AB 2570, as amended, Quirk. Telecommunications: universal service: wireless communications.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including telephone corporations. The Moore Universal Telephone Service Act establishes the Universal Lifeline Telephone Service program in order to provide low-income households with access to affordable basic residential telephone service.begin delete The act requires the commission to annually designate a class of lifeline service necessary to meet minimum communications needs.end delete The act requires that a lifeline telephone service subscriber be provided with one lifeline subscription, as defined by the commission, at his or her principal place of residence.
This bill wouldbegin delete specify that minimum communication needs includes wireless communications. The bill wouldend delete
prohibit the commission from reimbursing a telephone corporation for a reimbursement claim for providing wireless lifeline service to a new subscriber who enrolls for service with the telephone corporation if the subscriber enrolled for wireless lifeline service with another telephone corporation within the previous 60 days. The bill would require the commission to reimburse a telephone corporation providing wireless lifeline service within 60 days of the date the telephone corporation submits a reimbursement claim. If the commission does not reimburse a telephone corporation for a reimbursement claim for wireless lifeline service within 60 days, the bill would require the commission to pay all of the costs of the telephone corporation resulting from the late reimbursement, including, but not limited to, financing fees, interest payments, and staff time.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 873 of the Public Utilities Code is
2amended to read:
(a) The commission shall annually do all of the following:
4(1) Designate a class of lifeline service necessary to meet
5minimum communications needs, including wireless
6communications.
7(2) Set the rates and charges for that service.
8(3) Develop eligibility criteria for that service.
9(4) Assess the degree of achievement of universal service,
10including telephone penetration rates by income, ethnicity, and
11geography.
12(b) Minimum communications needs includes, but is not limited
13to, the ability to originate and receive calls and the
ability to access
14electronic information services.
Section 878.5 is added to the Public Utilities
17Code, to read:
The commission shall not reimburse a telephone
19corporation for a reimbursement claim for providing wireless
20lifeline service to a new subscriber who enrolls for service with
21the telephone corporation if the subscriber enrolled in wireless
22lifeline service with another telephone corporation within the
23previous 60 days.begin insert Nothing in this section shallend insertbegin insert preclude a
24subscriber from terminating wireless lifeline service within 14
25days of service activation without incurring any charges, including
26an early termination fee, as authorized pursuant to Rulemaking
2711-03-113.end insert
Section 879 of the Public Utilities Code is amended
3to read:
(a) The commission shall, at least annually, initiate a
5proceeding to set rates for lifeline telephone service. All telephone
6corporations providing lifeline telephone service shall annually
7file, on a date set by the commission, proposed lifeline telephone
8service rates and a statement of projected revenue needs to meet
9the funding requirements to provide lifeline telephone service to
10qualified subscribers, together with proposed funding methods to
11provide the necessary funding. These funding methods shall include
12identification of those services whose rates shall be adjusted to
13provide the necessary funding.
14(b) The commission shall commence a proceeding within 30
15days after the date set for the filings required in
subdivision (a),
16giving interested parties an opportunity to comment on the
17proposed rates and funding requirements and the proposed funding
18methods. The commission may change the rates, funding
19requirements, and funding methods proposed by the telephone
20corporations in any manner necessary, including reasonably
21spreading the funding among the services offered by the telephone
22corporations, to meet the public interest. Within 60 days of the
23annual filing, the commission shall issue an order setting lifeline
24telephone service rates and funding methods for each telephone
25corporation making a filing as required in subdivision (a). The
26commission may establish a lifeline service pool composed of the
27rate adjustments and surcharges imposed by the commission
28pursuant to this section for the purpose of funding lifeline telephone
29service.
30(c) Any order issued by the commission pursuant to this section
31shall require telephone corporations providing
lifeline telephone
32service to apply the funding requirement in the form of a surcharge
33to service rates which may be separately identified on the bills of
34customers using those services. The commission shall not allow
35any surcharge under this section on the rates charged by those
36telephone corporations for lifeline telephone service.
37(d) The commission shall permit telephone corporations
38operating between service areas to adjust the rates of any service
39which may be affected by any surcharge imposed by this section.
P4 1(e) The commission shall reimburse a telephone corporation
2providing wireless lifeline service within 60 days of the date the
3telephone corporation submits a reimbursement claim. If the
4commission does not reimburse a telephone corporation for a
5reimbursement claim for wireless lifeline service within 60 days,
6the commission shall pay all of the costs of the telephone
7
corporation resulting from the late reimbursement, including, but
8not limited to, financing fees, interest payments, and staff time.
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