FCC Prevents California's Unlawful Abuse of Federal Lifeline Program

The Federal Communications Commission administers a multibillion federal program that provides low-income Americans with a discount on their phone and Internet services. Millions of people living in California have benefited from this federal Lifeline program. The FCC has a responsibility to ensure that states like California have safeguards in place to prevent abuse of the federal program and mechanisms that prevent federal dollars from flowing to ineligible people. Years ago, the FCC allowed California to “opt-out” of the federal verification process and run its own process for verifying eligibility for the federal Lifeline program. Governor Newsom (D-CA) recently signed legislation that makes it effectively impossible for California to comply with federal program integrity obligations, including by prohibiting California from collecting social security numbers (which could be used to ensure that program participants are legal residents) and from sharing data with the federal government. California also has a track record of failing to comply with federal program rules. Therefore, the FCC is now revoking California’s “optout” status. Going forward, federal Lifeline applicants in California will follow the same federal verification processes used in the vast majority of states.