Bill Text: CA SB1250 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended

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

---

Bill Title: Telecommunications: Warren-911-Emergency Assistance Act: notification of rural outages.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Failed) 2016-11-30 - From Assembly without further action. [SB1250 Detail]

Download: California-2015-SB1250-Amended.html

---

BILL NUMBER: SB 1250	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  MARCH 28, 2016

INTRODUCED BY   Senator McGuire
   (Coauthors: Senators Hill, Nielsen, and Wolk)
    (   Coauthor:   Assembly Member  
Cooley   ) 

                        FEBRUARY 18, 2016

   An act to amend Section 710 of, to amend and renumber Section
2889.8 of, and to add Sections 911.5 and 2882.5 to, the Public
Utilities Code, relating to telecommunications.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1250, as amended, McGuire. Telecommunications: major rural
outages: notifications and reporting.
   Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory
authority over public utilities, including telephone corporations.
Existing law requires the commission to periodically assess the
reliability of the public telecommunications network and, if
necessary, to develop recommendations for improvement. The assessment
is required to include (1) an analysis of those factors that pose a
risk to network reliability, including the adequacy of independent
sources of reserve power, (2) consideration as to whether development
of reliability standards is appropriate, and (3) consideration as to
whether procedures should be developed to notify customers about
accessing other telecommunications companies in the event of a
service disruption.
   This bill would impose, on a facilities-based provider of
telecommunications services that the Federal Communications
Commission requires to provide access to 911 service, certain
notification and reporting requirements for a major rural outage of
telecommunications services, with the requirements to be adopted by
the commission in consultation with the Office of Emergency Services.
The bill would make these requirements enforceable through the
Public Utilities Act. The bill would require the commission to
annually report to the Legislature on certain information from
reports filed with the commission and to include recommendations to
improve the reporting of major rural outages and remedial actions
that can be undertaken to avoid or minimize outages. Because a
violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule,
direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime, and
the requirements added by the bill would be a part of, or enforceable
pursuant to, the act and require actions by the commission for their
implementation, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program
by creating a new crime.
   Existing law, until January 1, 2020, prohibits the commission from
regulating Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and Internet Protocol
enabled service (IP enabled service), as defined, except as required
or delegated by federal law or expressly provided otherwise in
statute.
   This bill would expressly authorize the commission to implement
the notification and reporting requirements for major rural outages
with respect to  facilities-based  VoIP and IP enabled
service providers of telecommunications services that the Federal
Communications Commission requires to provide access to 911 
service, as determined by the commission.   service.

