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8A STATE OF THE STATE from page 1 ~ iO .. .. d# TELECOM UPDATE from page 1 .. .. .. . . tfI ",Page 9 Schwarzenegger's proposal calls for $43.3 billion in bonds over the next three years, with $29.9 subject to approval by the voters in the 2008 and the 2010 elections. The other $13.9 billion would be in revenue bonds, which are not subject to voter approval. His package includes borrowing $10.9 billion to add 78,000 new prison beds to help relieve the overcrowding of California's prisons, an issue that was not addressed in the November 2006 bonds passed by voters. Schwarzenegger also pro- posed $4 billion for construction of two new reservoirs, and additional funding for the building of 15,000 new classrooms and renovation of 40,000 more (funding for construction and reno- vation of schools was also included in Proposition 1 D passed by voters in November 2006). During his speech, Schwarzenegger visited an old subject - reforming the redistricting pro- cess which currently allows legislators to draw legislative districts. In his plan, he proposed an independent 11-member commission that would be responsible for redistricting, with commission members chosen by a panel of county clerks. Another area of emphasis during Schwarzenegger's address was the battle against global warming. He proposed, by Execu- tive Order, to reduce the carbon content of pas- senger vehicle fuels by 10 percent by 2020. The Governor will also ask the Legislature to appropri- ate funds to implement the Global Warming Solutions Act he signed into law last year. For further details on Gov. Schwarzenegger's plans, and his proposed state budget for 2007- 2008, see "State Budget Positive for California Cities" on Page 1. For more information on this and other League issues, visit www .cacities.org. The League's legal team has continued to meet with the legal counsel of California's two primary phone companies, AT&T and Verizon, during the past few months. The goal is to reach the best common ground understanding of the bill's language and to avoid interpretation/imple- mentation issues at the local level. Sy working to head-off possible interpretation issues, the stake- holders hope to avoid legal battles and to have the courts determine the fate of the newly formed system. In addition, the League had the opportunity to participate in a meeting with the California Public Uti!j'tias Commr"csr'"n fro. Ie) <>nd a "'''st "f I"roal I ".v .., Vii'.....,' V UII IIV VI vv government representatives. CPUC indicated it views its role as purely "ministerial" in regard to AS 2987. Given that it is still unknown how AS 2987 will be interpreted, however, it is possible that CPUC's role could be enhanced. As it sits now, CPUC will directly oversee how the issue of build-out is completed and has juris- diction to revoke the state-issued franchise if the entrant does not meet their obligation to serve all communities. The issue of customer service was discussed at length during the meeting. Local government maintained that given the lack of enforcement powers (via the bill) at the local level that it would be a bit difficult to have any meaningful oversight to ensure proper build-out is taking place. Technical Clean Up Expected. AS 2987 will likely go through a technical clean-up process. It is expected that any clean-up of AS 2987 will go through Assembly Utilities & Commerce Chair Lloyd Levine or Senate Energy Chair Christine Kehoe. The League does not envision any major policy changes being made this year. League AS 2987 Wrap Up Document Available The League has drafted an AS 2987 wrap-up document that was initially passed out at the League's legislative briefing. It has since been Continued on Page 7 PAGE 6 . PRIORITY FOCUS January 12, 2007 . Issue #2 Visit the League's Official Websitenwww.cacities,org