BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 1262 (Wood) - Telecommunications: universal service:
California Advanced Services Fund.
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|Version: February 27, 2015 |Policy Vote: E., U., & C. 10 - |
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|Urgency: Yes |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: June 29, 2015 |Consultant: Marie Liu |
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This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: AB 1262 would transfer $5 million within the
California Advanced Services Fund from the Broadband
Infrastructure Revolving Loan Account to the Rural and Urban
Regional Broadband Consortia Grant Account.
Fiscal
Impact: Annual costs of approximately $130,000 beginning in
January 2018 for two or three years to the California Advanced
Services Fund (CASF, special fund) to the California Public
Utilities Commission (CPUC) for additional grant administration.
Background: Existing law establishes the California Advanced Services Fund
(CASF), administered by the CPUC, to help fund deployment of
broadband infrastructure and bring high-speed Internet access to
AB 1262 (Wood) Page 1 of
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all areas of the state. The CASF is funded from a customer
surcharge on intrastate communication services. Section 821 of
the Public Utilities Code authorizes the collection of $215
million in surcharges from 2011 through 2020, with no more than
$25 million to be collected in any one year. This amount is
divided amongst the following four programs:
Broadband Infrastructure Grant Account ($170 million): This
program provides grants to cover the capital costs of
expanding broadband infrastructure.
Rural and Urban Regional Broadband Consortia Grant Account
($10 million): This program provides grants to eligible
voluntary regional consortia to fund the cost of broadband
deployment activities other than capital costs of facilities.
Eligible consortia include diverse stakeholders from their
respective communities, and work to inform the public about
broadband, gather data about Internet availability and speeds
for CPUC broadband maps, mobilize local governments and
employers to aggregate demand to assist the private sector,
ensure local broadband providers know about CASF. There are
currently over a dozen regional consortia representing every
area of the state. While the members of each regional
consortia vary, many consortia include representatives from
local businesses, community colleges, school districts,
community-based organizations and local governments.
Broadband Infrastructure Revolving Loan Account ($10 million):
This program provides supplemental financing for projects that
are also applying for infrastructure grant funding. The loan
can cover up to 20% of the project cost up to $500,000.
Broadband Public Housing Account ($25 million): This program
supports the deployment of broadband infrastructure and
adoption programs in eligible publically supported housing
communities. Funds for this program were received from the
Infrastructure Grant Account and the Revolving Loan Account.
Any remaining funds in this program as of December 31, 2016
will be transferred back in proportion to the two accounts.
AB 1262 (Wood) Page 2 of
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Proposed Law:
This bill would transfer $5 million from the Broadband
Infrastructure Revolving Loan Account to the Rural and Urban
Regional Broadband Consortia Grant Account.
Staff
Comments: The CPUC currently has 1.3 PYs staffing the consortia
program (1 Public Utilities Regulatory Analyst IV position and
1/3 Staff Service Analyst position) at an annual cost of
approximately $130,000 to the CASF. However, these positions
were only approved through the end of 2017 as all the money in
the account will be granted out by the end of 2016. The
additional money provided for the consortia program under this
bill would necessitate these positions to be extended, likely
for two to three years to make and oversee additional grants.
By decreasing the funding available for the revolving loan
program, this bill potentially creates cost pressures for that
account. However, any cost pressures are unlikely. As discussed
in the CPUC's zero-based budget, the Broadband Infrastructure
Revolving Loan Account has been undersubscribed. The lack of
interest in this program was not explored. Nevertheless, given
the lack of demand for this program, this bill is unlikely to
cause any cost pressures on the Revolving Loan Account unless
the program is modified.
This bill would not change the total authorization for the CASF
and therefore there will be no impact to the ratepayers.
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