BILL NUMBER: SB 1712	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Polanco

                        FEBRUARY 23, 2000

   An act to amend Sections 871, 873, 874, 875, 876, and 878 of, to
add Section 883 to, to repeal and add Section 871.5 of, and to amend
the heading of Article 8 (commencing with Section 871) of Chapter 4
of Part 1 of Division 1 of, the Public Utilities Code, relating to
public utilities.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1712, as introduced, Polanco.  Universal communication service.

   The Moore Universal Telephone Service Act requires the Public
Utilities Commission to establish a class of lifeline service
necessary to meet minimum residential communications needs and
establish rates and charges for that service.  The act also requires
telephone corporations providing service within a service area to
file a schedule of rates and charges providing a class of lifeline
telephone services and provide information about these services to
eligible subscribers.
   This bill would require the commission, on or before February 1,
2001, to initiate an investigation to examine the current and future
definitions of universal service, seeking input from a wide cross
section of providers, users, and state agencies, and reporting
findings and recommendations to the Legislature.  The bill would
replace the term "universal telephone service" with the term
"universal communication service."  The bill would require a
telecommunications provider providing service within a service area
to file a schedule of rates and charges providing a class of lifeline
communications services and to provide information about those
services to eligible subscribers.  The bill would make related
legislative findings and declarations.
   Vote:  majority.  Appropriation:  no.  Fiscal committee:  yes.
State-mandated local program:  no.


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


  SECTION 1.  The heading of Article 8 (commencing with Section 871)
of Chapter 4 of Part 1 of Division 1 of the Public Utilities Code is
amended to read:

      Article 8.  Universal  Telephone  
Communication  Service
  SEC. 2.  Section 871 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
   871.  This article shall be known and may be cited as the 
Moore   Polanco-Moore  Universal 
Telephone   Communication  Service Act  of 2000
 .
  SEC. 3.  Section 871.5 of the Public Utilities Code is repealed.

   871.5.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
   (a) The offering of high quality basic telephone service at
affordable rates to the greatest number of citizens has been a
longstanding goal of the state.
   (b) The Moore Universal Telephone Service Act has been, and
continues to be, an important means for achieving universal service
by making basic residential telephone service affordable to
low-income citizens through the creation of a lifeline class of
service.
   (c) Every means should be employed by the commission and telephone
corporations operating within service areas which furnish lifeline
telephone service to ensure that every person qualified to receive
lifeline telephone service is informed of and is afforded the
opportunity to subscribe to that service.
   (d) The furnishing of lifeline telephone service is in the public
interest and should be supported fairly and equitably by every
telephone corporation, and the commission, in administering the
lifeline telephone service program, should implement the program in a
way that is equitable, nondiscriminatory, and without competitive
consequences for the telecommunications industry in California.

  SEC. 4.  Section 871.5 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
   871.5.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
   (a) The Moore Universal Telephone Service Act, enacted in 1987,
was intended to offer high quality basic telephone service at
affordable rates to the greatest number of California residents, and
has become an important means of achieving universal service by
making residential service affordable to low-income citizens through
the creation of a lifeline class of service.
   (b) Factors such as competition and new research are resulting in
the convergence of a variety of telecommunications technologies
offering an expanded range of telecommunications services to users
that incorporate voice, video, and data.
   (c) It is the intent of the Legislature that the commission
redefine universal telephone service by incorporating, to the extent
feasible, two-way send and receive voice, video, and data as
components of basic service.  This incorporation will guarantee
equity of access to high-speed networks that will do all of the
following:
   (1) Improve the quality of life among the residents of California.

   (2) Expand access to public and private resources for education,
training, and commerce.
   (3) Increase access to public resources enhancing public health
and safety.
   (4) Assist in bridging the "digital divide" through expanded
access to new technologies by low-income, disabled, or otherwise
disadvantaged Californians.
   (5) Shift traffic patterns by enabling telecommuting, thereby
helping to improve air quality in all areas of the state and
mitigating the need for highway expansion.
  SEC. 5.  Section 873 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
   873.  (a) The commission shall annually do all of the following:
   (1) Designate a class of lifeline service necessary to meet
minimum residential communications needs.
   (2) Set the rates and charges for that service.
   (3) Develop eligibility criteria for that service.
   (4)  (A)  Assess the degree of achievement of universal
 communication  service, including telephone penetration
rates  , including wireless, wireline, satellite, cable, and
Internet telephony,  by income, ethnicity, and geography.

