A California lawmaker introduced a bill, AB 1714, that would classify broadband as a public utility under state law. This bill would define “public utility” to include a corporation providing broadband service to the public or a portion of the public.
“By including corporations providing broadband service as a public utility,” the legislation states, “the bill would expand the application of requirements imposed on public utilities by the Public Utilities Act to those corporations and would, therefore, expand the scope of a crime, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program.”
The California Constitution authorizes the legislature to prescribe additional classes of private corporations or other persons as public utilities. Existing law under the Public Utilities Act requires that rates charged by a public utility are to be “just and reasonable.” Under existing law, a violation of the act by a public utility is a crime.
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, brought to the state legislature by Assemblymember Jim Wood (D), would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Broadband service would, in effect, be put under the jurisdiction of the California Public Utilities Commission. A previous state law on regulating Voice over Internet Protocol, thereby allowing phone calls over broadband, had expired in 2020.
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