BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                       AB 1549|
          |Office of Senate Floor Analyses   |                              |
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                                   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;  








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          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.









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          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: 








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             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):







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           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








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          Prepared by:Randy Chinn / T. & H. / (916) 651-4121
          8/22/16 22:40:07


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