AB 1588: State and federal lifeline programs: eligible telecommunications carrier designations: expedited process.

Session Year: 2023-2024
House: Assembly

Current Status:

Failed

(2024-08-15: In committee: Held under submission.)

Introduced

First Committee Review

First Chamber

Second Committee Review

Second Chamber

Enacted

Version:

Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) with regulatory authority over public utilities, including telephone corporations. The Moore Universal Telephone Service Act establishes the state lifeline telephone service program to provide low-income households with access to affordable basic residential telephone service.

Federal law requires a common carrier designated as an eligible telecommunications carrier to be eligible to receive universal service support, which includes support provided by the federal lifeline program, as specified. Federal law provides various pathways for designation as an eligible telecommunications carrier, including, among other pathways, designation by a state commission.

This bill would require the PUC, as part of a new or existing proceeding, to establish an expedited process by which a telephone corporation that offers broadband service may become an eligible telecommunications carrier for the purpose of providing stand-alone broadband service as part of the state or federal lifeline program, or both. The bill would require a telephone corporation to be eligible for the expedited process regardless of whether broadband service is provided by the telephone corporation or its affiliate, as defined.

(1)Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities. Existing law requires the commission to require interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service providers, as described, to collect and remit surcharges on their California intrastate revenues in support of specified public purpose program funds, as specified.This bill would delete that requirement.Existing law requires the commission to annually determine a fee to be paid by every electrical, gas, telephone, telegraph, water, sewer system, and heat corporation and every other public utility providing service directly to customers or subscribers and subject to the jurisdiction of the commission, except as specified, to produce a total amount equal to that amount established in the authorized commission budget for the same year, as specified. Existing law requires the fee to be deposited into the Public Utilities Commission Utilities Reimbursement Account. Existing law requires the commission, within each class of those public utilities subject to the fee, to allocate among the members of the class the amount of its budget to be financed by the fee using specified methods, including for telephone and telegraph corporations, the ratio that each corporations gross intrastate revenues bears to the total gross intrastate revenues for the class. Existing law requires the commission, for every public utility with annual gross intrastate revenues of $750,000 or less, to annually establish uniform fees to be paid by those public utilities. Existing law requires those public utilities subject to the fee to make payment of the required fee in accordance with specified schedules.This bill would expressly require the commission to also annually determine a fee to be paid by every interconnected VoIP service provider for the purpose described above. The bill would require the commission to allocate among telephone and telegraph corporations the amount of its budget to be financed by the fee using an appropriate measurement methodology determined by the commission, rather than the ratio that each corporations gross intrastate revenues bears to the total gross intrastate revenues for the class. The bill would authorize, rather than require, the commission, for every public utility with annual gross intrastate revenues of $750,000 or less, to annually establish uniform fees to be paid by those public utilities. The bill would authorize the commission to require a public utility to make payment of the required fee in accordance with any schedule adopted by the commission, rather than the specified schedules.(2)The Moore Universal Telephone Service Act establishes the lifeline telephone service program to provide low-income households with access to affordable basic residential telephone service.This bill would rename that act to the Moore Universal Communications Service Act. The bill would require the commission to provide, as part of lifeline service, subsidies for standalone and bundled broadband internet access services that meet or exceed certain deployment speed requirements.The act requires the commission, among other things, to annually designate a class of lifeline service necessary to meet minimum communications needs and set the rates and charges for that service. The act describes minimum communications needs as including the ability to originate and receive calls and the ability to access electronic information services.This bill would, for lifeline service, instead require the commission, as appropriate, to establish minimum service standards necessary to meet minimum communications needs, as specified. The bill would revise the description of minimum communications needs to expressly include the ability to originate and receive voice calls and the ability to access broadband internet access service. The bill would also require the commission to set a maximum out-of-pocket cost to customers for eligible lifeline service tiers.The act establishes the lifeline telephone service rates and charges, as prescribed, and requires the commission, at least annually, to initiate a proceeding to set rates, funding requirements, and funding mechanism for lifeline telephone service, as specified.This bill would repeal the provision establishing the lifeline telephone service rates and charges and the requirement for the commission, at least annually, to initiate the proceeding described above.This bill would require the commission to establish an education and outreach program to encourage eligible households to enroll in the lifeline program. The bill would require communications service corporations participating in the program to inform all eligible subscribers of the availability of lifeline service and how they may qualify for and obtain service, as specified.The act requires a lifeline telephone service subscriber to be provided with one lifeline subscription at the subscribers principal place of residence and prohibits any other member of the subscribers family or household who maintains residence at that place from being eligible for lifeline telephone service, except multiple subscribers may maintain the same address if they are not members of the same household.This bill would instead require a lifeline service subscriber to be provided with one or more lifeline subsidies per household, and would prohibit any other member of the household from being eligible for lifeline service, except the bill would authorize the commission to evaluate whether additional persons would be eligible for lifeline service, as provided. The bill would specify that fostered youths are eligible for lifeline service and would authorize lifeline service subsidies for fostered youths to subsidize both the communications service and any equipment reasonably necessary to receive the service, as determined by the commission.(3)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 above-described provisions would be part of the act and a violation of a commission action implementing this bills 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.

Discussed in Hearing