AB2289 - Public utilities: Public Utilities Commission: telecommunications: broadband internet access service.

Amended IN Assembly April 09, 2026 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION Assembly Bill No. 2289 Introduced by Assembly Member Boerner February 19, 2026 An act to amend, repeal, and add Section 3502.2 of the Business and Professions Code, to amend, repeal, and add Section 1798.91 of the Civil Code, to amend and repeal Section 11549.52 of, to amend, repeal, and add Sections 6547.7, 11011.2, and 53112 of, to add Section 8889.1 to, and to repeal Chapter 13 (commencing with Section 8885) of Division 1 of Title 2 of, the Government Code, to amend, repeal, and add Sections 1524.7 and 1569.159 of the Health and Safety Code, to amend, repeal, and add Section 1720 of the Labor Code, to amend, repeal, and add Section 429 of the Penal Code, and to amend Sections 216, 233, and 301 270, 301, and 5830 of, and to amend and repeal Sections 278, 280, 280.5, 281, 281.2, 281.6, 912.2, 914.6, 914.7, 2881, 2881.1, 2881.2, and 2881.4 of, to amend, repeal, and add Sections 270.1, 281.1, 285, 5890, and 5900 of, to add Section Sections 710 and 1700 to, and to add Division 8 (commencing with Section 20000) to, the Public Utilities Code, relating to public utilities. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2289, as amended, Boerner. Public utilities: telecommunications. Public Utilities Commission: telecommunications: broadband internet access service. The California Constitution establishes the Public Utilities Commission, Commission (PUC), which consists of 5 members appointed by the Governor and approved by the Senate. The California Constitution authorizes the commission PUC to establish its own procedures and authorizes a commissioner as designated by the commission PUC to hold a hearing or investigation or issue an order subject to commission PUC approval. This bill would require the Governor, in appointing members of the commission, PUC, to ensure a diverse composition of commissioners by considering factors that contribute to diversity, as provided. The bill would recodify as a statutory provision the commission’s PUC’s authority to establish its own procedures and the authority of a commissioner to hold a hearing or investigation or issue an order subject to the commission PUC approval. The bill would specify that the recodification only becomes operative if ACA 9 of the 2025–26 Regular Session is approved by the voters, becomes operative, and repeals the corresponding provision in the California Constitution. Existing law vests the commission PUC with regulatory jurisdiction over public utilities. Existing law defines “public utility” to include, among other entities, telephone corporations and telegraph corporations. Existing law defines “telephone line” to include all conduits, ducts, poles, wires, cables, instruments, and appliances, and all other real estate, fixtures, and personal property owned, controlled, operated, or managed in connection with or to facilitate communication by telephone. This bill would specify that a corporation that is providing telecommunications service, as defined, is a public utility subject to the jurisdiction, control, and regulation of the commission and the Public Utilities Act regarding the provision of that service. The bill would revise the definition of “telephone line” to restrict those items specified above to those in connection with or to facilitate voice communication by telephone. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because this bill would expand the definition of “public utility,” thereby expanding the scope of 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. Existing law establishes the California Broadband Council for the purpose of promoting broadband deployment in unserved and underserved areas of the state and broadband adoption throughout the state for the benefits of all Californians. Existing law requires the PUC to develop, implement, and administer the California Teleconnect Fund program to advance universal service by providing discounted rates to qualifying schools, community colleges, libraries, health clinics, and community organizations, as provided. Existing law requires the PUC to develop, implement, and administer the California Advanced Services Fund to encourage the deployment of high-quality advanced communications to all Californians. Existing law requires the PUC to design and implement a program, commonly known as the Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program, to provide telecommunication devices capable of serving the needs of individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, as specified, that is funded by the Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program Administrative Committee Fund. Existing law establishes the Broadband Loan Loss Reserve Fund in the State Treasury, and continuously appropriates moneys in the fund to the PUC to be available to fund costs related to the financing of the deployment of broadband infrastructure by a local governmental agency or nonprofit organization, as provided. Existing law requires the PUC to maintain and update a statewide, publicly accessible, and interactive map showing the accessibility of broadband service in the state. This bill would create the Broadband and Digital Equity Commission (Broadband Commission) with specified membership, and would, on July 1, 2028, repeal the California Broadband Council and establish the members of the council as a committee of the Broadband Commission, as specified. The bill would establish the Office of Broadband and Digital Equity for the purpose of promoting ubiquitous and universal broadband deployment in unserved and underserved areas of the state and to increase broadband adoption throughout the state for the benefit of all Californians. The bill would, on and after July 1, 2028, declare the Office of Broadband and Digital Equity to be the only centralized state department for broadband and digital equity activities within the state authorized to establish rules or regulations for broadband internet access service and internet service providers, as provided. The bill would require the Broadband Commission to appoint the executive director of the Office of Broadband and Digital Equity, who serves at the pleasure of the Broadband Commission, as specified, and would authorize the executive director to appoint, with the approval of the Broadband Commission, necessary staff, as provided. The bill would, on and after July 1, 2028, require the Office of Broadband and Digital Equity to assume the administrative functions of the California Teleconnect Fund Program, the California Advance Services Fund, Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program, and the Broadband Loan Loss Reserve Fund. The bill would specify that, on and after July 1, 2028, the moneys in the Broadband Loan Loss Reserve Fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, are available to the Office of Broadband and Digital Equity for the financing of the deployment of broadband infrastructure by a local governmental agency or nonprofit organization, as provided. The bill would, on or after July 1, 2028, transfer the duties to maintain and update a statewide, publicly accessible, and interactive map showing the accessibility of broadband service in the state to the