Existing law authorizes the Public Utilities Commission to supervise and regulate every public utility in the state, including telephone corporations, and to fix just and reasonable rates and charges for public utilities. Existing law establishes the state's 6 universal service funds in the State Treasury, including the California High-Cost Fund-A Administrative Committee Fund and the California High-Cost Fund-B Administrative Committee Fund, and provides that moneys in each of the state's universal service funds are the proceeds of rates and are held in trust for the benefit of ratepayers and to compensate telephone corporations for their costs of providing universal service. Moneys in the funds may only be expended to accomplish specified telecommunications universal service programs, upon appropriation in the annual Budget Act or upon supplemental appropriation. Existing law, until January 1, 2023, requires the commission to maintain the California High-Cost Fund-A Administrative Committee Fund (the CHCF-A program) to provide universal service rate support to small independent telephone corporations, as defined, in certain amounts in furtherance of the state's universal service commitment to the continued affordability and widespread availability of safe, reliable, high-quality communications services in rural areas of the state. Existing law, until January 1, 2023, requires the commission to develop, implement, and maintain a suitable, competitively neutral, and broad-based program to establish a fair and equitable local rate support structure aided by universal service rate support to telephone corporations serving areas where the cost of providing services exceeds rates charged by providers, as determined by the commission (the CHCF-B program) .
California SB 857 (20212022) — Telecommunications: universal service programs.
Existing law authorizes the Public Utilities Commission to supervise and regulate every public utility in the state, including telephone corporations, and to fix just and reasonable rates and charges for public utilities. Existing law establishes the state's 6 universal service funds in the State Treasury, including the California High-Cost Fund-A Administrative Committee Fund and the California High-Cost Fund-B Administrative Committee Fund, and provides that moneys in each of the state's universal service funds are the proceeds of rates and are held in trust for the benefit of ratepayers and to compensate telephone corporations for their costs of providing universal service. Moneys in the funds may only be expended to accomplish specified telecommunications universal service programs, upon appropriation in the annual Budget Act or upon supplemental appropriation. Existing law, until January 1, 2023, requires the commission to maintain the California High-Cost Fund-A Administrative Committee Fund (the CHCF-A program) to provide universal service rate support to small independent telephone corporations, as defined, in certain amounts in furtherance of the state's universal service commitment to the continued affordability and widespread availability of safe, reliable, high-quality communications services in rural areas of the state. Existing law, until January 1, 2023, requires the commission to develop, implement, and maintain a suitable, competitively neutral, and broad-based program to establish a fair and equitable local rate support structure aided by universal service rate support to telephone corporations serving areas where the cost of providing services exceeds rates charged by providers, as determined by the commission (the CHCF-B program) .
Version chain
The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.
2022-03-17 From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 12. Noes 0. Page 3094.) (March 14). amendment-passage, committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable
2022-03-21 Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR. amendment-passage, reading-1, reading-2, referral-committee
2022-03-25 Set for hearing April 4.
2022-04-04 April 4 hearing: Placed on APPR suspense file.
2022-05-13 Set for hearing May 19.
2022-05-19 From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 7. Noes 0. Page 3772.) (May 19). committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable
2022-05-19 Read second time. Ordered to third reading. reading-1, reading-2
2022-05-23 Read third time. Urgency clause adopted. Passed. (Ayes 37. Noes 0. Page 3834.) Ordered to the Assembly. passage, reading-1, reading-3
2022-05-24 In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk. reading-1
2022-05-27 Referred to Com. on C. & C. referral-committee
2022-06-15 From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (June 15). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable, referral-committee
2022-08-03 August 3 set for first hearing. Placed on suspense file.
2022-08-11 From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 16. Noes 0.) (August 11). committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable
2022-08-15 Read second time. Ordered to third reading. reading-1, reading-2
2022-08-22 Read third time. Urgency clause adopted. Passed. (Ayes 77. Noes 0. Page 6007.) Ordered to the Senate. passage, reading-1, reading-3
2022-08-23 In Senate. Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.
2022-08-30 Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3 p.m.
2022-09-28 Approved by the Governor. executive-signature
2022-09-28 Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 706, Statutes of 2022. became-law
Source
OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot 2026-07-01; origin ocd-bill/827ac888-eb89-4690-80a9-6d39dbbd7dde. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official California legislature records).
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