BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 720|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 720
Author: Bowen (D) and Alarcon (D)
Amended: 8/18/03
Vote: 21
SENATE ENERGY, U.&C. COMMITTEE : 8-1, 4/8/03
AYES: Bowen, Morrow, Alarcon, Battin, Dunn, Murray, Sher,
Vasconcellos
NOES: McClintock
SENATE FLOOR : 34-1, 5/8/03
AYES: Aanestad, Ackerman, Alpert, Ashburn, Battin, Bowen,
Brulte, Burton, Cedillo, Chesbro, Denham, Ducheny,
Escutia, Figueroa, Florez, Hollingsworth, Karnette,
Knight, Kuehl, Machado, Margett, McPherson, Morrow,
Murray, Oller, Ortiz, Perata, Poochigian, Romero, Scott,
Sher, Soto, Speier, Torlakson
NOES: McClintock
NO VOTE RECORDED: Alarcon, Dunn, Johnson, Vasconcellos,
Vincent
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 54-25, 9/4/03 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Telecommunications services
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill provides for payment of installation
costs and discounts for use of high speed Internet services
for schools, libraries, community-based organizations, and
hospitals owned by cities or counties. This bill also
CONTINUED
SB 720
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2
clarifies that advanced telecommunications services
includes high speed communications services such as digital
subscriber line (DSL) services for the purposes of the
California Teleconnect Fund.
Assembly Amendments add the provisions authorizing use of
special funds for installation costs. As it left the
Senate, the bill only clarified that DSL service is
eligible for California Teleconnect Fund (CTF) discounts.
ANALYSIS : Current law establishes the policy of
"universal telephone service." Current regulations provide
for the CTF, which provides discounted telephone service to
schools, libraries, health care institutions, and
community-based organizations.
This bill clarifies that DSL service is among the services
eligible for CTF discounts.
This bill authorizes the Public Utilities Commission-using
any unencumbered California Teleconnect Funds (CTF) from
the 2003-04 and 2004-05 Budget Act appropriations-to make
one-time expenditures of up to $3 million to cover up to an
additional 40 percent of the installation costs of advanced
telecommunications service (such as DSL) for schools,
libraries, or non-profit community technology programs
without access to such service.
Comments
California has a long history of encouraging the widespread
deployment of telecommunications service. A number of
programs exist to subsidize telephone service in rural
areas, for the deaf and handicapped, and for the poor. One
of those programs is the CTF, which derives revenues from a
0.31 percent surcharge on telephone bills, provides a
discount on telephone service to schools, libraries,
community-based organizations, and hospitals, including a
50 percent discount for installation costs. SB 1863
(Bowen)-Chapter 308/Statutes of 2002 codified the language
upon which the CTF is based. There is a currently a balance
in the CTF exceeding $200 million. The 2003-04 budget
appropriates $40 million from the CTF and transfers $150
million from the fund into to the General Fund as a loan.
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The author indicates that 16 percent of schools and 21
percent of school district offices do not have high speed
access to the internet, and that a primary reason for this
is the installation cost. The author argues that, while
the CTF provides a 50 discount for installation costs, this
is insufficient for some less well-to-do schools. The
author believes that authorizing the PUC to provide an
additional, incremental discount of up to 40 percent of
installation costs (up to a 90 percent total discount),
using up to $3 million of unencumbered CTF funds over the
next two years, will make a difference for such
institutions.
The CTF is intended to provide discount access to advanced
communications services. This bill clarifies that advanced
communications services include DSL. DSL provides a fast
connection that is useful when accessing the Internet.
There are approximately 1.4 million DSL lines in
California, with approximately one in ten homes and
businesses having DSL.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 9/4/03)
California Community Technology Policy Group
California County Superintendents Educational Services
Association
Cisco Systems
Digital California Project (of the Corporation for Network
Education Initiatives in California)
Monterey Peninsula College
Pomona Unified School District
SBC
Ventura County Superintendent of Schools Office
(Information Technology Services)
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Benoit, Berg, Bermudez, Calderon, Campbell,
Canciamilla, Chan, Chavez, Chu, Cogdill, Cohn, Corbett,
Correa, Diaz, Dutra, Dymally, Frommer, Garcia, Goldberg,
SB 720
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Hancock, Jerome Horton, Jackson, Kehoe, Koretz, Laird,
Leno, Levine, Lieber, Liu, Longville, Lowenthal, Maddox,
Maldonado, Matthews, Montanez, Mullin, Nakano, Nation,
Negrete McLeod, Nunez, Oropeza, Parra, Pavley, Reyes,
Richman, Ridley-Thomas, Salinas, Simitian, Steinberg,
Vargas, Wiggins, Wolk, Yee, Wesson
NOES: Aghazarian, Bates, Bogh, Cox, Daucher, Dutton,
Harman, Haynes, Shirley Horton, Houston, Keene, La Malfa,
La Suer, Leslie, Maze, McCarthy, Mountjoy, Nakanishi,
Pacheco, Plescia, Runner, Samuelian, Spitzer, Strickland,
Wyland
NC:mel 9/5/03 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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