V. Assignment of Proceeding.
President Michael R. Peevey is the Assigned Commissioner, and Janice Grau is the assigned administrative law judge.
1. Efficient administration of the grant program requires some form of fixed deadline.
2. Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers (ILEC) may have costs for feasibility studies required under Pub. Util. Code § 276.5 in excess of tariff charges and other costs not provided for in line extension tariffs. ILECs that provide service under the grant program should establish memorandum accounts and track costs in excess of those contained in the tariffs.
3. Section 276.5 requires that the mandated working group be composed of representatives from the Commission, from ILECs, from competitive local exchange carriers and from the wireless industry. Parties nominated representatives from SBC California and Verizon, Virginia Strom-Martin, Steve Bowen, and Regina Costa. No representative of the wireless industry was nominated.
4. It is more efficient to adopt grant program administration rules on an interim basis than to issue proposed rules for comment and later decision.
5. No party has requested hearings.
1. We should adopt, on an interim basis, grant program administration rules.
2. We should adopt the grant program application appended to this decision as Attachment A.
3. It is reasonable to permit ILECs to track in memorandum accounts incremental feasibility study costs and other costs in excess of costs included in line extension tariffs in order to request recovery under the New Regulatory Framework (NRF) limited exogenous factor mechanism. Tracking such costs is no guarantee of recovery of those costs.
4. It is reasonable to approve the nominations of Strom-Martin, Bowen, Costa and representatives from SBC California and Verizon to the working groups. It is reasonable to direct our staff to find a qualified representative from the wireless industry to serve on the working group and to approve a slot for a representative from Commission staff.
5. A subsequent ruling, by the Assigned Commissioner and ALJ, should address the process and schedule for further review of grant administration rules.
6. In order to permit timely compliance with the Legislative mandate of AB 140, which requires establishment of eligibility criteria for community-based groups to qualify to apply for telecommunications infrastructure grants by June 30, 2002, this order should be effective today.
INTERIM ORDER
IT IS ORDERED that:
1. Eligibility criteria for community-based groups to qualify to apply for telecommunications infrastructure grants are adopted as set forth herein.
2. Interim grant administration rules are adopted as set forth herein.
3. Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers may track in memorandum accounts incremental feasibility study costs and other costs in excess of costs included in line extension tariffs in order to request recovery under the New Regulatory Framework limited exogenous factor mechanism. Tracking such costs is no guarantee of recovery of those costs.
4. The government-industry working group shall be established as set forth herein.
This order is effective today.
Dated , at San Francisco, California.
Attachment A to R0302034 Grau Comment Dec.
