SENATE TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR

SENATE, Nos. 1534 and 1681

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: JANUARY 23, 1997

      Senate Transportation Committee reports favorably a Senate Committee Substitute for Bill Nos. 1534 and 1681.

      This bill mandates that the Board of Public Utilities (hereinafter, the "Board") require telephone companies assigning new area codes to assign no more than one area code to a single municipality in this State except when overlaying or superimposing additional area codes in order to assign telephone numbers only to cellular mobile telephones and portable pagers or paging devices, provided that such authorization is given by the Federal Communications Commission or by an act of Congress. If the board is not given this authorization, then the board would be forced to assign additional area codes along geographic lines but with no municipality having more than one area code.

      There is an ongoing effort to allow the overlaying or superimposing of additional area codes in order to assign telephone numbers only to cellular mobile telephones and portable pagers or paging devices either by an act of Congress to amend the federal "Telecommunications Act of 1996" or by appealing a decision by the Federal Communications Commission which prohibits an overlay for this purpose only.

      The bill requires the board to adopt rules and regulations pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," to establish the criteria to be used by the board when reviewing area code plans submitted to it by telephone companies. The bill requires the board to utilize the criteria in order to effectuate the purposes of section 2 of the bill.

      The criteria to be used by the board shall include, but need not be limited to, specifications prohibiting splitting a municipality into two or more area codes, except as provided in section 2 of the bill, promoting effective competition among telephone companies, facilitating access to and ease of use of telephone services by customers, and expanding the use of latest available technology to provide telephone services.

      The bill requires the board to contact public utility commissions in other states to solicit their advice and to encourage support from these public utility commissions to change federal policy on the overlaying or superimposing of additional area codes for the purpose of assigning telephone numbers only to cellular mobile telephones and portable pagers or paging devices.

      The bill also provides that if the board has issued an order after September 1, 1996 concerning the approval of a new area code plan submitted prior to the effective date of the bill, the board shall reconsider the order, after adopting the rules and regulations under section 3 of the bill, in order to effectuate the goals of section 2 of the bill. The bill does not affect area codes assigned prior to September 1, 1996 or "800" or "900" series area codes.