BILL NUMBER: SB 3 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 29, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Senator Padilla
( Coauthor: Senator Fuller
)
DECEMBER 6, 2010
An act to amend Section 739.3 of , to add Section 270.5 to,
and to add and repeal Section 283 of, the Public Utilities
Code, relating to telecommunications , and declaring the urgency
thereof, to take effect immediately .
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 3, as amended, Padilla. Telecommunications: universal service.
(1) Existing law, the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996,
establishes a program of cooperative federalism for the regulation of
telecommunications to attain the goal of local competition, while
implementing specific, predictable, and sufficient federal and state
mechanisms to preserve and advance universal service, consistent with
certain universal service principles. The universal service
principles include the principle that consumers in all regions of the
nation, including low-income consumers and those in rural, insular,
and high cost areas, should have access to telecommunications and
information services, including interexchange services and advanced
telecommunications and information services, that are reasonably
comparable to those services provided in urban areas and that are
available at rates that are reasonably comparable to rates charged
for similar services in urban areas.
Existing law authorizes the Public Utilities Commission to
supervise and regulate every public utility in the state, including
telephone corporations, and to fix just and reasonable rates and
charges for the public utility. Existing law establishes the
state's universal service funds, including the California
High-Cost Fund-A Administrative Committee Fund (CHCF-A) and the
California High-Cost Fund-B Administrative Committee Fund (CHCF-B)
, in the State Treasury, and provides that moneys in
the each of the state's universal service
funds are the proceeds of rates and are held in trust for the
benefit of ratepayers and to compensate telephone corporations for
their costs of providing universal service. Moneys in the funds may
only be expended to accomplish specified telecommunications universal
service programs, upon appropriation in the annual Budget Act or
upon supplemental appropriation.
Existing law, until January 1, 2012, requires the commission to
develop, implement, and maintain a suitable, competitively neutral,
and broadbased program to establish a fair and equitable local rate
support structure aided by universal service rate support to
telephone corporations serving areas where the cost of providing
services exceeds rates charged by providers, as determined by the
commission. Existing law provides that it applies only to the CHCF-B
program.
This bill would extend the repeal date of that
the CHCF-B program requirement
requirements until January 1, 2013 2014
.
(2) This bill would require the commission to require
contributions from intrastate end users of interconnected Voice over
Internet Protocol to support the universal service programs. The bill
would state the intent of the Legislature that the commission
participate in ongoing federal proceedings before the Federal
Communications Commission relative to the federal universal service
program and would require that the commission report to the
Legislature by October 1, 2012, on the status of proposed changes to
federal universal service regulations and whether any changes to
statutes authorizing state universal service programs are necessary
to ensure that they are not inconsistent with federal regulations.
(2)
(3) Under existing law, a violation of the Public
Utilities Act or an order or direction of the commission is a crime.
Because the program that is extended under the provisions of this
bill is within the act and a decision or order of the commission
implements the program requirements, a violation of these provisions
would impose a state-mandated local program by creating a new crime.
(3) This bill would constitute a change in state statute that
would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of
Section 3 of Article XIII A of the California Constitution, and thus
would require for passage the approval of 2/3 of the membership of
each house of the Legislature.
(4) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
(5) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately
as an urgency statute.
Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 270.5 is added to the
Public Utilities Code , to read:
270.5. (a) The commission shall require contributions from
intrastate end users of interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol,
or VoIP, as defined in Section 41019.5 of the Revenue and Taxation
Code, to support the universal service programs identified in Section
270.
(b) This section shall not be construed to enlarge or diminish any
regulatory authority over VoIP service providers under existing law
except to grant explicit authority to require contributions pursuant
to subdivision (a).
SEC. 2. Section 283 is added to the
Public Utilities Code , to read:
283. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) Federal and state laws and regulations to promote universal
service have historically provided support for universal access to
landline voice telephone service.
(2) The Telecommunications Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-104)
provides that state regulations to preserve and advance universal
service shall not be inconsistent with the universal service
regulations adopted by the Federal Communications Commission (47
U.S.C. Sec. 254(f)).
(3) The Federal Communications Commission, in implementing the
National Broadband Plan, released in March 2010, has proposed
substantial changes to its universal service regulations in order to
increase accountability and efficiency and provide support for
universal access to broadband and voice service.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that the commission
participate in all proceedings of the Federal Communications
Commission relating to changes in universal service regulations and
open proceedings, as necessary, to consider appropriate conforming
changes to state universal service programs.
(c) By October 1, 2012, the commission shall report to the
Legislature on the status of proposed changes to federal universal
service regulations and whether any changes to statutes authorizing
state universal service programs are necessary to ensure that they
are not inconsistent with federal regulations.
(d) The report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (c) shall
be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(e) Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this
section is repealed on October 1, 2016.
SECTION 1. SEC. 3. Section 739.3 of
the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:
739.3. (a) The commission shall develop, implement, and maintain
a suitable program to establish a fair and equitable local rate
structure aided by universal service rate support to small
independent telephone corporations serving rural and small
metropolitan areas. The purpose of the program shall be to promote
the goals of universal telephone service and to reduce any disparity
in the rates charged by those companies.
(b) For purposes of this section, small independent telephone
corporations means those independent telephone corporations serving
rural areas, as determined by the commission.
(c) The commission shall develop, implement, and maintain a
suitable, competitively neutral, and broadbased program to establish
a fair and equitable local rate support structure aided by universal
service rate support to telephone corporations serving areas where
the cost of providing services exceeds rates charged by providers, as
determined by the commission. The commission shall develop and
implement the program on or before October 1, 1996. The purpose of
the program shall be to promote the goals of universal telephone
service and to reduce any disparity in the rates charged by those
companies. Except as otherwise explicitly provided, this subdivision
does not limit the manner in which the commission collects and
disburses funds, and does not limit the manner in which it may
include or exclude the revenue of contributing entities in
structuring the program.
(d) The commission shall structure the programs required by this
section so that any charge imposed to promote the goals of universal
service reasonably equals the value of the benefits of universal
service to contributing entities and their subscribers.
(e) The commission shall investigate reducing the level of
universal service rate support, or elimination of universal service
rate support in service areas with demonstrated competition.
(f) By July 1, 2010, the commission shall prepare and submit to
the Legislature a report on the affordability of basic telephone
service in areas funded by the California High-Cost Fund-B
Administrative Committee Fund. The report, among other things, shall
provide information on prices and costs of basic telephone service,
and penetration and utilization rates of basic telephone service by
income, ethnicity, age, and other demographic characteristics, using
surveys and other methods of identifying the factors affecting
affordability of basic telephone service for customers and
noncustomers. The report shall describe the characteristics of
noncustomers and their reasons for not having telephone service. The
report shall identify those persons most at risk of losing basic
telephone service. The report shall be funded out of the California
High-Cost Fund-B Administrative Committee Fund.
(g) This section shall only apply to the California High-Cost
Fund-B Administrative Committee Fund program.
(h) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2013 2014 , and as of that date is
repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before
January 1, 2013 2014 , deletes or
extends that date.
SEC. 2. SEC. 4. No reimbursement is
required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the
California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred
by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this
act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or
infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within
the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the
definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII
B of the California Constitution.
SEC. 5. 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 provide the Public Utilities Commission with express
authority to require providers of telephone quality voice
communication utilizing Voice over Internet Protocol to contribute to
the state's universal service programs, as proposed in pending
Rulemaking 11-01-008, it is necessary for this act to take effect
immediately.