SB 732: Communications: broadband.

Existing law establishes in the state government a State Department of Education and the department is responsible for various ongoing activities involving the public schools.

This bill would require the department to develop and implement a program for county offices of education, school districts, and charter schools to issue no-cash value vouchers to be distributed to households with eligible pupils, as defined, to be used during the 202122 fiscal year to assist those households with the impacts of distant or remote learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2023. The bill would appropriate an unspecified amount to the department for purposes of developing and implementing the program.

Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including telephone corporations. Existing law requires the commission to develop, implement, and administer the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) program to encourage deployment of high-quality advanced communications services to all Californians. Existing law provides that the goal of the program is to, no later than December 31, 2022, approve funding for infrastructure projects that will provide broadband access to no less than 98% of California households, as provided. Existing law authorizes the commission to collect a sum not to exceed $330,000,000 to implement the CASF program through the imposition of a surcharge that is collected starting on January 1, 2018, and continuing through the 2022 calendar year. Existing law establishes 4 accounts within the CASF: (1) the Broadband Infrastructure Grant Account, (2) the Rural and Urban Regional Broadband Consortia Grant Account, (3) the Broadband Infrastructure Revolving Loan Account, and (4) the Broadband Public Housing Account.

This bill would establish the Rural Broadband Infrastructure Fund as a continuously appropriated fund in the State Treasury and would require the commission to develop, implement, and administer the Rural Broadband Infrastructure Program to provide high-quality broadband service with speeds of at least 100 megabits per second (mbps) downstream and 100 mbps upstream to rural areas that are unserved, as defined, and to the extent moneys remain available, to upgrade broadband service availability in rural areas that are underserved, as defined. The bill would appropriate $5,000,000,000 to the commission, and additionally appropriate $1,000,000,000 per year for 5 years beginning with the 202324 fiscal year, for purposes of developing, implementing, and administering the program.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.