Amend the bill, as and if amended, by striking item (10) on page 6, lines 19-29 and inserting:
/ (10) The term 'carrier of last resort' means a facilities-based local exchange carrier, as determined by the commission, not inconsistent with the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, which has the obligation to provide basic local exchange telephone service, upon reasonable request, to all residential and single-line business customers within a defined service or geographic area. A carrier of last resort may meet its obligation by using any available technology of equal or greater service quality than is required by applicable commission regulations as of the effective date of this act, including, but not limited to, the provision of a broadband connection that allows the customer to access the voice provider of the customer's choice. Initially, the incumbent LEC must be a carrier of last resort within its existing service area." /
To further amend the bill, as and if amended, by adding appropriately numbered items after item (7) in SECTION 5 on page 10 to read:
/ () A carrier of last resort authorized to receive funds from the USF is subject to random compliance audits and other investigations by the Office of Regulatory Staff, in accordance with Section 58-4-55.
() All carriers of last resort shall retain all records of operations within the jurisdiction of the Office of Regulatory Staff required to demonstrate that the support received was used to support the programs for which it was intended. This documentation must be maintained for at least 10 years from the receipt of the funding. All such documents shall be made available upon request to the Office of Regulatory Staff. /
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend title to conform.