BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    




                    Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
          
          SB 2012 (Speier)
          
          Hearing Date:  5/15/00                      Amended: 5/2/00
          Consultant:  Bob Franzoia      Policy Vote: E, U&C  7-3
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          BILL SUMMARY: This bill would appropriate $25 million to be  
          administered by the Office of Emergency Services (OES) for  
          matching fund grants to public television and radio  
          stations to install digital broadcasting equipment.  The  
          bill would require stations receiving funding to dedicate  
          an emergency broadcast channel.

                              Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
           
          Major Provisions                     2000-01       2001-02   2002-03         
               Fund  
          
          Appropriation           $25,000                       General

          
          STAFF COMMENTS: This bill meets the criteria to be placed  
          on the Suspense file.
          
          Pursuant to an act of Congress, the Federal Communications  
          Commission has required that public television stations  
          change their broadcast signal from an analog signal to a  
          digital signal by 2003.  There are 14 public television  
          stations and 23 public radio stations in the state.  The  
          estimated cost of conversion is $140 million. None receive  
          any state support.  (Commercial stations are required to  
          convert to digital by an earlier date.)

          75 percent of the funds shall be available for television  
          stations and 25 percent shall be available for radio  
          stations.  50 percent of the funds in each pool shall be  
          divided equally among the stations in that grant pool.  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.  Funds provided  
          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 the bill.











          Staff Recommends the bill be amended to provide for the  
          administrative costs of the OES.

          In 1999, the Appropriations Committee held SB 844 (Schiff)  
          which revised the membership of the California Broadcasting  
          Commission and stated legislative intent that funding be  
          made available through the budget to assist with the cost  
          of digital conversion.