{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-17-17-137","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 17, § 17-137","heading":"Rates - Telephone companies not subject to local exchange","body":"rate regulation.\n\nA. Except as otherwise hereafter provided, any proceeding under\n\nSection 136 of this title and in any other proceeding to regulate\n\nthe rates of a telephone utility subject to the jurisdiction of the\n\nCorporation Commission, said Commission shall prescribe and enforce\n\nrates to provide a fair return on the fair value of the property\n\ndevoted to public service in this state.\n\nB. Telephone companies which serve less than fifteen thousand\n\n(15,000) subscribers within the state and telephone cooperatives\n\nshall not be subject to local exchange rate regulation by the\n\nCorporation Commission unless:\n\n1. The company elects by action of its board of directors to be\n\nsubject to such local exchange rate regulation by the Commission;\n\n2. The proposed local exchange rate increase exceeds Two\n\nDollars ($2.00) per access line per month in any one (1) year;\n\n3. Fifteen percent (15%) of the subscribers petition the\n\nCommission to regulate local exchange rates pursuant to subsections,\n\nD, E and F of this section; or\n\n4. The Commission declares that the company shall be subject to\n\nlocal exchange rate regulation by the Commission pursuant to\n\nsubsection G of this section.\n\nC. Each telephone company, which serves more than five percent\n\n(5%) but less than fifteen percent (15%) of the subscribers of\n\ntelephone service within the state, that increases its local\n\nexchange rates in accordance with this section shall invest an\n\namount equivalent to the annual revenues produced from such rate\n\nincrease to upgrade its facilities used for the provision of\n\nservices to subscribers served within the exchange from which\n\nrevenues from such rate increase are generated.\n\nD. Each such telephone company not subject to local exchange\n\nrate regulations, at least sixty (60) days before the effective date\n\nof any proposed rate change, shall notify the Commission and each of\n\nthe subscribers of such company of the proposed local exchange rate\n\nchange. Notice to the Commission shall include a list of the\n\npublished subscribers of such company. Notice by the company to all\n\nsubscribers shall:\n\n1. Be in a form prescribed by the Commission;\n\n2. Be by regular mail and may be included in regular subscriber\n\nbillings; and\n\n3. Include a schedule of the proposed local exchange rates, the\n\neffective date of the said rates, and the procedure necessary for\n\nthe subscribers to petition the Commission to examine and determine\n\nthe reasonableness of the proposed rates. If the telephone\n\ndirectory published by the company for its subscribers sets forth\n\nthe procedure for petitioning the Commission, a reference to the\n\nlocation in the directory shall be adequate notice of the procedure.\n\nE. The subscribers of a telephone company not subject to the\n\nCommission's local exchange rate regulation may petition the\n\nCommission to examine and determine the reasonableness of the local\n\nexchange rate change proposed by the company pursuant to subsection\n\nC of this section. The Commission shall adopt and promulgate rules\n\nand regulations governing the form of such petitions. A petition\n\nsubstantially in compliance with such rules and regulations shall\n\nnot be deemed invalid due to minor errors in its form.\n\nF. If, by the effective date of the proposed local exchange\n\nrate change, the Commission has received petitions from fewer than\n\nfifteen percent (15%) of the subscribers requesting that the\n\nCommission examine the proposed local exchange rate change, the\n\nCommission shall immediately certify such fact to the company and\n\nthe proposed local exchange rates shall become effective as\n\npublished in the notice to subscribers. If, on or before the\n\neffective date of the proposed local exchange rate change, the\n\nCommission has received petitions from fifteen percent (15%) or more\n\nof the subscribers requesting that the Commission examine and\n\ndetermine the reasonableness of the proposed local exchange rates,\ncompany and\n\nthe proposed local exchange rates shall become effective as\n\npublished in the notice to subscribers. If, on or before the\n\neffective date of the proposed local exchange rate change, the\n\nCommission has received petitions from fifteen percent (15%) or more\n\nof the subscribers requesting that the Commission examine and\n\ndetermine the reasonableness of the proposed local exchange rates,\n\nthe Commission shall notify the company that it will examine and\n\ndetermine the reasonableness of the proposed local exchange rate\n\nchange. Local exchange rates and charges established by the\n\nCommission or by a telephone company pursuant to this subsection and\n\nsubsection D of this section shall be in force for not less than one\n\n(1) year.\n\nG. In addition to the procedure for petition prior to any\n\nproposed local exchange rate change pursuant to subsections D\n\nthrough F of this section, the subscribers of a telephone company\n\nnot subject to the Commission's local exchange rate regulation may\n\nat any time petition the Commission to declare the company be\n\nsubject to such rate regulation. If the Commission determines that\n\nat least fifty-one percent (51%) of the subscribers of a company\n\nhave properly petitioned that the company be subject to the\n\nCommission's rate regulation, the Commission shall certify such fact\n\nto the company and thereafter the company shall be subject to rate\n\nregulation by the Commission until at least fifty-one percent (51%)\n\nof the subscribers of the company properly petition that the company\n\nno longer shall be subject to the Commission's local exchange rate\n\nregulation. The Commission shall adopt and promulgate rules and\n\nregulations governing the petition procedure and the form of such\n\npetitions and a petition substantially in compliance with such rules\n\nand regulations shall not be deemed invalid due to minor errors in\n\nits form.\n\nH. Subsections A through G of this section apply only to local\n\nexchange rates and charges and shall have no effect on the Oklahoma\n\nCorporation Commission's jurisdiction over, and regulation of,\n\nintrastate toll and access rates and charges.\n\nI. The Commission shall have the right to investigate and\n\ndetermine the reasonableness of the increase in local exchange rates\n\nand charges of each telephone company or cooperative not subject to\n\nlocal exchange rate regulation within one (1) year of the time local\n\nexchange rates or charges are increased. If the Commission\n\ndetermines such rate or charge increases are unreasonable, the\n\nCommission shall have the authority to order a rate hearing and,\n\nafter such hearing, shall have the authority to rescind all or any\n\nportion of the increases found to be unreasonable.\n\nJ. When any telephone utility subject to the jurisdiction of\n\nthe Corporation Commission shall file with the Commission a request\n\nfor review of its rates and charges, such request shall be conducted\n\nin accordance with the provisions of subsection B of Section 152 of\n\nthis title.\n\nK. It is the intention of the Legislature that this entire\n\nsection is an amendment to, and alteration of Sections 18 through\n\n34, inclusive, of Article IX of the Constitution of the State of\n\nOklahoma, as authorized by Section 35, Article IX of said\n\nConstitution.","path":["OK Code","Title 17"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os17.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"6ec38b8716c122d747e51b6490ff3f8297d61abb0c54b024ed4f3ba65cba90c5","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-17-17-136","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-17-17-137.3"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}