BILL NUMBER: SB 396 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 7, 2005
INTRODUCED BY Senator Battin
FEBRUARY 17, 2005
An act to add Section 1702.5 to the Public Utilities
Code, relating to telecommunications.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 396, as amended, Battin. Telecommunications:
extended area service toll call pricing .
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory
authority over public utilities and can establish its own
procedures, subject to statutory limitations or directions and
constitutional requirements of due process. The existing Public
Utilities Act authorizes any person or corporation, and certain other
entities, to bring a complaint before the commission claiming that a
public utility is in violation of a provision of law or an order or
rule of the commission, and imposes certain additional requirements
upon the commission to entertain a complaint as to the reasonableness
of any rates or charges of any gas, electrical, water, or telephone
corporation. An existing decision of the commission prohibits the
filing of new complaints to establish new extended area service
routes in the state that allow the extension of the geographic reach
of local toll-free telephone calls.
This bill would, notwithstanding that decision of the commission,
require the commission to allow the filing of complaint cases seeking
to establish new extended area service routes within the state.
Existing law authorizes the Public Utilities Commission to
regulate telephone corporations.
This bill would require the commission to examine the impact of
toll call pricing in the Coachella Valley and to consider whether
additional options are needed to serve that area. The bill would
require the commission to consider whether any additional steps are
necessary to encourage innovative pricing plans by incumbent and
competitive carriers and would authorize the commission to consider
whether customer education efforts or other measures that are in the
public interest are necessary. The bill would require the commission
to prepare and submit a report to the Legislature on or before July
1, 2007, regarding these issues.
The bill would provide that its provisions would be repealed on
January 1, 2008.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 1702.5 is added to the Public Utilities Code ,
to read:
1702.5. (a) Notwithstanding the commission's Decision Number
98-06-075, the commission shall allow the filing of complaint cases
seeking to establish new extended area service routes within the
state.
(b) For the purposes of this section, "extended area service"
means telephone service authorized in certain designated communities
that extends the geographic reach of a local toll-free calling area.
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Population and economic growth in the Coachella Valley have
outpaced many other areas of the state as residents and businesses
have migrated to the area to establish homes, employment, and other
community infrastructure.
(b) The local interests of residents and businesses in the early
communities in the Coachella Valley have expanded beyond those early
communities to include community links throughout the valley.
(c) Historically, extended area service (EAS) plans were
available, before the enactment of the federal Telecommunications Act
of 1996, for customers located in some established communities of
interest to mitigate toll call pricing. However, in Public Utilities
Commission Decision 98-06-075, the commission determined that with
the advent of competition for toll service, the public interest would
be served by allowing the market to offer customers choices for toll
call pricing.
(d) There have been concerns in the Coachella Valley about the
impact of toll call pricing upon the greater community of interest
and commerce in the valley.
(e) The commission should investigate the effectiveness of the
competitive marketplace and consumer awareness in the Coachella
Valley and consider options to address these concerns. The commission
should consider what additional steps might be necessary to
encourage the availability of innovative pricing options by incumbent
and competitive carriers for customers concerned about toll call
pricing in the Coachella Valley.
SEC. 2. The Public Utilities Commission shall examine the
impact of toll call pricing in the Coachella Valley and shall
consider whether additional options are needed to serve that area.
The commission shall consider whether any additional steps are
necessary to encourage innovative pricing plans by incumbent and
competitive carriers. The commission may also consider whether
customer education efforts or other measures that are in the public
interest are necessary. The commission shall prepare and submit a
report to the Legislature on or before July 1, 2007, regarding these
issues.
SEC. 3. The Legislature finds and declares that due to
unique circumstances relating to the Coachella Valley, a general
statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of
Article IV of the California Constitution.
SEC. 4.
This act shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2008, and as
of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is
enacted before January 1, 2008, deletes or extends that date.