For an official paper copy, contact the Florida Public ServiceCommission at contact@psc.state.fl.us or call (850) 413-6770. There may be a charge for the copy.
State of Florida
Public Service
Commission
Capital Circle Office Center 2540 Shumard
Oak Boulevard
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0850
-M-E-M-O-R-A-N-D-U-M-
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DATE: |
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TO: |
Director, Division of the Commission Clerk & Administrative Services (Bayó) |
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FROM: |
Division of Competitive Markets & Enforcement (Isler) Office of the General Counsel (Scott) |
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RE: |
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AGENDA: |
11/30/04 – Regular Agenda – Interested Persons May Participate |
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SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: |
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FILE NAME AND LOCATION: |
S:\PSC\CMP\WP\041183.RCM.DOC |
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BEFORE THE FLORIDA PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION
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In re: Bankruptcy cancellation by Florida Public Service Commission of IXC Registration No. TI189 issued to Lightyear Communications, Inc., effective March 31, 2004. |
The following Commissioners participated in the disposition of this matter:
BRAULIO L. BAEZ, Chairman
J. TERRY DEASON
RUDOLPH “RUDY” BRADLEY
CHARLES M. DAVIDSON
LILA A. JABER
NOTICE OF PROPOSED AGENCY ACTION ORDER
GRANTING CANCELLATION OF INTRASTATE INTEREXCHANGE TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANY TARIFF AND
REMOVAL FROM THE REGISTER DUE TO CHAPTER 11 BANKRUPTCY
BY THE COMMISSION:
NOTICE is hereby given by the Florida Public Service Commission that the action discussed herein is preliminary in nature and will become final unless a person whose interests are substantially affected files a petition for a formal proceeding, pursuant to Rule 25-22.029, Florida Administrative Code.
Lightyear Communications, Inc. currently holds Registration No. TI189, issued by this Commission on December 2, 1993, authorizing the provision of intrastate interexchange telecommunications service.
Pursuant to Section 364.336, Florida Statutes, telecommunications companies must pay a minimum annual Regulatory Assessment Fee of $50 by January 30 of the subsequent year and provides for late payment charges as outlined in Section 350.113, Florida Statutes, for any delinquent amounts.
The company has filed for bankruptcy, and pursuant to Section 362(b)(5) of the US Bankruptcy Code, the filing of a petition for bankruptcy relief acts as an automatic stay that enjoins a governmental entity from exercising its regulatory authority to collect a pre-petition debt. Additionally, in any bankruptcy liquidation or reorganization, secured creditors are given the highest priority in the distribution and, normally, receive all of the distributed assets. Regulatory Assessment Fees, late payment charges, and penalties owed by a company to the Florida Public Service Commission, as well as monetary settlements of cases resolving issues of failure to pay such fees, are not secured debts and, as a practical matter, are uncollectible in a bankruptcy proceeding where liquidation occurs. Therefore, this Commission would be prevented from collecting the statutory late payment charges owed by this company, and from assessing and collecting a penalty for failure to pay the fees.
Based on the foregoing, it is
ORDERED by the Florida Public Service Commission that Lightyear Communications, Inc.'s IXC Registration No. TI189 to provide intrastate interexchange telecommunications service is hereby cancelled, effective March 31, 2004. It is further
ORDERED that the outstanding statutory late payment charges shall not be sent to the Department of Financial Services for collection. The Division of the Commission Clerk and Administrative Services, instead, shall request permission to write-off the uncollectible amount. It is further
ORDERED that if Lightyear Communications, Inc.'s Registration No. TI189 is cancelled in accordance with this Order, that entity shall immediately cease and desist providing intrastate interexchange telecommunications services in Florida. It is further
ORDERED that the provisions of this Order, issued as proposed agency action, shall become final and effective upon the issuance of a Consummating Order unless an appropriate petition, in the form provided by Rule 28-106.201, Florida Administrative Code, is received by the Director, Division of the Commission Clerk and Administrative Services, 2540 Shumard Oak Boulevard, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0850, by the close of business on the date set forth in the “Notice of Further Proceedings” attached hereto. It is further
ORDERED that in the event this Order becomes final, this docket shall be closed.
By ORDER of the Florida Public Service Commission this day of .
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BLANCA S. BAYÓ, Director Division of the Commission Clerk and Administrative Services |
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( S E A L )
KS
NOTICE OF FURTHER PROCEEDINGS OR JUDICIAL REVIEW
The Florida Public Service Commission is required by Section 120.569(1), Florida Statutes, to notify parties of any administrative hearing that is available under Section 120.57, Florida Statutes, as well as the procedures and time limits that apply. This notice should not be construed to mean all requests for an administrative hearing will be granted or result in the relief sought.
Mediation may be available on a case-by-case basis. If mediation is conducted, it does not affect a substantially interested person's right to a hearing.
The action proposed herein is preliminary in nature. Any person whose substantial interests are affected by the action proposed by this order may file a petition for a formal proceeding, in the form provided by Rule 28-106.201, Florida Administrative Code. This petition must be received by the Director, Division of the Commission Clerk and Administrative Services, 2540 Shumard Oak Boulevard, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0850, by the close of business on .
In the absence of such a petition, this order shall become final and effective upon the issuance of a Consummating Order.
Any objection or protest filed in this/these docket(s) before the issuance date of this order is considered abandoned unless it satisfies the foregoing conditions and is renewed within the specified protest period.