Bill Text: CA SB378 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Local government: broadband infrastructure development project permit processing: microtrenching permit processing ordinance.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Passed) 2021-10-08 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 677, Statutes of 2021. [SB378 Detail]
Download: California-2021-SB378-Amended.html
Amended
IN
Senate
April 12, 2021 |
Introduced by Senator Gonzalez (Coauthors: Senators Hertzberg and Wiener) |
February 10, 2021 |
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has jurisdiction over public utilities, including electrical corporations. The commission’s existing Electric Tariff Rule 20 establishes policies for the undergrounding of electric facilities and includes, among other programs, the Rule 20A undergrounding program , which requires electrical corporations to convert overhead electric facilities to underground facilities when doing so is in the public interest for specified reasons.
This bill would authorize a provider of fiber facilities to determine the method of the installation of fiber. The bill would prohibit a local agency, as defined, from prohibiting, or unreasonably discriminating in favor of or against the use of, aerial installations, open trenching or boring, or microtrenching, but would authorize a local agency to prohibit aerial
deployment of fiber where no aboveground utilities exist due to Electric Tariff Rule 20 or other existing underground requirements.
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 or reconstruction for a development project for a wireless telecommunications facility and a collocation or siting application for a wireless telecommunications facility.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YESBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
This act shall be known as the Broadband Deployment Acceleration Best Practices Act of 2021.SEC. 2.
The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the following:SEC. 3.
Section 65964.5 is added to the Government Code, to read:65964.5.
(a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:(b)(1)The provider of fiber facilities shall determine the method of the installation of fiber.
(2)A local agency shall not prohibit, or unreasonably discriminate in favor of or against the use of, aerial installations, open trenching or boring, or microtrenching.
(3)Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2), a local agency may prohibit aerial deployment of fiber where no aboveground utilities exist due to Public Utilities Commission Electric Tariff Rule 20 or other existing underground requirements.
(c)Fiber installations subject to this section shall be subject to both of the following:
(1)Where existing aboveground utilities are present, the local agency shall allow fiber to be installed in the same fashion as the existing aboveground utilities. This paragraph shall control over any undergrounding ordinance adopted by the local agency that requires all utilities to bury existing overhead facilities pursuant to the Overhead Conversion Program established by the Public Utilities Commission pursuant to Electric Tariff Rule 20, except that the provider of fiber facilities shall underground its fiber at the time other utilities remove their aerial facilities pursuant to any undergrounding ordinance of the local agency.
(2)(A)
(B)
(d)For purposes of this section, the time periods established by the applicable Federal Communication Commission rules contained in Subpart U (commencing with Section 1.6001) of Part 1 of Subchapter A of Chapter I of Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations for a small wireless telecommunications facility using an existing structure shall apply to an application for a fiber installation.
(e)
(f)This section does not preclude an applicant and the local agency from mutually agreeing to an extension of any time limit provided by this section.
(g)