Amended in Assembly June 20, 2016

Amended in Senate March 28, 2016

Senate Bill No. 1250

Introduced by Senator McGuire

(Coauthors: Senators begin delete Hill, Nielsen, end delete begin insert Hill end insert and Wolk)

(Coauthor: Assembly Member Cooley)

February 18, 2016

An act to begin delete amend Section 710 of, to amend and renumber Section 2889.8 of, and to add Sections 911.5 and 2882.5 to, the Public Utilities end delete begin insert add Section 53119.5 to the Government end insert Code, relating to telecommunications.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1250, as amended, McGuire. Telecommunications: begin delete major rural outages: notifications and reporting. end delete begin insert Warren-911-Emergency Assistance Act: notification of rural outages. end insert

begin insert

Existing provisions of the Warren-911-Emergency Assistance Act, establishes the number “911” as the primary emergency telephone number for use in the state and requires the providing of enhanced service capable of selective routing, automatic number identification, or automatic location identification. The act requires a telephone corporation serving rural telephone areas that cannot provide enhanced 911 emergency telephone service capable of selective routing, automatic number identification, or automatic location identification to present to the Office of Emergency Services a comprehensive plan detailing a schedule by which their facilities will be converted to be compatible with the enhanced emergency telephone system.

end insert begin insert

This bill would require a facilities-based provider of telecommunications services that the Federal Communications Commission requires to provide access to 911 service to provide responder outage notification by email to the Office of Emergency Services whenever there is a rural outage, as defined, within 60 minutes of discovering the rural outage. The bill would make the Office of Emergency Services responsible for notifying any applicable county office of emergency services and the sheriff of any county affected by the outage. The bill would require the responder outage notification to the Office of Emergency Services to include the telecommunications provider’s contact name and calling number with a description of the estimated area affected by the outage. The bill would require the telecommunications services provider to notify the Office of Emergency Services of the estimated time to repair the outage and when service is restored. The bill would require that the telecommunications service provider ensure that the calling number provided to the Office of Emergency Services with the responder outage notification be staffed by the indicated contact person, or by a person qualified to respond to inquiries about the outage, at all times until the provider notifies the office that service has been restored.

end insert begin delete

Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including telephone corporations. Existing law requires the commission to periodically assess the reliability of the public telecommunications network and, if necessary, to develop recommendations for improvement. The assessment is required to include (1) an analysis of those factors that pose a risk to network reliability, including the adequacy of independent sources of reserve power, (2) consideration as to whether development of reliability standards is appropriate, and (3) consideration as to whether procedures should be developed to notify customers about accessing other telecommunications companies in the event of a service disruption.

end delete begin delete

This bill would impose, on a facilities-based provider of telecommunications services that the Federal Communications Commission requires to provide access to 911 service, certain notification and reporting requirements for a major rural outage of telecommunications services, with the requirements to be adopted by the commission in consultation with the Office of Emergency Services. The bill would make these requirements enforceable through the Public Utilities Act. The bill would require the commission to annually report to the Legislature on certain information from reports filed with the commission and to include recommendations to improve the reporting of major rural outages and remedial actions that can be undertaken to avoid or minimize outages. Because a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime, and the requirements added by the bill would be a part of, or enforceable pursuant to, the act and require actions by the commission for their implementation, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating a new crime.

end delete begin delete

Existing law, until January 1, 2020, prohibits the commission from regulating Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and Internet Protocol enabled service (IP enabled service), as defined, except as required or delegated by federal law or expressly provided otherwise in statute.

end delete begin delete

This bill would expressly authorize the commission to implement the notification and reporting requirements for major rural outages with respect to facilities-based VoIP and IP enabled service providers of telecommunications services that the Federal Communications Commission requires to provide access to 911 service.

end delete begin delete

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

end delete begin delete

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program:  begin delete yes end delete begin insert no end insert .

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

(a) This act shall be known, and may be cited,
as the 911 Emergency Reliability and Public Safety Act.

(b) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(1) The begin delete Public Utilities Commission end delete begin insert State of California end insert currently
has no specific requirements with respect to the reporting of major
service interruptions that impair the ability of persons to call and
connect to the local emergency telephone system by dialing begin delete 911,
other than requiring facilities-based certificated and registered
public utility telephone corporations to report major service
interruptions as required by the Federal Communications
Commission’s Network Outage Reporting System adopted by the
Public Utilities Commission in the Rules Governing
Telecommunications Services (General Order 133-C (effective
July 9, 2009), page 9). end delete begin insert 911. end insert

begin delete

(2) The duty to report outages pursuant to the Network Outage
Reporting System requirements is triggered upon surpassing either
a duration or a user-minutes-affected threshold. That
user-minutes-affected threshold is appropriate for urban areas.
However, the user-minutes-affected threshold results in the
nonreporting of major service interruptions in rural areas of
California.

