Bill Text: CA AB1826 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Digital Equity in Video Franchising Act of 2024.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed) 2024-05-29 - Referred to Com. on E., U. & C. [AB1826 Detail]
Download: California-2023-AB1826-Amended.html
Amended
IN
Assembly
May 16, 2024 |
Amended
IN
Assembly
April 29, 2024 |
Amended
IN
Assembly
April 16, 2024 |
Introduced by Assembly Member Holden |
January 12, 2024 |
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YESBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
(a)There is within the commission an independent Public Advocate’s Office of the Public Utilities Commission to represent and advocate on behalf of the interests of public utility customers and subscribers within the jurisdiction of the commission. The goal of the office shall be to obtain the lowest possible rate for service consistent with reliable and safe service levels. For revenue allocation and rate design matters, the office shall primarily consider the interests of residential and small commercial customers. The office shall also conduct independent evaluations as described in Section 5855.
(b)(1)The director of the office shall be appointed by, and serve at the pleasure of, the Governor, subject to confirmation by the Senate.
(2)The director shall annually appear before the appropriate policy committees of the Assembly and the Senate to report on the activities of the office.
(c)The director shall develop a budget for the office that shall be subject to final approval of the Department of Finance. As authorized in the approved budget, the office shall employ personnel and resources, including attorneys and other legal support staff, at a level sufficient to ensure that customer and subscriber interests are effectively represented in all significant proceedings. The office may employ experts necessary to carry out its functions. The director may appoint a lead attorney who shall represent the office, and shall report to and serve at the pleasure of the director. The lead attorney for the office shall obtain adequate legal personnel for the work to be conducted by the office from the commission’s attorney
appointed pursuant to Section 307. The commission’s attorney shall timely and appropriately fulfill all requests for legal personnel made by the lead attorney for the office, if the office has sufficient moneys and positions in its budget for the services requested.
(d)The commission shall develop appropriate procedures to ensure that the existence of the office does not create a conflict of roles for any employee. The procedures shall include, but shall not be limited to, the development of a code of conduct and procedures for ensuring that advocates and their representatives on a particular case or proceeding are not advising decisionmakers on the same case or proceeding.
(e)The office may compel the production or disclosure of any information it deems necessary to perform its duties from any entity regulated by the commission, provided that any objections to any request for
information shall be decided in writing by the assigned commissioner or by the president of the commission, if there is no assigned commissioner.
(f)There is hereby created the Public Utilities Commission Public Advocate’s Office Account in the General Fund. Moneys from the Public Utilities Commission Utilities Reimbursement Account in the General Fund shall be transferred in the annual Budget Act to the Public Utilities Commission Public Advocate’s Office Account. The funds in the Public Utilities Commission Public Advocate’s Office Account shall be a budgetary program fund administered and utilized exclusively by the office in the performance of its duties as determined by the director. The director shall annually submit a staffing report containing a comparison of the staffing levels for each five-year period.
(g)On or before January 10 of each year, the office shall provide
to the chairperson of the fiscal committee of each house of the Legislature and to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee all of the following information:
(1)The number of personnel years utilized during the prior year by the office.
(2)The total dollars expended by the office in the prior year, the estimated total dollars expended in the current year, and the total dollars proposed for appropriation in the following budget year.
(3)Workload standards and measures for the office.
(h)The office shall meet and confer in an informal setting with a regulated entity before issuing a report or pleading to the commission regarding alleged misconduct, or a violation of a law or a commission rule or order, raised by the office in a complaint. The meet and
confer process shall be utilized in good faith to reach agreement on issues raised by the office regarding any regulated entity in the complaint proceeding.
SEC. 2.SECTION 1.
The heading of Division 2.5 (commencing with Section 5800) of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:DIVISION 2.5. THE DIGITAL EQUITY IN VIDEO FRANCHISING ACT OF 2024
SEC. 3.SEC. 2.
Section 5800 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:5800.
This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Digital Equity in Video Franchising Act of 2024.SEC. 4.SEC. 3.
Section 5810 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:5810.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(B)State video franchiseholders
SEC. 5.SEC. 4.
Section 5820 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:5820.
(a) This division does not create a vested right in a state-issued franchise by theSEC. 6.SEC. 5.
Section 5830 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:5830.
For purposes of this division, the following definitions apply:SEC. 7.SEC. 6.
Section 5840 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:5840.
(a) (1) The commission is the sole franchising authority for a state franchise to provide video service under this division.SEC. 8.SEC. 7.
Section 5841 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:5841.
(a) There is hereby adopted a state franchise fee payable as rent or a toll for the use of the public rights-of-way by holders of a state franchise issued pursuant to this division. The amount of the state franchise fee shall be 5 percent of gross revenues, as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 5860, or the percentage applied by the local entity to the gross revenue of the incumbent cable operator, whichever is less. If there is no incumbent cable operator or upon the expiration of the incumbent cable operator’s franchise, the amount of the state franchise fee shall be 5 percent of gross revenues, as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 5860, unless the local entity adopts an ordinance setting the amount of the franchise fee at less than 5 percent.SEC. 9.SEC. 8.
Section 5850 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:5850.
(a) A state-issued franchise shall only be valid for 10 years after the date of issuance. The holder may apply for a renewal of the state franchise for an additional 10-year period to continue to provide video services in the area covered by the state franchise.(f)
(g)
(h)