   This  
   (B) This  information shall be annually reported to the
Legislature by the commission in a document  which 
 that can be made public.
   (b) Minimum residential communications needs  includes
  include  , but  is   are
 not limited to, the ability to originate and receive calls and
the ability to access electronic information services.
  SEC. 6.  Section 874 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
   874.  The lifeline  telephone   communication
 service rates and charges shall be as follows:
   (a) In a residential subscriber's service area where measured
service is not available, the lifeline  telephone 
 communication  service rates  shall 
may  not be more than 50 percent of the rates for basic flat
rate service, exclusive of federally mandated end user access
charges, available to the residential subscriber.
   (b) In a residential subscriber's service area where measured
service is available, the subscriber may elect either of the
following:
   (1) A lifeline  telephone   communication
 service measured rate of not more than 50 percent of the basic
rate for measured service, exclusive of federally mandated end user
access charges, available to the residential subscriber.
   (2) A lifeline flat rate of not more than 50 percent of the rates
for basic flat rate service, exclusive of federally mandated end user
access charges, available to the residential subscriber.
   (c) The lifeline  telephone   communication
 service installation or connection charge, or both, 
shall   may  not be more than 50 percent of the
charge for basic residential service installation or connection, or
both.  The commission may limit the number of installation and
connection charges, or both, that may be incurred at the reduced rate
in any given period.
   (d) There shall be no charge to the residential customer who has
filed a valid eligibility statement for changing out of lifeline
service.
   (e) The commission shall assess whether there is a problem with
customers who fraudulently obtain lifeline  telephone
  communication  service. If the commission
determines that there is a problem, it shall recommend and promulgate
appropriate solutions.  This assessment and the solutions determined
by the commission  shall   may  not, in
and of themselves, change the procedures developed pursuant to
Section 876.
  SEC. 7.  Section 875 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
   875.  (a) In addition to Section 874, every lifeline 
telephone   communication  service subscriber shall
be given an allowance, reduced by the amount of any credit or
allowance authorized by the Federal Communications Commission, equal
to the then current or announced federally mandated residential end
user access charges.
   (b) The commission may, in a separate proceeding, establish
procedures necessary to ensure that the lifeline  telephone
  communication  service program qualifies for any
federal funds available for the support of those programs.
  SEC. 8.  Section 876 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
   876.  The commission shall require every  telephone
corporation   telecommunications provider 
providing  telephone   communication 
service within a service area to file a schedule of rates and charges
providing a class of lifeline  telephone  
communication  service.  Every  telephone corporation
  telecommunications provider  providing service
within a service area shall inform all eligible subscribers of the
availability of lifeline  telephone  
communication  service, and how they may qualify for and obtain
service, and shall accept applications for lifeline 
telephone   communication  service according to
procedures specified by the commission.
  SEC. 9.  Section 878 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
   878.   (a)  A lifeline  telephone  
communication  service subscriber shall be provided with one
single party line at his or her principal place of residence, and no
other member of that subscriber's family or household who maintains
residence at that place is eligible for lifeline  telephone
  communication  service.  
   An  
   (b) An  applicant for lifeline  telephone 
 communication  service may report only one address in this
state as the principal place of residence.
  SEC. 10.  Section 883 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
   883.  (a) The commission shall, on or before February 1, 2001,
issue an order initiating an investigation and opening a proceeding
to examine the current and future definitions of universal
communication service.  That proceeding shall include public hearings
that encourage participation by a broad and diverse range of
interests from all areas of the state, including, but not limited to,
all of the following:
   (1) Consumer groups.
   (2) Communication service providers.
   (3) Rural and urban users.
   (4) Representatives of small and large businesses and industry.
   (5) State agencies, including, but not limited to, all of the
following:
   (A) The Trade and Commerce Agency.
   (B) The Business, Transportation and Housing Agency.
   (C) The State and Consumer Services Agency.
   (D) The Department of Information Technology.
   (E) The State Department of Education.
   (F) The State Department of Health Services.
   (G) The California State Library.
   (6) Colleges and universities.
   (b) The objectives of the proceeding set forth in subdivision (a)
shall include all of the following:
   (1) To redefine universal service in light of current trends
toward accelerated convergence of voice, video, and data, with an
emphasis on the role of basic service in the workplace, in the
availability of education and training, access to health care, and
increased public safety.
   (2) To evaluate the extent to which technological changes are
reducing the relevance of prior segmentation across these
technologies.
   (3) To reevaluate prior definitions of basic service in a manner
that will effectively incorporate the latest technologies to provide
all California residents with all of the following:
   (A) Improved quality of life.
   (B) Expanded access to public and private resources for education,
training, and commerce.
   (C) Increased access to public resources enhancing public health
and safety.
   (D) Assistance in bridging the "digital divide" through expanded
access to new technologies by low income, disabled, or otherwise
disadvantaged Californians.
   (4) To delineate the subsidy support needed to maintain the
redefined scope of universal service in a competitive market.
   (5) To design and recommend an equitable and broad-based subsidy
support mechanism for universal communication service in freely
competitive markets.
   (6) To develop a process to periodically review and revise the
definition of universal communication service to reflect new
technologies and markets.
   (c) The commission shall complete its investigation and report to
the Legislature its findings and recommendations on or before January
1, 2002. The recommendations of the commission shall be consistent
with state policies for telecommunications as set forth in Section
709, and with all of the following principles:
   (1) Essential universal communication service shall be provided at
affordable prices to all Californians regardless of linguistic,
cultural, ethnic, physical, financial, and geographic considerations.

   (2) In order to effectively bridge the digital divide between the
information rich and information poor, there must be an ongoing
evaluation by the commission of those services that shall
appropriately be deemed essential, and therefore, a part of universal
service.
   (3) Public policy shall be to provide incentives, as needed, to
promote deployment of advanced telecommunications technology to all
customer segments.
   (4) Consumers shall be provided access to all information needed
to allow timely and informed choices about telecommunications
products and services and how to best use them.
   (5) Education, health care, community, and government institutions
shall be positioned as early recipients of the new and emerging
technologies so as to maximize the economic and social benefit of
these services.
   (6) All parties involved in providing services utilizing evolving
telecommunications networks shall adhere to the same guidelines
regarding mutual interconnectivity, interoperability, common
carriage, reliability, privacy, and security.