end delete begin delete

(3)

end delete

begin insert (2) end insert  The Federal Communications Commission has
acknowledged that providing access to the 911 emergency call
system includes maintaining the function of the communications
networks required to initiate 911 calls and to deliver those calls
and that there is a shared authority of the federal government and
states to collectively oversee all components of 911 service.

begin delete

(4)

end delete

begin insert (3) end insert  In order to protect the health and safety of persons living in
rural areas of the state requiring reliable access to the 911
emergency call system, it is necessary begin delete for the Public Utilities
Commission to adopt more stringent end delete begin insert to adopt end insert requirements for the
reporting of major service interruptions in rural areas of the state.

begin delete

(5) It is the intent of the Legislature that the commission utilize
its existing authority under the Public Utilities Act, including the
authority to impose fines and penalties for violations, to enforce
the requirements of this act, and that any moneys collected through
fines or penalties will be used first to offset the costs of
implementing the requirements of the act, and if any moneys
remain, toward eliminating the digital divide.

end delete

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 53119.5 is added to the end insert begin insert Government Code end insert begin insert , to
read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 53119.5. end insert   

(a) For purposes of this section, the following terms
have the following meanings:

(1) “Access to 911 service” means the ability of a person to
call and connect to the local emergency telephone systems
described in this article.

(2) “Outage” has the same meaning as defined by the Federal
Communications Commission in Section 4.5 of Part 4 of
Subchapter A of Chapter 1 of Title 47 of the Code of Federal
Regulations.

(3) “Rural county” means a county in California for which the
United States Census Bureau has measured a population density
of 600 or less per square mile.

(4) “Rural outage” means an outage of telecommunications
service in a rural county over transport facilities, experienced by
a facilities-based provider of telecommunications services that the
Federal Communications Commission requires to provide access
to 911 service, that persists more than one hour after discovery of
the outage.

(5) “Telecommunications service” has the same meaning as
defined in subdivision (a) of Section 2892.1 of the Public Utilities
Code.

(6) “Transport facilities” are the components of a
telecommunications service provider’s wireless or wireline
infrastructure that connect network elements.

(b) All facilities-based providers of telecommunications services
that the Federal Communications Commission requires to provide
access to 911 service shall provide responder outage notification
whenever there is a rural outage. Responder outage notification
shall be provided within 60 minutes of discovery of the outage by
the provider to the Office of Emergency Services, which shall be
responsible for notifying any applicable county office of emergency
services and the sheriff of any county affected by the outage. The
responder outage notification to the Office of Emergency Services
shall be by email, and shall include the telecommunications
provider’s contact name and calling number and a description of
the estimated area affected by the outage. The telecommunications
services provider shall also notify the Office of Emergency Services
by email of both of the following:

(1) The estimated time to repair the outage.

(2) When achieved, the restoration of service.

(c) The telecommunications service provider shall ensure that
the calling number provided to the Office of Emergency Services
with the responder outage notification is staffed by the indicated
contact person, or by a person qualified to respond to inquiries
about the outage, at all times until the provider notifies the office
that service has been restored.

(d) Except as provided in subdivision (b), the Office of
Emergency Services shall keep responder outage notifications
confidential and shall not disclose the contents of the notifications.

end insert

begin delete

SEC. 2.  

Section 710 of the Public Utilities Code is amended
to read:

710.  

(a) The commission shall not exercise regulatory
jurisdiction or control over Voice over Internet Protocol and
Internet Protocol enabled services except as required or expressly
delegated by federal law or expressly directed to do so by statute
or as set forth in subdivision (c). In the event of a requirement or
a delegation referred to above, this section does not expand the
commission’s jurisdiction beyond the scope of that requirement
or delegation.

(b) No department, agency, commission, or political subdivision
of the state shall enact, adopt, or enforce any law, rule, regulation,
ordinance, standard, order, or other provision having the force or
effect of law, that regulates VoIP or other IP enabled service, unless
required or expressly delegated by federal law or expressly
authorized by statute or pursuant to subdivision (c). In the event
of a requirement or a delegation referred to above, this section
does not expand the commission’s jurisdiction beyond the scope
of that requirement or delegation.

(c) This section does not affect or supersede any of the
following:

(1) The Emergency Telephone Users Surcharge Law (Part 20
(commencing with Section 41001) of Division 2 of the Revenue
and Taxation Code) and the state’s universal service programs
(Section 285).

(2) The Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act of
2006 (Division 2.5 (commencing with Section 5800)) or a franchise
granted by a local franchising entity, as those terms are defined in
Section 5830.

