BILL NUMBER: AB 991 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 19, 1999
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 : line sharing
.
(1) Under
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
Public Utilities 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 with
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 monitor and participate in a
specified proceeding of the Federal Communications Commission
addressing whether to require 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 local exchange carriers to provide high bandwidth
data services over telephone lines with voice services provided by
incumbent local exchange carriers. The bill would require the Public
Utilities Commission, if the Federal Communications Commission
adopts an order on or before January 1, 2000, with regard to that
specified federal proceeding, to examine the technical, operational,
economic, and policy implications of interconnection, and, if the
Public Utilities Commission determines it to be appropriate, to adopt
rules to require incumbent local exchange carriers in this state to
permit competitive data local exchange carriers to provide high
bandwidth data services over telephone lines with voice services
provided by incumbent local exchange carriers . The bill would
make related legislative findings and declarations and
statements of legislative intent .
(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 no .
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 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 examine the technical feasibility of, and
establish rules for, "line 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. instructs the Public Utilities Commission
to take certain actions to monitor and participate in the pending
proceeding of the Federal Communications Commission, entitled "In the
Matters of Deployment of Wireline Services Offering Advanced
Telecommunications Capability," CC Docket No. 98-147, adopted March
18, 1999 (the Advanced Services Docket), in which the Federal
Communications Commission is engaging in a rulemaking proceeding to
consider issues related to loop access, pricing, and cost allocation
in the provision of broadband data services over telephone lines
provided by an incumbent local exchange carrier.
(f) The Federal Communications Commission has established the
following initial deadlines for the Advanced Services Docket: June
15, 1999, for comments and July 15, 1999, for reply comments. Based
on those dates, the Legislature believes that the Federal
Communications Commission will complete its rulemaking proceeding
before January 1, 2000, and that the Federal Communications
Commission will benefit significantly from the development of the
record in the Advanced Services Docket.
SEC. 2. It is the intent of the Legislature that the Public
Utilities Commission do one of the following:
(a) If the Federal Communications Commission adopts an order on or
before January 1, 2000, with regard to its proceeding entitled "In
the Matters of Deployment of Wireline Services Offering Advanced
Telecommunications Capability," CC Docket No. 98-147, adopted March
18, 1999, that the Public Utilities Commission comply with, and
implement, that order, consistent with state and federal law, within
90 days from the date that such an order becomes final.
(b) If the Federal Communications Commission does not adopt an
order on or before January 1, 2000, with regard to its proceeding
entitled "In the Matters of Deployment of Wireline Services Offering
Advanced Telecommunications Capability," CC Docket No. 98-147,
adopted March 18, 1999, that the Public Utilities Commission
expeditiously examine the technical, operational, economic, and
policy implications of line sharing and, if the Public Utilities
Commission determines it to be appropriate, adopt rules to require
incumbent local exchange carriers in this state to permit competitive
data local exchange carriers to provide high bandwidth data services
over telephone lines with voice services provided by incumbent local
exchange carriers.
SEC. 3. 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 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)
(b) The Public Utilities Commission shall monitor and participate
in the proceeding of the Federal Communications Commission, entitled
"In the Matters of Deployment of Wireline Services Offering Advanced
Telecommunications Capability," CC Docket No. 98-147, adopted March
18, 1999, addressing whether to require incumbent local exchange
carriers to permit interconnection by competitive data local
exchange carriers at any technically feasible point to permit those
competitive local exchange carriers to provide high bandwidth data
services over telephone lines with voice services provided by
incumbent local exchange carriers.
(c) If the Federal Communications Commission adopts an order on or
before January 1, 2000, with regard to the proceeding described in
subdivision (b), the Public Utilities Commission shall expeditiously
examine the technical, operational, economic, and policy implications
of interconnection as described in subdivision (b) and, if the
Public Utilities Commission determines it to be appropriate, adopt
rules to require incumbent local exchange carriers in this state to
permit competitive data local exchange carriers to provide high
bandwidth data services over telephone lines with voice services
provided by incumbent local exchange carriers.
(d) 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.