BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    




          Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary

AB 818 (Knox)

Hearing Date:  8/23/99                      Amended:  
8/17/99       
                    AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED BY RN# 19903
                         
Consultant:  Bob Franzoia      Policy Vote: E,U&C  8-1
____________________________________________________________ 

BILL SUMMARY: AB 818, an urgency measure, would do the  
following:
1)Require the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to  
  implement measures for telephone corporations that  
  possess telephone number prefixes in order to efficiently  
  allocate telephone within those prefixes.
2)Prohibit the PUC from implementing any new area code  
  splits or overlays, except for technology specific area  
  code overlays.
3)Require the PUC to request, and telecommunications  
  providers to provide, information on telephone number  
  use.  The PUC would be required to report on that  
  information by July 1, 2001.
4)Require the PUC to require the suspension of ten-digit  
  dialing within specified area codes.
5)Require the PUC to implement 1,000 telephone number  
  assignment and to require telephone corporations to  
  return unused 1,000 telephone number blocks.

                         Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
  
Major Provisions                     1999-00          2000-01   2001-02             
  Fund  

Increased PUC      $530*   $475     $475          Special**
oversight                                              

* Contains one-time purchases and a $250 contract for a number utilization  
study
** PUC Utilities Reimbursement Account            

STAFF COMMENTS: This bill meets the criteria to be placed  
on the Suspense file.

There are approximately 220 companies that receive prefix  










codes for 800 rate centers in the state.  California  
currently has 25 area codes.  The costs noted above are  
based on an extensive analysis by the Telecommunications,  
Legal, and Administrative Law Judge Divisions of the PUC  
and its Office of Ratepayer Advocates and reflect the cost  
of implementing a number of new functions.

The proposed amendment makes the provisions of the bill  
severable.