CPUC May Vote Next Month on LifeLine Eligibility Changes
A California Public Utilities Commission proposed decision on California LifeLine would restore the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program and seven others to a list of qualifying public assistance programs for LifeLine eligibility. The proposal, released Monday, could get a vote…
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as soon as commissioners’ Feb. 8 meeting. It also would restore an income-based criterion requiring a household income to be at most 150 percent of the federal poverty guideline for the corresponding household size. It would authorize California LifeLine to temporarily make up for loss of federal funds for participants who qualify under California eligibility criteria but not federal criteria. The CPUC proposal follows the FCC granting California an extension until April 30 to align state eligibility criteria with new federal rules (see 1710260025). In comments Monday in FCC docket 11-42, a coalition of California LifeLine eligible telecom providers (ETCs) partly supported a Sprint petition for reconsideration of the part of the FCC order that says ETCs would be responsible for ensuring subscribers are enrolled or recertified if the CPUC doesn't meet the April 30 deadline. The California ETCs supported reconsideration but disagreed with Sprint that the national verifier should be responsible. The FCC “instead should coordinate closely with California and ETCs operating in California during the coming months as California works to align its eligibility criteria with the federal Lifeline program rules, and, if necessary, grant additional short-term waivers to ensure minimal disruptions to consumers during the process,” said the coalition.