BILL NUMBER: AB 818 PROPOSED
BILL TEXT
PROPOSED CONFERENCE REPORT SEPTEMBER 3, 1999
CONFERENCE REPORT NO. 1
PROPOSED IN CONFERENCE SEPTEMBER 3, 1999
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 25, 1999
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, Strom-Martin, and Washington)
FEBRUARY 24, 1999
An act to add Sections 7934, 7935, 7936, 7937, 7938, 7939,
and 7940 to 7940, and 7942 to, and to add and
repeal Section 7941 of, 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
Existing federal law provides for an administrator for
California area code relief. Existing law establishes a process for
that administrator 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
telephone corporations that possess telephone number prefixes to
efficiently allocate telephone numbers within those prefixes, as
prescribed. 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, if authorized as prescribed, telephone corporations to
return blocks of telephone numbers, as prescribed. The bill would
require the Public Utilities Commission to direct the North
American Numbering Plan Administrator coordinator
to seek the return of blocks of numbers smaller than 10,000, as
prescribed, and also to obtain specified information prior to
addressing area code relief, as prescribed.
This bill would prohibit the commission from implementing new area
codes until a study is conducted and specified findings are made.
The bill would also require the commission to request a waiver from
the Federal Communications Commission as prescribed.
This bill would, until September 1, 2000, rescind any split or
overlay and 10-digit dialing in the 310 number plan area until
specified conditions are met.
This bill would require the commission to establish an education
plan on area codes, 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 majority .
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 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 consolidation,
allocation of numbers in blocks smaller than 10,000, 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. The commission shall direct the North American Numbering
Plan Administrator to obtain utilization data for any area code for
which a relief plan is proposed, prior to adopting a plan for, or
setting a date for, relief.
7936. (a) The commission shall direct the coordinator to obtain
utilization data for any area code prior to proposing or implementing
an area code relief plan.
(b) The commission shall request a waiver from the Federal
Communications Commission of th4e requirement for ten-digit dialing
in area code overlays.
(c) The commission may not implement an area code relief plan in
an area code until all the following conditions are met:
(1) The commission completes a study of the utilization
information gathered pursuant to subdivision (a).
(2) Notwithstanding Section 7550.5 of the Government Code, the
study is submitted to the Legislature.
(3) The conclusions of the study demonstrate that a new area code
is needed.
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 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.
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 telephone
corporations to their customers shall be made first from prefixes
that are more than 25 percent in use. A 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. (a) 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 telephone corporation return to the North American Numbering
Plan Administrator blocks of telephone numbers for reassignment, in a
quantity determined by the commission.
(b) The commission shall direct the North American
Numbering Plan Administrator coordinator to seek
the return of blocks of numbers smaller than 10,000 not in use. The
commission, for purposes of this section, shall define "not in use."
SEC. 8. Section 7940 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
7940. A telephone corporation doing business in this state that
possesses one or more telephone number prefixes, or portions thereof,
shall provide to the commission or its agent, 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.
SEC. 9. Section 7941 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
7941. (a) Any split or overlay and ten-digit dialing in the 310
number plan area is hereby rescinded until all of the following
conditions have been met:
(1) The commission directs the coordinator to obtain utilization
data for the 310 number plan area.
(2) The commission reviews the data to determine how many unused
telephone numbers exist that could be distributed to consumers in
need of numbers.
(3) The commission determines, based on the utilization data, that
without implementation of a split or overlay within the 310 area
code, consumers will be unable to receive telephone service in a
timely manner.
(b) This section shall remain in effect only until September 1,
2000, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before September 1, 2000, deletes or extends
that date.
SEC. 10. Section 7942 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
7942. (a) The commission shall develop and implement a consumer
education plan to alert consumers to the need for area code relief
and to provide consumers with information regarding how they can
participate in the area code decisionmaking process.
(b) The commission shall develop a comprehensive plan to alert
consumers, including homeowners organizations and small business
groups, to information regarding the type and timing of any area code
relief plan proposed for their area.
SEC. 11. The provisions of this act are severable. If any
provision of this act or its application is held invalid, that
invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can
be given effect without the invalid provision or application.