text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``Phone Bill Fairness Act''.
  
  SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE.
  
      (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
              (1) Customer bills for telecommunications services are 
          unreasonably complicated, and many Americans are unable to 
          understand the nature of services provided to them and the 
          charges for which they are responsible.
              (2) One of the purposes of the Telecommunications Act of 
          1996 (Public Law 104-104) was to unleash competitive and market 
          forces for telecommunications services.
              (3) Unless customers can understand their 
          telecommunications bills they cannot take advantage of the 
          newly competitive market for telecommunications services.
              (4) Confusing telecommunications bills allow a small 
          minority of providers of telecommunications services to commit 
          fraud more easily. The best defense against telecommunications 
          fraud is a well informed consumer. Consumers cannot be well 
          informed when their telecommunications bills are 
          incomprehensible.
              (5) Certain providers of telecommunications services have 
          established new, specific charges on customer bills commonly 
          known as ``line-item charges''.
              (6) These line-item charges have proliferated and are often 
          described with inaccurate and confusing names.
              (7) These line-item charges have generated significant 
          confusion among customers regarding the nature and scope of 
          universal service and of the fees associated with universal 
          service.
              (8) The National Association of Regulatory Utility 
          Commissioners adopted a resolution in February 1998 supporting 
          action by the Federal Communications Commission to require 
          interstate telecommunications carriers to provide accurate 
          customer notice regarding the implementation and purpose of 
          end-user charges for telecommunications services.
      (b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to require the Federal 
  Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission to protect 
  and empower consumers of telecommunications services by assuring that 
  telecommunications bills, including line-item charges, issued by 
  telecommunications carriers nationwide are both accurate and 
  comprehensible.
  
  SEC. 3. INVESTIGATION OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS CARRIER BILLING PRACTICES.
  
      (a) Investigation.--
              (1) Requirement.--The Federal Communications Commission and 
          the Federal Trade Commission shall jointly conduct an 
          investigation of the billing practices of telecommunications 
          carriers.
              (2) Purpose.--The purpose of the investigation is to 
          determine whether the bills sent by telecommunications carriers 
          to their customers accurately assess and correctly characterize 
          the services received and fees charged for such services, 
          including any fees imposed as line-item charges.
      (b) Determinations.--In carrying out the investigation under 
  subsection (a), the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal 
  Trade Commission shall determine the following:
              (1) The prevalence of incomprehensible or confusing 
          telecommunications bills.
              (2) The most frequent causes for confusion on 
          telecommunications bills.
              (3) Whether or not any best practices exist, which, if 
          utilized as an industry standard, would reduce confusion and 
          improve comprehension of telecommunications bills.
              (4) Whether or not telecommunications bills that impose 
          fees through line-item charges characterize correctly the 
          nature and basis of such fees, including, in particular, 
          whether or not such fees are required by the Federal Government 
          or State governments.
      (c) Review of Records.--
              (1) Authority.--For purposes of the investigation under 
          subsection (a), the Federal Communications Commission and the 
          Federal Trade Commission may obtain from any telecommunications 
          carrier any record of such carrier that is relevant to the 
          investigation, including any record supporting such carrier's 
          basis for setting fee levels or percentages.
              (2) Use.--The Federal Communications Commission and the 
          Federal Trade Commission may use records obtained under this 
          subsection only for purposes of the investigation.
      (d) Disciplinary Actions.--
              (1) In general.--If the Federal Communications Commission 
          or the Federal Trade Commission determines as a result of the 
          investigation under subsection (a) that the bills sent by a 
          telecommunications carrier to its customers do not accurately 
          assess or correctly characterize any service or fee contained 
          in such bills, the Federal Communications Commission or the 
          Federal Trade Commission, as the case may be, may take such 
          action against such carrier as such Commission is authorized to 
  take under law.
              (2) Characterization of fees.--If the Federal 
          Communications Commission or the Federal Trade Commission 
          determines as a result of the investigation under subsection 
          (a) that a telecommunications carrier has characterized a fee 
          on bills sent to its customers as mandated or otherwise 
          required by the Federal Government or a State and that such 
          characterization is incorrect, the Federal Communications 
          Commission or the Federal Trade Commission, as the case may be, 
          may require the carrier to discontinue such characterization.
              (3) Additional actions.--If the Federal Communications 
          Commission or the Federal Trade Commission determines that such 
          Commission does not have authority under law to take actions 
          under paragraph (1) that would be appropriate in light of a 
          determination described in paragraph (1), the Federal 
          Communications Commission or the Federal Trade Commission, as 
          the case may be, shall notify Congress of the determination 
          under this paragraph in the report under subsection (e).
      (e) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
  enactment of this Act, the Federal Communications Commission and the 
  Federal Trade Commissions shall jointly submit to Congress a report on 
  the results of the investigation under subsection (a). The report shall 
  include the determination, if any, of either Commission under 
  subsection (d)(3) and any recommendations for further legislative 
  action that such Commissions consider appropriate.
  
  SEC. 4. TREATMENT OF MISLEADING TELECOMMUNICATIONS BILLS AND 
                TELECOMMUNICATIONS RATE PLANS.
  
