BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
AB 1131 (Lara)
Hearing Date: 8/15/2011 Amended: 4/26/2011
Consultant: Bob Franzoia Policy Vote: G O 12-0
_________________________________________________________________
____
BILL SUMMARY: AB 1311 would revise provisions relating to the
identification and leasing of state property for wireless
telecommunications facilities. This bill would require the
Department of General Services (DGS) to report by January 31,
2012 on the number of wireless telecommunications lease
agreements entered into with providers of wireless
telecommunications services. The report would include the
number of leases, revenue generated, and money deposited in the
Digital Divide Account (DDA).
_________________________________________________________________
____
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Fund
Alternative wireless site Unknown, potentially
significant uncom- General
identification process pensated workload ongoing
Report Likely minor costs one time General/
Special*
* Service Revolving Fund
_________________________________________________________________
____
STAFF COMMENTS: This bill may meet the criteria for referral to
the Suspense File.
This bill would require that if an application for a proposed
wireless facility lease agreement is rejected by a state agency
that has control over the property, DGS shall identify an
alternative site that will provide reasonable access and
accommodation that will meet the needs of the applicant. Staff
notes a lease request is submitted by the state agency to DGS
and it is unclear why identifying an alternative site should be
the responsibility of DGS or who will be responsible for the
cost of the additional workload. This bill also requires DGS to
AB 1131 (Lara)
Page 1
collaborate with the state agency to resolve any issues that
resulted in the state agency rejecting the proposed agreement.
It is unclear if this could be done in lieu of identifying an
alternative site or must be done in addition to identifying an
alternative site.
This bill does not require, as a prerequisite of a proposed
wireless facility lease agreement, that local permits be in
place prior to negotiating a lease agreement with the state.
The effect of this provision is unclear because local permits
are not needed in order for the state to site a facility on
state land.
Identifying wireless telecommunications facility sites can be
complex. Potential factors to consider in locating and
determining if a site would meet the needs of the applicant
include coordinating permission with property holders, reviewing
title documents and acquisition funding sources that may
prohibit telecom or income generating activity, identifying
general engineering standards for a base search model,
identifying physical factors such as site access, weather
conditions, power availability, neighboring property uses,
environmental considerations and security concerns. The
applicant may have additional needs beyond those listed above
and, as noted above, there is no guarantee that a lease would
result.
At this time, information is unavailable to determine if what,
if any, state agencies have rejected applications for wireless
facility lease agreements. Wireless telecommunications
facilities cannot be located on sites purchased with bond or
federal funds. CalTrans is exempt from the provisions of the
bill and when a facility is leased on CalFire property, up to
one half of the lease revenue is deposited with CalFire.
DGS no longer employs staff with the requisite technical
experience to perform the engineering aspect of site
identification as this function was transferred to the
California Technology Agency (CTA) in 2009. Therefore, DGS
would need to contract with CTA or hire the appropriate staff.
Additionally, as no funding is included with the bill and, as
the department is a fee-for-service entity, it is unclear if the
department could bill the wireless company for the
identification of the alternative site.
AB 1131 (Lara)
Page 2
DGS managed telecommunications leases generate about $2 million
annually, but the majority of these sites are owned by special
fund entities and the majority are not "new" leases. This bill
requires a report on the provisions of this bill that would be
due one month after the effective date of the bill. The report
would include information on all moneys deposited into the DDA
established by Chapter 820/2003. (15 percent of new lease
revenue after January 2004 is deposited into the DDA.) It
appears most, if not all, of the information to be included in
the report is currently available.