H. B. 4313
(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss, and Delegates
Mahan, Boggs, Caputo,
Seacrist, Capito and Staton)
[Introduced February 9, 1998; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]
A BILL to amend article three, chapter twenty-four of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
nine, relating to requiring that telecommunications
companies providing operator services within this state
shall enable a caller to access a live operator at the
beginning of a call by a means that is easily and readily
understood; and telephones located in a correctional or
detention facility are exempted from requirement.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article three, chapter twenty-four of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section nine,
to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. DUTIES AND PRIVILEGES OF PUBLIC UTILITIES SUBJECT TO
REGULATIONS OF COMMISSION.
§24-3-9. Telecommunications companies providing operator services; live operator required.
(a) Any telecommunications company regulated by the public
service commission and providing operator services within this
state shall enable a caller to access a live operator at the
beginning of a call by a means that is easily and readily
understood.
(b) This section does not apply to telephones located in any
correctional or detention facility.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require that
telecommunications companies providing operator services within
this state shall enable a caller to access a live operator at the
beginning of a call by a means that is easily and readily
understood.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.