   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.
State-mandated local program: yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  (a) This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the
911 Emergency Reliability and Public Safety Act.
   (b) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
   (1) The Public Utilities Commission currently has no specific
requirements with respect to the reporting of major service
interruptions that impair the ability of persons to call and connect
to the local emergency telephone system by dialing 911, other than
requiring facilities-based certificated and registered public utility
telephone corporations to report major service interruptions as
required by the Federal Communications Commission's Network Outage
Reporting System adopted by the Public Utilities Commission in the
Rules Governing Telecommunications Services (General Order 133-C
(effective July 9, 2009), page 9).
   (2) The duty to report outages pursuant to the Network Outage
Reporting System requirements is triggered upon surpassing either a
duration or a user-minutes-affected threshold. That
user-minutes-affected threshold is appropriate for urban areas.
However, the user-minutes-affected threshold results in the
nonreporting of major service interruptions in rural areas of
California.
   (3) The Federal Communications Commission has acknowledged that
providing access to the 911 emergency call system includes
maintaining the function of the communications networks required to
initiate 911 calls and to deliver those calls and that there is a
shared authority of the federal government and states to collectively
oversee all components of 911 service.
   (4) In order to protect the health and safety of persons living in
rural areas of the state requiring reliable access to the 911
emergency call system, it is necessary for the Public Utilities
Commission to adopt more stringent requirements for the reporting of
major service interruptions in rural areas of the state.
   (5) It is the intent of the Legislature that the commission
utilize its existing authority under the Public Utilities Act,
including the authority to impose fines and penalties for violations,
to enforce the requirements of this act, and that any moneys
collected through fines or penalties will be used first to offset the
costs of implementing the requirements of the act, and if any moneys
remain, toward eliminating the digital divide.
  SEC. 2.  Section 710 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
   710.  (a) The commission shall not exercise regulatory
jurisdiction or control over Voice over Internet Protocol and
Internet Protocol enabled services except as required or expressly
delegated by federal law or expressly directed to do so by statute or
as set forth in subdivision (c). In the event of a requirement or a
delegation referred to above, this section does not expand the
commission's jurisdiction beyond the scope of that requirement or
delegation.
   (b) No department, agency, commission, or political subdivision of
the state shall enact, adopt, or enforce any law, rule, regulation,
ordinance, standard, order, or other provision having the force or
effect of law, that regulates VoIP or other IP enabled service,
unless required or expressly delegated by federal law or expressly
authorized by statute or pursuant to subdivision (c). In the event of
a requirement or a delegation referred to above, this section does
not expand the commission's jurisdiction beyond the scope of that
requirement or delegation.
   (c) This section does not affect or supersede any of the
following:
   (1) The Emergency Telephone Users Surcharge Law (Part 20
(commencing with Section 41001) of Division 2 of the Revenue and
Taxation Code) and the state's universal service programs (Section
285).
   (2) The Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act of 2006
(Division 2.5 (commencing with Section 5800)) or a franchise granted
by a local franchising entity, as those terms are defined in Section
5830.
   (3) The commission's authority to implement and enforce Sections
251 and 252 of the federal Communications Act of 1934, as amended (47
U.S.C. Secs. 251 and 252).
   (4) The commission's authority to require data and other
information pursuant to Section 716.
   (5) The commission's authority to address or affect the resolution
of disputes regarding intercarrier compensation, including for the
exchange of traffic that originated, terminated, or was translated at
any point into Internet Protocol format.
   (6) The commission's authority to enforce existing requirements
regarding backup power systems established in Decision 10-01-026,
adopted pursuant to Section 2892.1,  and  rural outage
notification and reporting requirements adopted pursuant to Section
 2882.5, or other outage notification and reporting
requirements determined by the commission to be necessary to ensure
public safety.   2882.5. 
   (7) The commission's authority relative to access to support
structures, including pole attachments, or to the construction and
maintenance of facilities pursuant to commission General Order 95 and
General Order 128.
   (8) The Warren-911-Emergency Assistance Act (Article 6 (commencing
with Section 53100) of Chapter 1.5 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title
5 of the Government Code).
   (d) This section does not affect the enforcement of any state or
federal criminal or civil law or any local ordinances of general
applicability, including, but not limited to, consumer protection and
unfair or deceptive trade practice laws or ordinances, that apply to
the conduct of business, the California Environmental Quality Act
(Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources
Code), local utility user taxes, and state and local authority
governing the use and management of the public rights-of-way.
   (e) This section does not affect any existing regulation of,
proceedings governing, or existing commission authority over,
non-VoIP and other non-IP enabled wireline or wireless service,
including regulations governing universal service and the offering of
basic service and lifeline service, and any obligations to offer
basic service.
   (f) This section does not limit the commission's ability to
continue to monitor and discuss VoIP services, to track and report to
the Federal Communications Commission and the Legislature, within
its annual report to the Legislature, the number and type of
complaints received by the commission from customers, and to respond
informally to customer complaints, including providing VoIP customers
who contact the commission information regarding available options
under state and federal law for addressing complaints.
   (g) This section does not affect the establishment or enforcement
of standards, requirements, or procedures, including procurement
policies, applicable to any department, agency, commission, or
political subdivision of the state, or to the employees, agents, or
contractors of a department, agency, commission, or political
subdivision of the state, relating to the protection of intellectual
property.
   (h) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2020, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2020, deletes or extends
that date.
  SEC. 3.  Section 911.5 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
   911.5.  By  January 31,   February 1, 
2018, and each  January 31   February 1 
thereafter, the commission shall report to the Legislature
summarizing major rural outage information as reported to the
commission pursuant to Section 2882.5, including the number and
duration of major rural outages and the number of customers affected
by those outages. The report shall include any rules adopted by the
commission pursuant to subdivision (g) of Section 2882.5, any
recommendations to the Legislature as to changes that can be made to
further refine the requirements for reporting of major rural outages,
recommendations for remedial actions that can be undertaken to avoid
or minimize outages, any failures to comply with the major rural
outages reporting requirements, and any fines imposed or other
enforcement actions undertaken to enforce Section 2882.5.
  SEC. 4.  Section 2882.5 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
   2882.5.  (a) For purposes of this section, the following terms
have the following meanings:
   (1) "Access to 911 service" means the ability of a person to call
and connect to the local emergency telephone systems described in the
