BILL NUMBER: AB 876 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 6, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Bonta
FEBRUARY 22, 2013
An act to amend Section 280 of, and to add
Section Sections 280.1 and 280.2 to
, the Public Utilities Code, relating to
telecommunications.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 876, as amended, Bonta. Telecommunications: California
Teleconnect Fund Administrative Committee Fund.
Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission to develop
and implement a program funded by the California Teleconnect Fund
Administrative Committee Fund to advance universal service by
providing discount discounted rates to
qualifying schools, schools
maintaining kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive,
community colleges, libraries, hospitals, health clinics, and
community organizations.
This bill would specify that discounted rates are available to
qualifying schools maintaining preschools and transitional
kindergartens. The bill would require the commission to develop and
implement an outreach plan to preschools and transitional
kindergartens to increase awareness of services available to these
schools under the program described above.
This bill would require the commission to revise the program
described above to give priority for advanced high-quality
communication telecommunication services
over legacy communication services. The bill would require
the commission to open a new proceeding or amend an existing
proceeding to determine whether the rates charged to qualifying
schools receiving financial support from the program are comparable
to the rates charged to for-profit entities for comparable
communication services. as the commission deems
appropriate. The bill would require the commission to ensure that the
program described above does not favor a particular technology used
to provide advanced telecommunications services to
qualifying entities. The bill would require the commission to
establish, maintain, and make available to the public
establish and maintain a database of
communication services purchased by qualifying entities receiving
financial support from the program and the prices paid for those
communication services . The bill would
require the commission to allow qualifying entities to access the
database and to make only average price information from the database
available to the public. The bill would require the commission to
open a new proceeding or amend an existing proceeding to revise the
definition of advanced telecommunication services to include the
needs of personalized digital learning in schools and librar
ies .
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 280 of the Public
Utilities Code is amended to read:
280. (a) The commission shall develop, implement, and administer
a program to advance universal service by providing discounted rates
to qualifying schools maintaining preschool, transitional
kindergarten, kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive,
community colleges, libraries, hospitals, health clinics, and
community organizations, consistent with Chapter 278 of the Statutes
of 1994.
(b) There is hereby created the California Teleconnect Fund
Administrative Committee, which is an advisory board to advise the
commission regarding the development, implementation, and
administration of a program to advance universal service by providing
discounted rates to qualifying schools maintaining preschool,
transitional kindergarten, kindergarten or any of grades 1 to
12, inclusive, community colleges, libraries, hospitals, health
clinics, and community organizations, consistent with Chapter 278 of
the Statutes of 1994, and to carry out the program pursuant to the
commission's direction, control, and approval.
(c) All revenues collected by telephone corporations in rates
authorized by the commission to fund the program specified in
subdivision (a) shall be submitted to the commission pursuant to a
schedule established by the commission. The commission shall transfer
the moneys received to the Controller for deposit in the California
Teleconnect Fund Administrative Committee Fund. All interest earned
by moneys in the fund shall be deposited in the fund.
(d) Moneys appropriated from the California Teleconnect Fund
Administrative Committee Fund to the commission shall be utilized
exclusively by the commission for the program specified in
subdivision (a), including all costs of the board and the commission
associated with the administration and oversight of the program and
the fund.
(e) Moneys loaned from the California Teleconnect Fund
Administrative Committee Fund in the Budget Act of 2003 are subject
to Section 16320 of the Government Code. If the commission determines
a need for moneys in the California Teleconnect Fund Administrative
Committee Fund, the commission shall notify the Director of Finance
of the need, as specified in Section 16320 of the Government Code.
The commission may not increase the rates authorized by the
commission to fund the program specified in subdivision (b) while
moneys loaned from the California Teleconnect Fund Administrative
Committee Fund in the Budget Act of 2003 are outstanding unless both
of the following conditions are satisfied:
(1) The Director of Finance, after making a determination pursuant
to subdivision (b) of Section 16320 of the Government Code, does not
order repayment of all or a portion of any loan from the California
Teleconnect Fund Administrative Committee Fund within 30 days of
notification by the commission of the need for the moneys.
(2) The commission notifies the Director of Finance and the
Chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee in writing that
it intends to increase the rates authorized by the commission to
fund the program specified in subdivision (a). The notification
required pursuant to this paragraph shall be made 30 days in advance
of the intended rate increase.
(f) Subdivision (e) shall become inoperative upon full repayment
or discharge of all moneys loaned from the California Teleconnect
Fund Administrative Committee Fund in the Budget Act of 2003.
SEC. 2. Section 280.1 is added to the
Public Utilities Code , to read:
280.1. The commission shall develop and implement an outreach
plan to preschools and transitional kindergartens to increase
awareness of services available to these schools under the program
developed pursuant to Section 280.
SECTION 1. SEC. 3. Section
280.1 280.2 is added to the Public Utilities
Code, to read:
280.1. (a) The commission shall open a new proceeding or amend an
existing proceeding to determine whether the rates charged to
qualifying schools receiving financial support from the program
developed pursuant to Section 280 are comparable to rates charged to
for-profit entities for comparable communication services.
(b)
280.2. ( a) The commission shall
establish and maintain a database of communication services
purchased by qualifying entities receiving financial support from the
program developed pursuant to Section 280 to
and the prices paid for those communications services. The
commission shall allow qualifying entities to access the
database in order to collaborate and allow for the use of
common infrastructure to reduce costs, and
costs. The commission shall only make average price
information from the database available to the public on the
commission's Internet Web site. The database shall exclude
communications services purchased by qualifying entities who are
residential customers and any information prohibited from
being publicly disclosed by law.
(c)
( b) The commission shall revise the program
developed pursuant to Section 280 to give priority to using moneys
in the California Teleconnect Fund Administrative Committee Fund for
advanced high-quality communications
telecommunications services over legacy communication
services as the commission deems appropriate .
The commission shall ensure that the program developed pursuant
to Section 280 does not favor a particular technology used to provide
advanced telec ommunications services to qualifying
entities.
(c) The commission shall open a new proceeding or amend an
existing proceeding to revise the definition of advanced
telecommunications services to include the needs of personalized
digital learning in schools and libraries.