Senate Bill No. 28
CHAPTER 673

An act to add Section 5895 to, and to repeal Section 5960 of, the Public Utilities Code, relating to communications.

[ Approved by Governor  October 08, 2021. Filed with Secretary of State  October 08, 2021. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 28, Caballero. Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act of 2006: deployment data.
Existing law, the Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act of 2006, establishes a procedure for the issuance of state franchises for the provision of video service, defined to include cable service and open-video systems, administered by the Public Utilities Commission. The act provides that the holder of a state franchise is not a public utility as a result of providing video service and does not provide the commission with authority to regulate the rates, terms, and conditions of video service except as explicitly set forth in the act. The act requires a franchise holder to annually report to the commission regarding the availability of and subscriptions to broadband and video service, as specified.
This bill would repeal the requirement that franchise holders annually report regarding the availability of and subscriptions to broadband and video service. The bill would instead require the commission to collect granular data on the actual locations served by franchise holders, adopt customer service requirements for franchise holders, and adjudicate any customer complaints. The bill would prohibit the commission from publicly disclosing any personally identifiable information collected pursuant to these requirements.
Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.
This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 5895 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:

5895.
 (a) The commission shall collect granular data on the actual locations served by the holder of a state franchise.
(b) The commission shall adopt customer service requirements for a holder of a state franchise and adjudicate any customer complaints.
(c) The commission shall not publicly disclose any personally identifiable information collected pursuant to this section.
(d) All information submitted to the commission pursuant to this section shall be disclosed to the public only as provided for pursuant to Section 583.

SEC. 2.

 Section 5960 of the Public Utilities Code is repealed.

SEC. 3.

 The Legislature finds and declares that Section 1 of this act, which adds Section 5895 to the Public Utilities Code, imposes a limitation on the public’s right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies within the meaning of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution. Pursuant to that constitutional provision, the Legislature makes the following findings to demonstrate the interest protected by this limitation and the need for protecting that interest:
This act furthers the public interest by requiring the reporting of specific, detailed, granular information to the Public Utilities Commission in order to enable the commission to act in an informed manner to promote advanced communications, while protecting competitively sensitive information and the privacy of individual consumers.