SECTION 1.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(1) California’s small independent telephone corporations, serving the most rural and hard to reach areas of the state, play an important role in ensuring all Californians have access to telecommunications services.
(2) These small independent telephone corporations help bridge the digital divide, thereby facilitating access to economic prosperity, health care, education, and the world for the rural communities they serve.
(3) California’s small independent telephone corporations have ensured connectivity for their customers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that the Public Utilities Commission work diligently to streamline the process for small independent telephone corporations’ rate cases, making the process less cumbersome and less time consuming, thereby decreasing the regulatory burden on these companies and allowing them to continue serving their communities and territories without interruption.