The first 16:21 seconds were prior to the start of the news conference. Unknown Speaker 16:22 Good morning, thank you everyone for being here today. My name is Sara Floor, I'm the Communications Manager for the California State Association of Counties. Before we begin I have a few housekeeping items to share with all of you this news conference is being recorded and the reporters who are not self identified via their zoom name are asked to send their name and affiliation to the hosts via the chat function. There will be a series of brief presentations, then we will open things up for questions from credentialed media. We ask that media use the raise hand function in zoom. The hosts will unmute you and announce your name and affiliation. If anyone is experiencing technical difficulties or difficulties during this press conference, please use the chat function to contact the hosts. Thank you. Supervisor Chavez, the floor is yours. Unknown Speaker 17:20 All right, thank you so much and thank you for all of your help getting us together today. I want to thank everybody for joining us, and I know today is a very exciting day because most of the COVID-19 restrictions are being lifted and the state is steadily returning to life before the pandemic. However, COVID-19 reinforced inequities that have been hidden in plain sight in California for decades. One of the most critical of these is a digital divide, more than 2 million Californians do not have adequate Internet access to do things as basic as attending a Zoom meeting. What that means is that's a child who can't attend a class, an employee who can't go to work, and no one on the wrong side of the digital divide can take advantage of virtual healthcare, including the public health outreach about COVID-19 vaccines and testing that is largely done online throughout California. I am so grateful to Governor Newsom who understands the scope and urgency of this issue and he's released a visionary $7 billion budget proposal to close the digital divide in California, including $4 billion for an open access middle mile network along Caltrans right of ways that would make high speed broadband, affordable and feasible for every community in California. All of us are here today because we wholeheartedly support his proposal, and we are urging the legislature to approve it before the July 1 start of the new fiscal year and not delay it as a trailer bill, the broad range of speakers today are from every corner of our magnificent state, and it shows that this is not an issue that belongs to Northern California or Southern California, it's not a rural issue and it's not an urban issue. This is a California equity, economic development issue. I am really honored to have these magnificent group of speakers with me today, and I now get to begin by introducing California forewords leadership co chair John Chung. Unknown Speaker 19:34 Thank you. I wanted to start off by saying I deeply appreciate, appreciate your leadership and steadfastness on this issue. And thank you for this opportunity to speak. We all understand that reliable broadband is not a luxury. It's a modern day necessity as vital as electricity and clean water, just the morning seminars that I participated, a Georgetown seminar on financial institutions as it impacts the black and brown communities, talked about the access, the need for broadband in regards to financial access California Forward, and the California Economic Summit, have long been committed to solutions that improve equity and broadband access and affordability. We join a broad coalition and urging the state legislature to take bold action and adopt the governor's $7 billion broadband infrastructure plan to finally deliver on the promise of broadband for all. We can't trail other states we can't trail other nations, California, it's the world's fifth largest economy. We have to be forward thinking we have to be at the forefront to make sure that the progress for all is in fact, lived in California, the governor's proposal is a critical addition to efforts to close the digital divide. It prioritizes federal relief money that needs to be spent. Now, while greatly expanding the path for internet service providers to reach under, and unserved urban and rural Californians. This is an issue for all 40 million Californians. The creative creation of an open access middle mile network as you alluded to Cindy, similar to long distance transmission lines for electricity has the potential to increase competition, lower costs, improve speeds, and customer service. We know some of the ISBs have been investing, but it simply is not enough, and not fast enough, it will set the stage for public and private infrastructure needed to improve, equity, and our community's resilience, Californians can't afford to wait. We can no longer simply stand idly by allowing our most vulnerable children to resort to fast food parking lots for access to reliable Wi Fi. I think when we saw those pictures it broke all of our hearts, we have the means to make a substantial investment now the lien any further will disproportionately impact populations that have the most to gain our children's, our children, families, communities and businesses need broadband now. Thank you again, Cindy, for your