Office of Broadband and Digital Equity. Existing law requires the Office of Broadband and Digital Literacy to oversee the acquisition and management of contracts for the development and construction of a statewide open-access middle-mile broadband network to provide an opportunity for last-mile providers, anchor institutions, and tribal entities to connect to, and interconnect with other networks and other appropriate connections to, the statewide open-access middle-mile broadband network to facilitate high-speed broadband service. This bill would require the Office of Broadband and Digital Equity, on and after July 1, 2028, to assume the above-described duties. The Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act of 2006 establishes a procedure for the issuance of state franchises for the provision of video service, defined to include cable service and open-video systems, administered by the PUC. This bill would, on and after July 1, 2028, transfer the administration of that act to the Office of Broadband and Digital Equity. Existing law requires the Office of Broadband and Digital Literacy, with a third-party administrator, to develop and construct a statewide open-access middle-mile broadband network that prioritizes last-mile connections to unserved and underserved areas and locations. Existing law requires the office and third-party administrator to work directly with last-mile project grant awardees to ensure that network segments, including prioritized stand-alone Department of Transportation construction projects, support last-mile connections, and requires the Office of Broadband and Digital Literacy and the third-party administrator, to the extent feasible, to minimize disruption due to excavations, as provided. This bill would repeal the above-described provisions. This bill would make conforming changes. Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YES NO Bill Text The people of the State of California do enact as follows: SECTION 1. Section 3502.2 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read: 3502.2. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a physician assistant may perform the physical examination and any other specified medical services that are required pursuant to Section 2881 of the Public Utilities Code and Sections 44336, 49406, 49423, 49455, 87408, 87408.5, and 87408.6 of the Education Code, practicing in compliance with this chapter, and may sign and attest to any certificate, card, form, or other documentation evidencing the examination or other specified medical services. (b) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2028, and, as of January 1, 2029, is repealed. SEC. 2. Section 3502.2 is added to the Business and Professions Code, to read: 3502.2. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a physician assistant may perform the physical examination and any other specified medical services that are required pursuant to Section 20171 of the Public Utilities Code and Sections 44336, 49406, 49423, 49455, 87408, 87408.5, and 87408.6 of the Education Code, practicing in compliance with this chapter, and may sign and attest to any certificate, card, form, or other documentation evidencing the examination or other specified medical services. (b) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2028. SEC. 3. Section 1798.91 of the Civil Code is amended to read: 1798.91. (a) For purposes of this title, the following definitions shall apply: (1) “Direct marketing purposes” means the use of personal information for marketing or advertising products, goods, or services directly to individuals. “Direct marketing purposes” does not include the use of personal information (A) by bona fide tax exempt charitable or religious organizations to solicit charitable contributions or (B) to raise funds from and communicate with individuals regarding politics and government. (2) “Medical information” means any individually identifiable information, in electronic or physical form, regarding the individual’s medical history, or medical treatment or diagnosis by a health care professional. “Individually identifiable” means that the medical information includes or contains any element of personal identifying information sufficient to allow identification of the individual, such as the individual’s name, address, electronic mail address, telephone number, or social security number, or other information that, alone or in combination with other publicly available information, reveals the individual’s identity. For purposes of this section, “medical information” does not mean a subscription to, purchase of, or request for a periodical, book, pamphlet, video, audio, or other multimedia product or nonprofit association information. (3) “Clear and conspicuous” means in larger type than the surrounding text, or in contrasting type, font, or color to the surrounding text of the same size, or set off from the surrounding text of the same size by symbols or other marks that call attention to the language. (4) For purposes of this section, the collection of medical information online constitutes “in writing.” For purposes of this section, “written consent” includes consent obtained online. (b) A business may not orally request medical information directly from an individual regardless of whether the information pertains to the individual or not, and use, share, or otherwise disclose that information for direct marketing purposes, without doing both of the following prior to obtaining that information: (1) Orally disclosing to the individual in the same conversation during which the business seeks to obtain the information, that it is obtaining the information to market or advertise products, goods, or services to the individual. (2) Obtaining the consent of either the individual to whom the information pertains or a person legally authorized to consent for the individual, to permit his or her medical information to be used or shared to market or advertise products, goods, or services to the individual, and making and maintaining for two years after the date of the conversation, an audio recording of the entire conversation. (c) A business may not request in writing medical information directly from an individual regardless of whether the information pertains to the individual or not, and use, share, or otherwise disclose that information for direct marketing purposes, without doing both of the following prior to obtaining that information: (1) Disclosing in a clear and conspicuous manner that it is obtaining the information to market or advertise products, goods, or services to the individual. (2) Obtaining the written consent of either the individual to whom the information pertains or a person legally authorized to consent for the individual, to permit his or her medical information to be used or shared to market or advertise products, goods, or services to the individual. (d) This section does not apply to a provider of health care, health care service plan, or contractor, as defined in Section 56.05. (e) This section shall not apply to an insurance institution, agent, or support organization, as defined in Section 791.02 of the Insurance Code, when engaged in an insurance transaction, as defined in Section 791.02 of the Insurance Code, pursuant to all the requirements of Article 6.6 (comm [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]