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SB-424 The Broadband Infrastructure Grant Account and Federal Funding Account.(2023-2024)

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Date Published: 07/02/2024 09:00 PM
SB424:v92#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Assembly  July 02, 2024
Amended  IN  Assembly  June 11, 2024
Amended  IN  Senate  May 25, 2023
Amended  IN  Senate  May 18, 2023
Amended  IN  Senate  April 24, 2023
Amended  IN  Senate  April 17, 2023
Amended  IN  Senate  March 29, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 424

Introduced by Senator Durazo

February 13, 2023

An act to add Section Sections 281.4 and 281.5 to the Public Utilities Code, relating to communications.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 424, as amended, Durazo. Get Connected California Act of 2024. The Broadband Infrastructure Grant Account and Federal Funding Account.
Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including telephone corporations. Existing law requires the commission to develop, implement, and administer the California Advanced Services Fund to encourage deployment of high-quality advanced communications services to all Californians that will promote economic growth, job creation, and the substantial social benefits of advanced information and communications technologies, as specified. Existing law establishes the Broadband Infrastructure Grant Account in the fund to approve funding for infrastructure projects that will provide broadband access to no less than 98% of California households in each consortia region, and establishes the Federal Funding Account in the fund to expeditiously connect unserved and underserved communities, as specified.

This bill, the

The Get Connected California Act of 2024, 2024 would require the commission to ensure all deployment grant awardees, defined as all internet service providers that receive funding from certain accounts the Broadband Infrastructure Grant Account and the Federal Funding Account within the California Advanced Services Fund, offer affordable home internet service to households participating in certain public assistance programs, as specified, in the deployment grant awardee’s service territory within 90 days of receiving that funding. The bill would define affordable home internet service to mean internet service costing no more than $30 per month and that meets specified minimum speed requirements. The bill would require these deployment grant awardees to establish telephone numbers to sign up eligible households and would require these awardees to advertise the availability of affordable home internet service, among other requirements placed on these awardees. internet service that costs no more than $30 per month and meets certain minimum speed requirements, as specified. The bill would require a deployment grant awardee to allow any household in a project area, as defined, to switch to the above-described low-cost broadband service option in the billing cycle immediately following the household’s enrollment in the low-cost broadband service option. The bill would not apply these requirements to applications submitted to the commission before January 1, 2025. The bill would make the above-described provisions severable.

This bill would require the commission to annually post on its internet website a list of deployment grant awardees that meet the requirements of the bill, as provided. The bill would also make its provisions severable.

This bill would also require the commission, on or before January 1, 2025, to issue a draft resolution to award a total of at least $1,000,000,000 in project funding from the Federal Funding Account and the Broadband Infrastructure Grant Account. The bill would require the commission, on or before January 1, 2027, to adopt updated rules for the Federal Funding Account and the Broadband Infrastructure Grant Account, and related programs, to conform with each other in terms of project eligibility, applicant requirements, and eligible technologies, as provided.
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 provisions would be part of the act and a violation of a commission action implementing this bill’s 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.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 281.4 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:

281.4.
 (a) On or before January 1, 2025, the commission shall issue a draft resolution to award a total of at least one billion dollars ($1,000,000,000) in project funding from the Federal Funding Account and the Broadband Infrastructure Grant Account established pursuant to Section 281.
(b) On or before January 1, 2027, the commission shall adopt updated rules for the Federal Funding Account and the Broadband Infrastructure Grant Account established pursuant to Section 281. Unless prohibited by state or federal law, the updated rules for each account and related program shall conform with each other in terms of project eligibility, applicant requirements, and eligible technologies.

SECTION 1.SEC. 2.

 Section 281.5 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:

281.5.
 (a) This section shall be known, and may be cited, as the Get Connected California Act of 2024.
(b) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1)“Affordable home internet service” means internet service costing no more than thirty dollars ($30) per month and that meets the minimum speed requirements.

(2)

(1) “Commercial mobile service” means any mobile service that is provided for profit and makes interconnected service available (A) to the public, or (B) to such classes of eligible users as to be effectively available to a substantial portion of the public. The commission may subsequently modify the definition of “commercial mobile service” to avoid conflict with Section 332 of Title 47 of the United States Code or regulations adopted pursuant to that section.

(3)

(2) “Deployment grant” means grant funding provided from the Broadband Infrastructure Grant Account or the Federal Funding Account pursuant to Section 281.

