BILL NUMBER: SB 2012 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 29, 2000
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 2, 2000
INTRODUCED BY Senator Speier
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Longville)
(Coauthors: Senators Alarcon, Alpert, Burton, Chesbro,
Costa, Johnston, Murray, Schiff, and Vasconcellos)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Bock, Calderon, Cardenas, Cedillo,
Cox, Mazzoni, Robert Pacheco, and Strom-Martin)
FEBRUARY 25, 2000
An act to add Article 6 (commencing with Section 8840) to Chapter
10 of Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code, relating to
public broadcasting, and making an appropriation therefor.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 2012, as amended, Speier. California Public Broadcasting Act
of 1975: emergency broadcasting grants.
The California Public Broadcasting Act of 1975 provides for, among
other things, the distribution of funds and the making of grants to
public broadcasting stations by the California Broadcasting
Commission for specified purposes.
This bill would additionally require the Office of Emergency
Services to solicit applications for grant funds appropriated by the
Legislature for the purposes of the bill and to allocate the funds
for the purchase and installation of equipment to eligible public
broadcasting stations that meet specified criteria, including
entering into a permanent agreement with the office to dedicate, as
necessary, a broadcast channel for the provision of emergency
information, and the broadcasting of that information , and
certifying that it has a plan to address the needs of significant
linguistic minorities in its service area .
This bill would appropriate $25,000,000 from the General Fund to
the office for the purposes of the bill.
Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) The federally mandated conversion to digital broadcasting
provides significant opportunities to the state for the dissemination
of critical information to its citizens.
(b) The development and implementation of new technologies in
broadcasting, including high definition television (HDTV), by
California's public broadcasting systems, will provide at least one
channel for preemptive use for the broadcasting of emergency
management and public safety information. The public broadcasting
networks provide the opportunity for the State of California, through
the Governor's Office of Emergency Services, to provide emergency
information to the deaf, the hearing impaired, non-English-speaking
persons, and all Californians for both statewide and regional
disasters. The technology may even be capable of addressing messages
to specific ZIP Codes within a public broadcasting service area.
(c) The Office of Emergency Services has been directed by the
Legislature to provide timely and current emergency information to
the deaf, hearing-impaired, and non-English-speaking public, and to
this end is committed to making information available to broadcasters
that can be converted efficiently to captioning, and has cooperated
in the establishment of many communication programs, including, but
not limited to, both of the following:
(1) The Emergency Alert System (EAS) and the broadcast of EAS
alerts by the communication broadcasters in California.
(2) The Emergency Digital Information System (EDIS), which uses
computer technology to gather, deliver, and display emergency
information from official agencies to the media and thence to the
public.
(d) The Legislature recognizes that the use of both EAS and EDIS
by broadcasters is only voluntary.
(e) The Legislature has directed the Office of Emergency Services
to encourage local public safety and emergency management agencies to
provide emergency information for the deaf, hearing-impaired, and
non-English-speaking populations in California.
(f) With enabling funding, public broadcasting stations, through
the use of EAS, EDIS, and information from the Office of Emergency
Services and other sources, may produce and broadcast this
information to enhance the public safety of all Californians.
(g) The use of public funds for enhancing the conversion of public
broadcasting systems in California to digital broadcasting
constitutes a public purpose resulting in a public benefit.
Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature that the use of funds
for this purpose pursuant to this act shall not be construed to be
gifts of public funds in violation of Section 6 of Article XVI of the
California Constitution.
SEC. 2. Article 6 (commencing with Section 8840) is added to
Chapter 10 of Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code, to read:
Article 6. Emergency Broadcasting Grant Program
8840. For purposes of this article, "eligible radio station"
means a radio station that, at the time of applying for a grant under
this article, meets both of the following requirements:
(a) It has met all of the following requirements for a period of
two years unless another time is specified :
(1) It is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission as a
noncommercial educational station, or is operating under program test
authority pending the grant of a license.
(2) It has its community of license and principal administrative
offices in this state and is not owned, controlled, managed, or
primarily financed by any corporation or entity outside of this
state.
(3) It provides a program service that meets the requirements for
a Community Service Grant from the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting.
(4) It provides significant locally originated programming in its
community of license.
(5) It broadcasts not less than 18 15
hours per day, 365 days per year.
(6) It participates in statewide public broadcasting projects.
(7) It has provided, prior to its application for a grant under
this article, an audited financial statement for the years on which
the grant is based.
