CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 2790

Introduced by Committee on Communications and Conveyance (Assembly Members Boerner (Chair), Bonta, Caloza, Rogers, and Blanca Rubio)

March 16, 2026

An act to amend Sections 280 and 884.5 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to communications.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 2790, as introduced, Committee on Communications and Conveyance. California Teleconnect Fund Administrative Committee Fund.
Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including telephone corporations. Existing law requires the commission to develop, implement, and administer a program to advance universal service by providing discounted rates to qualifying schools maintaining kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, community colleges, libraries, hospitals, health clinics, and community organizations.
This bill would require that the discounted rates also be provided to qualifying schools, school districts, and county offices of education serving preschools, transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, public libraries and public library systems, rather than libraries, and noninstructional facilities operated or contracted by qualifying schools, school districts, county offices of education, community colleges, public libraries, and public library systems, including their associated data centers or administrative offices, as provided.
Existing law authorizes all customers eligible to receive discounts for telecommunications services under the federal Universal Service E-rate program to also apply for discounts on telecommunications services provided through the California Teleconnect Fund Administrative Committee Fund. Existing law requires the commission to first apply an E-rate discount if the customer, in the determination of the commission, meets the requirements for an E-rate discount, as provided.
This bill would instead require the service provider to first apply an E-rate discount if the customer, in the determination of the commission, meets the requirements for an E-rate discount, except as provided.
Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime.
Because the provisions of this bill would be part of the act and a violation of a commission action implementing the bill’s requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
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   Local Program: YES  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 280 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:

280.
 (a) The commission shall develop, implement, and administer a program to advance universal service by providing discounted rates to qualifying schools maintaining kindergarten schools, school districts, and county offices of education serving preschools, transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, community colleges, public libraries, public library systems, hospitals, health clinics, and community organizations, consistent with Chapter 278 of the Statutes of 1994. All noninstructional facilities operated or contracted by qualifying schools, school districts, county offices of education, community colleges, public libraries, and public library systems, including, but not limited to, their associated data centers or administrative offices, shall also be eligible for discounted rates pursuant to the program.
(b) There is hereby created the California Teleconnect Fund Administrative Committee, which is an advisory board to advise the commission regarding the development, implementation, and administration of a program to advance universal service by providing discounted rates to qualifying schools maintaining kindergarten or schools, school districts, and county offices of education serving preschool, transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, community colleges, public libraries, public library systems, hospitals, health clinics, and community organizations, consistent with Chapter 278 of the Statutes of 1994, and to carry out the program pursuant to the commission’s direction, control, and approval.
(c) All revenues collected by telephone corporations in rates authorized by the commission to fund the program specified in subdivision (a) shall be submitted to the commission pursuant to a schedule established by the commission. The commission shall transfer the moneys received to the Controller for deposit in into the California Teleconnect Fund Administrative Committee Fund. All interest earned by moneys in the fund shall be deposited in into the fund.
(d) Except as provided in subdivisions (e) and (g), moneys Moneys appropriated from the California Teleconnect Fund Administrative Committee Fund to the commission shall be utilized used exclusively by the commission for the program specified in subdivision (a), including all costs of the board and the commission associated with the administration and oversight of the program and the fund.

(e)Moneys loaned from the California Teleconnect Fund Administrative Committee Fund in the Budget Act of 2003 are subject to Section 16320 of the Government Code. If the commission determines a need for moneys in the California Teleconnect Fund Administrative Committee Fund, the commission shall notify the Director of Finance of the need, as specified in Section 16320 of the Government Code. The commission may not increase the rates authorized by the commission to fund the program specified in subdivision (b) while moneys loaned from the California Teleconnect Fund Administrative Committee Fund in the Budget Act of 2003 are outstanding unless both of the following conditions are satisfied:

(1)The Director of Finance, after making a determination pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 16320 of the Government Code, does not order repayment of all or a portion of any loan from the California Teleconnect Fund Administrative Committee Fund within 30 days of notification by the commission of the need for the moneys.

(2)The commission notifies the Director of Finance and the Chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee in writing that it intends to increase the rates authorized by the commission to fund the program specified in subdivision (a). The notification required pursuant to this paragraph shall be made 30 days in advance of the intended rate increase.

(f)Subdivision (e) shall become inoperative upon full repayment or discharge of all moneys loaned from the California Teleconnect Fund Administrative Committee Fund in the Budget Act of 2003.

(g)(1)Consistent with Decision 11-09-016 (September 8, 2011) Decision Granting Authority to Provide Emergency Access to 211 Services in Counties and Localities Without Existing 211 Centers and to Appoint a 211 Lead Entity, if it determines that doing so is an appropriate use of funds collected from ratepayers, the commission may expend up to one million five hundred thousand dollars ($1,500,000) from the California Teleconnect Fund Administrative Committee Fund for one-time costs to help close 2-1-1 service gaps in counties lacking access to disaster preparedness, response, and recovery information and referral services, where technically feasible, through available 2-1-1 service. As the lead agency appointed by the commission in Decision 11-09-016, 2-1-1 California may apply to the commission for use of the funds in the counties that lack 2-1-1 service. If the commission determines that doing so is an appropriate use of funds collected from ratepayers, these costs may include local implementation of a coordinated database that is owned by a city or county to provide referrals to help with nonemergency aspects of disaster planning, recovery, and response.

(2)This subdivision shall become inoperative on January 1, 2023.

SEC. 2.

 Section 884.5 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:

884.5.
 (a) This section shall apply to all customers eligible to receive discounts for telecommunications services under the federal Universal Service E-rate program administered by the Schools and Libraries Division of the Universal Service Administrative Company that also apply for discounts on telecommunications services provided through the California Teleconnect Fund Administrative Committee Fund program pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 280.
(b) A teleconnect discount shall be applied after applying an E-rate discount. The commission service provider shall first apply an E-rate discount, regardless of whether the customer has applied for an E-rate discount or has been approved, if the customer, in the determination of the commission, meets the eligibility requirements for an E-rate discount. This subdivision does not apply to a customer who is ineligible to receive an E-rate discount due to a programmatic restriction or eligibility limitation imposed under federal law.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), the teleconnect discount shall be applied without regard to an E-rate discount for a school district that meets the conditions specified for compensation pursuant to Article 4 (commencing with Section 42280) of Chapter 7 of Part 24 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Education Code, unless that school district has applied for, and been approved to receive, the E-rate discount.
(d) In establishing a discount under the California Teleconnect Fund Administrative Committee Fund program, the commission shall give priority to bridging the “digital divide” by encouraging expanded access to state-of-the-art technologies for rural, inner-city, low-income, and disabled Californians.
(e) As used in this section:
(1) “E-rate discount” means an actual discount under the E-rate program, or a representative discount figure as determined by the commission.
(2) “E-rate program” means the federal Universal Service E-rate program administered by the Schools and Libraries Division of the Universal Service Administrative Company.
(3) “Teleconnect discount” means a discount on telecommunications services provided through the California Teleconnect Fund Administrative Committee Fund program set forth in subdivision (a) of Section 280.

SEC. 3.

 The amendments of Sections 280 and 884.5 of the Public Utilities Code made by this act do not constitute changes in, but are declaratory of, existing law.

SEC. 4.

 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.