Warren-911-Emergency Assistance Act (Article 6 (commencing with
Section 53100) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the
Government Code).
   (2) "Major rural outage" means an outage of telecommunications
service in a rural area, experienced by a facilities-based provider
of telecommunications services that the Federal Communications
Commission requires to provide access to 911 service, that is both of
the following: (A) is of 30 or more  minutes  
minutes   '  duration, and (B) potentially affects
75,000 or more user-minutes. The number of user-minutes is the
mathematical result of multiplying the outage's duration expressed in
minutes and the number of users potentially affected by the outage.
   (3) "Outage" has the same meaning as defined by the Federal
Communications Commission in Section 4.5 of Part 4 of Subchapter A of
Chapter 1 of Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
   (4) "Rural area" means those areas of the state that the 
commission, utilizing  United States Census Bureau 
measurements and data, determines   has determined 
are not within urbanized areas or urban clusters.
   (5) "Telecommunications service" has the same meaning as defined
in subdivision (a) of Section 2892.1.
   (b) The enhanced notification and reporting requirements of this
section do not apply to those areas of the state that the commission,
utilizing United States Census Bureau  measurements and
data, determines are not rural areas.  determinations,
identifies as not being rural areas.  Nothing in this section
affects the notification and reporting requirements adopted by the
Federal Communications Commission (Part 4 of Subchapter A of Chapter
1 of Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations) and the commission'
s Rules Governing Telecommunications Services (General Order 133-C
(effective July 9, 2009), pages 9-10, or any successor rules adopted
by the commission) as to those areas of the state that the commission
determines are not rural areas.
   (c) The commission, in consultation with the Office of Emergency
Services, shall require all facilities-based providers of
telecommunications services that the Federal Communications
Commission requires to provide access to 911 service to provide
responder outage notification whenever there is a major rural outage.
Responder outage notification shall be provided within 30 minutes of
the outage to the Office of Emergency  Services and to the
  Services, which shall be responsible for notifying any
applicable  county office of emergency services and sheriff of
any county affected by the outage. The notification shall include the
telecommunications provider's contact name and calling number, an
assigned unique report code that will be used to identify the outage
for reporting purposes, a description of the nature of the outage, a
description of the estimated area affected by the outage, and other
information that the telecommunications provider feels may be of
assistance to emergency first responders. The provider of
telecommunications services shall notify the commission upon its
completion of providing responder outage notification.
   (d) The commission, in consultation with the Office of Emergency
Services, shall require all facilities-based providers of
telecommunications services that the Federal Communications
Commission requires to provide access to 911 service to provide
public outage notification whenever there is a major rural outage.
The commission shall adopt rules for the most effective and efficient
means for dissemination of information to the public relative to
outages. The rules shall require that a telecommunications provider
that maintains an Internet Web site timely post information relative
to an outage on its Internet Web site, including the area of the
outage and, when available, alternative means to contact a public
safety answering point in the event of an emergency arising during
the outage. The commission may adopt additional requirements for
outreach to be provided to customers during or following an outage
and what information relative to public outage notification is to be
provided to the commission.
   (e) The commission, in consultation with the Office of Emergency
Services, shall require all facilities-based providers of
telecommunications services that the Federal Communications
Commission requires to provide access to 911 service to provide
initial outage reporting whenever there is a major rural outage.
Initial outage reporting shall be provided within 120 minutes of the
outage to the Office of Emergency  Services and to the
  Services, which shall be responsible for notifying any
applicable  county office of emergency services and sheriff of
any county affected by the outage. The initial outage report shall,
at a minimum, include a description of the direct cause or general
nature of the outage and identify the date and time of the incident
causing the outage, the unique report code provided pursuant to
subdivision (c), the location of the incident or cause, the
geographic range and number of potentially affected customers, and,
if the outage has not been rectified, the expected duration of the
outage. The provider of telecommunications services shall notify the
commission upon its completion of providing initial outage reporting.
The commission, in consultation with the Office of Emergency
Services, shall determine what information, if any, that is required
to be contained in the initial outage report is, or may be made,
public consistent with Section 583 and the confidentiality
requirements adopted by the Federal Communications Commission in
order to protect homeland security (Section 4.2 of Part 4 of
Subchapter A of Chapter 1 of Title 47 of the Code of Federal
Regulations).
   (f) The commission, in consultation with the Office of Emergency
Services, shall require all facilities-based providers of
telecommunications services that the Federal Communications
Commission requires to provide access to 911 service to provide final
outage reporting whenever there is a major rural outage. Final
outage reporting shall be provided within 20 days to the commission
and the Office of Emergency Services. The final outage report shall,
at a minimum, include the unique report code provided pursuant to
subdivision (c), a detailed description of the direct cause and any
root cause of the outage, the estimated damage caused by the
outage, including any casualties that resulted from the outage and
any known financial impacts to the area affected by the outage,
 the provider's actions to restore service, and any measures
undertaken to prevent the occurrence of a similar outage in the
future. The commission, in consultation with the Office of Emergency
Services, shall determine what information, if any, that is required
to be contained in the final outage report is, or may be made, public
consistent with Section 583 and the confidentiality requirements
adopted by the Federal Communications Commission in order to protect
homeland security (Section 4.2 of Part 4 of Subchapter A of Chapter 1
of Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations). A written summary
of the outage report, containing that information the commission
determines may be safely disclosed, shall be supplied to the board of
supervisors of each county affected by the outage within 30 days of
the major rural outage.
   (g) The commission, in consultation with the Office of Emergency
Services and, to the extent feasible, with rural emergency
responders, may adopt rules to implement and refine the notification
and reporting requirements of this section.
   (h) The requirements of this section are enforceable pursuant to
Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 2100) of Part 1.
  SEC. 5.  Section 2889.8 of the Public Utilities Code is amended and
renumbered to read:
   2882.  The commission periodically shall assess the reliability of
the public telecommunications network and, if necessary, develop
recommendations for improvement. The assessment shall include, but
not be limited to, all of the following:
   (a) An analysis of those factors that pose a risk to network
reliability, including the adequacy of independent sources of reserve
power.
   (b) Consideration as to whether development of reliability
standards is appropriate.
   (c) Consideration as to whether procedures should be developed to
notify customers about accessing other telecommunications companies
in the event of a service disruption.
  SEC. 6.  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.