Telecommunications: universal service.

Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including telephone corporations. The Moore Universal Telephone Service Act establishes the Universal Lifeline Telephone Service program in order to provide low-income households with access to affordable basic residential telephone service. Existing law requires the commission, by January 15, 2017, to adopt a portability freeze rule for the lifeline program, and requires the commission to consider including in the rule a period of time during which the subscriber would be able to terminate lifeline service without penalty and a requirement that the administrator of the lifeline program provide a telephone corporation providing lifeline service with specified subscriber information. This bill would require the commission, on or before June 30, 2019, to adopt a rule to improve the cost-effectiveness of the delivery of the lifeline program. The bill would repeal the requirement that the commission consider including in its portability freeze rule the features described above, and would instead require the commission to include, at minimum, those and certain other features in this lifeline program cost-effectiveness rule. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because the provisions of this bill would be a part of the act and because a violation of an order, decision, or rule of the commission implementing its requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.