BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 1549 (Wood) - Department of Transportation: state highway
rights-of-way: fiber optic cables
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|Version: June 30, 2016 |Policy Vote: T. & H. 10 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: August 1, 2016 |Consultant: Mark McKenzie |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: AB 1549 would require the Department of Transportation
(Caltrans) to maintain a database that contains an inventory of
all department-owned broadband conduits installed in state
highway rights-of-way after January 1, 2017, and make that
information available to companies working on broadband
deployment. The bill would also require the installation of
broadband conduit on certain highway construction projects,
either by the department or through collaboration with other
companies.
Fiscal
Impact:
Estimated one-time Caltrans information technology (IT) costs
of approximately $915,000 for software, hardware, and staffing
to support the database and website components, as well as
meeting all Department of Technology requirements for IT
AB 1549 (Wood) Page 1 of
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project approvals. (State Highway Account)
Additional one-time Caltrans IT costs of approximately
$310,000 to implement additional security measures to secure
and encrypt information regarding fiber-optic facility
installations, and $27,500 in ongoing IT maintenance costs.
There could be unknown additional staffing impacts for
evaluation and monitoring of security measures. (State
Highway Account)
Unknown, major project cost increases, likely in the millions
annually, for Caltrans to install broadband conduits on
specified projects where there are no existing conduits in a
project area and no broadband deployment companies or
organizations offer collaboration. (State Highway Account or
federal/local/bond funds)
Background: Existing law generally authorizes Caltrans to lease to public
agencies or private entities the use of areas above or below
state highways, subject to any reservations, restrictions, and
conditions that the department deems necessary to ensure
adequate protection of the safety and the adequacy of highway
facilities. Existing law also establishes the California
Broadband Council to promote broadband deployment throughout the
state and improve coordination among state agencies for that
purpose.
A 2006 Governor's Executive Order (S-23-06) established the
California Broadband Task Force to facilitate widespread
deployment of state-of-the-art telecommunications technology.
The Executive Order specifically requires, in part:
The Business, Transportation, and Housing Agency to establish
a database of current and prospective projects for deploying
broadband. The database is to be available for use by
broadband providers, state entities, and municipalities.
State agencies to place broadband conduit in their
infrastructure projects for use by multiple government
entities and broadband providers.
State agencies to expedite permitting for broadband providers'
requests for access to state rights-of-way.
As a result of the 2006 Executive Order, Caltrans created a
program to notify telecommunications providers of projects in
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which they could install their fiber optic facilities during the
Caltrans construction process. No provider participated in any
projects and consequently Caltrans discontinued the program in
2014. That program was limited to telecommunications companies
licensed by the California Public Utilities Commission.
Caltrans has an existing program for collaboration with
companies that want to use their facilities for wireless
broadband purposes.
Proposed Law:
AB 1549 would require Caltrans to maintain an inventory on a
centralized database of all department-owned broadband conduits
that house fiber optic communications cables that are located on
state highway rights-of-way and installed on or after January 1,
2017. The bill requires Caltrans to make that information
available to specified companies or organizations working on
broadband deployment, upon request.
AB 1549 would also require Caltrans to notify those companies or
organizations of department-led highway construction projects
that are parallel to the highway, span at least two overpasses,
and involve construction methods that are suitable for broadband
conduit installations. The notification must come during the
design phase of the project by posting information about
suitable projects on the Caltrans website.
The bill authorizes those companies or organizations to
collaborate with Caltrans to install broadband conduits, and
absent that collaboration, requires Caltrans to install
broadband conduit if none currently exists in the project area.
Staff
Comments: Caltrans constructs approximately 600 projects each
year, but there is no way to accurately predict how many
projects would be impacted by the requirements in the bill for
Caltrans to install broadband conduits (those meeting the
specified design criteria in areas where no broadband conduits
currently exist and there is a lack of collaborative interest
from other companies or organizations). Depending on project
variables, costs to install broadband conduits can range from
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$185,000 to $290,000 per mile, not including additional staffing
costs for design work or to ensure quality assurance oversight
of installations during construction. The additional
construction component could also extend project completion
timelines, the fiscal impact of which is unknown.
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