BILL NUMBER: AB 818	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE   AUGUST 17, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   JUNE 15, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   JUNE 10, 1999
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   APRIL 28, 1999

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Knox
   (Coauthors:  Assembly Members Alquist, Briggs, Calderon, Cox,
Kuehl, Longville, Romero, and Washington)

                        FEBRUARY 24, 1999

   An act to add Sections 7934, 7935, 7936, 7937, 7938, 7939, and
7940 to the Public Utilities Code, relating to telecommunications,
and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 818, as amended, Knox.  New area codes  :  telephone number
assignment .
   (1) Existing federal law provides for a coordinator for California
area code relief.  Existing law establishes a process for that
coordinator and providers, as defined, to develop an area code relief
plan, as prescribed.
   This bill would require the Public Utilities Commission to develop
and implement any measures that it determines to be available for
 telecommunications service providers  
telephone corporations  that possess telephone number prefixes
to efficiently allocate telephone numbers within those prefixes.  The
bill would  require   prohibit  the Public
Utilities Commission  , if it has not done so by the
operative date of the bill, to immediately request the Federal
Communications Commission to delegate to the state authority over
telecommunications under specified federal communications law, to the
extent that the delegation will permit the Public Utilities
Commission to implement specified measures   from
authorizing or implementing any new area code splits or overlays,
except for the implementation of technology specific area code
overlays  .  The bill would require the Public Utilities
Commission to request, and telecommunications providers to provide,
certain information on telephone number use.  The bill would require
the Public Utilities Commission to prepare and submit to the
Legislature a study on that information on or before July 1, 2001.
The bill would require the commission to require the suspension of
10-digit dialing within  a  specified area 
code until the completion of the study   codes  .
The bill would require the Public Utilities Commission to 
impose certain requirements on telephone number assignments 
 implement 1,000 telephone number assignment, as prescribed, and
to require telephone corporations to return unused 1,000 telephone
number blocks, as prescribed  .
   The bill would make related legislative findings and declarations.

   (2) The bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately
as an urgency statute.
   Vote:  2/3.  Appropriation:  no.  Fiscal committee:  yes.
State-mandated local program:  no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  This act shall be known and may be cited as the
Consumer Area Code Relief Act of 1999.
  SEC. 2.  Section 7934 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
   7934.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
   (a) The number of area codes in this state has more than doubled
since 1991.
   (b) The proliferation of area codes has caused undue hardship on
citizens of this state, who have begun to be forced into new area
codes after years of having the same telephone number.
   (c) That proliferation has substantially increased costs to
businesses, individuals, and government agencies.
   (d) New area codes require the replacement of business cards and
letterhead stationery, and companies must use employee time
contacting their customers to ensure that those customers are able to
continue to reach the affected company.
   (e) The proliferation of area codes has also reduced worker
productivity as employees begin using new and unfamiliar area codes.

