Gov Jerry Brown vetoes two telecom bills

Two pieces of legislation, heavily backed by the telecommunications industry but opposed by California state regulators, were vetoed by Gov Jerry Brown (D-CA).

One dealt with fees related to the purchase of prepaid cellphone minutes. The bill, AB 300 by Assemblyman Henry T. Perea (D-Fresno), would have created a new system for retailers to collect the fees from purchasers. As approved by the Legislature, the money would be sent to the Board of Equalization and then passed to the California Public Utilities Commission. Currently, the PUC has required -- sometimes by filing lawsuits -- that the prepaid services, such as TracFone Wireless, send fees on intrastate calls directly to the commission.

Gov Brown also vetoed AB 1409 by Assemblyman Steven Bradford (D-Gardena.) It would have limited some of the PUC's powers to adopt new rules for the LifeLine subsidized phone service program provided by cable companies. The PUC is in the process of writing rules to give low-income participants the option of using cellphones and Internet phones as part of the program. Gov Brown noted that the PUC "has taken public comment from hundreds of California citizens" and that the process should be allowed to continue.