Assembly oversight hearing presses CPUC, Department of Technology and Caltrans on broadband rollout, permitting and funding

Assemblymember Tasha Boerner Horvath, chair of the California State Assembly Communications and Conveyance Committee, opened an oversight hearing on the state's broadband programs, saying the panel's members "represent the voices of nearly 5,000,000 Californians" and that the committee convened to review implementation of last-mile grants, the statewide middle-mile build, and digital equity programs.

The hearing brought agency leaders before the committee for a status update on how California is spending a generational mix of state and federal dollars intended to close the digital divide. Testifying were Commissioner John Reynolds, Rachel Peterson and Anna Maria Johnson from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC); Liana Bailey Crimmins, director and State Chief Information Officer at the California Department of Technology (CDT); Mark Monroe and Scott Adams from CDT's broadband team; and Mike Keever, chief deputy director at Caltrans.

Why it matters: lawmaker attention centered on the scale of the investment, upcoming program deadlines and the practical steps needed to get fiber built and "lit" so unserved Californians can actually subscribe. Committee members warned that permitting or administrative delays could put projects at risk and asked agencies to deliver clearer, regularly updated milestones.

CPUC briefing and numbers

Commissioner John Reynolds described recent CPUC actions on broadband awards and universal-service programs and listed the agency's priorities: public-safety oversight, universal service and broadband deployment and adoption. Reynolds said the CPUC had approved awards in its Federal Funding Account (FFA) program "in a hundred and 08 projects across 51 counties totaling over a billion dollars that will directly benefit the lives of 2,000,000 Californians." He added, "These projects will connect more unserved and underserved communities in our state to the statewide…