   (f) It is the policy of the Legislature that existing area codes
should be preserved for as long as possible.
   (g) It is the further policy of the Legislature that the hardship
currently experienced by telecommunications customers as a result of
the creation of new area codes should be alleviated.
   (h) For all of the reasons stated above, it is necessary for the
commission, as a public agency, to take all possible measures to
protect area codes as a public resource, stop area code
proliferation, and review their existing practice of establishing new
area code regions and the creation of area code overlays.
  SEC. 3.  Section 7935 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
   7935.  (a) The commission shall develop and implement any measures
it determines to be available for  telecommunications
service providers   telephone corporations  that
possess prefixes to efficiently allocate telephone numbers within
those prefixes.   The commission shall consider the cost
effectiveness of these measures before requiring implementation.
Among the measures the commission shall consider are rate center
reduction and unassigned number porting. 
   (b) For the purpose of this section, in accordance with the North
American Numbering Plan, a telephone number consists of a three digit
area code or number plan area (NPA), a three digit prefix or NXX
code, and a four digit line number.
  SEC. 4.  Section 7936 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
   7936.   If, on or before the operative date of the act
  (a) Except as set forth in subdivision (b), the
commission may not authorize or implement any additional area code
splits or overlays.
   (b) The commission shall immediately authorize and implement area
codes overlays for existing area codes that are exclusively dedicated
to commercial mobile radio service, paging, facsimile, and data
telephone numbers.
   (c) As used in this section, the "commercial mobile radio service"
has the same meaning as the term "commercial mobile service," as
defined in subsection (d) of Section 332 of Title 47 of the United
States Code.   adding this section, the Public Utilities
Commission has not yet done so, the Public Utilities Commission
shall immediately request the Federal Communications Commission to
delegate to the state authority over telecommunications numbering
under Section 251(e)(1) of the Federal Communications Act of 1934 (47
U.S.C. 251(e)(1)), to the extent that the delegation will permit the
Public Utilities Commission to implement measures to conserve
telephone numbers, including, but not limited to, all of the
following:
   (a) Establishing the minimum use and available efficiency measures
for prefixes.
   (b) Requiring telecommunications carriers to return unused or
underused prefixes or portions of those prefixes, and to return
prefixes that have been obtained in a manner contrary to federal or
state numbering guidelines or protocols.
   (c) Establishing individual number pooling and mandatory pooling
in 1000 telephone number blocks. 
  SEC. 5.  Section 7937 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
   7937.  (a) On or before March 1, 2000, the commission shall
request from each  telecommunications service provider
  telephone corporation  doing business in this
state that possesses one or more telephone number prefixes, or a
portion thereof, the specific telephone numbers and the quantities
within the possession of the provider, both in use and not in use.
The commission, for the purpose of this section, shall define the
terms "in use" and "not in use."  The commission shall determine the
reporting requirements for the information provided to the commission
pursuant to Section 7940.
   (b) Notwithstanding Section 7550.5 of the Government Code, the
commission shall use the information obtained pursuant to subdivision
(a) and any other information required by the commission, to prepare
and submit to the Legislature, on or before, July 1, 2001, a study
of telecommunications industry use rates.  The commission shall
require 10-digit dialing within the "310" area code  to be
suspended until the completion of the study   and the
"424" area code overlay to be suspended  .
  SEC. 6.  Section 7938 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
   7938.  The commission shall require, as an interim measure until
the commission develops procedures for number pooling or adopts
utilization standards, that number assignments made by 
telecommunications service providers   telephone
corporations  to their customers shall be made first from
prefixes that are more than 25 percent in use.  A 
telecommunications service provider   telephone
corporation  may assign numbers from prefixes with less than 25
percent use only to the extent necessary, if numbers from prefixes
that are more than 25 percent in use are not otherwise available.
  SEC. 7.  Section 7939 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
   7939.   If the commission or an authorized federal agency
establishes a process to ensure that telephone numbers can be
allocated in blocks smaller than 10,000, the commission shall require
that a telecommunications service provider return to the North
American Numbering Plan Administrator blocks of telephone numbers for
reassignment, in a quantity determined by the commission. 
 (a) The commission shall implement 1,000 telephone number block
assignments as soon as technically feasible.  The commission shall
order telephone corporations to request telephone numbers in 1,000
number blocks.
   (b) The commission shall order telephone corporations to return
unused 1,000 telephone number blocks to the North American Numbering
Plan Administrator.  The commission, for the purposes of this
section, shall define "unused." 
  SEC. 8.  Section 7940 is added to the Public  Resources
  Utilities  Code, to read:
   7940.  A  telecommunications service provider 
 telephone corporation  doing business in this state that
possesses one or more telephone number prefixes, or portions thereof,
shall provide to the commission, upon request, use information
pertaining to both those prefixes in use and those prefixes not in
use, according to any schedule established by the commission.
  SEC. 9.  This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the
meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect.  The facts constituting the necessity are:
   In order to address as soon as possible the rapid proliferation of
new area codes, including the imposition of planned area code
overlays, which causes undue hardship to the citizens of this state,
it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.