BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair
SB 331 (Liu) - California Library Services Act
Amended: April 1, 2013 Policy Vote: Education 8-0
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: May 23, 2013 Consultant: Jacqueline
Wong-Hernandez
SUSPENSE FILE. AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED.
Bill Summary: This bill expands the statewide delivery network
and resource sharing under the California Library Services Act
(CLSA) by allowing funding requests from libraries to include
high-speed broadband capacity upgrades, and authorizes the
California State Librarian (CSL) to enter into a cooperative
agreement with a high-capacity Internet service provider to
provide network services to all public libraries throughout the
state.
Fiscal Impact:
Cost pressure: CLSA - Expands the scope of permissible
funding requests from local libraries to include funding
their local high-speed broadband capacity upgrades, which
are not currently eligible for funding .
Cost pressure: Statewide network services contract - the
CSL estimates that contracting to provide network services
to all public libraries would cost $4.5 million in contract
costs for a third party to set up the system, as well as
significant ongoing funding to maintain network services.
Background: The CLSA, enacted in 1977, funds several programs to
facilitate interlibrary cooperation and to enhance local public
libraries throughout the state. The CLSA is administered by the
CSL under the direction of the California Library Services
Board. Those entities administer state funding for the Systems
Reference Program, which supports coordinated reference services
provided through eight CLSA Cooperative Library Systems and for
Transactions Based Reimbursement, which facilitates interlibrary
loans of materials among participating public libraries.
Proposed Law: This bill expands resource sharing under the CLSA,
by allowing funding requests from libraries to include
SB 331 (Liu)
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high-speed broadband capacity upgrades.
It also authorizes the CSL to enter into a cooperative agreement
with a high-speed broadband network to provide internet services
to all public libraries throughout the state.
Related Legislation: SB 1044 (Liu) Ch. 219/2012 repealed the
Library of California Act, and made related statutory revisions
to streamline the administration of the state's public
libraries.
Staff Comments: This bill would allow local libraries to apply
to the California State Library Board for funding to upgrade
broadband capacity. While this bill does not provide additional
funding for this purpose, it expands the purposes for which
existing state funds (which provide a small portion of library
funding) annually appropriated in the Budget Act can be used,
and creates cost pressure to provide additional funding to
libraries for those activities.
This bill also authorizes the CSL to enter into a contract to
establish a statewide broadband network, but provides no funding
mechanism to implement the contract. The CSL estimates would
cost $4.5 million in contract costs to connect public libraries
to an existing Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in
California (CENIC) network, which is what the CSL intends to do
with the authority granted by this bill. The CSL indicates that
half of the funding ($2.25 million) could be accessed in
matching funds from the California Teleconnect Fund.
The bill's language does not, however, require any particular
service provider or system (such as CENIC). The statutory change
gives broad authority the CSL (with Board approval) to enter
into any similar contract. Specifically authorizing a statewide
contract creates cost pressure to fund both the one-time
activities to establish a statewide high-speed broadband
network, and unknown ongoing costs to keep it operational.
AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED: Amend per author to specify that the
authorized contract will be between the State Librarian and
CENIC, and subject to an appropriation in the Budget Act.
SB 331 (Liu)
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