Governor Newsom and Legislative Leaders Announce Historic Broadband Budget Bill

California Governor Gavin Newsom, Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) announced an agreement on a broadband trailer bill to expand the state’s broadband fiber infrastructure and increase internet connectivity for families and businesses (AB/SB 156). The legislation includes:

• More vital accountability and legislative oversight
• Creating a ‘broadband czar’ and nine-member council within the California Department of Technology
• Hiring a third-party to build and maintain the ‘middle-mile network’–high-capacity fiber lines that carry large amounts of data at higher speeds over longer distances between local networks
• Investing $3.25 billion to target that middle mile and build the broadband lines
• Providing $2 billion for ‘last-mile’ infrastructure lines that will connect consumers’ homes and businesses with local networks ($1 billion for rural communities; $1 billion for urban communities)