Telecommunications: universal service programs: California Advanced Services Fund.

Existing law, the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, establishes a program of cooperative federalism for the regulation of telecommunications to attain the goal of local competition, while implementing specific, predictable, and sufficient federal and state mechanisms to preserve and advance universal service, consistent with certain universal service principles. The universal service principles include the principle that consumers in all regions of the nation, including low-income consumers and those in rural, insular, and high-cost areas, should have access to telecommunications and information services, including interexchange services and advanced telecommunications and information services, that are reasonably comparable to those services provided in urban areas and that are available at rates that are reasonably comparable to rates charged for similar services in urban areas. The act authorizes each state to adopt regulations to provide for additional definitions and standards to preserve and advance universal service within the state, only to the extent that they adopt additional specific, predictable, and sufficient mechanisms that do not rely on or burden federal universal service support mechanisms. Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including telephone corporations, as defined. Existing law establishes the California High-Cost Fund-A Administrative Committee Fund, the California High-Cost Fund-B Administrative Committee Fund, the Universal Lifeline Telephone Service Trust Administrative Committee Fund, the Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program Administrative Committee Fund, the Payphone Service Providers Committee Fund, the California Teleconnect Fund Administrative Committee Fund, and the California Advanced Services Fund, referred to as the CASF, in the State Treasury and requires that moneys in the funds are the proceeds of rates and are held in trust for the benefit of ratepayers and to compensate telephone corporations for their costs of providing universal service and may be expended only to accomplish specified telecommunications universal service programs, upon appropriation in the annual Budget Act or upon supplemental appropriation. Existing law requires the commission to develop, implement, and administer the CASF to encourage deployment of high-quality advanced communications services to all Californians that will promote economic growth, job creation, and substantial social benefits of advanced information and communications technologies, as provided in specified decisions of the commission and in the CASF statute. Existing law requires that moneys collected by the commission, pursuant to a specified surcharge, after January 1, 2011, are to be deposited into 3 separate accounts within the CASF. Existing law authorizes the commission to collect a sum not to exceed $125,000,000, after January 1, 2011, and requires that $100,000,000 of that amount be deposited into the Broadband Infrastructure Grant Account. Existing law authorizes the commission to collect the sum through the 2015 calendar year. This bill would increase the amount the commission is authorized to collect to a sum not to exceed $215,000,000, after January 1, 2011, and instead would require that $190,000,000 be deposited into the Broadband Infrastructure Grant Account. The bill would authorize the commission to collect that amount until 2020. The bill would provide that the goal of the CASF program is, no later than December 31, 2015, to approve funding for infrastructure projects that will provide broadband access to no less than 98% of California households. In approving infrastructure projects, the bill would require the commission to give priority to projects that provide last-mile broadband access to households that are unserved by an existing facilities-based broadband provider. The bill would require the commission to provide each applicant, and any party challenging an application, the opportunity to demonstrate actual levels of broadband service in the project area, as prescribed. The bill would provide that, notwithstanding the requirement that moneys in the funds are to be used to compensate telephone corporations for their costs of providing universal service, an entity that is not a telephone corporation is eligible to apply to participate in the CASF program to provide access to broadband to an unserved or underserved household, as defined, if the entity otherwise meets the eligibility requirements and complies with program requirements established by the commission. Existing law requires the commission to conduct an interim and final financial audit and an interim and final performance audit of the implementation and effectiveness of the CASF and to report its interim findings to the Legislature by April 1, 2011, and its final findings to the Legislature by April 1, 2017. This bill would require the commission to conduct an additional interim financial audit and interim performance audit and to report these findings to the Legislature by April 1, 2017. The bill would instead require the commission to report its final findings to the Legislature by April 1, 2021. Existing law requires the commission, until January 1, 2016, to provide an annual report to the Legislature that includes specified information. This bill would extend this reporting requirement until January 1, 2021, and would require the report to include information regarding the status of the CASF balance and the projected amount to be collected in each year through 2020 to fund approved projects. This bill would incorporate additional changes in Section 281 of the Public Utilities Code proposed in AB 1299, that would become operative only if AB 1299 and this bill are both chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2014, and this bill is chaptered last. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.