§ 13-515

(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2030) Sec. 13-515. Enforcement. (a) The following expedited procedures shall be used to enforce the provisions of Section 13-514 of this Act, provided that, for a violation of paragraph (8) of Section 13-514 to qualify for the expedited procedures of this Section, the violation must be in a manner that unreasonably delays, increases the cost, or impedes the availability of telecommunications services to consumers. However, the Commission, the complainant, and the respondent may mutually agree to adjust the procedures established in this Section. (b) (Blank). (c) No complaint may be filed under this Section until the complainant has first notified the respondent of the alleged violation and offered the respondent 48 hours to correct the situation. Provision of notice and the opportunity to correct the situation creates a rebuttable presumption of knowledge under Section 13-514. After the filing of a complaint under this Section, the parties may agree to follow the mediation process under Section 10-101.1 of this Act. The time periods specified in subdivision (d)(7) of this Section shall be tolled during the time spent in mediation under Section 10-101.1. (d) A telecommunications carrier may file a complaint with the Commission alleging a violation of Section 13-514 in accordance with this subsection: (1) The complaint shall be filed with the Chief Clerk of the Commission and shall be served in hand upon the respondent, the executive director, and the general counsel of the Commission at the time of the filing. (2) A complaint filed under this subsection shall include a statement that the requirements of subsection (c) have been fulfilled and that the respondent did not correct the situation as requested. (3) Reasonable discovery specific to the issue of the complaint may commence upon filing of the complaint. Requests for discovery must be served in hand and responses to discovery must be provided in hand to the requester within 14 days after a request for discovery is made. (4) An answer and any other responsive pleading to the complaint shall be filed with the Commission and served in hand at the same time upon the complainant, the executive director, and the general counsel of the Commission within 7 days after the date on which the complaint is filed. (5) If the answer or responsive pleading raises the issue that the complaint violates subsection (i) of this Section, the complainant may file a reply to such allegation within 3 days after actual service of such answer or responsive pleading. Within 4 days after the time for filing a reply has expired, the hearing officer or arbitrator shall either issue a written decision dismissing the complaint as frivolous in violation of subsection (i) of this Section including the reasons for such disposition or shall issue an order directing that the complaint shall proceed. (6) A pre-hearing conference shall be held within 14 days after the date on which the complaint is filed. (7) The hearing shall commence within 30 days of the date on which the complaint is filed. The hearing may be conducted by an administrative law judge or by an arbitrator. Parties and the Commission staff shall be entitled to present evidence and legal argument in oral or written form as deemed appropriate by the administrative law judge or arbitrator. The administrative law judge or arbitrator shall issue a written decision within 60 days after the date on which the complaint is filed. The decision shall include reasons for the disposition of the complaint and, if a violation of Section 13-514 is found, directions and a deadline for correction of the violation. (8) Any party may file a petition requesting the Commission to review the decision of the administrative law judge or arbitrator within 5 days of such decision. Any party may file a response to a petition for review within 3 business days after actual service of the petition. After the time for filing of the petition for review, but no later than 15 days after the decision of the administrative law judge or arbitrator, the Commission shall decide to adopt the decision of the administrative law judge or arbitrator or shall issue its own final order. (e) If the alleged violation has a substantial adverse effect on the ability of the complainant to provide service to customers, the complainant may include in its complaint a request for an order for emergency relief. The Commission, acting through its designated administrative law judge or arbitrator, shall act upon such a request within 2 business days of the filing of the complaint. An order for emergency relief may be granted, without an evidentiary hearing, upon a verified factual showing that the party seeking relief will likely succeed on the merits, that the party will suffer irreparable harm in its ability to serve customers if emergency relief is not granted, and that the order is in the public interest. An order for emergency relief shall include a finding that the requirements of this subsection have been fulfilled and shall specify the directives that must be fulfilled by the respondent and deadlines for meeting those directives. The decision of the administrative law judge or arbitrator to grant or deny emergency relief shall be considered an order of the Commission unless the Commission enters its own order within 2 calendar days of the decision of the administrative law judge or arbitrator. The order for emergency relief may require the responding party to act or refrain from acting so as to protect the provision of competitive service offerings to customers. Any action required by an emergency relief order must be technically feasible and economically reasonable and the respondent must be given a reasonable period of time to comply with the order. (f) The Commission is authorized to obtain outside resources including, but not limited to, arbitrators and consultants for the purposes of the hearings authorized by this Section. Any arbitrator or consultant obtained by the Commission shall be approved by both parties to the hearing. The cost of such outside resources including, but not limited to, arbitrators and consultants shall be borne by the parties. The Commission shall review the bill for reasonableness and assess the parties for reasonable costs dividing the costs according to the resolution of the complaint brought under this Section. Such costs shall be paid by the parties directly to the arbitrators, consultants, and other providers of outside resources within 60 days after receiving notice of the assessments from the Commission. Interest at the statutory rate shall accrue after expiration of the 60-day period. The Commission, arbitrators, consultants, or other providers of outside resources may apply to a court of competent jurisdiction for an order requiring payment. (g) The Commission shall assess the parties under this subsection for all of the Commission's costs of investigation and conduct of the proceedings brought under this Section including, but not limited to, the prorated salaries of staff, attorneys, administrative law judges, and support personnel and including any travel and per diem, directly attributable to the complaint brought pursuant to this Section, but excluding those costs provided for in subsection (f), dividing the costs according to the resolution of the complaint brought under this Section. All assessments made under this subsection shall be paid into the Public Utility Fund within 60 days after receiving notice of the assessments from the Commission. Interest at the statutory rate shall accrue after the expiration of the 60 day period. The Commission is authorized to apply to a court of competent jurisdiction for an order requiring payment. (h) If the Commission determines that there is an imminent threat to competition or to the public interest, the Commission may, notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, seek temporary, preliminary, or permanent injunctive relief from a court of competent jurisdiction either prior to or after the hearing. (i) A party shall not bring or defend a proceeding brought under this Section or assert or controvert an issue in a proceeding brought under this Section, unless there is a non-frivolous basis for doing so. By presenting a pleading, written motion, or other paper in complaint or defense of the actions or inaction of a party under this Section, a party is certifying to the Commission that to the best of that party's knowledge, information, and belief, formed after a reasonable inquiry of the subject matter of the complaint or defense, that the complaint or defense is well grounded in law and fact, and under the circumstances: (1) it is not being presented to harass the other party, cause unnecessary delay in the provision of competitive telecommunications services to consumers, or create needless increases in the cost of litigation; and (2) the allegations and other factual contentions have evidentiary support or, if specifically so identified, are likely to have evidentiary support after reasonable opportunity for further investigation or discovery as defined herein. (j) If, after notice and a reasonable opportunity to respond, the Commission determines that subsection (i) has been violated, the Commission shall impose appropriate sanctions upon the party or parties that have violated subsection (i) or are responsible for the violation. The sanctions shall be not more than $30,000, plus the amount of expenses accrued by the Commission for conducting the hearing. Payment of sanctions imposed under this subsection shall be made to the Common School Fund within 30 days of imposition of such sanctions. (k) An appeal of a Commission Order made pursuant to this Section shall not effectuate a stay of the Order unless a court of competent jurisdiction specifically finds that the party seeking the stay will likely succeed on the merits, that the party will suffer irreparable harm without the stay, and that the stay is in the public interest.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 100-20, eff. 7-1-17; 100-840, eff. 8-13-18 .)