(3) The commission’s authority to implement and enforce
Sections 251 and 252 of the federal Communications Act of 1934,
as amended (47 U.S.C. Secs. 251 and 252).

(4) The commission’s authority to require data and other
information pursuant to Section 716.

(5) The commission’s authority to address or affect the
resolution of disputes regarding intercarrier compensation,
including for the exchange of traffic that originated, terminated,
or was translated at any point into Internet Protocol format.

(6) The commission’s authority to enforce existing requirements
regarding backup power systems established in Decision
10-01-026, adopted pursuant to Section 2892.1, and rural outage
notification and reporting requirements adopted pursuant to Section
2882.5.

(7) The commission’s authority relative to access to support
structures, including pole attachments, or to the construction and
maintenance of facilities pursuant to commission General Order
95 and General Order 128.

(8) The Warren-911-Emergency Assistance Act (Article 6
(commencing with Section 53100) of Chapter 1.5 of Part 1 of
Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code).

(d) This section does not affect the enforcement of any state or
federal criminal or civil law or any local ordinances of general
applicability, including, but not limited to, consumer protection
and unfair or deceptive trade practice laws or ordinances, that
apply to the conduct of business, the California Environmental
Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of
the Public Resources Code), local utility user taxes, and state and
local authority governing the use and management of the public
rights-of-way.

(e) This section does not affect any existing regulation of,
proceedings governing, or existing commission authority over,
non-VoIP and other non-IP enabled wireline or wireless service,
including regulations governing universal service and the offering
of basic service and lifeline service, and any obligations to offer
basic service.

(f) This section does not limit the commission’s ability to
continue to monitor and discuss VoIP services, to track and report
to the Federal Communications Commission and the Legislature,
within its annual report to the Legislature, the number and type of
complaints received by the commission from customers, and to
respond informally to customer complaints, including providing
VoIP customers who contact the commission information regarding
available options under state and federal law for addressing
complaints.

(g) This section does not affect the establishment or enforcement
of standards, requirements, or procedures, including procurement
policies, applicable to any department, agency, commission, or
political subdivision of the state, or to the employees, agents, or
contractors of a department, agency, commission, or political
subdivision of the state, relating to the protection of intellectual
property.

(h) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2020,
and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
is enacted before January 1, 2020, deletes or extends that date.

SEC. 3.  

Section 911.5 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:

911.5.  

By February 1, 2018, and each February 1 thereafter,
the commission shall report to the Legislature summarizing major
rural outage information as reported to the commission pursuant
to Section 2882.5, including the number and duration of major
rural outages and the number of customers affected by those
outages. The report shall include any rules adopted by the
commission pursuant to subdivision (g) of Section 2882.5, any
recommendations to the Legislature as to changes that can be made
to further refine the requirements for reporting of major rural
outages, recommendations for remedial actions that can be
undertaken to avoid or minimize outages, any failures to comply
with the major rural outages reporting requirements, and any fines
imposed or other enforcement actions undertaken to enforce
Section 2882.5.

SEC. 4.  

Section 2882.5 is added to the Public Utilities Code,
to read:

2882.5.  

(a) For purposes of this section, the following terms
have the following meanings:

(1) “Access to 911 service” means the ability of a person to call
and connect to the local emergency telephone systems described
in the Warren-911-Emergency Assistance Act (Article 6
(commencing with Section 53100) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of
Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code).

(2) “Major rural outage” means an outage of telecommunications
service in a rural area, experienced by a facilities-based provider
of telecommunications services that the Federal Communications
Commission requires to provide access to 911 service, that is both
of the following: (A) is of 30 or more minutes’ duration, and (B)
potentially affects 75,000 or more user-minutes. The number of
user-minutes is the mathematical result of multiplying the outage’s
duration expressed in minutes and the number of users potentially
affected by the outage.

(3) “Outage” has the same meaning as defined by the Federal
Communications Commission in Section 4.5 of Part 4 of
Subchapter A of Chapter 1 of Title 47 of the Code of Federal
Regulations.

(4) “Rural area” means those areas of the state that the United
States Census Bureau has determined are not within urbanized
areas or urban clusters.

(5) “Telecommunications service” has the same meaning as
defined in subdivision (a) of Section 2892.1.

(b) The enhanced notification and reporting requirements of
this section do not apply to those areas of the state that the
commission, utilizing United States Census Bureau determinations,
identifies as not being rural areas. Nothing in this section affects
the notification and reporting requirements adopted by the Federal
Communications Commission (Part 4 of Subchapter A of Chapter
1 of Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations) and the
commission’s Rules Governing Telecommunications Services
(General Order 133-C (effective July 9, 2009), pages 9-10, or any
successor rules adopted by the commission) as to those areas of
the state that the commission determines are not rural areas.

