Amended in Senate August 19, 2016

Amended in Senate June 30, 2016

Amended in Senate June 22, 2016

Amended in Senate May 16, 2016

Amended in Assembly January 14, 2016

Amended in Assembly January 13, 2016

Amended in Assembly January 4, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1549

Introduced by Assembly Member Wood

September 11, 2015

An act to add Section 14051 to the Government Code, relating to highways.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1549, as amended, Wood. Department of Transportation: state highway rights-of-way: begin insert broadband: end insert fiber optic cables.

Existing law provides that the Department of Transportation has full possession and control of state highways and associated property. Existing law provides for the department to issue encroachment permits with respect to structures and activities in, under, or over any portion of the right-of-way of a state highway.

This bill would begin delete require the department to maintain an inventory on a centralized database of all broadband conduits that house fiber optic communication cables and are owned by the department, located on state highway rights-of-way, and installed on or after January 1, 2017, and to make that information available, upon request, to companies or organizations working on broadband deployment. The bill would end delete require the department to notify begin delete those end delete companies and organizations begin insert working on broadband deployment end insert on its Internet Web site of specified department-led highway construction projects and would authorize those companies and organizations to collaborate with the department to install a broadband conduit as part of each project. The bill would require the department, begin delete as part of each project, to install broadband conduit capable of supporting fiber optic communication cables if no company or organization working on broadband deployment collaborates with the department and no broadband conduit previously exists in a project area. end delete begin insert in consultation with stakeholders, on or before January 1, 2018, to develop guidelines to facilitate the installation of broadband conduit on state highway rights-of-way. end insert

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 14051 is added to the Government Code,
to read:

14051.  

(a) For purposes of this section, “companies or
organizations working on broadband deployment” includes, but
is not limited to, local governments, nonprofit organizations, cable
television corporations, as defined in Section 216.4 of the Public
Utilities Code, and telephone corporations, as defined in Section
234 of the Public Utilities Code.

begin delete

(b) The department shall maintain an inventory on a centralized
database of all broadband conduits that house fiber optic
communication cables and are owned by the department, located
on state highway rights-of-way, and installed on or after January
1, 2017. The department shall make the information available,
upon request, to companies or organizations working on broadband
deployment.

(c)

end delete

begin insert (b) end insert  (1) During the begin delete design end delete begin insert project planning end insert phase of a
department-led highway construction project that begin insert was initiated on
or after January 1, 2017, end insert is parallel to the highway, begin delete spans at least
two overpasses, end delete and involves construction methods that are suitable
for installing broadband conduit, the department shall notify
companies and organizations working on broadband deployment
of the project on its Internet Web site to encourage collaborative
broadband installations.

(2) For the purpose of supporting fiber optic communication
cables, after receiving notification from the department, a company
or organization working on broadband deployment may collaborate
with the department to install a broadband conduit as part of the
project.

begin delete

(3) If no company or organization working on broadband
deployment collaborates with the department and no broadband
conduit previously exists in the project area, the department, as
part of the project, shall install a broadband conduit capable of
supporting fiber optic communication cables.

(4) Nothing in paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive, requires the
department to report on cables owned by other entities.

end delete begin insert

(3) The department, in consultation with stakeholders, on or
before January 1, 2018, shall develop guidelines to facilitate the
installation of broadband conduit on state highway rights-of-way.
The guidelines shall address access to information on existing
assets and collaboration on future projects.

end insert