leadership. Great to partner with incredible leaders from throughout the state of California. Unknown Speaker 22:19 Thank you so much, John and thank you for your leadership at the Cal California Forward and helping us think about this and think about it in big terms not small terms. I now have the honor of introducing Assemblymember, l, merci T of torrents and I'm really excited that he's here. Unknown Speaker 22:38 Thank you very much, supervisor, and good afternoon to all of you. It's so good to see everyone, especially those that I had a chance to work with on this issue of broadband for all through legislation that I had introduced this year. You know, I am fully in support of fast tracking the $7 billion that has been proposed for broadband infrastructure for the state of California because this is such an urgent issue for the entire state, especially for the underserved and unserved communities, whether we're talking about rural communities, whether we're talking about low income urban and suburban communities, we need to close the digital divide as soon as possible. You know I have the privilege of representing the South Bay of Los Angeles County, where we have our local leaders have embarked on an exciting venture the South Bay fiber network. To install a middle mile backbone of public broadband infrastructure that provides competition to the private for profit, internet service providers in order to serve the public interest. And, you know, inspired by the South Bay fiber network, I introduced, Assembly Bill 34, was proposed a $10 billion broadband bond again for public broadband infrastructure. Now, that bill has been replaced with the governor's proposal for the $7 billion for for broadband. But, you know, this just highlights the, The urgency that we all recognize that we need to provide that funding to our communities as quickly as possible, especially, you know, I support that the. I hope that the emphasis will continue to be on the public broadband infrastructure so that we can serve the public interest provide competition to provide competitive rates for all of our communities. Thank you all of you for inviting me to join you. i We are working with my less than of colleagues to to fast track the broadband dollars as expeditiously as possible. So thank you for inviting me to join all of you. Unknown Speaker 24:57 Oh thank you so much and I love it broadband for all that that makes it simple. I would now like to introduce my colleague from Mono County Supervisor John Peters who really has been a leader at the at CSAC really getting us focusing on this issue. So let me turn it over to you, John. Unknown Speaker 25:17 Thank you supervisor Chavez and all of my esteemed colleagues that are on today. Coming from from Mono County, which is a 3300 square mile. 14,000 people, community is 13 of 13,000 of the 40 million reasons why we need this $7 billion in a three year track with four of it, going to an open network middle mile, and we need to start it now. Even before COVID We knew broadband was critical for rural counties where I live 90% of us are in some manner, caught in the digital divide. 20% are completely cut off from reliable, high speed broadband, that means 20% That can't do telemedicine. Can't do education just participating in our virtual meetings, they're, they're excluded in this, this has to, has to be closed this gap has to be closed. And, you know before but California has broadband crisis is not as bad for the residents. It's bad for business. It's bad for the businesses that rely on reliable broadband to process their credit card machines to send data across the world. And, you know California needs to be that leader to close that divide and we need to do it, we need to be doing it now, not later we've had opportunities that were that were lost, and this opportunity cannot be lost. I have a private business myself, if the broad, if the one option for broadband goes down, it virtually closes the doors. So we need redundancy in the network. We have a once in a generation opportunity to invest in 21st century infrastructure build that statewide Open Access middle mile network, and that middle mile network does not have to be completed in its entirety, to provide to begin to provide service. It's not like a rail system, it is a it is class its fiber it's 480 strands in the ground on a known network, our road network, so it can be done quick and it can be put into use. Before the end of the year. We have the money from the federal government now, And we need to use that money wisely, and there is a plan, there is a vision, but with that vision comes a plan to do that. So please adopt Governor Newsom's broadband proposal before the July recess, the timing is a timing is everything right now. We want to see this in the budget, and we want California to lead the world in this mission. So thank you very much. I appreciate the time and I'll yield back. Unknown Speaker 28:24 Thank you so much John. I now like to introduce Riverside County Supervisor Chuck Washington. Welcome. Unknown Speaker 28:32 Thank you supervisor Chavez and thank you to John Peters my good friend, my working group at CSAC, has really been a leader in this effort to expand broadband, and welcome to everyone that's on this call today. It's frankly