CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 1069

Introduced by Senator Jackson

February 18, 2020

An act to add Section 2892.2 to the Public Utilities Code, relating to telecommunications.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 1069, as introduced, Jackson. Telecommunications: emergencies and natural disasters: critical communications infrastructure.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including telephone corporations. Existing law requires the commission, in consultation with the Office of Emergency Services, to identify the need for telecommunications service systems not on customers’ premises to have backup electricity to enable the telecommunications networks to function, and to enable customers to contact a public safety answering point operator during an electrical outage, to determine performance criteria for backup systems, and to determine whether specified best practices for backup systems have been implemented by telecommunications service providers operating in California.
This bill would require each provider of telecommunications service to (1) notify local emergency management officials about the location and status of the provider’s critical communications infrastructure, as defined, (2) provide to the local incident command upon the declaration of an emergency or natural disaster the name and contact information for, and make available upon request, an official representative of the provider able to assist local emergency operations, (3) report to local emergency management authorities and the commission the transmission status of emergency alerts, notifications, and messages, (4) notify local and state emergency management officials in real time of impacted critical communications infrastructure within their jurisdictions that has been damaged or otherwise rendered inoperable, and, (5) upon the conclusion of an emergency or natural disaster, timely report to the commission on the impacts to the provider’s network during the emergency or natural disaster, as specified.
Under existing law, a violation of an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime.
Because a violation of an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission implementing the bill’s requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
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.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

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


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) California is experiencing increased threats from deadly wildfires and other disasters, including earthquakes, floods, landslides, and planned electrical grid shutoffs.
(b) Unacceptable impacts on communications infrastructure have occurred during these disasters, resulting in the loss of the public’s ability to communicate and receive essential emergency information.
(c) A resilient and dependable communications network is critical to the public’s safety in times of disaster, both for the relay of 911 calls and the delivery of internet-based deenergization maps, evacuation maps, and disaster-related resources.
(d) To significantly enhance public safety, the state must set clear requirements and expectations for communications service providers before, during, and after disasters.
(e) State and local emergency responders must receive basic information about communications infrastructure and receive assistance from communications services providers to prepare effectively for disasters, optimize distribution of emergency alerts, and respond effectively to disasters.

SEC. 2.

 Section 2892.2 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:

2892.2.
 (a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) “Critical communications infrastructure” shall be defined by the commission, and shall include all of the following:
(A) The physical assets and equipment necessary to provide communications service to customers.
(B) The physical assets and equipment necessary to provide backhaul services to the communications network.
(C) Sources of electricity, including backup storage and generation, necessary for the functioning of the infrastructure described in subparagraphs (A) and (B).
(2) “Emergency or natural disaster” means an emergency or a natural disaster declared by the Governor to be an emergency pursuant to Section 8558 of the Government Code.
(3) “Telecommunications service” means voice communication provided by a telephone corporation as defined in Section 234, voice communication provided by a provider of mobile telephony service, as defined in Section 224.4, and voice communication provided by a commercially available facilities-based provider of voice communication services using Voice over Internet Protocol or any successor protocol.
(b) Each provider of telecommunications service shall do all of the following:
(1) Notify each local emergency management official about the location and status of the provider’s critical communications infrastructure within the official’s jurisdiction. The notice shall include all of the following:
(A) An inventory of the location and type of critical communications infrastructure. The provider shall update the inventory annually.
(B) A real-time inventory of critical communications infrastructure that is, or may be, affected by an ongoing natural disaster or emergency declared by the local emergency management authority, or a deenergization event implemented by an electrical corporation or local publicly owned electric utility.
(C) The geographic boundaries of the provider’s service territory reliant on the critical communications infrastructure that is, or may be, affected by an ongoing natural disaster or emergency declared by the local emergency management authority, or a deenergization event implemented by an electrical corporation or local publicly owned electric utility, including the subregional distribution of communications from major cell towers.
(2) Immediately upon the declaration of an emergency or natural disaster, provide to the local incident command the name and contact information for, and make available upon request, an official representative of the provider, who shall have the credentials and training necessary to participate at a local emergency operations center.
(3) Immediately following the transmission of an emergency alert, notification, or other message sent from the local emergency management authority relevant to an ongoing incident, the telecommunications provider shall report to the local emergency management authority the transmission status of the emergency alert, notification, or message, including all of the following:
(A) The number of individuals who were sent the emergency alert, notification, or message.
(B) The number of individuals who received the emergency alert, notification, or message.
(C) The regional distribution of the emergency alert, notification, or message, including geographic information about the regions where the emergency alert, notification, or message was not received due to communications network failure.
(D) The number of emergency alerts, messages, and notifications per minute that were sent, and the number of emergency alerts, messages, and notifications per minute that were delivered, as a result of the local emergency management authority’s transmission of the emergency alert, notification, or other message.
(4) Report to the commission on the efficacy of the Wireless Emergency Alert System, and local emergency alert system, and the alerts, messages, and notifications sent from, and received by, the provider’s users using its network during an emergency or natural disaster. The report shall include comprehensive reporting on alert, messaging, and notification performance, including throughput and error rates, and the impact on alert, messaging, and notification performance resulting from damage to critical communications infrastructure caused by an emergency or natural disaster or a deenergization event.
(5) Notify a local or state emergency management official in real time of impacted critical communications infrastructure within the official’s jurisdictions that has been damaged or otherwise rendered inoperable. The notification shall, to the extent possible, provide actionable information on how the official can facilitate the restoration of service.
(6) (A) Upon the conclusion of an emergency or natural disaster, timely report to the commission on the impacts to its network during the emergency or natural disaster.
(B) The report shall include all of the following:
(i) A description of the infrastructure that was damaged or otherwise impacted by the emergency or natural disaster.
(ii) The number of the provider’s users whose service was affected or lost during the emergency or natural disaster.
(iii) An estimate of the reduction to the provider’s network traffic during the emergency or natural disaster.

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.