BILL NUMBER: AB 1012	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member V. Manuel Perez

                        FEBRUARY 27, 2009

   An act relating to broadband services, and declaring the urgency
thereof, to take effect immediately.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1012, as introduced, V. Manuel Perez. California Broadband Task
Force.
   Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission to develop,
implement, and administer the California Advanced Services Fund to
provide for transfer payments to encourage deployment of high-quality
advanced communications services. Existing law requires a specified
commission report to include an update to the maps in the final
report of the California Broadband Task Force.
    This bill would recognize in state government the establishment
of the California Broadband Task Force and would require the task
force to meet no later than 30 days after the effective date of this
bill to develop a strategy to assess, fund, allocate, and install
broadband in California's rural and underserved areas. The task force
would be required to submit the strategy to the relevant policy and
fiscal committees in each house of the Legislature within 60 days of
its first initial meeting.
    The bill would declare that it would take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
   Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) The California Broadband Task Force (task force) recently
released its final findings and recommendations in a report to the
Governor and Legislature entitled "The State of Connectivity:
Building Innovation Through Broadband," that represents the
culmination of more than a year of work by the task force, and
included maps of current broadband availability and speed,
recommendations to achieve universal access and increased use, and a
timeframe in which to meet these critical goals.
   (b) The seven recommendations developed by the task force
addressed how to reach communities with little or no access, while
increasing broadband adoption rates statewide.
   (c) Implementing the task force's recommendations will create
jobs, improve public health and safety, and expand educational
opportunities.
   (d) The task force proposed the following seven recommendations,
each containing action items to be taken by both the public and
private sectors:
   (1) Build out high-speed broadband infrastructure to all
Californians.
   (2) Develop model permitting standards and encourage collaboration
among providers.
   (3) Increase the use and adoption of broadband and computer
technology.
   (4) Engage and reward broadband innovation and research.
   (5) Create a statewide e-health network.
   (6) Leverage educational opportunities to increase broadband use.
   (7) Continue state-level and statewide leadership.
   (e) The recommendations laid out in the task force's report
provide a detailed roadmap for California to maintain its economic
competitiveness and technology leadership through increased broadband
deployment.
   (f) While the report shows terrific news for the state, there is
still more work to be done, as nearly 2,000 communities are still
unable to access high-speed Internet, only half of Californians have
access to broadband at speeds greater than 10 megabits per second
(Mbps), and even though availability rates are at 96 percent, just
over half of California households use broadband.
   (g) California's public and private sectors need to work together
to increase adoption rates among those households with broadband
access and reach the remaining communities without it.
  SEC. 2.  (a) There is hereby recognized in state government the
establishment of the California Broadband Task Force. The task force
shall meet no later than 30 days after the effective date of this
section to develop a strategy to expedite accessing funds provided
under the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009,
which shall include all of the following:
   (1) Specify the actions that should be taken to assess, fund,
allocate, and install broadband in California's rural and underserved
areas.
   (2) Identify, for purposes of accomplishing the strategy, key
public and private community development partners, necessary
statutory or regulatory changes, and needed resources.
   (3) Set key tasks, timelines, and monitoring processes.
   (4) Provide an update on the progress of implementing the task
force's recommendations made in the report "The State of
Connectivity: Building Innovation Through Broadband."
   (b) The task force shall submit the strategy developed pursuant to
this section to the relevant policy and fiscal committees of each
house of the Legislature within 60 days of its first initial meeting.

  SEC. 3.  This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the
meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
   In order to develop a strategy for providing broadband access to
underserved areas in the state, it is necessary that this act take
effect immediately.