      (a) Federal Trade Commission.--The Federal Trade Commission shall 
  treat any telecommunications billing practice or telecommunications 
  rate plan that the Commission determines to be intentionally misleading 
  as an unfair business practice under the Federal Trade Commission Act 
  (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.).
      (b) Federal Communications Commission.--The Federal Communications 
  Commission shall, upon finding that any holder of a license under the 
  Commission has repeatedly and intentionally engaged in a telephone 
  billing practice, or has repeatedly and intentionally utilized a 
  telephone rate plan, that is misleading, treat such holder as acting 
  against the public interest for purposes of the Communications Act of 
  1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.).
  
  SEC. 5. REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL BILLS FOR TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES.
  
      (a) Average Per Minute Rate Calculation.--Each telecommunications 
  carrier shall display on the first page of each customer bill for 
  telecommunications services the average per-minute charge of 
  telecommunications services of such customer for the billing period 
  covered by such bill.
      (b) Calling Patterns.--Each telecommunications carrier shall 
  display on the first page of each customer bill for telecommunications 
  services the percentage of the total number of telephone calls of such 
  customer for the billing period covered by such bill as follows:
              (1) That began on a weekday.
              (2) That began on a weekend.
              (3) That began from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
              (4) That began from 8:01 p.m. to 7:59 a.m.
              (5) That were billed to a calling card.
      (c) Average Per-Minute Charge Defined.--In this section, the term 
  ``average per-minute charge'', in the case of a bill of a customer for 
  a billing period, means--
              (1) the sum of--
                      (A) the aggregate amount of monthly or other 
                  recurring charges, if any, for telecommunications 
                  services imposed on the customer by the bill for the 
                  billing period; and
                      (B) the total amount of all per-minute charges for 
                  telecommunications services imposed on the customer by 
                  the bill for the billing period; divided by
              (2) the total number of minutes of telecommunications 
          services provided to the customer during the billing period and 
          covered by the bill.
  
  SEC. 6. REQUIREMENTS FOR TELECOMMUNICATIONS CARRIERS IMPOSING CERTAIN 
                CHARGES FOR SERVICES.
  
      (a) Billing Requirements.--Any telecommunications carrier shall 
  include on the bills for telecommunications services sent to its 
  customers the following:
              (1) An accurate name and description of any covered charge.
              (2) The recipient or class of recipients of the monies 
          collected through each such charge.
              (3) A statement whether each such charge is required by law 
          or collected pursuant to a requirement imposed by a 
          governmental entity under its discretionary authority.
              (4) A specific explanation of any reduction in charges or 
          fees to customers, and the class of telephone customer that 
          such reduction, that are related to each such charge.
      (b) Universal Service Contributions and Receipts.--Not later than 
  January 31 each year, each telecommunications carrier required to 
  contribute to universal service during the previous year under section 
  254(d) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254(d)) shall 
  submit to the Federal Communications Commission a report on following:
              (1) The total contributions of the carrier to the universal 
          service fund during the previous year.
              (2) The total receipts from customers during such year 
          designed to recover contributions to the fund.
      (c) Action on Universal Service Contributions and Receipts Data.--
              (1) Review.--The Federal Communications Commission shall 
          review the reports submitted to the Commission under subsection 
          (b) in order to determine whether or not the amount of the 
          contributions of a telecommunications carrier to the universal 
          service fund in any year is equal to the amount of the receipts 
          of the telecommunications carrier from its customers in such 
          year for purposes of contributions to the fund.
              (2) Additional contributions.--If the Commission determines 
          as a result of a review under paragraph (1) that the amount of 
          the receipts of a telecommunications carrier from its customers 
          in a year for purposes of contributions to the universal 
          service fund exceeded the amount contributed by the carrier in 
          such year to the fund, the Commission shall have the authority 
          to require the carrier to deposit in the fund an amount equal 
          to the amount of such excess.
      (d) Covered Charges.--For purposes of subsection (a), a covered 
  charge shall include any charge on a bill for telecommunications 
  services that is separate from a per-minute rate charge, including a 
  universal service charge, a subscriber line charge, and a presubscribed 
  interexchange carrier charge.
  
  SEC. 7. TELECOMMUNICATIONS CARRIER DEFINED.
  
      In this Act, the term ``telecommunications carrier'' has the 
  meaning given that term in section 3(44) of the Communications Act of 
  1934 (47 U.S.C. 153(44)).
target: Requires the FTC to treat any telecommunications billing practice or rate plan determined to be intentionally misleading as an unfair business practice for purposes of the Federal Trade Commission Act.
  Requires the FCC, upon a finding that any holder of an FCC license has repeatedly and intentionally engaged in a telephone billing practice or utilized a rate plan that is misleading, to treat such holder as acting against public interest for purposes of the Communications Act of 1934.
  Requires each carrier to display on the first page of each customer bill: (1) the average per-minute charge of telecommunications services for the billing period; and (2) the percentage of the total number of telephone calls of such customer that took place on a weekday, weekend, daytime, or nighttime, and the percentage that were billed to a calling card.
  Requires customer bills to include: (1) an accurate name and description of any covered charge and the recipient of monies collected through such charge; (2) a statement of whether each such charge is required by law or by a governmental entity under its discretionary authority; and (3) an explanation of any reduction in charges or fees.
  Directs each carrier required to contribute to universal services during the previous year to report to the FCC on their total contributions during the previous year and the total receipts from customers to recover such contributions. Directs the FCC to review such reports to determine whether such amounts are equal and, if not, to require such carrier to deposit an equal amount.
feat_title: Phone Bill Fairness Act