Current through Reg. 50, No. 13; March 28, 2025
(a) Application.
The provisions of this section applies to all telephone directory providers to
the extent outlined by this section. This section does not apply to a
deregulated company holding a certificate of operating authority, or to an
exempt carrier that meets the criteria of Public Utility Regulatory Act (PURA)
§52.154. For purposes of this section, the term "a private for-profit
publisher" means a publisher, other than a telecommunications utility or its
affiliate, of a telephone directory that contains residential listings and is
distributed to the public at minimal or no cost.
(b) Telephone directory requirements for all
providers. A private, for-profit publisher, and a telecommunications utility or
affiliate of a telecommunications utility that publishes a residential
telephone directory must comply with the following requirements:
(1) A telephone directory must contain a
listing of each toll-free and local telephone number for each of the following:
(B) state public services; and
(C) elected state officials who represent all
or part of the geographical area for which the directory contains
listings.
(2) The
directory must include the information required in paragraph (1) of this
subsection from the most current edition of the Capitol Complex Telephone
System Directory prepared and issued by the Department of Information Resources
and those modifications to the Capitol Complex Telephone System Directory that
are available upon request from the Department of Information
Resources.
(3) All publishers must
contact the Department of Information Resources in writing to determine which
issue of the Capitol Complex Telephone System Directory is most current and to
obtain the modifications referred to in paragraph (2) of this subsection. The
Department of Information Resources will respond within 30 days of receiving
the request.
(4) The listings
required by paragraph (1) of this subsection:
(A) may be located at the front of the
directory or, if not located at the front of the directory, must be referenced
clearly on the inside page of the cover or on the first page following the
cover before the main listing of residential and business telephone
numbers;
(B) must be labeled
"GOVERNMENT OFFICES-STATE" in 24 point type;
(C) must be bordered or shaded in such a way,
on the three unbound sides with a border, that will distinguish the state
listings from the other listings;
(D) must be included in the directory at no
cost to the agency or official;
(E)
must comply with the categorization developed by the Records Management
Interagency Coordinating Council. The categorization be available upon request
from the Department of Information Resources. The listings must be arranged in
the following manner:
(i) alphabetically by
subject matter of state agencies; or
(ii) alphabetically by agency and public
service name;
(F) must
include the telephone number for state of Texas government information: (512)
463-4630.
(c)
Private for-profit publisher. Any private for-profit publisher that publishes a
residential telephone directory must include in the directory a prominently
displayed toll-free number and Internet mail address, established by the
commission, through which a person may order a form to request to be placed on
the Texas no-call list in order to avoid unwanted telemarketing
calls.
(d) Additional requirement
for telecommunications utilities or affiliates that publish telephone
directories.
(1) A telecommunications utility
or an affiliate of that utility that publishes a business telephone directory
that is distributed to the public must publish a listing of each toll-free and
local telephone number of each elected official who represents all or part of
the geographical area for which the directory contains listings.
(2) A telecommunications utility or an
affiliate of that utility that publishes and causes to be distributed to the
public a residential or business telephone directory must prominently list in
the directory the following information: "The Specialized Telecommunications
Assistance Program (STAP) provides financial assistance to help Texas residents
with disabilities purchase basic specialized equipment or services needed to
access the telephone network. For more information, contact the Texas
Department of Health and Human Services at (512) 438-4880. Hearing and
speech-impaired individuals may contact the Texas Department of Health and
Human Services through Relay Texas at 1-800-735-2989 or
https://www.hhs.texas.gov/services/disability/deaf-hard-hearing/stap-services.
This program is open to all individuals who are residents of Texas and have a
disability."
(e)
Requirements for telecommunications utilities found to be dominant. This
subsection applies to a telecommunications utility found to be dominant as to
local exchange telephone service or affiliate of a telecommunications utility
that publishes a directory on behalf of the telecommunications utility.
