BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1549| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: AB 1549 Author: Wood (D) Amended: 8/19/16 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE TRANS. & HOUSING COMMITTEE: 10-0, 6/14/16 AYES: Beall, Cannella, Allen, Bates, Gaines, Galgiani, Leyva, McGuire, Mendoza, Roth NO VOTE RECORDED: Wieckowski SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 8/11/16 AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza, Nielsen ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 1/27/16 (Consent) - See last page for vote SUBJECT: Department of Transportation: state highway rights-of-way: broadband: fiber optic cables SOURCE: Author DIGEST: This bill requires the Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to encourage collaborative broadband installations by noticing when they are planning projects which are suitable for the installation of broadband conduit and developing guidelines to facilitate the installation of broadband conduit by broadband providers on state highway rights-of-way. Senate Floor Amendments of 8/19/16 delete the requirement that Caltrans maintain an inventory of broadband conduit; delete the requirement that Caltrans install conduit on specified projects; AB 1549 Page 2 and require that Caltrans develop guidelines by January 1, 2018, to facilitate the installation of broadband conduit on state highway rights-of-way. These guidelines shall address access to information on existing assets and collaboration on future projects. Guidelines shall address access to information on existing assets and collaboration on future projects. ANALYSIS: Existing law: 1)Creates the California Broadband Task Force, as set forth in a 2006 Governor's Executive Order (S-23-06), to facilitate widespread deployment of state-of-the-art telecommunications technology. The Executive Order specifically requires, in part: a) The Business, Transportation, and Housing Agency (BTH) 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. b) State agencies to place broadband conduit in their infrastructure projects for use by multiple government entities and broadband providers. c) State agencies to expedite permitting for broadband providers' requests for access to rights-of-way. 2)Authorizes, generally, 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. AB 1549 Page 3 3)Establishes the California Broadband Council to promote broadband deployment throughout the state and, to that end, improve coordination among state agencies. This bill requires Caltrans to: 1)Provide notice on its Web site when it is planning highway construction projects which are suitable for broadband conduit installation. 2)Develop guidelines by January 1, 2018, to facilitate the installation of broadband conduit on state highway rights-of-way. These guidelines shall address access to information on existing assets and collaboration on future projects. Comments 1)Purpose. The United States compares poorly to other nations in the speed, quality, and cost of broadband service [Federal Communications Commission: International Broadband Data Report, August 13, 2012]. California is no different. That's largely because public policy is caught in the middle. It has not supported a single regulated broadband provider who would benefit from the economies of scope and scale, as is the case in other countries. And the competition that public policy has encouraged has been too weak to result in high-quality, high-speed service at reasonable rates. This problem is of course worse in rural areas where potential customers are much less densely located than in urban and suburban areas. 2)Not for lack of effort. Inadequate and costly broadband service has been a longstanding problem for which California has implemented many potential solutions. One of the most significant efforts resulted from a 2006 Executive Order from Governor Schwarzenegger. That order required the then-BTH to encourage public/private broadband partnerships, required all state agencies to place broadband conduit in their infrastructure projects if there is sufficient demand, and created the California Broadband Task Force. The Task Force recommended that: AB 1549 Page 4 a) High-speed broadband infrastructure be built out to all Californians. b) Model permitting standards are developed and collaboration among broadband providers be encouraged. c) Use and adoption of broadband and computer technology be increased. This bill redoubles the broadband build-out effort. The fundamental assumption in the bill is that landline broadband infrastructure deployment can be done more quickly and inexpensively when done in conjunction with Caltrans construction projects. This may well be true, and was one of the bases for the 2006 Executive Order. As a result of the 2006 Executive Order, Caltrans created a program to notify telecommunications providers of projects in which they could install their fiber optic facilities during the Caltrans construction process. No provider participated in any projects and consequently Caltrans decided to discontinue 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. This bill deals with wireline broadband. 1)When? This bill calls for Caltrans to notify broadband companies during the planning phase of construction projects that run parallel to the highway. The idea is that freeways provide convenient, and sometimes the only, physical connection between population centers, so as Caltrans is fixing the road between city A and city B, other companies and organizations should be permitted to install their conduit and fiber optic cables in the trench for a fee, thereby sharing costs. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.:YesLocal: No According to the Senate Appropriations Committee (as amended on August 19, 2016): AB 1549 Page 5 Minor and absorbable costs for Caltrans to notify broadband companies of specified projects on its website and to establish a stakeholder process for collaborating on broadband conduit installations within Caltrans rights-of-way. SUPPORT: (Verified 8/22/16) California Association of Competitive Telecommunications Companies California Center for Rural Policy Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California Humboldt County Board of Supervisors Marin County Board of Supervisors Placer County Board of Supervisors Praxis Associates Redwood Region Economic Development Commission Rural County Representatives of California Tellus Venture Associates OPPOSITION: (Verified8/22/16) None received ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 1/27/16 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins NO VOTE RECORDED: Mathis AB 1549 Page 6 Prepared by:Randy Chinn / T. & H. / (916) 651-4121 8/22/16 22:40:07 **** END ****