Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 110 Part 1.djvu/117

 PUBLIC LAW 104-104—FEB. 8, 1996 110 STAT. 93 "(2) shall maintain books, records, and accounts in the Records. manner prescribed by the Commission which shall be separate from the books, records, and accounts maintained by the Bell operating company of which it is an affiliate; "(3) shall have separate officers, directors, and employees from the Bell operating company of which it is an affiliate; "(4) may not obtain credit under any arrangement that would permit a creditor, upon default, to have recourse to the assets of the Bell operating company; and "(5) shall conduct all transactions with the Bell operating company of which it is an affiliate on an arm's length basis with any such transactions reduced to writing and available for public inspection. "(c) NONDISCRIMINATION SAFEGUARDS.— In its dealings with its affiliate described in subsection (a), a Bell operating company— "(1) may not discriminate between that company or affiliate and any other entity in the provision or procurement of goods, services, facilities, and information, or in the establishment of standards; and "(2) shall account for all transactions with an affiliate described in subsection (a) in accordance with accounting principles designated or approved by the Commission. " (d) BIENNIAL AUDIT.— "(1) GENERAL REQUIREMENT. —^A company required to operate a separate affiliate under this section shall obtain and pay for a joint Federal/State audit every 2 years conducted by an independent auditor to determine whether such company has complied with this section and the regulations promulgated under this section, and particularly whether such company has complied with the separate accounting requirements under subsection (b). "(2) RESULTS SUBMITTED TO COMMISSION; STATE COMMIS- SIONS. — The auditor described in paragraph (1) shall submit the results of the audit to the Commission and to the State commission of each State in which the company audited provides service, which shall make such results available for public inspection. Any party may submit comments on the final audit report. "(3) ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS.—For purposes of conducting Records, audits and reviews under this subsection— "(A) the independent auditor, the Commission, and the State commission shall have access to the financial accounts and records of each company and of its affiliates necessary to verify transactions conducted with that company that are relevant to the specific activities permitted under this section and that are necessary for the regulation of rates; "(B) the Commission and the State commission shall have access to the working papers and supporting materials of any auditor who performs an audit under this section; and "(C) the State commission shall implement appropriate procedures to ensure the protection of any proprietary information submitted to it under this section. "(e) FULFILLMENT OF CERTAIN REQUESTS.— A Bell operating company and an affiliate that is subject to the requirements of section 251(c)— Public information.

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