Okla. State USF Surcharge to Increase to $1.85 Per Connection

Oklahoma’s connections-based state USF surcharge will increase to $1.85 from $1.14 monthly, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission decided 2-1 at a livestreamed meeting Tuesday. It will apply to the number of connections contributors have at the end of this month, and will be reported Jan. 15 when they pay the new assessment, said the interim order. Chairman Dana Murphy (R) and Commissioner Todd Hiett (R) voted yes but raised concerns that the surcharge was going up despite deciding last year to move from a revenue-based method. Commissioner Bob Anthony (R) dissented, noting he never supported the connections approach. Oklahoma USF Administrator Mark Argenbright said a meeting will be held in the next couple of weeks to discuss possible OUSF rule changes through a commission rulemaking. "We've seen a stabilization of the revenue" coming into the fund by switching to the connections mechanism, but at the end of October the fund still had a $25.9 million deficit, Argenbright said. He expects the state will be able to reduce the surcharge after the deficit is addressed, he said. Other states that changed to connections have lower surcharges, but they may not have to deal with a large deficit, noted Murphy. Hiett doesn’t like surcharge increases and is "anxious for it to stabilize,” said the commissioner. The upcoming OUSF rulemaking will be important, he said.