Telecommunications: universal service: 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 Advanced Services Fund, referred to as the CASF, in the State Treasury. 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 the substantial social benefits of advanced information and communications technologies, as provided in specified decisions of the commission and in the CASF statute. Existing law establishes the Rural and Urban Regional Broadband Consortia Grant Account within the CASF. Existing law provides that moneys in the Rural and Urban Regional Broadband Consortia Grant Account are available for grants to eligible consortia to fund the cost of broadband deployment activities other than the capital cost of facilities, as specified by the commission, and provides that an eligible consortium may include representatives of organizations, including local and regional government, public safety, elementary and secondary education, health care, libraries, postsecondary education, community-based organizations, tourism, parks and recreation, agricultural, and business. This bill would specifically include representatives of workforce organizations and air pollution control or air quality management districts amongst the persons that can be included in an eligible consortium. Existing law establishes the Broadband Public Housing Account within the CASF. Existing law provides that moneys in that account are available for, among other things, grants and loans to publicly supported communities to finance projects to connect to broadband networks. This bill would require the commission, in its review of applications for grants and loans for this purpose, to prioritize unserved housing developments, as defined. Existing law transferred moneys from other accounts within the CASF to the Broadband Public Housing Account for various specified purposes and provided that those transferred moneys not awarded by December 31, 2016, would be returned to the accounts from which they were transferred. This bill would postpone the return of those moneys until December 31, 2020. By authorizing the granting of moneys remaining in the Broadband Public Housing Account until that date, this bill would make an appropriation. Existing law requires the commission to annually report to the Legislature on the expenditures of CASF funds, as specified, including the geographic regions of the state affected by those expenditures in the prior year. This bill would require the commission's report to the Legislature to include that information by county, details on efforts to leverage non-CASF funds, the status of each project funded through the CASF, whether the project has been completed, and, if applicable, the expected completion date of the project.