III. Income-Based Eligibility Requirements

A. Income-based eligibility in federal default states

The Lifeline/Link-Up Order added an income-based criterion for participation in Lifeline/Link-Up in federal default states, if the ETC customer's household income is at or below 135% of the Federal Poverty Guideline (FPG).³ Each ETC must certify, under penalty of perjury, that a customer is qualified for Lifeline/Link-Up based on: 1) Customer self-certification, under penalty of perjury, of his/her qualification, and 2) Income document(s) supporting the income level of the customer.

ETCs in states that do not mandate state Lifeline support must implement certification procedures to document consumer income-based eligibility for Lifeline prior to that consumer's enrollment. Acceptable documentation of income eligibility includes:

· prior year's state, federal, or tribal tax return,

· current income statement from an employer or paycheck stub,

· Statement of benefits from Social Security, Veterans Administration,

· Statement of benefits from retirement/pension, Unemployment/Workmen's Compensation,

· federal or tribal notice letter of participation in Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance,

· a divorce decree

· child support document, or

· other official document.

B. Income-based Requirements in States with Their Own Lifeline/Link-Up Program

The FCC requires all states, including federal default states, to adopt procedures to document income-based eligibility for Lifeline/Link-Up. However, states like California that operate their own Lifeline/Link-Up programs have the flexibility to develop their own certification procedures, including the determination of what constitutes acceptable documentation to certify consumer eligibility under an income-based criterion. However, a state's procedures must include the following elements:

· States that develop their own certification procedures must establish a certifying entity(s), whether it is a state agency or an ETC.⁴

· Customers must self-certify, under penalty of perjury, that the presented documentation accurately represents their annual household income.⁵

· Consumers must self-certify, under penalty of perjury, the number of individuals in their households.⁶

· ETCs must certify that they are complying with Lifeline income certification procedures and that, to the best of their knowledge, documentation of income was presented.⁷

· States must establish a process to verify customers' continued eligibility for the ULTS program. Verification procedures may include random beneficiary audits, periodic submission of documents, or annual self-certification.⁸

³ The FCC stated that adding an income-based standard likely would capture some low-income customers who are not eligible for Lifeline/Link-Up because they no longer participate in the qualifying assistance program. ⁴ See ¶ 29 of the Lifeline/Link-Up Order. Unless otherwise indicated, all subsequent references to numbered paragraphs refer to the Lifeline/Link-Up Order. ⁵ See ¶ 32. ⁶ Ibid. ⁷ 47 C.F.R. §54.410(b)(i). ⁸ See ¶ 33.