Bill Text: CA AB1934 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 1934 (Prior Session Legislation)

CA State Legislature page for AB1934

Bill Title: Office of Emergency Services: broadband communications grant program: fairgrounds.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-05-19 - In committee: Held under submission. [AB1934 Detail]

Download: California-2021-AB1934-Amended.html

Amended IN Assembly May 02, 2022

Amended IN Assembly March 28, 2022

Amended IN Assembly March 17, 2022

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 1934

Introduced by Assembly Member Rodriguez

February 10, 2022

An act to add Article 5.11 (commencing with Section 8590.11) to Chapter 7 of Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code, relating to communications.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 1934, as amended, Rodriguez. Office of Emergency Services: broadband communications grant program: fairgrounds.

Existing law, the California Emergency Services Act, establishes the Office of Emergency Services within the Governor’s office under the supervision of the Director of Emergency Services and makes the office responsible for the state’s emergency and disaster response services for natural, technological, or man-made disasters and emergencies. Existing law sets forth various provisions on fairgrounds owned or operated by a district agricultural association, the California Exposition and State Fair, county fairs, and citrus fruit fairs.

This bill would, upon an appropriation by the Legislature for this purpose, require the Office of Emergency Services to establish a grant program on or before January 1, 2024, to provide fairs with grant funding for purposes of building and upgrading broadband communication infrastructure on fairgrounds. The bill would require the office to establish standards to determine how fairs receive grant funding based on the fairgrounds’ need for broadband capabilities in order to service an emergency response operation. In regard to the standards, the bill would require that fairs eligible for funding meet certain criteria, including being capable of providing publicly available broadband access to the fair’s broadband network throughout the year. The bill also would authorize the office to prioritize the order of grant disbursements based on specified criteria, including the frequency in which fairgrounds are used as an emergency staging area, evacuation center, community resilience center, or other relevant emergency response site. The bill would require the office to consult with the Department of Technology and the Department of Food and Agriculture to coordinate the statewide deployment of broadband communication infrastructure on fairgrounds. For purposes of the grant program, the bill would define “fair” to mean a district agricultural association, the California Exposition and State Fair, a county fair, or a citrus fruit fair.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO

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

SECTION 1.

Article 5.11 (commencing with Section 8590.11) is added to Chapter 7 of Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code, to read:

Article 5.11. Emergency Fairgrounds Broadband Communications Grant Act

8590.11.

This article shall be known, and may be cited, as the Emergency Fairgrounds Broadband Communications Grant Act.

8590.12.

For purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:

(a) “Fair” means a state-designated fair as defined in Sections 19418, 19418.1, 19418.2, and 19418.3 of the Business and Professions Code.

(b) “Office” means the Office of Emergency Services established pursuant to Section 8585.

8590.13.

(a) (1) Upon an appropriation by the Legislature for this purpose, the office shall establish a grant program on or before January 1, 2024, to provide fairs with grant funding for purposes of building and upgrading broadband communication infrastructure on fairgrounds.

(2) (A) It is the intent of the Legislature, if a future appropriation is made for the purpose of implementing this section, that the appropriation include at least one hundred twenty-five million dollars ($125,000,000) to the office for the purpose of implementing this program.

(B) Revenues from the California Advanced Services Fund collected pursuant to Section 281 and Section 281.1 of the Public Utilities Code shall not be used to fund this program.

(b) The office shall establish standards to determine how fairs receive grant funding based on the fairgrounds’ need for broadband capabilities in order to service an emergency response operation. The standards shall require that fairs eligible for funding meet, at a minimum, the following criteria:

(1) The fair is located in an area with sufficient open-access middle-mile broadband infrastructure within a reasonable distance to support the fairground’s expanded broadband capabilities.
(2) The fair is capable of providing publicly available broadband access to the fair’s broadband network throughout the year.

(1) The frequency in which fairgrounds are used as an emergency staging area, evacuation center, community resilience center, or other relevant emergency response site.

(2) The need to address an operational or response gap or other deficiency or problem that would be addressed through implementing broadband infrastructure at a specific fairground.

(d) The office shall consult with the Department of Technology and the Department of Food and Agriculture to coordinate the statewide deployment of broadband communication infrastructure on fairgrounds.