Amended in Assembly March 26, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 57

Introduced by Assembly Member Quirk

December 2, 2014

An act begin insert to amend Section 8886 of the Government Code, end insert relating to communications.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 57, as amended, Quirk. Broadband communications infrastructure.

The existing federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 preempts any state or local statute or regulation that may prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting the ability of any entity to provide any interstate or intrastate telecommunications begin delete service, but end delete begin insert service. However, this provision end insert does not prohibit a state from begin delete imposing end delete begin insert imposing, end insert on a competitively neutral basis, requirements necessary to preserve and advance universal service, protect the public safety and welfare, ensure the continued quality of telecommunications services, and safeguard the rights of begin delete consumers. The prohibition also contains a “safe harbor” that does not affect the authority of end delete begin insert consumers, nor does it prevent end insert a state or local government begin delete to manage end delete begin insert from managing end insert the public rights-of-way or begin delete to require end delete begin insert requiring end insert fair and reasonable compensation from telecommunications providers, on a competitively neutral and nondiscriminatory basis, for use of public rights-of-way on a nondiscriminatory basis.

Under existing law, telegraph or telephone corporations may construct lines of telegraph or telephone lines along and upon any public road or highway, along or across any of the waters or lands within the state, and may erect related poles, posts, piers, abutments, and other necessary fixtures of their lines, but may not incommode the public use of the road or highway or interrupt the navigation of the waters. Existing law declares the intent of the Legislature begin delete that end delete begin insert that, end insert consistent with this authorization, municipalities have the right to exercise reasonable control as to the time, place, and manner in which roads, highways, and waterways are accessed, but that for the control to be reasonable it must, at a minimum, be applied to all entities in an equivalent manner.

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Existing law establishes the California Broadband Council in state government for the purpose of promoting broadband deployment in unserved and underserved areas of the state and broadband adoption throughout the state, imposes specified duties on the council relating to that purpose, and specifies the membership of the council.

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This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to promote the deployment of communications infrastructure by removing barriers to investment. begin insert The bill would add the President of the Board of Directors of the League of California Cities and the President of the Executive Committee of the California State Association of Counties, or their respective designees, to the membership of the council. end insert

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  begin delete no end delete begin insert yes end insert . State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(a) California consumers and businesses have adopted new,
Internet-based technologies and mobile connections at an
unprecedented rate. Internet-based products and devices, including
smartphones and tablets, are providing consumers everywhere
with new choices to connect, to communicate, and to access
information and entertainment.

(b) The deployment of faster, more robust, and advanced
wireless and wireline broadband infrastructure is essential to
ensuring there is sufficient capacity and coverage to support the
increasing reliance of California residents on broadband services.

(c) State and local review of broadband infrastructure
deployment serves important interests, but at the same time,
California must take steps to ensure that requirements do not hinder
investment. State and local permitting processes should be designed
to eliminate unnecessary barriers and spur deployment of
infrastructure. This includes streamlining permitting requirements
to reduce delay and cost, and the creation of uniform processes.

(d) New and upgraded infrastructure delivers a vast array of
consumer and community benefits, including important
improvements to public safety, education, and healthcare. The
power of mobile communications is a critical tool for first
responders in emergency situations. According to the Federal
Communications Commission, nearly 70 percent of 911 calls are
made from mobile telephones, and that percentage is growing.

(e) As we continue the transition to a knowledge-based,
technology-driven economy, California must invest in students
and provide them with the proper tools and technologies to bolster
academic achievement, starting with expanding access to
high-speed broadband Internet and next-generation Internet
Protocol-based networks.

(f) Facilitating broadband deployment additionally plays a key
role in advancing telemedicine and mobile health applications,
which can help Californians remotely monitor their health while
reducing medical costs.

(g) Wireless broadband is also key to economic development
and a driver for new business and jobs. Businesses increasingly
depend on strong wireless broadband service to carry their
employees through the work day. An estimated 94 percent of small
businesses surveyed use smartphones to conduct business and
mobile technologies are saving the country’s small businesses
more than sixty-five billion dollars ($65,000,000,000) a year.

(h) Broadband infrastructure deployment creates jobs. A 2013
study conducted by the research firm Information Age Economics
projects that wireless infrastructure investment will generate as
much as one trillion two-hundred billion dollars
($1,200,000,000,000) in economic growth while creating over 1.2
million new jobs, nationally, over the next five years.

(i) It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to
promote the deployment of communications infrastructure by
removing barriers to investment. Removing investment barriers is
critical to meeting the surging demand by California residents for
advanced wireless and wireline broadband technologies and
services, supporting and enhancing critical public safety needs,
and bridging the digital divide by increasing access for more
Californians to improved education, health care, and economic
development opportunities.

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begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

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begin insert Section 8886 of the end insert begin insert Government Code end insert begin insert is amended to
read: end insert

8886.  

(a) The membership of the California Broadband Council
shall include all of the following:

(1) The Director of Technology, or his or her designee.

(2) The President of the Public Utilities Commission, or his or
her designee.

(3) The Director of Emergency Services, or his or her designee.

(4) The Superintendent of Public Instruction, or his or her
designee.

(5) The Director of General Services, or his or her designee.

(6) The Secretary of Transportation, or his or her designee.

(7) The President of the California Emerging Technology Fund,
or his or her designee.

(8) A member of the Senate, appointed by the Senate Committee
on Rules.

(9) A member of the Assembly, appointed by the Speaker of
the Assembly.

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(10) The President of the Board of Directors of the League of
California Cities, or his or her designee.

end insert begin insert

(11) The President of the Executive Committee of the California
State Association of Counties, or his or her designee.

end insert

(b) Members of the Legislature appointed to the council shall
participate in the activities of the council to the extent that their
participation is not incompatible with their positions as Members
of the Legislature.