Bill Text: CA AB537 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Introduced

California Assembly Bill 537 (Prior Session Legislation)

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: Communications: wireless telecommunications and broadband facilities.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2021-10-04 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 467, Statutes of 2021. [AB537 Detail]

Download: California-2021-AB537-Introduced.html

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 537

Introduced by Assembly Member Quirk

February 10, 2021

An act relating to local permitting.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 537, as introduced, Quirk. Local permitting: broadband projects.

Existing law establishes the California Advanced Services Fund in the State Treasury with the goal of approving funding for infrastructure projects that will provide broadband access to California households.

Existing law expressly authorizes a county service area, as defined, to acquire, construct, improve, maintain, and operate broadband internet access services.

Existing law, the Permit Streamlining Act, governs the approval process that a city or county is required to follow when approving, among other things, a permit for construction for a development project for a wireless telecommunications facility.

This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would accelerate the completion of broadband projects, so that high-speed internet projects can be quickly constructed to benefit local communities, and would provide related findings and declarations.

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

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

SECTION 1.

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) The public’s increased reliance on broadband infrastructure for remote work and school, telehealth, emergency response, and commerce due to the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates the need for legislation to accelerate broadband deployment.

(b) Nearly 42 percent of California families said that unreliable internet access was a challenge for them during distance learning according to a recent poll by EdSource and FM3 Research.

(c) Every local jurisdiction in California has their own permitting process and timeline. Examples of local jurisdictions include cities, counties, state agencies, and any other entity that may be required to issue a permit for a broadband project, including water districts, special districts, and municipal utilities.

(d) The permitting of broadband projects by local jurisdictions determines how long it will take before each project has the ability to provide high-speed internet service to local communities.

(e) Some local jurisdictions take 60 to 90 days to approve permits for broadband projects but other jurisdictions take years to approve the same type of project.

(f) There are currently over 1,000 broadband permits pending with local jurisdictions in California that would improve internet connectivity for several million residents.

(g) Even though the federal government mandates that certain broadband project permits be approved within certain timeframes, many local jurisdictions use methods to work around those requirements to delay and deny high-speed internet projects that could be benefiting local residents.

(h) Expediting the removal of permitting barriers at the local level is the fastest and most cost-effective way to accelerate the deployment of high-speed internet access for Californians.

SEC. 2.

It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would accelerate the completion of broadband projects, so that high-speed internet projects can be quickly constructed to benefit local communities.