quite embarrassing that in the fifth largest economy in the world. We have children accessing vast food WiFi to complete their schooling during the pandemic investment. Now, in a new statewide Open Access middle mountain network for broadband is an excellent use of one time dollars that will grow the economy while making it run more efficiently help connect the unconnected, and increase future revenues. While we see stories across the nation of crumbling infrastructure. Now is the time for broadband, it is long overdue. Governor Newsom $7 billion plan will ensure equitable access to public health, public safety, education, entrepreneurship and economic opportunities, regardless of geography or population. Broadband is not just a rural issue, a third of my residents are locked into broadband monopolies. As we know, as we and we know that families with children, Latinos blacks and lower income Californians are less likely to have broadband access in the home. This means broadband isn't a budget, a budget issue. It's an equity issue, it's a moral issue. And shame on us if we squander this incredible opportunity to make real progress. We've got the funding. We've gotten a plan. We've got more than enough need. And as you can see you're today. We have political capital, capital at the local level. We just need Sacramento to get on board and get moving. Let's get Governor Newsom's plan approved before the July recess, so we don't waste another day or risk any more of our children's futures. Thank you, Cindy, Unknown Speaker 30:29 Chuck, thank you so much and well said. Well said. I'd now like to introduce the CEO of the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation, Bill Allen, it's really a pleasure to have you with us today. Unknown Speaker 30:43 Thank you supervisor Chavez for your leadership and the opportunity to join you and add my voices CEO of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation to this chorus of digital equity leaders you have assembled today. For more than a decade, the lmdc has been calling for 21st century infrastructure as a foundation for a 21st century economy. And we've not been alone, back during the great recession we assembled more than 1000 stakeholders from business, government labor and education to agree on a path forward for a more robust and inclusive economy in LA County, all agreed we needed greater investment in 21st century infrastructure like broadband, when they gathered again in 2015 to update that countywide strategic plan. Our LA County stakeholders specifically called for universal access to high speed internet, because they recognize that broadband has become essential infrastructure for the 21st century. It is the pathway to opportunity in our increasingly digital economy. And yet our progress to achieve true broadband for all has been too slow here, as it has been all across our state and nation. And the pandemic made that painfully apparent to all of us as we witnessed millions of our neighbors, unable to work remotely or even search for new work, unable to learn remotely receive telehealth services, apply for unemployment insurance, making early testing or vaccine appointment or even access relief capital for their small businesses simply because they lacked high speed internet service. Most of our students were relatively lucky that in their schools and colleges, heroic efforts were launched to connect them with simple devices and hotspots, demonstrating the closing the digital divide is actually a solvable problem. And yet even after all of these stopgap devices and connectivity efforts were made. A recent USC survey showed that in many of our low income communities here and across the state, more than one in every four households still lack broadband, and we should all be deeply troubled by the fact that race, and income are so highly correlated with one's access to the internet. We live in an increasingly information and technology based economy, expecting such an economy to be equitable and inclusive. When millions of our neighbors do not have equitable access to that information and technology is simply naive, the IDC is the CO convener of the LA digital equity action League, because we understand that economic and social equity today requires digital equity, Governor Newsom is acting with urgency and a clear commitment to digital equity in proposing his $7 billion broadband plan, and I urge our state legislators to do the same now by adopting his broadband proposal, which includes billions of dollars for both middle mile Open Access infrastructure, and last mile broadband infrastructure, both of which are needed to achieve true digital equity in every corner of California, our California Association of Counties agrees, our California League of Cities agrees, our school districts our State Superintendent of Education, all agree, and I agree with all of them, and my fellow speakers at this press conference, the time for our state legislature to act is now. Unknown Speaker 34:00 Thank you so much, Bill. And thanks again for all that you've done to lift up LA and move us forward as a state. I now get the opportunity to introduce a dear friend, Santa Clara County Superintendent of Schools Dr Maryann Dhawan. Unknown Speaker 34:14 Thank you so much, supervisor