Missouri Laws 386.330 – Investigatory power of commission, exception, telephone yellow page ..
1. The commission may, of its own motion, investigate or make inquiry, in a manner to be determined by it, as to any act or thing done or omitted to be done by any telecommunications company subject to its supervision, and the commission shall make such inquiry in regard to any act or thing done or omitted to be done by any such public utility, person or corporation in violation of any provision of law or in violation of any order or decision of the commission.
2. Complaints may be made to the commission by the public counsel or any person or corporation aggrieved, by petition or complaint, in writing, setting forth any thing or act done or omitted to be done by any telecommunications company in violation, or claimed to be in violation, of any provision of law or of the terms and conditions of its franchise or charter or of any order or decision of the commission. Upon the presentation of such a complaint the commission shall cause a copy thereof to be forwarded to the public utility, person or corporation complained of, which may be accompanied by an order, directed to such public utility, person or corporation, requiring that the matters complained of be satisfied, or that the charges be answered in writing within a time to be specified by the commission. If the public utility, person or corporation complained of shall make reparation for any injury alleged and shall cease to commit, or to permit, the violation of law, franchise, order or decision charged in the complaint, and shall notify the commission of that fact before the time allowed for answer, the commission need take no further action on the charges. If, however, the charges contained in such petition be not thus satisfied, and it shall appear to the commission that there are reasonable grounds therefor, it shall investigate such charges in such manner and by such means as it shall deem proper, and take such action within its powers as the facts justify.
Terms Used In Missouri Laws 386.330
- Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
- Commission: the "Public Service Commission" hereby created. See Missouri Laws 386.020
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Corporation: includes a corporation, company, association and joint stock association or company. See Missouri Laws 386.020
- Exchange: a geographical area for the administration of telecommunications services, established and described by the tariff of a telecommunications company providing basic local telecommunications service. See Missouri Laws 386.020
- Exchange access service: a service provided by a local exchange telecommunications company which enables a telecommunications company or other customer to enter and exit the local exchange telecommunications network in order to originate or terminate interexchange telecommunications service. See Missouri Laws 386.020
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Person: includes an individual, and a firm or copartnership. See Missouri Laws 386.020
- Public utility: includes every pipeline corporation, gas corporation, electrical corporation, telecommunications company, water corporation, heating company or refrigerating corporation, and sewer corporation, as these terms are defined in this section, and each thereof is hereby declared to be a public utility and to be subject to the jurisdiction, control and regulation of the commission and to the provisions of this chapter. See Missouri Laws 386.020
- Service: includes not only the use and accommodations afforded consumers or patrons, but also any product or commodity furnished by any corporation, person or public utility and the plant, equipment, apparatus, appliances, property and facilities employed by any corporation, person or public utility in performing any service or in furnishing any product or commodity and devoted to the public purposes of such corporation, person or public utility, and to the use and accommodation of consumers or patrons. See Missouri Laws 386.020
- State: when applied to any of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" includes such district and territories. See Missouri Laws 1.020
- Telecommunications company: includes telephone corporations as that term is used in the statutes of this state and every corporation, company, association, joint stock company or association, partnership and person, their lessees, trustees or receivers appointed by any court whatsoever, owning, operating, controlling or managing any facilities used to provide telecommunications service for hire, sale or resale within this state. See Missouri Laws 386.020
- Telephone cooperative: every corporation defined as a telecommunications company in this section, in which at least ninety percent of those persons and corporations subscribing to receive local telecommunications service from the corporation own at least ninety percent of the corporation's outstanding and issued capital stock and in which no subscriber owns more than two shares of the corporation's outstanding and issued capital stock. See Missouri Laws 386.020
3. Whenever the commission shall investigate any matter complained of by the public counsel or by any person or corporation aggrieved by any act or omission of a telecommunications company under this section, it shall be its duty, within sixty days after final submission, to make and file an order either dismissing the petition or complaint or directing the public utility, person or corporation complained of to satisfy the cause of complaint in whole or to the extent which the commission may specify and require.
4. Notwithstanding the power of the commission over telecommunications companies, the commission shall not have jurisdiction over complaints concerning yellow page listings and advertisements; however, this subsection shall not be construed in any manner to limit the commission’s authority in the ratemaking process to impute to the telecommunications company the revenues and costs of the telecommunications company’s parent corporation, affiliated corporations, subsidiary corporations or divisions to the extent that those revenues and costs are associated with yellow page listings or advertisements in the state of Missouri. The commission shall not have jurisdiction over complaints concerning the rates charged by a telephone cooperative for providing telecommunications service within an exchange or within a local calling scope as determined by the commission, except the rates for providing exchange access service.