BILL NUMBER: SB 1712 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 24, 2000
INTRODUCED BY Senator Polanco
FEBRUARY 23, 2000
An act to amend Sections 871, 873, 874, 875, 876, and 878
Section 871 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 to add Section 883
to, and to repeal and add Section 871.5 of, the Public Utilities
Code, relating to public utilities.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1712, as amended, Polanco. Universal communication
telephone 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 Communication Service
SEC. 2.
SECTION 1. Section 871 of the Public Utilities Code is
amended to read:
871. This article shall be known and may be cited as the
Polanco-Moore Universal Communication
Telephone Service Act of 2000.
SEC. 3.
SEC. 2. Section 871.5 of the Public Utilities Code is
repealed.
SEC. 4.
SEC. 3. 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.
(B) This information shall be annually reported to the Legislature
by the commission in a document that can be made public.
(b) Minimum residential communications needs include, but 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 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 communication service rates
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 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 communication service installation or connection
charge, or both, 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 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 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 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 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 telecommunications
provider providing communication service within a service area to
file a schedule of rates and charges providing a class of lifeline
communication service. Every telecommunications provider providing
service within a service area shall inform all eligible subscribers
of the availability of lifeline communication service, and how they
may qualify for and obtain service, and shall accept applications for
lifeline 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 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 communication service.
(b) An applicant for lifeline communication service may report
only one address in this state as the principal place of residence.
SEC. 10.
SEC. 4. 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 , including all providers
of high-speed access services .
(3) Facilities-based telephone providers.
(4) Information service providers and Internet access providers.
(5) Rural and urban users.
(4)
(6) Public interest groups.
(7) Representatives of small and large businesses and
industry.
(5)
(8) Local agencies.
(9) 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)
(10) 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 receive broad-based input from a cross section of
interested parties and make recommendations on how video and data
providers can be incorporated into an enhanced Universal Lifeline
Service program, as specified, including relevant policy
recommendations regarding fees and surcharges.
(4) 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
(5) To assess projected costs of providing enhanced universal
lifeline service in accordance with the intent of this article, and
to delineate the subsidy support needed to maintain the
redefined scope of universal service in a competitive market.
(5)
(6) To design and recommend an equitable and broad-based
subsidy support mechanism for universal communication service in
freely competitive markets.
(6)
(7) To develop a process to periodically review and revise
the definition of universal communication service to reflect new
technologies and markets.
(c) In conducting its investigation, the commission shall take
into account the role played by a number of diverse but convergent
industries, in addition to telephone service providers regulated by
the commission. For example, in contrast to telephone utilities,
manufacturers and service providers from other industries are either
unregulated or regulated at the local or federal level.
(d) 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.