall not be a
neutral third-party administrator.
H. The fund established by the commission shall
ensure the availability of universal service as determined
by the commission at affordable rates in rural areas of the
state; provided, however, that nothing in this section shall
be construed as granting any authority to the commission to
regulate broadband internet access services.
I. The commission shall ensure that intrastate
switched access charges are equal to interstate switched
access charges established by the federal communications
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commission as of January 1, 2006. Nothing in this section
shall preclude the commission from considering further
adjustments to intrastate switched access charges based on
changes to interstate switched access charges.
J. To ensure that providers of intrastate retail
communications service contribute to the fund and to further
ensure that the surcharge determined pursuant to Subsection B
of this section to be paid by the end-user customer will be
held to a minimum, the commission shall adopt rules, or take
other appropriate action, to require all such providers to
participate in a plan to ensure accurate reporting.
K. The commission shall authorize payments from
the fund to incumbent local exchange carriers, in combination
with revenue-neutral rate rebalancing up to the affordability
benchmark rates. Beginning in 2018, the commission shall
make access reduction support payments in the amount made
from the fund in base year 2014, adjusted each year
thereafter by:
(1) the annual percentage change in the
number of access lines served by the incumbent local exchange
carriers receiving such support for the prior calendar year,
as compared to base year 2014; and
(2) changes in the affordability benchmark
rates that have occurred since 2014.
L. Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection K
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of this section, the annual amount of access reduction
support payments for an eligible incumbent local exchange
carrier in each year shall be equal to the annual access
reduction support payments for that eligible incumbent local
exchange carrier for the year 2023.
M. The commission shall determine the methodology
to be used to authorize payments to all other carriers that
apply for and receive eligible carrier status; provided that:
(1) an eligible incumbent telecommunications
carrier that is not eligible for funding pursuant to rate
rebalancing in Subsection K of this section and that has been
previously authorized pursuant to Subsection N of this
section for need-based support may apply for ongoing fund
support at the annual amount previously authorized in 2023;
(2) the commission shall award an applicant
ongoing fund support at no less than the average access line
amount of funding support for comparable carriers;
(3) the commission shall act upon a request
for ongoing fund support within one hundred twenty days of
the filing of the request; and
(4) nothing in this subsection shall limit
the commission's authority to adopt rules regarding
appropriate uses of fund support and any restrictions on the
use of the fund support by eligible telecommunications
carriers.
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N. The commission may also authorize payments from
the fund to incumbent rural telecommunications carriers or to
telecommunications carriers providing comparable retail
alternative services that have been designated as eligible
telecommunications carriers serving in rural areas of the
state upon a finding, based on factors that may include a
carrier's regulated revenues, expenses or investment, by the
commission that such payments are needed to ensure the
widespread availability and affordability of universal
service. The commission shall decide cases filed pursuant to
this subsection with reasonable promptness, with or without a
hearing, but no later than six months following the filing of
an application seeking payments from the fund, unless the
commission finds that a longer time will be required, in
which case the commission may extend the period for an
additional three months."
SECTION 7. A new section of the Rural
Telecommunications Act of New Mexico is enacted to read:
"LOW-INCOME TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANCE AND BROADBAND
PROGRAMS--REPORTS.--
A. By January 1, 2027, the commission shall
promulgate rules to implement a low-income telecommunications
assistance program to ensure affordable access to
telecommunications services to eligible low-income households
in New Mexico. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection
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shall:
(1) complement the lifeline program
administered by the federal communications commission or a
successor federal broadband affordability program;
(2) mirror quality of service standards for
fixed broadband and mobile broadband provided to a broadband
serviceable location established by the federal
communications commission;
(3) establish a mechanism by which a
participating eligible telecommunications carrier may be
reimbursed from the fund for reduced rates provided to
eligible households at levels up to the retail charges for
qualifying services;
(4) require participating eligible
telecommunications carriers to use the national verifier or
national lifeline accountability database administered by the
federal communications commission, a successor federal
broadband affordability database or an alternative mechanism
approved by the commission to verify eligible households
under Paragraph (5) of this subsection; and
(5) provide for an eligible
telecommunications carrier to provide assistance in the form
of reduced rates to households that:
(a) include a student identified by the
public education department who is determined to be at risk
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pursuant to the final judgment in the Yazzie/Martinez v.
