BILL NUMBER: AB 991 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 7, 1999
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Papan
FEBRUARY 25, 1999
An act to add Section 709.7 to the Public Utilities Code, relating
to telecommunications.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 991, as amended, Papan. Internet access.
(1) Under the Public Utilities Act, the Public Utilities
Commission has the authority to regulate public utilities, including
telephone corporations.
This bill would enact the California High Speed Internet Access
Act of 1999. The bill would require the commission to examine,
as specified, the technical feasibility of requiring incumbent local
exchange carriers, as defined, to permit interconnection by
competitive data local exchange carriers, as defined, at any
technically feasible point to permit those competitive carriers to
provide broadband data services over telephone lines with voice
services provided by the incumbent local exchange carrier. The
bill would require the commission, not later than January 31, 2000,
if it finds that interconnection to be technically feasible,
to establish rules and rates for line sharing that will allow
competitive data carriers to provide high bandwidth services over
telephone lines simultaneously with the
local exchange service provided by the telephone service provider
voice services provided by the incumbent local
exchange carrier , as prescribed. Because, under the act, a
violation of those rules would be a crime, the bill would impose a
state-mandated local program by creating a new crime. The bill would
make related legislative findings and declarations.
(2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) The Legislature has encouraged and continues to encourage the
rapid deployment of advanced telecommunications services and
capabilities to all Californians. In effect, those persons excluded
from high-speed networks today will find themselves excluded from the
economic opportunities of tomorrow.
(b) High bandwidth connections between the telecommunications
network and end users in California facilitate the availability of
important new telecommunications services and capabilities, including
telemedicine, distance learning, telecommuting, high-speed Internet
access, and video telephony.
(c) The California economy will benefit significantly from
expanded competition and availability of high bandwidth services
provided over the telephone network to individual consumers, small
and medium sized businesses, and educational facilities.
(d) Expanded competition and availability for high bandwidth
services can add over $64,000,000,000 to gross state output and
create over 600,000 new jobs in California by the end of the
year 2001.
(e) In order to ensure that California consumers will benefit from
broad availability of high-speed access, affordable pricing, and the
highest quality of consumer service, the Legislature must act to
preserve freedom of choice for consumers in this rapidly emerging
market.
(f) The total control of telephone lines serving California homes
and small businesses by existing telephone companies stands as a
critical barrier to competition and the wide-scale deployment of
affordable, high bandwidth data services. Telephone lines can carry,
simultaneously, both voice service and high bandwidth data services
from competing carriers. The Legislature recognizes that the
provision of broadband data services over existing local telephone
lines is a market separate from voice services provided over those
same lines. However, existing telephone service providers will
not allow competitive data local exchange carriers to use
existing telephone lines in order to provide high bandwidth data
services at low cost to California residential consumers .
(g) It is therefore the intent of the Legislature that the Public
Utilities Commission establish rules for
examine the technical feasibility of, and establish rules for,
"line sharing" that will permit competitive data carriers to
provide high bandwidth data services over telephone lines
simultaneously with voice services provided by existing telephone
service providers. sharing" that will require
incumbent local exchange carriers in this state to permit competitive
data local exchange carriers to provide high bandwidth data over
telephone lines with voice services provided by incumbent local
exchange carriers. It is the further intent of the Legislature that
the Public Utilities Commission require incumbent local exchange
carriers to provide network access to competitive data local exchange
carriers at rates, and on terms and conditions, that are
nondiscriminatory and no less favorable than those rates and terms
and conditions the incumbent local exchange carrier provides to
itself or an affiliate.
SEC. 2. Section 709.7 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
709.7. (a) This section shall be known as and may be cited as the
California High Speed Internet Access Act of 1999.
(b) The commission, before establishing any rules and rates
for line sharing, shall examine the technical feasibility of
requiring incumbent local exchange carriers to permit interconnection
by competitive data local exchange carriers at any technically
feasible point to permit those competitive data local exchange
carriers to provide broadband data services over telephone lines with
voice services provided by the incumbent local exchange carrier.
(c) If the commission finds that interconnection as described in
subdivision (b) is technically feasible, the commission shall
establish rules and rates for line sharing that will allow
competitive data local exchange carriers to provide high
bandwidth services over telephone lines simultaneously with
the local exchange service provided by the telephone service
provider.
(c) The rules described in subdivision (b) shall require the
carriers to provide to competitive data carriers access to network
infrastructure on a nondiscriminatory basis for high bandwidth shared
line data services.
(d) For the purpose of this section, network infrastructure
includes, but is not limited to, colocation space, power, heating,
ventilation, and air conditioning systems, and connectivity.
(e) with the voice services provided by the
incumbent local exchange carrier.
(d) The commission shall require incumbent local exchange carriers
to provide to competitive data local exchange carriers access to
network infrastructure at rates, and on terms and conditions, that
are nondiscriminatory and no less favorable than those rates and
terms and conditions that the incumbent local exchange carrier
provides to itself or an affiliate.
(e) As used in this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(1) "Incumbent local exchange carrier" has the same meaning as
that term is defined in Section 251(h)(1) of Title 47 of the United
States Code.
(2) "Competitive data local exchange carrier" has the same meaning
as the term "local exchange carrier," as defined in Section 153(26)
of Title 47 of the United States Code.
(f) The commission shall, through its expedited rulemaking
procedures, establish rules and rates for line sharing pursuant
to subdivision (c) in the most expeditious manner possible and,
in any event, not later than January 31, 2000.
SEC. 3. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because the
only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district
will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction,
eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime
or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government
Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of
Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.