BILL NUMBER: SB 1212 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 20, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 3, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 26, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 12, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 28, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Senator Hueso
FEBRUARY 18, 2016
An act to amend Section 280 of the Public Utilities Code, relating
to telecommunications.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1212, as amended, Hueso. "2-1-1" information and referral
network.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory
authority over public utilities, including telephone corporations.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), pursuant to its existing
authority over the North American Numbering Plan, has established
several abbreviated dialing codes, including designating the number
9-1-1 for persons to dial to obtain emergency services, designating
the number 3-1-1 for persons to dial for nonemergency police
assistance, and designating the number 2-1-1 for persons to dial to
obtain information about, and referral to, community social services.
Pursuant to authority delegated by the FCC to state regulatory
bodies and its existing statutory authority, the Public Utilities
Commission has established procedures for implementing 2-1-1 dialing
in California.
This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to facilitate
the expansion of 2-1-1 services into those counties in California
where they are lacking and to support a comprehensive statewide
database that will connect all callers to information and referrals
they need. The bill would additionally state the intent of the
Legislature to facilitate access to disaster preparedness, response,
and recovery information, and referral services, uniformly in the
state, especially in hard-to-serve rural areas, through a universally
available telephone service.
Existing law requires the commission to develop, implement, and
administer a program to advance universal service by providing
discounted rates to qualifying schools, community colleges,
libraries, hospitals, health clinics, and community organizations.
Existing law requires that all revenues collected by telephone
corporations in rates authorized by the commission to fund this
program be deposited in the California Teleconnect Fund
Administrative Committee Fund. Existing law provides that moneys in
the fund are held in trust and may be expended only upon
appropriation in the annual Budget Act or upon supplemental
appropriation and requires that all moneys appropriated to the
commission from the fund be used exclusively for the program.
This
If the commission determines that doing so is an appropriate
use of funds collected from ratepayers, the bill would, until
January 1, 2023, authorize the commission to expend up to $1,500,000
from the fund to help close 2-1-1 service gaps in counties lacking
access to disaster preparedness, response, and recovery information
and referral services, where technically feasible, through available
2-1-1 service.
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. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) In order to create a statewide disaster preparedness,
response, and recovery system and to facilitate the reach of local
services to vulnerable populations, this act is established to expand
2-1-1 services to all areas of California that do not currently have
access to this vital service.
(2) 2-1-1 service is a free, accessible, three-digit telephone
number that gives everyone in covered areas access to needed
community services. First established in 2005, 2-1-1 service now
covers 38 California counties. It is available 24 hours a day, seven
days a week, allowing residents to access information about health
and human services, emergency care, crisis intervention, and disaster
preparedness, response, and recovery when they need it most.
(3) 2-1-1 service is a natural hub for disaster-related
information and plays a critical role during emergencies and
disasters, such as fires, floods, earthquakes, terrorist attacks, and
epidemics, reducing nonemergency call volume on 9-1-1 lines, which
frees up emergency responders to deal with true life-or-death
situations, thus leveraging local public safety resources.
(4) 2-1-1 service also increases the reach of government,
nonprofit, and community programs by offering callers information on
and access to a variety of health and human services, rent and
utility assistance, physical and mental health resources, employment
opportunities, support for older Americans and persons with
disabilities, and support for families with special needs.
(5) 2-1-1 service call centers are staffed with highly trained
specialists who have expertise in navigating the web of health and
human services in a particular community and who have up-to-date
information and guidance for callers in times of disaster.
(6) 2-1-1 service call center specialists are able to answer calls
in over 150 different languages; they are able to provide critical
health information to otherwise hard-to-reach ethnic populations.
(7) Twenty rural counties in California currently do not have
access to 2-1-1 services, creating holes in referral services and
disaster response capability.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting this act, to
facilitate the expansion of 2-1-1 services into those counties in
California where they are lacking and to support a comprehensive
statewide database that will connect all callers to the information
and referrals they need.
(c) It is the intent of the Legislature to facilitate access to
disaster preparedness, response, and recovery information, and
referral services, uniformly in the state, especially in
hard-to-serve rural areas, through a universally available 2-1-1
telephone service.
