Bill Text: CA SB1040 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Telecommunications universal service programs:

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2010-09-27 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 317, Statutes of 2010. [SB1040 Detail]

Download: California-2009-SB1040-Introduced.html

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BILL NUMBER: SB 1040	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Padilla

                        FEBRUARY 12, 2010

   An act to amend Section 281 of the Public Utilities Code, relating
to telecommunications, making an appropriation therefor, and
declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1040, as introduced, Padilla. Telecommunications universal
service programs: California Advanced Services Fund.
   The existing federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 establishes a
program for the regulation of telecommunications to attain the goal
of local competition, while implementing specific, predictable, and
sufficient federal and state mechanisms to preserve and advance
universal service, consistent with certain universal service
principles. The universal service principles include the principle
that consumers in all regions of the nation, including low-income
consumers and those in rural, insular, and high-cost areas, should
have access to telecommunications and information services, including
interexchange services and advanced telecommunications and
information services, that are reasonably comparable to those
services provided in urban areas and that are available at rates that
are reasonably comparable to rates charged for similar services in
urban areas.
   Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory
authority over public utilities, including telephone corporations,
as defined. Existing law, until January 1, 2013, establishes the
California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) in the State Treasury, and
requires a surcharge, which is imposed by the commission and
collected through retail telecommunications customers' bills, to be
deposited in that fund. Existing law prohibits the commission from
collecting more than $100,000,000 through the surcharge. Existing law
requires the commission to develop, implement, and administer the
CASF to provide for transfer payments to encourage deployment of
high-quality advanced communications services to all Californians
that will promote economic growth, job creation, and substantial
social benefits of advanced information and communications
technologies, as provided in a specified decision of the commission.
Existing law requires the commission to conduct both a financial
audit and a performance audit on the implementation and effectiveness
of CASF and to report its findings to the Legislature by December
31, 2010.
   This bill would extend the operation of CASF until January 1,
2018, and prohibit the commission from collecting more than
$225,000,000 through the CASF surcharge. The bill would require that
not more than $25,000,000 of the funds in CASF be encumbered during a
fiscal year and would continuously appropriate $25,000,000 per
fiscal year to the commission, beginning with the fiscal year
beginning July 1, 2010. The bill would require the commission to
conduct an interim and final financial audit and interim and final
performance audit on the implementation and effectiveness of CASF
and, to report its interim findings by December 31, 2010, and its
final findings by April 1, 2017.
   This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
   Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 281 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
   281.  (a) The commission shall develop, implement, and administer
the California Advanced Services Fund to encourage deployment of
high-quality advanced communications services to all Californians
that will promote economic growth, job creation, and the substantial
social benefits of advanced information and communications
technologies, as provided in Decision 07-12-054  and Decision
09-07-020  .  The commission shall establish the following
accounts within the fund:  
   (1) The Broadband Infrastructure Grant Account.  
   (2) The Rural and Urban Regional Broadband Consortia Account.
 
   (3) The Broadband Infrastructure Revolving Loan Funds Facility
Account. 
   (b) (1) All moneys collected by the surcharge authorized by the
commission pursuant to that decision, whether collected before or
after January 1, 2009, shall be transmitted 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 Advanced Services Fund.
   (2) All interest earned on moneys in the fund shall be deposited
in the fund.
   (3) The commission may not collect moneys, by imposing the
surcharge described in paragraph (1) for deposit in the fund, in an
amount that exceeds a total amount of  one hundred million
dollars ($100,000,000)   two hundred  
twenty-five   million dollars ($225,000,000). Not more than
twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000) may be encumbered, per
fiscal year, from the fund, beginning with the fiscal year that
begins July 1, 2010, and continuing through the 2017  -
  18 fiscal year  . 
   (4) Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code,
beginning with the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2010, and
continuing through the 2017-18 fiscal year, the money in the fund and
the accounts within the fund are hereby continuously appropriated to
the commission without regard to fiscal years for the purposes
enumerated in subdivision (a). The funds shall be deposited in the
following amounts in the following accounts for each fiscal year:
 
   (A) Twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) into the Broadband
Infrastructure Grant Account.  
   (B) Two million dollars ($2,000,000) into the Rural and Urban
Regional Broadband Consortia Account.  
   (C) Three million dollars ($3,000,000) into the Broadband
Infrastructure Revolving Loan Funds Facility Account. 
   (c) (1)  Any   All  moneys appropriated
from the California Advanced Services Fund to the commission may only
be expended for the program administered by the commission pursuant
to subdivision (a), including the costs incurred by the commission in
developing, implementing, and administering the program and the
fund.
   (2) Notwithstanding any other law and for the sole purpose of
providing matching funds pursuant to the federal American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5), any entity eligible
for funding pursuant to that act shall be eligible to apply to
participate in the program administered by the commission pursuant to
subdivision (a), if that entity otherwise satisfies the eligibility
requirements under that program. Nothing in this section shall impede
the ability of an incumbent local exchange carrier, as defined by
subsection (h) of Section 251 of Title 47 of the United States Code,
that is regulated under a rate of return regulatory structure, to
recover, in rate base, California infrastructure investment not
provided through federal or state grant funds for facilities that
provide broadband service and California intrastate voice service.

   (d) Proposals for funding of the operations of the Rural and Urban
Regional Broadband Consortia shall meet the requirements,
procedures, and criteria to be established by the commission. 

   (e) The Broadband Infrastructure Revolving Loan Funds Facility
shall be available to a joint powers authority that is responsible
for administering and extending loans to qualified broadband
providers in accordance with the rules established by the commission.
 
   (d) 
    (f)  The commission shall conduct  both
  a   an interim and final 
financial audit and  a   an interim and final
 performance audit of the implementation and effectiveness of
the California Advanced Services Fund to ensure that funds have been
expended in accordance with the approved terms of the winning bids
and this section. The commission shall report its  interim 
findings to the Legislature by December 31, 2010.  The commission
shall report its final findings to the Legislature by April 1, 2017.
 The  report   reports  shall also
include an update to the maps in the final report of the California
Broadband Task Force. 
   (e) 
    (g)  This section shall remain in effect only until
January 1,  2013   2018  , and as of that
date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted
before January 1,  2013   2018  , deletes
or extends that date.
  SEC. 2.  This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the
meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
   Numerous grant applications with merit have been filed seeking
funding through the California Advanced Services Fund, many of these
applications also seeking funding through the federal American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5), and these
grant applications threaten to exceed the existing financial limits
of the fund. In order to relieve financial pressure on the fund,
enable meritorious projects to go forward, and to prevent a potential
disruptive effect on the grant process, it is necessary that this
act take effect immediately.