(8) It does either of the following:
(A) Meets the criteria for receipt of a Community Service Grant
from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting that were in effect on
June 30, 1995.
(B) Has Two months prior to applying for a
grant, the station has a full-time staff of at least
two professionals one professional paid not less
than the California minimum wage, and is certified by the council as
providing a needed service to its community of license.
(b) It enters into a permanent agreement with the Office of
Emergency Services to dedicate, as necessary, a broadcast channel for
the provision of emergency information, to produce and broadcast
that information, and to ensure that it is presented in a format that
makes it accessible to the deaf, hearing-impaired, and
non-English-speaking populations throughout its broadcast area,
including rural and isolated populations.
8841. For purposes of this article, "eligible television station"
means a television station that, at the time of applying for a grant
under this article, meets both unless
another time is specified, meets all of the following
requirements:
(a) It has met all of the following requirements for a period of
two years:
(1) It is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission as a
noncommercial educational television station, or is operating under
program test authority pending the grant of a license.
(2) It has its community of license and principal administrative
offices in this state, and is not owned, controlled, managed, or
primarily financed by any corporation or entity outside of this
state.
(3) It provides a program service that meets the requirements for
a Community Service Grant from the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting.
(4) It provides substantial and significant locally originated
programming in its community of license.
(5) It broadcasts not less than 2,500 hours per year.
(6) It participates in statewide public broadcasting projects.
(7) It meets the criteria for receipt of a Community Service Grant
or base grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting that were
in effect on June 30, 1994.
(8) It has provided, prior to its application for a grant under
this article, an audited financial statement for the years on which
the grant is based.
(b) It enters into a permanent agreement with the Office of
Emergency Services to dedicate, as necessary, a broadcast channel for
the provision of emergency information, to produce and broadcast
that information, and to ensure that it is presented in a format that
makes it accessible to the deaf, hearing-impaired, and
non-English-speaking populations throughout its broadcast area,
including rural and isolated populations.
(c) At the time of disbursement of the funds, it certifies in
writing by the station manager or an officer of the licensee that it
has in its public file a plan to address the needs of significant
linguistic minorities in its service area.
8842. For the purposes of this article, "nonfederal financial
support" means the total sum of revenues from nonfederal sources
derived by a licensee in a fiscal year and reported in an audited
financial statement thereof, and does not include in-kind services,
funds received for the purpose of constructing or remodeling a
building, funds received from other public broadcasting stations or
networks for the production of programming or for other services to
those stations or networks, or funds provided to stations under this
chapter. Interest income generated from any source may be included
in "nonfederal financial support."
8843. For purposes of this article, "station" or "public
broadcasting station" means any eligible radio or television station.
8844. (a) Recognizing the necessity of converting California
stations to the technologies of digital broadcasting and the
continuing need for replacement of broadcasting equipment, the
Legislature intends that funds may be appropriated as necessary to
the Office of Emergency Services for the purchase of equipment by
eligible stations, the installation of that equipment, or purchase of
other materials related to that equipment, pursuant to this article.
(b) The office shall solicit applications for grant funds from
eligible stations throughout the state, and shall allocate funds
appropriated pursuant to subdivision (a) as follows:
(1) Seventy-five percent of any equipment purchase funds
appropriated pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be placed in an
equipment grant pool for eligible television stations, and 25 percent
shall be placed in an equipment grant pool for eligible radio
stations.
(2) Fifty percent of the funds in each grant pool shall be divided
equally among the stations in that grant pool.
(3) The remaining 50 percent of the funds in each grant pool shall
be divided among stations in that grant pool in proportion to their
nonfederal financial support.
(c) (1) Funds provided under this section shall be granted on a
matching basis, with each station required to raise from other
sources an amount equal to the funds provided to it under this
section.
(2) If any funds remain in either grant pool because of the
limitations set forth in paragraph (1), the remaining funds shall be
returned to the same pool for distribution to other stations that
have raised the required matching funds, in amounts proportionate to
the nonfederal financial support of those stations.
8846. It is the intent of the Legislature that any funds provided
to stations under this article shall supplement, rather than
supplant, funds provided from other sources. To that end,
institutions that have heretofore provided funding to stations
licensed to them shall certify, in applying for grants, that they
have not previously and will not in the future use funds provided
under this chapter to supplant institutional support of their
stations.
SEC. 3. The sum of twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000) is
hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the Office of Emergency
Services without regard to fiscal years for the purposes of the grant
program established pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with Section
8840) of Chapter 10 of Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code,
as added by Section 2 of this act.