(4)

(3) “Deployment grant awardee” means an internet service provider that receives a deployment grant.

(5)“Eligible household” means a resident in a group home or congregate care facility within the deployment grant awardee’s California service territory participating in a qualified public assistance program, or a household within the deployment grant awardee’s California service territory with at least one resident of the household participating in a qualified public assistance program.

(6)

(4) “Internet service” or “internet” means “broadband internet access service” as defined in Section 3100 of the Civil Code, except commercial mobile service and private mobile service.
(5) “Low-cost broadband service option” means internet service that costs no more than thirty dollars ($30) per month and that meets the minimum speed requirements.

(7)

(6) “Minimum speed requirements” means at least 100 megabits per second downstream and 20 megabits per second upstream and sufficient speed and latency to support distance learning and telehealth services. The commission may subsequently increase the “minimum speed requirements” for the purpose of aligning the minimum speed requirements with updated state or federal policies, but the commission shall not redefine “minimum speed requirements” to mean speeds slower than 100 megabits per second downstream and 20 megabits per second upstream.

(8)“Overall goals for adoption” means that at least 90 percent of eligible households receive affordable home internet service by January 1, 2026, and at least 95 percent of eligible households receive affordable home internet service by January 1, 2029.

(9)

(7) “Private mobile service” means any mobile service that is not a commercial mobile service or the functional equivalent of a commercial mobile service. The commission may subsequently modify the definition of “private mobile service” to avoid conflict with Section 332 of Title 47 of the United States Code or regulations adopted pursuant to that section.

(10)“Qualified public assistance programs” means the California Alternate Rates for Energy program, the National School Lunch Program, the State Supplementary Payment Program, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, CalFresh, Covered California, Medi-Cal, and Supplemental Security Income, and financial aid for postsecondary education.

(8) “Project area” means the households or locations covered by or included in an approved deployment grant project application.
(c) (1)The On or before January 1, 2026, the commission shall ensure that all deployment grant awardees, as a condition of receiving a deployment grant, offer affordable home internet service to all eligible households in its service territory within 90 days of receiving funding. a low-cost broadband service option in their project areas.

(2)The commission shall monitor the progress toward achieving the overall goals for adoption.

(3)The commission shall, on or before December 31, 2025, and each year thereafter, annually post on its internet website a list of deployment grant awardees that meet the requirements of this section.

(d)All eligible households shall be allowed to immediately convert to affordable home internet service during the month the household qualifies as an eligible household.

(e)A deployment grant awardee shall establish a telephone number with trained, and preferably dedicated, personnel to sign up eligible households for affordable home internet service in no more than 30 minutes.

(f)(1)A deployment grant awardee shall advertise the availability of affordable home internet service and the federal Affordable Connectivity Program or an equivalent program offered by the Federal Communications Commission, including by providing a telephone number for interested persons to call. The advertisements shall include placing advertisements in media in multiple languages, in print and online, until there is documented awareness of the availability of affordable home internet service by at least 80 percent of all eligible households according to a reputable statewide survey, or 95 percent of all eligible households are connected to the internet at home according to the same reputable statewide survey.

(2)The commission, in consultation with the Department of Technology, shall develop a plan for advertising pursuant to this subdivision.

(g)A deployment grant awardee shall meet annually with the commission and the California Broadband Council in an open workshop with key stakeholders, including, but not limited to, the California Emerging Technology Fund, the Regional Broadband Consortia, and California Advanced Services Fund Adoption Account grantees, to confer on how to achieve the overall goals for adoption and explore options for establishing and advancing strategic and effective public-private partnerships.

(h)A deployment grant awardee shall report annually to the commission, beginning the year after it first becomes a deployment grant awardee, the number of newly eligible households that signed up for affordable home internet service since the previous report and the total number of eligible households subscribing to affordable home internet service.

(d) (1) A deployment grant awardee shall allow any household in the project area to convert to a low-cost broadband service option.
(2) A deployment grant awardee shall allow any household in its project area to switch to the low-cost broadband service option in the billing cycle immediately following the household’s enrollment in the low-cost broadband service option.

(i)

(e) The provisions of this section are severable. If any provision of this section or its application is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.
(f) The requirements of this section shall not apply to applications submitted to the commission before January 1, 2025.

SEC. 2.SEC. 3.

 No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.