(c) The commission, in consultation with the Office of
Emergency Services, shall require all facilities-based providers of
telecommunications services that the Federal Communications
Commission requires to provide access to 911 service to provide
responder outage notification whenever there is a major rural
outage. Responder outage notification shall be provided within 30
minutes of the outage to the Office of Emergency Services, which
shall be responsible for notifying any applicable county office of
emergency services and sheriff of any county affected by the
outage. The notification shall include the telecommunications
provider’s contact name and calling number, an assigned unique
report code that will be used to identify the outage for reporting
purposes, a description of the nature of the outage, a description
of the estimated area affected by the outage, and other information
that the telecommunications provider feels may be of assistance
to emergency first responders. The provider of telecommunications
services shall notify the commission upon its completion of
providing responder outage notification.

(d) The commission, in consultation with the Office of
Emergency Services, shall require all facilities-based providers of
telecommunications services that the Federal Communications
Commission requires to provide access to 911 service to provide
public outage notification whenever there is a major rural outage.
The commission shall adopt rules for the most effective and
efficient means for dissemination of information to the public
relative to outages. The rules shall require that a
telecommunications provider that maintains an Internet Web site
timely post information relative to an outage on its Internet Web
site, including the area of the outage and, when available,
alternative means to contact a public safety answering point in the
event of an emergency arising during the outage. The commission
may adopt additional requirements for outreach to be provided to
customers during or following an outage and what information
relative to public outage notification is to be provided to the
commission.

(e) The commission, in consultation with the Office of
Emergency Services, shall require all facilities-based providers of
telecommunications services that the Federal Communications
Commission requires to provide access to 911 service to provide
initial outage reporting whenever there is a major rural outage.
Initial outage reporting shall be provided within 120 minutes of
the outage to the Office of Emergency Services, which shall be
responsible for notifying any applicable county office of emergency
services and sheriff of any county affected by the outage. The
initial outage report shall, at a minimum, include a description of
the direct cause or general nature of the outage and identify the
date and time of the incident causing the outage, the unique report
code provided pursuant to subdivision (c), the location of the
incident or cause, the geographic range and number of potentially
affected customers, and, if the outage has not been rectified, the
expected duration of the outage. The provider of
telecommunications services shall notify the commission upon its
completion of providing initial outage reporting. The commission,
in consultation with the Office of Emergency Services, shall
determine what information, if any, that is required to be contained
in the initial outage report is, or may be made, public consistent
with Section 583 and the confidentiality requirements adopted by
the Federal Communications Commission in order to protect
homeland security (Section 4.2 of Part 4 of Subchapter A of
Chapter 1 of Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations).

(f) The commission, in consultation with the Office of
Emergency Services, shall require all facilities-based providers of
telecommunications services that the Federal Communications
Commission requires to provide access to 911 service to provide
final outage reporting whenever there is a major rural outage. Final
outage reporting shall be provided within 20 days to the
commission and the Office of Emergency Services. The final
outage report shall, at a minimum, include the unique report code
provided pursuant to subdivision (c), a detailed description of the
direct cause and any root cause of the outage, the provider’s actions
to restore service, and any measures undertaken to prevent the
occurrence of a similar outage in the future. The commission, in
consultation with the Office of Emergency Services, shall
determine what information, if any, that is required to be contained
in the final outage report is, or may be made, public consistent
with Section 583 and the confidentiality requirements adopted by
the Federal Communications Commission in order to protect
homeland security (Section 4.2 of Part 4 of Subchapter A of
Chapter 1 of Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations). A
written summary of the outage report, containing that information
the commission determines may be safely disclosed, shall be
supplied to the board of supervisors of each county affected by
the outage within 30 days of the major rural outage.

(g) The commission, in consultation with the Office of
Emergency Services and, to the extent feasible, with rural
emergency responders, may adopt rules to implement and refine
the notification and reporting requirements of this section.

(h) The requirements of this section are enforceable pursuant
to Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 2100) of Part 1.

SEC. 5.  

Section 2889.8 of the Public Utilities Code is amended
and renumbered to read:

2882.  

The commission periodically shall assess the reliability
of the public telecommunications network and, if necessary,
develop recommendations for improvement. The assessment shall
include, but not be limited to, all of the following:

(a) An analysis of those factors that pose a risk to network
reliability, including the adequacy of independent sources of
reserve power.

(b) Consideration as to whether development of reliability
standards is appropriate.

(c) Consideration as to whether procedures should be developed
to notify customers about accessing other telecommunications
companies in the event of a service disruption.

SEC. 6.  

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.

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