AgdaPkt 2006-07-10 - Laserfiche WebLink

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use satellite service to meet some portion of the build-out requirements. The issue will certainly be discussed further in Appropriations. Another issue that received a great deal of attention was language that allows what Chairwoman Escutia called an "off-ramp" for companies that subsequently found they could not meet the build- out requirement. She stressed that the off-ramp should only be available for circumstances outside the control of the company (economic downturns, "acts of God") - not poor management decisions. There was strong agreement from the committee members that anti-discrimination requirements must be met, with no exceptions. Cross-subsidy (Le. language to ensure that current phone customers do not subsidize the build- out of video and Internet services under the new state franchise approach), An additional amendment was taken to address this issue. It was not deemed acceptable by the TURN ("The Utility Reform Network"), the group lobbying for this protection. Customer ServicefProtection. Additional amendments were taken to adopt FCC standards (currently used as a "floor" in many local franchise agreements today), to raise penalties and to clarify that local agencies have authority to enforce these consumer protection provisions, Companies will be required to post a surety bond. Locals can impose fines, and draw on the bonds to pay the fines. Funds collected can be used by local agencies to offset the costs of bringing enforcement actions, The League and CSAC agreed to this amendment in principle (although again, language was not available). PEG ("Public, education and government") channels and I..tfET. As expected, the committee deferred action on this issue so that concerned parties could work on amendments over July, with Senators Murray and Simitian taking the lead. Simitian stated that his goal is "to hold communities harmless' on this issue. He said that he "is not wild about abrogation., and believes particularly that if the bill allows for abrogation it's especially important that companies not be to able walk away from PEG commitments, When others said that state PEG requirements will result in some winners and. some losers among PEG providers, Senator Simitian essentially said that's not good enough and that the PEG providers in his area currently receive more resources than most and need to be protected. CEQA. Local agencies will be the lead agency for CECA review. Additional work on this will be done over July. Emergency Alert Systems. The committee agreed that work on this issue will occur over the summer, with amendments taken up in Appropriations. The regulatorylfranchising agency. The committee agreed to take amendments designating the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to assume this role. This issue provided much of the comic relief of the day, as no state agency wants this role. No one likes it going to the CPUC, but they ran out of options, Sen. Cox question how it would be paid for. Speaker Núñez said that it would be from application fees and perhaps a percentage of gross revenues, which might or might not be a share of local franchise fees, but nothing is currently in the bill other than the application fee. This issue will be taken up by Appropriations. The League testified that we still believe the best approach is a statewide framework, locally implemented - with franchises issued by local agencies. Neither the committee nor the authors or sponsors are willing to accept this amendment. Federal Tetecom Continued from Page 1... The telephone companies are lobbying for a quick vote, but concerns about net neutrality, buíld~ out, and other controversial items may slow action on the measure. Following are highlights of the Senate Commerce Committee's action on the bill. 9A Page 11 3