The Vermont Statutes Online
The Statutes below include the actions of the 2024 session of the General Assembly.
NOTE: The Vermont Statutes Online is an unofficial copy of the Vermont Statutes Annotated that is provided as a convenience.
Title 30 : Public Service
Chapter 088 : Universal Telecommunications Service
Subchapter 003 : COLLECTION
(Cite as: 30 V.S.A. § 7523)-
§ 7523. Rate of charge
[Subsection (a) effective until July 1, 2025; see also subsection (a) effective July 1, 2025 set out below.]
(a) Beginning on July 1, 2014, the rate of charge shall be two percent of retail telecommunications service.
[Subsection (a) effective July 1, 2025; see also subsection (a) effective until July 1, 2025 set out above.]
(a)(1) Except as provided in subsection 7521(e) of this chapter, which pertains to prepaid wireless telecommunications service, and in subdivision (4) of this subsection, the monthly rate of charge shall be $0.72 for each retail access line in service.
(2) The number of access lines a telecommunications service provider provides a customer shall be deemed equal to the number of inbound or outbound, whichever is greater, two-way communications by any technology that the customer can maintain at the same time as provisioned by the provider’s service.
(3) As used in this section, “access line” means a wire or wireless connection that provides voice telecommunications service to or from any device used by a customer, regardless of technology, that is associated with a 10-digit NPA-NXX number or other unique identifier and with a service location or place of primary use in Vermont and that is capable of accessing the 911 system.
(4) A customer enrolled in the federal Lifeline program or the Vermont Lifeline program, or both, is exempt from the Charge established by this chapter.
[Subsection (b) effective until July 1, 2025; see also subsection (b) effective July 1, 2025 set out below.]
(b) Beginning on July 1, 2019, the rate of charge established under subsection (a) of this section shall be increased by four-tenths of one percent of retail telecommunications service, and the monies collected from this increase shall be transferred to the Vermont Community Broadband Fund established under section 8083 of this title, and up to $120,000.00 shall be used to fund a Rural Broadband Technical Assistance Specialist whose duties shall include providing outreach, technical assistance, and other support services to communications union districts established pursuant to chapter 82 of this title and other units of government, nonprofit organizations, cooperatives, and for-profit businesses for the purpose of expanding broadband service to unserved and underserved locations. Support services also may include providing business model templates for various approaches, including formation of or partnership with a cooperative, a communications union district, a rural economic development infrastructure district, an electric utility, or a new or existing internet service provider as operator of the network.
[Subsection (b) effective July 1, 2025; see also subsection (b) effective until July 1, 2025 set out above.]
(b) From the monies collected by the Universal Service Charge under this chapter, 17 percent shall be transferred to the Vermont Community Broadband Fund established under section 8083 of this title, and up to $120,000.00 shall be used to fund a Rural Broadband Technical Assistance Specialist whose duties shall include providing outreach, technical assistance, and other support services to communications union districts established pursuant to chapter 82 of this title and other units of government, nonprofit organizations, cooperatives, and for- profit businesses for the purpose of expanding broadband service to unserved and underserved locations. Support services also may include providing business model templates for various approaches, including formation of or partnership with a cooperative, a communications union district, a rural economic development infrastructure district, an electric utility, or a new or existing internet service provider as operator of the network.
(c) Universal Service Charges imposed and collected by the fiscal agent under this subchapter shall not be transferred to any other fund or used to support the cost of any activity other than in the manner authorized by this section and section 7511 of this title. (Added 1993, No. 197 (Adj. Sess.), § 5; amended 1995, No. 182 (Adj. Sess.), § 7, eff. May 22, 1996; 2005, No. 171 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 2013, No. 190 (Adj. Sess.), § 7, eff. June 16, 2014; 2019, No. 79, § 2, eff. June 20, 2019; 2021, No. 71, § 7b, eff. June 8, 2021; 2023, No. 145 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. July 1, 2025.)
