Today's Law As Amended


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AB-1128 Communications: California High-Cost Fund-B Administrative Committee Fund program. (2021-2022)



As Amends the Law Today


SECTION 1.
 In making the changes made by this act to Section 276.5 of the Public Utilities Code, it is the intent of the Legislature to do all of the following:
(a) Maximize federal universal service funding for providers of broadband internet access service, including telephone corporations, reducing cost pressures on the program.
(b) Ensure the Public Utilities Commission, in establishing the regulatory requirements for the California High-Cost Fund-B Program within the policy framework provided by this act, consider ways to contain costs and avoid a surcharge increase.
(c) Timely provide benefits to Californians in high-cost areas of the state using the existing California High-Cost Fund-B Program surplus.

SECTION 1.SEC. 2.

 Section 276.5 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:

276.5.
 (a) The commission shall develop, implement, and maintain a suitable, competitively neutral, and broad-based program to establish a fair and equitable local rate support structure aided by  ensure  universal service rate support to telephone corporations serving areas where the cost of providing services exceeds rates charged by providers,  providers serving high-cost areas,  as determined by the commission. The program shall be known, and may be cited, as the California High-Cost Fund-B Administrative Committee Fund program or CHCF-B program. The purpose of the program shall be  is  to promote the goals of universal telephone service and  affordability and widespread availability of safe and reliable voice communications services, including broadband internet access service, and  to reduce any disparity in the rates charged by those companies. Except as otherwise explicitly provided, this subdivision does not limit the manner in which the commission collects and disburses funds, and does not limit the manner in which it may include or exclude the revenue of contributing entities in structuring the program.
(b) The commission shall structure the CHCF-B program so that any charge imposed to promote the goals of universal service reasonably equals the value of the benefits of universal service to contributing entities and their subscribers.
(c) The commission shall investigate reducing the level of universal service rate support, or elimination of universal service rate support in service areas with demonstrated competition.
(d) The amendments made to this section by the act that adds this subdivision do not authorize the levy of a charge or any increase in the amount collected pursuant to any existing charge, and do not authorize the expansion of the applicability of any existing charge to ratepayers who would otherwise not be required to pay the existing charge, nor do the changes add to, or detract from, the commission’s existing authority to levy or increase charges.
(d) (e)  This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2028, 2023,  and as of that date is repealed. repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2023, deletes or extends that date.