BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1863
Page A
Date of Hearing: June 24, 2002
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON UTILITIES AND COMMERCE
Roderick D. Wright, Chair
SB 1863 (Bowen) - As Amended: June 20, 2002
SENATE VOTE : 37-0
SUBJECT : Telecommunications services.
SUMMARY : Adds to the declared telecommunications policies in
California. Specifically, this bill :
1)Declares that it is the state telecommunications policy to
focus efforts on providing educational institutions,
healthcare institutions, community based organizations and
government institutions with access to advanced
telecommunications services in recognition of their economic
and societal impact.
2)Declares the intent of the Legislature that any program
administered by the California Public Utilities Commission
(PUC) that address the inequality of access to advanced
communication services by providing those services to schools
and libraries at a discounted price should also provide
comparable discounts to community based organizations for
community technology programs.
3)Defines a community technology program as a program provided
by a community based nonprofit tax exempt 501 (c)(3)
organization that disseminates technology in local communities
and trains local communities in the use of technology.
EXISTING LAW :
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
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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.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
Eight years ago, the Legislature passed AB 3643 (Moore),<1>
measure enacting uncodified declarations that state action was
necessary to prevent society from splitting into two different
"information worlds," one that was information rich, and the
other that was information poor.
AB 3643 directed PUC to examine this "digital divide" issue and
look at universal service in the context of changes in
technology and information availability. AB 3643 declared that
"Universal service must be defined in a way that ensures all
segments of California society have access to the technology
that will allow them to enjoy the benefits of the Information
Age and the Information Superhighway." Among the principles of
AB 2643 was that "health care, community, and government
institutions be early recipients of the benefits of the
Information Age."
PUC later created the California Teleconnect Fund (CTF). This
fund, currently budgeted at $57.125 million annually and funded
by a 0.31 percent surcharge on telephone bills, provides funding
for telephone service discounts of 50 percent to schools,
libraries, and 25 percent to community-based organizations.
Since its inception, more than 99 percent of the program funds
have gone to discounts for schools and libraries.
This bill codifies the language from AB 3643.
In 1996, Congress enacted legislation similar to AB 3643,
requiring that schools, health care providers, and libraries
have access to advanced communications services. The resulting
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<1> Chapter 278, Statutes of 1994
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program, known as the e-rate program, provides $2.25 billion in
telecommunication service discounts nationwide.
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, 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.
Conflict notice
Both this bill and Senate Bill 1563 (Polanco), which is also on
today's Committee agenda, amend Public Utilities Code 709.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Community Technology Policy Group
Office of Ratepayer Advocates
The Children's Partnership
Opposition
None on file
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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