Part of the benefits of the state Legislature’s deregulation of land line telephones took one step closer to coming to fruition Monday, as Public Service Commission staffers considered how best to decrease a fee on phone providers.

Lawmakers easily passed HB 1231 in April (it received just four negative votes in the House and a unanimous vote in the Senate) and Gov. Rick Scott signed it into law in May, stripping the PSC of most of its regulatory duties relating to land line telephone service. It will continue to adjudicate disputes between carriers.

The law also called for a reduction in expenditures and fees related to the oversight, but the declining demand for land lines (and their regulation) led the PSC to cut spending in recent years.

In the 2005-2006 fiscal year, the 0.2 percent regulatory assessment fee for telecom companies providing land line service brought in $11.9 million, and PSC’s related expenses total $10.6 million. Estimates for the 2012-2013 fiscal year show the same rate would bring in $5.9 million, about a 50 percent reduction.

“The practical side of this is that we had declining revenues so we had to reduce expenses,” said Dale Mailhot, director of the PSC’s Office of Auditing and Performance Analysis.

PSC staffers have proposed reducing the fee to 16 percent in light of decreased duties and expenditures for land line regulation. That rate would bring in an estimated $4.7 million, and the PSC is projecting $3.9 million in related expenses.

The cuts have come through shifting some staffers and regulators to other PSC duties, and in some cases eliminating positions. Cynthia Muir, PSC communications director, said that the number of regulatory sections has been reduced to two from four this year, and so far 12 of the 27 positions eliminated by the PSC were due to the deregulation law.

“The PSC bill analysis on the telecom legislation estimated that 13 positions would be affected. As competition has driven changes in the telecommunications industry over the past several years, the PSC has cross-trained staff and utilized natural employee attrition to accommodate expected staff changes. The PSC will review required telecom regulation duties annually to see if additional staff changes are necessary,” Muir said.

The exact percentage of the fee won’t be determined until October, but the minimum amount for local phone service providers will be reduced from $1,000 to $600; the minimum fee for payphones providers will remain at $100.

A decreased fee is guaranteed, but telecom industry members want to see the estimated overall effects the new deregulation law will have on the PSC.

“I don’t see anything here that shows that analysis,” said Susan Masterton, senior counsel for CenturyLink. “I think we need more information from you to assess the analysis that we’ve performed,” she told PSC staffers.

The PSC’s studies on the impact of the deregulation will be issued within the next week.

Reach Gray Rohrer at grohrer@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.