Chavez, for the invitation and for your leadership in this work. I have a high level of visibility into the factors affecting the educational outcomes of children, and a major barrier to equity is the lack of broadband, accessing the internet is as core to the health, safety and education of our youth as electricity connectivity is limited by the lack of affordability, and the lack of infrastructure. Household Income is the greatest predictor of connectivity, the greatest gaps in connectivity were related to affordability and speed. Inadequate internet speeds, unstable and unreliable connectivity, make it difficult, and for some impossible for students to succeed, low income families struggle to secure and maintain affordable adequate internet and low rates of connectivity are fueled by high cost and mid tier internet package can easily cost 10% of low income families total take home pay. California must make it easier for local government agencies to apply for state broadband infrastructure funding and significantly increase the minimum internet speed for state funded projects, establish a fair and equitable local rate structure, increase subsidies for low income families and require providers to meet higher quality standards and speeds. This is a central and urgent unreliable connectivity is directly harming students health, wellness, and educational outcomes, low speeds data caps and limits on throughput, prevent students from participating and instruction, accessing health and mental health services pursuing enrichment courses, applying for financial aid scholarships jobs in college, and connecting with community resources such as meals and counseling, many 1000s of students do not have adequate Internet access and 1000s more have unreliable unstable and unaffordable internet connectivity is needed at school, at home, and in community. It is as essential to the health, well being and education of our youth as electricity, and the time for digital equity is now. Unknown Speaker 36:36 Thank you, Marianne. I'd now like to introduce unite la CEO David Rattray who's been just a gem helping us move this item forward and engaging our leaders across the state so thank you thank you David. Unknown Speaker 36:53 Thank you supervisor. And thank you to all of you I'm incredibly inspired and honored to add my voice to all my colleagues today. Our work at United lay is to ensure continuous improvement and effective and aligned cradle to career public education and workforce development systems in Los Angeles, that would result in all children and youth having access to a high quality education. And I'm proud to join Bill Allen in LA DC as a co convener of the LA deal, you know, les knows for in order for our youth to be successful, we must close the digital equity gap. It continues to hold back far too many Angeleno students from their future and from their potential, but it's my colleagues said, in this last year and a half. When we finally have had the racial reawakening in this country. And we've talked more freely about structural racism and structural inequities, but we sometimes don't actually call out examples of it, and then face up to it. And this is one where we saw the face of structural racism. We saw it in our students. And we saw the face of structural inequities. We saw it in the young people that the superintendent is described these kinds of persistent divide between those that are connected and those that are not are an example of a kind of structural racism that we cannot tolerate, and we now have in our grasp. The ability to crush it. The plan that that was based on years of research and of very smart people from the CPUC to the governor to the stakeholders is the right plan, and it's teed up perfectly for this moment. We need a true public private solution, which includes public options of the middle mile and last mile, and authentic public private partnerships, but that are based on equity based on equity and don't exclusively rely on the market. In this moment, we must show the courage and the determination to make these investments to forever, not just gradually close the digital divide, but crush this divide, and establish digital equity for all students, for all families permanently. So please legislature. No more delays, no more band aids, we can really do this. Thank you so much Cindy for your leadership. And thank you to all my colleagues, Unknown Speaker 39:35 maybe Thank you. I now get to introduce Tom Styer who is the next gen America founder, welcome Tom. Unknown Speaker 39:48 Thank you supervisor Chavez. Thank you to everybody on this call for lending your voice. And thank you for including me today is a great day. California is reopening today. And over a year ago when Governor Newsome asked me to coach out the jobs and economic recovery Task Force. We were look forward we were looking forward to the day when we could hug. Our vaccinated friends and go to our local restaurants and have fun. And it seemed like a lifetime away. And so it's definitely worth celebrating today, coming back and trying to get California back to, not just where we were better than where we started. The taskforce was looking at the problems that arose from the pandemic, and the challenges and needs that created, but