BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1386 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 1386 (Bradford) As Amended June 13, 2011 Majority vote ----------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |53-21|(May 19, 2011) |SENATE: |26-11|(August 29, | | | | | | |2011) | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Original Committee Reference: U. & C. SUMMARY : This bill encourages cable television corporations and direct broadcast satellite providers to voluntarily adopt a plan for increasing women, minority, and disabled veteran business enterprise procurement and to voluntarily report activity in this area to the Legislature on an annual basis. This bill would require the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to make this report available on its Internet Web site. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs. COMMENTS : According to the author, women and minority-owned business participation in the broadband industry will be critical to job recovery in California. Small businesses are critical sources of new employment. This bill will encourage cable television corporations and direct broadcast satellite providers to voluntarily adopt a plan for increasing women, minority, and disabled veteran business enterprise procurement and to voluntarily report activity in this area to the Legislature on an annual basis. In the most recent PUC report to the Legislature, utility spending on diverse procurement increased from $3.47 billion in 2008 to $4.27 billion in 2009, an increase of 23.05%. There was also an increase as a percentage of total utility procurement; amounts from diverse firms increased from 13.19% in 2008 to 16.72% in 2009. The same potential for reporting and achievement may exist with cable television corporations and direct broadcast satellite providers. AB 1386 Page 2 In California, women and minority-owned businesses represent the bulk of small businesses. Since diverse business owners are much more likely to hire diverse workers, the success of women and minority-owned businesses translates into jobs for women and minorities. More than twenty years ago, PUC created Government Order 156 (GO156) to encourage a fair proportion of total utility contracts and subcontracts for products and services to be awarded to women, minority, and disabled veteran business enterprises. As a result of this information, California's largest utility and telecommunications companies have increased their diverse procurement by more than 300% for women, minority and disabled veteran-owned businesses. Cable television corporations and direct broadcast satellite providers are not under the jurisdiction of PUC and are not required to report on their procurement with diverse businesses. The extent to which women and minority-owned businesses are being included in certain emerging sectors is largely unknown. The state, as well as the federal government, has placed priority on the expansion of broadband particularly in rural and underserved communities. The state and the federal government have made nearly a billion dollars available in grants and loans to help expand broadband service across the country. Cable companies have and continue to make significant infrastructure investments in this area. Direct broadcast satellite providers also support broadband applications and have begun to petition the government for the opportunity to compete for these public broadband funds. Historically, minority and women-owned businesses have not been at the contracting table within emerging technology industries. Diversity in growing businesses is vital to California's success. In a majority-minority state, where women represent over 50% of California's population and people of color represent 60%, economic recovery cannot happen without diversity. Analysis Prepared by : Susan Kateley / U. & C. / (916) 319-2083 AB 1386 Page 3 FN: 0002046