BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1563
Page A
Date of Hearing: June 24, 2002
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON UTILITIES AND COMMERCE
Roderick D. Wright, Chair
SB 1563 (Polanco) - As Amended: June 18, 2002
SENATE VOTE : 26-8
SUBJECT : Telecommunications: services.
SUMMARY : Codifies a proposed California Public Utilities
Commission (PUC) General Order governing telecommunications
consumer protections, and requires PUC to develop a plan for
encouraging widespread availability of advanced
telecommunications infrastructure. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires telecommunication service providers to guarantee the
following:
a) That consumers receive clear and complete information
about rates, terms, and conditions for available products
and services, and be charged accordingly.
b) Consumers shall be allowed to select services and
vendors, and have their choices respected by the
telecommunications industry.
c) Protection of consumer personal privacy, including
protection from unauthorized use of consumer records and
personal information.
d) Maximum consumer opportunities for participation in
public policy proceedings and effective recourse for
violation of consumer rights.
e) Clear and adequate billings to consumers for products
and services that they authorize, and fair, prompt, and
courteous redress for billing problems encountered.
f) Equal treatment to all similarly situated consumers,
free of prejudice or disadvantage.
g) Protection of a consumer's person and property in
connection with the provision of telecommunications
products and services.
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2)Requires PUC to convene a proceeding to develop a plan for
encouraging the widespread availability of advanced
telecommunication infrastructure, including within the
proceedings a broad cross section of the telecommunications
industries, community-based organizations, and non-profit
community technology programs.<1>
3)Requires PUC to submit a report to the Governor and the
Legislature by December 2004 on its findings and
recommendations regarding the plan.
4)Sunsets the provisions relating to development of the plan and
the report on January 1, 2005.
5)Adds to existing legislative findings and declarations
concerning California telecommunications policy to include:
a) Assisting in bridging the "digital divide" by
encouraging expanded access to state of the art
technologies for rural, inner-city, low income and disabled
Californians; and
b) Encouraging fair treatment of consumers by providing
sufficient information that allows making informed choices,
establishment of service quality standards and processes
for resolution of billing and service problems.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Declares the policies for telecommunications in California,
which include:
a) A commitment to universal service.
b) Encouraging development and deployment of new
technologies in a way that encourages availability of a
wide choice of state-of-the-art services.
c) Promoting economic growth, job creation, and the like by
--------------------------
<1> A non-profit community technology program under this bill is
a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization that engages in diffusing
technology into local communities, and training local
communities that have either limited or nonexistent access to
the Internet and other technologies.
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adequate long-term investment in the necessary
infrastructure.
d) Promoting lower prices, broader consumer choice, and
avoiding anti-competitive conduct.
e) Promoting competition to encourage efficiency, lower
prices, and consumer choice.
2)Requires telephone corporations to furnish customers with
sufficient information to make informed service and provider
choices, including service options, pricing, and terms and
conditions of service.
3)Requires telephone corporations to provide customers with
information concerning the regulatory process and how they can
participate in that process and resolve complaints.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
Telecommunications Consumer Bill of Rights
On June 6, PUC released its draft of its Telecommunications
Consumer Bill of Rights (Bill of Rights), which in general
declares that consumers who interact with telecommunications
providers should be afforded certain basic rights.
This bill would enact this statement of rights as protections
that telecommunications providers must employ as a matter of
law.
According to PUC Commissioner Carl Wood, sponsor of the proposed
Bill of Rights, "consumers will be better protected from unfair
business practices with an appropriate set of rights and
responsibilities, and PUC will be better able to enforce rules
evenhandedly when they are clearly expressed and applicable to
all competitors."
The rulemaking on the Bill of Rights this bill would codify
remains open; giving rise to an issue concerning the
appropriateness of enacting these rights into law before PUC
issues a final general order. Public comments on the proposed
order are due July 16, 2002, and replies to comments are due
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July 26, 2002.
Digital Divide
This bill adds to the state's telecommunications policies, the
goal of bridging the digital divide. The concept that the
society should not be separated into those who have access to
information, and those who don't.
In October 2000 the U.S. Commerce Department's National
Telecommunications and Information Administration issued a
report<2> showing that the overall level of U.S. digital
inclusion is rapidly increasing. As evidence of the rapid rise
in the level of digital inclusion, the report cited a 58 percent
increase in the share of households with Internet access. It
cited a 21 percent rise in the number of households with access
to computers; and a hike in the number of Americans using the
Internet from 32 percent online in December 1998 to 44 percent
in August 2000.
While Internet access and computer ownership have risen for
almost all groups, noticeable divides exist between those with
different income and education levels, different racial and
ethnic groups, old and young, single and dual- parent families
and those with and without disabilities, the report said. For
example, persons with disabilities are only half as likely to
have access to the Internet as those without a disability.
Large gaps also remain between Internet access rates for
African-Americans and Latinos when measured against the national
average of Internet penetration, the report said.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Office of Ratepayer Advocates
California Community Technology Policy Group
Opposition
MCI Worldcom
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<2> Falling Through the Net: Toward Digital Inclusion, October
2000
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Analysis Prepared by : Paul Donahue / U. & C. / (916) 319-2083