Bill Text: CA AB2797 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Telephone corporations: carriers of last resort: tariffs.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed) 2024-07-01 - In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. [AB2797 Detail]
Download: California-2023-AB2797-Amended.html
|
Amended
IN
Senate
June 10, 2024 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 2797
| Introduced by Assembly Member |
February 15, 2024 |
An act to amend Section 19596 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to horse racing. add Section 709.1 to the Public Utilities Code, relating to telecommunications.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2797, as amended, Blanca Rubio Horse racing: harness racing: Valley Victory. Telephone corporations: carriers of last resort: tariffs.
Existing law authorizes the Public Utilities Commission to supervise and regulate every public utility in the state, including telephone corporations, and to fix just and reasonable rates and charges for public utilities. Existing law requires the commission, on or before February 1, 1995, to issue an order initiating an investigation and open a proceeding to examine the current and future definitions of universal service in telecommunications. Pursuant to that provision, the commission issued a decision involving carriers of last resort, including the withdrawal process for carriers of last resort, defined as a carrier who provides local exchange service and stands ready to provide basic service to any customer requesting such service within a specified area.
This bill would no longer require a telephone corporation seeking relief from carrier of last resort obligations to be a carrier of last resort or to have any carrier of last resort obligations if the telephone corporation submits a notice containing certain information to the commission and modifies and removes its commission tariffs. The bill requires telephone corporations to identify, as part of the notice, (1) a census block of the telephone corporation’s service territory where there is no population or where the company has no basic exchange telephone service customers, or (2) a census block designated as urban where 2 or more different service providers offer alternative voice services, as defined, to customers, or both. The bill would also require the telephone corporation to acknowledge in the notice that it will not discontinue basic exchange telephone service until certain federal requirements are satisfied. The bill would require these telephone corporations
to provide certain public benefits commitments, including, among things, by providing education to affected customers to explain the benefits and advantages of transitioning to modern networks and services.
Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act is a crime. Because the provisions of this bill are within the act, a violation of these provisions would impose a state-mandated local program by creating a new crime.
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.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law authorizes the California Horse Racing Board to authorize a licensed harness racing association conducting a live racing meeting to accept wagers on the full card of races conducted by another racing association on the day that the other association conducts the Breeders’ Crown Stakes, the Meadowlands Pace, the Hambletonian, the Cane Pace, the Kentucky Futurity, or the North American Cup.
This bill would additionally authorize the board to authorize an above-described association to accept wagers on the full card of races conducted by another racing association on the day that the other association conducts the Valley Victory.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program:Bill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares that access to broadband networks is key to creating equity and positive impacts on California education, health care, public safety, workforce development, and the economy.(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to accomplish all of the following:
(1) Facilitate an orderly, phased transition from legacy voice-only networks to modern broadband networks, recognizing the importance of supporting the consumer transition to
broadband in alignment with California’s Broadband for All policy.
(2) Facilitate the transition to modern networks and services, which is a transition that is necessary due to the declining use of legacy telephone services and the critical need for robust, high-speed broadband connectivity.
(3) Notify customers and conduct educational efforts throughout the transition process to ensure that consumers are informed about the benefits of modern networks and the steps involved in the transition.
(4) Prevent the disconnection of legacy telephone service until the applicable federal process is satisfied.
(5) Establish a framework that promotes the efficient and equitable transition from voice-only networks to broadband networks, while safeguarding the
interests of consumers, promoting digital inclusion, and ensuring public safety.
(6) Treat digital equity as a crucial component of any transition plan to ensure that vulnerable populations are protected, educated, and informed throughout the transition process.
SEC. 2.
Section 709.1 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:709.1.
(a) A company shall no longer be a carrier of last resort, nor have any carrier of last resort obligations, in census blocks located within its telephone service territory if both of the following occur:(1) The company submits one or both of the following notices to the commission:
(A) (i) A notice identifying any census block of the company’s service territory where there is no population according to the most recent federal census or where the company has no basic exchange telephone service customers.
(ii) The requirements of clause (i) are satisfied if the company sends notice to the
commission identifying, by census block, the areas described in subparagraph (A).
(B) (i) A notice identifying, in census blocks of the company’s service territory that are designated as urban according to the most recent federal census, areas where two or more different service providers offer alternative voice services to customers. The price paid by customers for at least one of the alternative voice services shall be reasonably comparable in price or reasonably comparable in value to the company’s current nondiscounted basic exchange telephone service offered in the relevant census block.