(1) Annual publication. Telephone directories
must be published every calendar year. Except for customers who request that
information be unlisted, directories must list the names, addresses, and
telephone numbers of all customers receiving local phone service, including
customers of other certificated telecommunications utilities (CTUs) in the
geographic area covered by that directory. Numbers of pay telephones need not
be listed.
(2) Distribution. Upon
issuance, a copy of each directory must be distributed at no charge for each
customer access line served by the telecommunications utility in the geographic
area covered by that directory and, if requested, one extra copy per customer
access line must be provided at no charge. Notwithstanding any other law, a
telecommunications provider or telecommunications utility may publish on its
website a telephone directory or directory listing instead of providing for
general distribution to the public of printed directories or listings. A
provider or utility that publishes a telephone directory or directory listing
electronically must provide a print or digital copy of the directory or listing
to a customer on request. If a provider or utility chooses to publish its
telephone directory or directory listings electronically, it must notify its
customers that the first print or digital copy requested by a customer in each
calendar year will be provided at no charge to the customer. A printed or
digital copy of each directory must be furnished to the commission. A
telecommunications utility must also distribute copies of directories in
accordance with any agreement reached with another CTU.
(3) Front cover requirements. The name of the
telecommunications utility, an indication of the area included in the
directory, and the month and the year of issue shall appear on the front cover.
Information pertaining to emergency calls such as for the police and fire
departments shall appear conspicuously in the front part of the directory
pages.
(4) Required instructions.
The directory shall contain instructions concerning:
(A) placing local and long distance calls on
the network of the telecommunications utility for which the directory is
issued;
(B) calls to the
telecommunications utility's repair and directory assistance services, and
locations; and
(C) telephone
numbers of the business offices of the telecommunications utility as may be
appropriate to the area served by the directory.
(5) Customer addresses. At the customer's
election the directory must list either the customer's street address, a post
office box number, or no address. A charge may be imposed upon those customers
who desire more than one address listing.
(f) References to other sections relating to
directory notification. The requirements of this section are in addition to the
requirements of the provisions referenced in paragraphs (1)-(4) of this
subsection, and other law
(1) Section
26.29 of this title (relating to
Prepaid Local Telephone Service (PLTS)) concerning consumer
education;
(2) Section
26.31 of this title (relating to
Disclosures to Applicants and Customers) concerning information to
customers;
(3) Section
26.121 of this title (relating to
Privacy Issues) concerning notice of number delivery over 800, 888, and other
toll-free prefixes and 900 services;
(4) Section
26.130 of this title (relating to
Selection of Telecommunications Utilities) concerning notice of customer
rights.
(g) Additional
requirements. The following requirements apply to telecommunications utilities
found to be dominant as to local exchange telephone service or its affiliate
that publishes a directory on behalf of such telecommunications utility.
(1) Directory assistance. Each
telecommunications utility must list each customer with its directory
assistance within 72 hours after service connection, except those numbers
excluded from listing in subsection (e)(1) of this section, to facilitate the
provision of the requested telephone numbers based on customer names and
addresses by the directory assistance operators.
(2) Non-assigned numbers. All non-assigned
telephone numbers in central offices serving more than 300 customer access
lines must be intercepted unless otherwise approved by the
commission.
(3) Disconnected
numbers. Disconnected residence telephone numbers must not be reassigned for 30
days and disconnected business numbers must not be reassigned, unless requested
by the customer, for 30 days or the life of the directory, whichever is longer,
unless no other numbers are available to provide service to new
customers.
(4) Incorrect listings.
If a customer's number is incorrectly listed in the directory and if the
incorrect number is a working number and if the customer to whom the incorrect
number is assigned requests, the number of the customer to whom the incorrect
number is assigned must be changed at no charge. If the incorrect number is not
a working number and is a usable number, the customer's number must be changed
to the listed number at no charge if requested.
(5) Changing telephone numbers to a group of
customers. When additions or changes in plant or changes to any other CTU's
operations necessitate changing telephone numbers to a group of customers, at
least 30 days' written notice must be given to all customers so affected even
though the addition or changes may be coincident with a directory
issue.
