Plain English Breakdown
The official text does not provide a specific effective date for the bill itself, only the operational start date of July 1, 2027.
AB-693: New State Oversight for Broadband
This law creates a new commission and department to manage broadband internet access, moving these duties from other state agencies starting on July 1, 2027.
What This Bill Does
- Creates the Broadband and Digital Equity Commission with specific members who receive pay for their work.
- Establishes the Department of Broadband and Digital Equity within the Government Operations Agency to lead broadband efforts statewide.
- Transfers control of funding programs, service maps, and network construction from existing agencies to the new department on July 1, 2027.
- Requires the commission to appoint an executive director who will hire staff for the new department with commission approval.
- Mandates annual reports to the Legislature starting in 2028 on how many households lack internet access and progress made toward fixing it.
Who It Names or Affects
- The Public Utilities Commission, which currently manages broadband funds and maps but will transfer these duties.
- The Office of Broadband and Digital Literacy, whose current network construction roles are moved to the new department.
- California residents who can file complaints about digital discrimination through a process created by this law.
Terms To Know
- Unserved areas
- Places where people do not have access to broadband internet service, as referenced in the bill's goal for deployment.
- Underserved areas
- Places with limited or poor-quality broadband internet service, as referenced in the bill's goal for deployment.
- Middle-mile network
- The part of the internet infrastructure that connects local networks to larger regional systems, which the new department will manage.
Limits and Unknowns
- The law does not state a specific effective date for when these changes begin, only setting July 1, 2027 as the deadline for transfers.
- The text describes how complaints are handled but does not list specific penalties or outcomes for those who file them.