New Legislation Related to Local Government -
In Part Five of the New Law Guidance series from Best Best & Krieger LLP (BBK), we cover important new legislation for 2024 related to local government. Below we provide...more
Both Agencies Want to Hear from Local Governments -
The FCC will vote on December 13, 2023 to initiate a proceeding to prohibit cable and satellite TV providers from imposing early termination fees and or requiring...more
When AB 965 goes into goes effect on Jan. 1, 2024, California local agencies will be required to undertake “batch broadband permit processing.” Batch broadband permit processing is the simultaneous processing of two or more...more
CPUC R.23-04-006 -
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) recently launched a rulemaking (R.23-04-006) to implement SB 28 that authorized and directed the CPUC to adopt customer service requirements for state...more
PublicCEO Article Addresses Current Rules and What Happens Next -
Over the last few years, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has been reinterpreting several key Cable Act provisions that govern cable franchise...more
BB&K's New Law Guidance for a Happy New Year -
In Part Five of our “In With the New” series, BB&K details new and notable telecommunications laws. Within, you will find takeaways and analysis of the following: AB 537, SB...more
Key Takeaways From Governor’s SB 556 and AB 537 Actions -
In a win for local governments in California, on Oct. 4, Gov. Newsom vetoed SB 556—a small cell bill that, if signed into law, would have forced local governments...more
Localities Should Take Advantage of Grant Programs Before Application Deadlines Close -
California has launched a new $6 billion Broadband Program to fund broadband internet access service (BIAS) infrastructure in response...more
Franchise Requirements Should Not be Treated as Franchise Fees and Cable Operators Can be Charged Fees on Non-Cable Services, Cities Argue -
Three coalitions of cities filed briefs with the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of...more
Assembly Local Government Committee Hearing Set for Wednesday, April 14 -
Assembly Bill 537 would expand Government Code section 65964.1 to provide a deemed granted remedy for all types of wireless applications....more
Oppose SB 556: Hearing Set for April 19 -
Four years after California Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed Senate Bill 649, an industry-sponsored “small cell” bill, the wireless industry is back with another bill: SB 556....more
Don’t Surrender Your Property Rights -
Cell tower operators will soon have the regulatory right to deploy generators and other communications equipment up to 30 feet outside of their current site under rule changes adopted...more
Cities and Counties Must be Ready for Jan. 1 Effective Date -
As wildfires and power shutoffs continue to impact large areas of California, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law that requires expedited permitting of applications...more
10/14/2020
/ 5G Network ,
Cell Towers ,
CPUC ,
Electricity ,
Emergency Generators ,
Energy Sector ,
FCC ,
Power Outages ,
Renewable Energy ,
State and Local Government ,
Utilities Sector ,
Wireless Industry
Ninth Circuit Takes on FCC Small Cell Orders -
The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals handed local governments some wins in a decision last week arising from the court’s consolidation of five appeals from three FCC 5G...more
8/18/2020
/ 5G Network ,
Appeals ,
Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Cell Towers ,
FCC ,
Infrastructure ,
Local Aesthetic Regulations ,
Municipalities ,
State and Local Government ,
Telecommunications ,
Telecommunications Act ,
Wireless Industry
How Communities Can Respond -
The FCC adopted a Declaratory Ruling and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking ("Order" and "NPRM," respectively) related to Section 6409 modification requests (eligible facilities requests) on June...more
Telecommunications -
AB 1699 Telecommunications: mobile Internet service providers: first response agencies: emergencies -
Fire officials experienced a significant data transmission slowdown of their mobile emergency...more
1/13/2020
/ 911 Calls ,
Affordable Housing ,
Business Licenses ,
CEQA ,
Coastal Real Estate ,
Data Plan ,
Drinking Water ,
Electronic Data Transmissions ,
Emergency Response ,
Environmental Policies ,
Fire Departments ,
Groundwater ,
Hazardous Waste ,
Health and Safety ,
Homeless Issues ,
Infrastructure ,
Internet ,
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marine Life Protections ,
NPDES ,
Power Outages ,
Public Agencies ,
Public Safety ,
Public Works ,
Real Estate Development ,
Reasonable Prevention Procedures ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Safe Drinking Water Act ,
State and Local Government ,
State Pilot Programs ,
Stormwater Discharge Permits ,
Telecommunications ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Vulnerable Victims ,
Wastewater ,
Water Management ,
Water Rights ,
Wildfires
Will this Quell Public Concerns About the Safety of 5G Deployments?
As wireless carriers increasingly seek to install wireless networks on utility poles and street lights within communities across the country, they often...more
12/16/2019
/ 5G Network ,
Cell Towers ,
Environmental Policies ,
FCC ,
Health and Safety ,
Infrastructure ,
Municipalities ,
National Emissions Standards ,
National Environmental Policies ,
NEPA ,
Public Health ,
Technology Sector ,
Telecommunications ,
Toxic Exposure ,
Wireless Industry
A new FCC Order updating cable franchising rules could cost local governments in every state hundreds of millions of dollars. The Order arms cable operators with the right to require existing franchise terms be modified to...more
Yesterday marked a win for local government in the fight against preemption over local control of their streets. The California Supreme Court issued a decision in the T-Mobile West LLC v. City and County of San Francisco...more
4/5/2019
/ CA Supreme Court ,
Cell Towers ,
FCC ,
Local Ordinance ,
Preemption ,
Right of Way ,
San Francisco ,
State and Local Government ,
T-Mobile ,
Telecommunications ,
Wireless Industry ,
Wireless Technology
A pair of orders by the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in the litigation over the FCC’s controversial small cell order were issued Thursday. ...more
The California Legislature passed a number of laws last year that will have a significant impact on how public agencies — including cities and counties, special districts, schools and school districts and more — do business....more
1/10/2019
/ Absentee Voting ,
Broadband ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Financing ,
Infrastructure ,
New Legislation ,
Nonprofits ,
Plastic Straw Ban ,
Public Agencies ,
Public Safety ,
Public Schools ,
Public Utility ,
Revenue ,
State and Local Government ,
Taxi Cabs
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo’s resignation from the FCC’s Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee last week signals that communities around the country are facing the imminent prospect of new federal wireless regulations (and...more
Citing the value of local governments managing their own rights of way, Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed SB 649, the controversial small cell bill, on Sunday. The bill, which barely passed through the state Legislature, would have...more
SB 649 passed the California Assembly and Senate in the last week of the legislative session with few votes to spare, and is on Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk for consideration. The bill curtails regulatory authority over small...more
As drafted, Senate Bill 649 would give wireless providers a significant advantage over local government in negotiating the placement of small cells in the public right of way and on public property. Cities that have an...more