BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1863
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 1863 (Bowen)
As Amended June 27, 2002
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :37-0
UTILITIES AND COMMERCE 11-2
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|Ayes:|Wright, Pescetti, | | |
| |Canciamilla, Diaz, | | |
| |Horton, Kelley, Maddox, | | |
| |Nation, Papan, Reyes, | | |
| |Simitian | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|John Campbell, La Suer | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Adds to the state's articulated telecommunications
policies. Specifically, this bill :
1)Declares that it is a state telecommunications policy to focus
efforts on providing community based organizations,
educational, healthcare 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 nonprofit community technology
programs.
3)Defines a nonprofit community technology program as a
community-based 501(c)(3) tax-exempt that disseminates
technology in local communities and trains local communities
with limited access to the Internet and other technologies.
EXISTING LAW declares the policies for telecommunications in
California, which include:
SB 1863
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1)A commitment to universal service.
2)Encouraging development and deployment of new technologies in
a way that encourages availability of a wide choice of
state-of-the-art services.
3)Promoting economic growth, job creation, and the like by
adequate long-term investment in the necessary infrastructure.
4)Promoting lower prices, broader consumer choice, and avoiding
anti-competitive conduct.
5)Promoting competition to encourage efficiency, lower prices,
and consumer choice.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Eight years ago, the Legislature passed AB 3643
(Moore), Chapter 278, Statutes of 1994, a bill declaring that
state action was necessary to prevent society from splitting
into two different "information worlds," one that was
information rich, and one that wasn't.
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 3643 was that "healthcare, community, and government
institutions be early recipients of the benefits of the
Information Age."
PUC later created the California Teleconnect Fund (Fund). This
Fund, currently budgeted at $57.125 million annually and funded
by a 0.31% surcharge on telephone bills, provides funding for
telephone service discounts of 50% to schools and libraries, and
25% to community-based organizations. Since its inception, more
than 99% of the program funds have gone to discounts for schools
and libraries.
This bill codifies the language from AB 3643.
SB 1863
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In 1996, Congress enacted legislation similar to AB 3643,
requiring that schools, healthcare providers, and libraries have
access to advanced communications services. The resulting
program, known as the e-rate program, provides $2.25 billion in
telecommunication service discounts nationwide.
In October 2000, the United States Commerce Department's
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
issued a report, entitled "Falling Through the Net: Toward
Digital Inclusion," that noted a rapid increase in the overall
level of U.S. digital inclusion. As evidence of the rapid rise
in the level of digital inclusion, the report cited a 58%
increase in the share of households with Internet access. A 21%
rise in the number of households with access to computers, and a
proliferation in the number of Americans using the Internet,
from 32% online in December 1998 to 44% 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.
Analysis Prepared by : Paul Donahue / U. & C. / (916) 319-2083
FN: 0005686