State of New Mexico consolidated lawsuit;
(b) meet the eligibility criteria of
one or more need-based assistance programs administered by
the health care authority; or
(c) are eligible for support under the
federal lifeline program or a successor program.
B. Subject to state and federal laws and
regulations governing the sharing of confidential
information, the public education department and health care
authority shall cooperate with the commission and eligible
telecommunications carriers in identifying those persons
eligible for assistance from the low-income
telecommunications assistance program.
C. The commission shall adopt rules to establish
and implement a broadband program to provide funding to
assist eligible telecommunications carriers in the
construction or maintenance of rural broadband infrastructure
to ensure that all New Mexico residents have access to
broadband internet access service that meets the quality of
service standards established pursuant to the Broadband
Access and Expansion Act or by the federal communications
commission if state standards are not established pursuant to
the Broadband Access and Expansion Act; provided that rules
adopted pursuant to this subsection shall:
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(1) consider applications for funding on a
technology-neutral basis;
(2) require that applications for funding be
submitted to the office for prioritization and alignment with
the statewide broadband plan;
(3) require that the awards of support be
consistent with federal universal service support programs;
and
(4) require tribal consent for all
applications that propose to provide service on the sovereign
land of an Indian nation, tribe or pueblo in New Mexico.
D. By October 1 of each year, the commission shall
make a report to the interim committee that studies economic
and rural development, the legislative finance committee, the
legislative education study committee and the interim
committee that studies technology and telecommunications
regarding the status of the broadband program and the
low-income telecommunications assistance program. The report
shall be shared with the office, the public education
department and the health care authority. The report shall
include, at a minimum:
(1) the number of households receiving
assistance from the low-income telecommunications assistance
program pursuant to this section;
(2) the number of households in New Mexico
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eligible for low-income telecommunications assistance
pursuant to this section based on eligible households
identified by the public education department, the health
care authority and the federal communications commission;
(3) the estimated cost of providing
low-income telecommunications assistance to all eligible
households in New Mexico;
(4) the service areas that received funding
awards from the broadband program, the amounts of those
awards and the nature of the awards;
(5) the proposed construction time lines for
all new broadband construction;
(6) a comparison of the annual broadband
operation and maintenance funding provided by the commission
each year, broken down by individual carrier;
(7) recommendations for changes to the
structure, size and purposes of the fund, including:
(a) whether the cap on the low-income
telecommunications assistance program provided for in
Subsection C of Section 8 of this 2026 act should be
modified, maintained or eliminated; and
(b) whether the cap on the broadband
program provided for in Subsection B of Section 8 of this
2026 act should be modified, maintained or eliminated;
(8) details regarding collaboration with the
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office in the implementation and operation of the broadband
program; and
(9) details regarding collaboration with the
public education department and the health care authority in
the implementation and operation of the low-income
telecommunications assistance program."
SECTION 8. A new section of the Rural
Telecommunications Act of New Mexico is enacted to read:
"STATE RURAL UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND BUDGET CAPS.--The
total obligations of the fund determined by the commission,
plus administrative expenses and a prudent fund balance,
shall not exceed a cap of:
A. eighteen million dollars ($18,000,000) pursuant
to the access reduction support, need-based support and
comparable carrier support in Subsections K through N of
Section 63-9H-6 NMSA 1978;
B. twelve million dollars ($12,000,000) pursuant
to the broadband program in Subsection C of Section 7 of this
2026 act; and
C. pursuant to the low-income telecommunications
assistance program:
(1) ten million dollars ($10,000,000) in the
first year of the program; and
(2) forty-five million dollars ($45,000,000)
per year in subsequent years of the program."
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SECTION 9. REPEAL.--Sections 63-9C-1 through 63-9C-6
NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1987, Chapter 197, Sections 1 through
6, as amended) are repealed.
SECTION 10. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the
provisions of this act is July 1, 2026.