(ii) The requirements of clause (i) are satisfied when the company sends notice to the commission that identifies, by census block, the areas described in clause (i).
(iii) The company shall not submit the
notice described in clause (i) before January 1, 2026.
(2) Notwithstanding Section 495.7, and included with a notice to the commission described in paragraph (1), the company shall modify and remove its commission tariffs to the extent necessary to effectuate paragraph (1) for basic exchange telephone service, with tariff revisions taking effect upon submission of the notice.
(b) Data used pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) to demonstrate the location of where alternative voice services are offered to customers may include fixed and mobile broadband coverage maps created by the commission or the Federal Communications Commission.
(c) This section does not confer regulatory authority to the commission over alternative voice service.
(d) (1) In a notice the company submits pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), the company shall acknowledge that it will not discontinue basic exchange telephone service until the requirements of Section 214 of Title 47 of the United States Code are satisfied.
(2) This section shall not be construed to conflict with the company’s obligations to continue to offer voice service under Section 214 of Title 47 of the United States Code, until the company satisfies any applicable obligations under Section 214 of Title 47 of the United States Code necessary to discontinue such voice service.
(e) The company shall provide all of the following public benefits commitments:
(1) Provide education to affected customers to explain the benefits and advantages of transitioning to modern
networks and services.
(2) Develop an equity plan to support disadvantaged and vulnerable communities, including an allocation of resources necessary to implement the plan. The plan shall include communications, education, and outreach focused on the needs of populations identified in the Digital Equity Act of 2021 (Subchapter II (commencing with Section 1721) of Chapter 16 of Title 47 of the United States Code), which was adopted as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117-58).
(3) Notify customers of the alternative voice service options available in their area.
(4) Provide targeted outreach to local and tribal government public safety officials.
(5) Provide digital literacy training and resources in coordination with
community-based organizations.
(6) Provide education on emergency preparedness, particularly for customers in high fire threat areas, including information on backup power resources. The company shall consider the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Social Vulnerability Index to inform outreach.
(f) As used in this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) “Alternative voice service” means a retail voice service made available through any technology or service arrangement by any provider, whether affiliated with the company or not, that provides, as a stand-alone service or as part of a bundled service, all of the following:
(A) Voice access interconnected with the public switched
telephone network.
(B) Access to emergency 911 service.
(C) Compatibility with backup power sources.
(2) “Company” means a telephone corporation seeking relief from carrier of last resort obligations.
(3) “Notice” means a written communication to the commission.
(4) “Reasonably comparable in price” means, for a stand-alone voice service, that the price for the alternative service is no more than 25 percent higher than the company’s then-current basic exchange telephone service price.
(5) “Reasonably comparable in value” means, for a bundled service, the incremental value of the voice component that is part of the bundle is no
more than 25 percent higher than the company’s then-current basic service exchange telephone service price.
SEC. 3.
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.(a)Notwithstanding any other law, the board may do any of the following:
(1)Authorize a licensed harness racing association that is conducting a live racing meeting in this state to accept wagers on the full card of races conducted by another racing association on the day that the other association conducts the Breeders’ Crown Stakes, the Meadowlands Pace, the Hambletonian, the Valley Victory, the Cane Pace, the Kentucky Futurity, or the North American
Cup.
(2)Authorize a licensed quarter horse racing association that is conducting a live racing meeting in this state to accept wagers on either of the following:
(A)Races conducted by the racing association that conducts the American Quarter Horse Racing Challenge, if the races are conducted on the same day as the American Quarter Horse Racing Challenge.
(B)The full card of races conducted by another racing association on the day that other association conducts the Texas Classic Futurity and Remington Park Futurity.
(3)Authorize the inclusion of wagers authorized pursuant to this section in the parimutuel pools of the out-of-state association that conducts the races on which the wagers are placed.
(b)The board authorization may be granted under this section only if both of the following conditions are met:
(1)The authorization complies with federal laws, including, but not limited to,
the Interstate Horseracing Act of 1978 (15 U.S.C. Sec. 3001 et seq.).
(2)Wagering is offered only within the racing enclosure and only within seven days of the running of the out-of-state race.