SEC. 2. Section 280 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
280. (a) The commission shall develop, implement, and administer
a program to advance universal service by providing discounted rates
to qualifying schools maintaining kindergarten or any of grades 1 to
12, inclusive, community colleges, libraries, hospitals, health
clinics, and community organizations, consistent with Chapter 278 of
the Statutes of 1994.
(b) There is hereby created the California Teleconnect Fund
Administrative Committee, which is an advisory board to advise the
commission regarding the development, implementation, and
administration of a program to advance universal service by providing
discounted rates to qualifying schools maintaining kindergarten or
any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, community colleges, libraries,
hospitals, health clinics, and community organizations, consistent
with Chapter 278 of the Statutes of 1994, and to carry out the
program pursuant to the commission's direction, control, and
approval.
(c) All revenues collected by voice communications providers in
rates authorized by the commission to fund the program specified in
subdivision (a) shall be submitted to the commission pursuant to a
schedule established by the commission. The commission shall transfer
the moneys received to the Controller for deposit in the California
Teleconnect Fund Administrative Committee Fund. All interest earned
by moneys in the fund shall be deposited in the fund.
(d) Except as provided in subdivisions (e) and (g), moneys
appropriated from the California Teleconnect Fund Administrative
Committee Fund to the commission shall be utilized exclusively by the
commission for the program specified in subdivision (a), including
all costs of the board and the commission associated with the
administration and oversight of the program and the fund.
(e) Moneys loaned from the California Teleconnect Fund
Administrative Committee Fund in the Budget Act of 2003 are subject
to Section 16320 of the Government Code. If the commission determines
a need for moneys in the California Teleconnect Fund Administrative
Committee Fund, the commission shall notify the Director of Finance
of the need, as specified in Section 16320 of the Government Code.
The commission may not increase the rates authorized by the
commission to fund the program specified in subdivision (b) while
moneys loaned from the California Teleconnect Fund Administrative
Committee Fund in the Budget Act of 2003 are outstanding unless both
of the following conditions are satisfied:
(1) The Director of Finance, after making a determination pursuant
to subdivision (b) of Section 16320 of the Government Code, does not
order repayment of all or a portion of any loan from the California
Teleconnect Fund Administrative Committee Fund within 30 days of
notification by the commission of the need for the moneys.
(2) The commission notifies the Director of Finance and the
Chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee in writing that
it intends to increase the rates authorized by the commission to
fund the program specified in subdivision (a). The notification
required pursuant to this paragraph shall be made 30 days in advance
of the intended rate increase.
(f) Subdivision (e) shall become inoperative upon full repayment
or discharge of all moneys loaned from the California Teleconnect
Fund Administrative Committee Fund in the Budget Act of 2003.
(g) (1) Consistent with Decision 10-06-002 (June 7, 2010)
Decision Granting Petition for Rulemaking and Order Instituting
Rulemaking as to Whether to Enable Emergency Access to 211 Services
in Counties and Localities Without Existing 211 Centers, as modified
in Decision 10-12-060 (December 20, 2016), 11-09-016
(September 8, 2011) Decision Granting Authority to Provide
Emergency Access to 211 Services in Counties and Localities Without
Existing 211 Centers and to Appoint a 211 Lead Entity, if it
determines that doing so is an appropriate use of funds collected
from ratepayers, the commission may expend up to one million
five hundred thousand dollars ($1,500,000) from the California
Teleconnect Fund Administrative Committee Fund for one-time
costs to help close 2-1-1 service gaps in counties lacking
access to disaster preparedness, response, and recovery information
and referral services, where technically feasible, through available
2-1-1 service. One-time costs may include implementation of
a coordinated publicly owned database As the lead
agency appointed by the commission in Decision 11-09-016, 2-1-1
California may apply to the commission for use of the funds in the
counties that lack 2-1-1 service. If the commission determines that
doing so is an appropriate use of funds collected from ratepayers,
these costs may include local implementation of a coordinated
database that is owned by a city or county to provide referrals
to help with nonemergency aspects of disaster planning, recovery,
and response.
(2) This subdivision shall become inoperative on January 1, 2023.