we were also looking at the inequities, and the divides that so many people on this call have talked about, and that the pandemic exacerbated and shined a light on the fact that 1000s of California students and families were without reliable, and affordable internet was not new. The fact that nearly a quarter of those homes were Latino was not surprising. The fact that the students without the internet fell behind in school, and their parents lost out on economic opportunities. Wasn't shocking. But when our world became virtually 100% Digital. The importance of the digital divide the seriousness of the need to address it became much more evident much more pressing than it ever had been before closing the digital divide. Using the power and the money of the ISP is that call California home using that money to help their neighbors, was a top priority for the task force. And let me say, for me personally. This is an equity issue as people have said here and I appreciate everybody for calling it out for what it is. The digital world is the world of the future. Everybody deserves the right to participate in that world. This is about all the people of California. And we've got to use this big budget surplus to meet the most pressing needs and fulfill the commitment we made at the start of this pandemic that we would come out of this better than we went in, the legislature has proposed a broadband plan that keeps the status quo. It favors the incumbent large corporate monopolistic internet providers. And we can't have profit driven corporate giants, putting their own profit, ahead of our people in what is now a basic right for all Californians. We need our leaders to stand up to these corporate telecom giants and demand support for the governor's $7 billion broadband for all proposal. This initiative is going to be transformative. And it's going to help bring California back. Why invest the money immediately instead of spreading it out. It uses the $4 billion of available federal funding. Instead of taking it away from the people of California. It opens up the broadband provider world to competition by allowing local governments, small providers and others opportunity to build out the broadband infrastructure added ensures that rural, tribal and certain urban areas of our state have access to high speed internet service, just like the more affluent areas of our state. So I started by saying and I echo supervisor Chavez Cindy. It's a great day to day for California. But we can't fully celebrate it, Unless we do that, all together. Thanks. Unknown Speaker 44:09 Um, thank you so much for summing it up and bringing it home, we are going to have one other speaker wins supervisor Holly Mitchell joins us but for now, we're more than happy to take questions. And so Sarah, I'm going to turn it back to you, to moderate that. Unknown Speaker 44:30 Thank you so much. Once again, we invite media to use the raise hand function and zoom will unmute your line and ask you to announce your name and affiliation please indicate which panelist you're directing your question to exceed we have two hands raised. Unknown Speaker 44:51 Ben Christopher. Hey there, Unknown Speaker 44:57 thanks for taking time to do this and for answering my question. You know everyone is, as mentioned, sorry, this has been Chris from from Cal matters. Everyone's mentioned that there's some reluctance within the legislature to take up the governor's proposal, particularly this middle mile proposal. And I'm wondering if anyone cares to provide some insight as to why that is. I hope to ask this, Assemblymember Mertz Ichika he's inside the building but I guess he's left but if anyone has any insight into that that would be really helpful. Thank you. Let me, let me just see if there, if any of my colleagues want to respond to that. See supervisor Washington. Unknown Speaker 45:40 Well, supervisor, Chavez, Mr Styer addressed the issue. I believe I am without beating up on on the monopolies, but quite frankly, I think their influence as weighed heavily on the decision to the legislature. What they're not understanding is what those of us at the local level. You know we've, we've got a superintendent School District Superintendent, we got county supervisors. cities understand it. If we don't pick that middle mile. We can throw all the money we want at the, at, at the last mile, but never connect people to broadband. So that's the part where we begin to level the playing field, and even out the competition. So the pricing can become competitive and more affordable for everyone. And so that's why that middle mile is so important. And I believe that's why the monopolies are fighting against it. Supervisor Peters. Thank you, Unknown Speaker 46:42 to that. Very well said, Chuck, that the incumbent providers continue to deliver projects that are not meeting the standards of the speeds that we need in today's 21st century digital world, their projects need to be at a at a basis, that will be sustainable and scale, scalable, two gig internet. They want to hold on to what they have right now as long as they can, and an open mile middle network that is going to that needs to happen now is going to prevent them from continuing to lock up areas that are unserved or not served at all. And we need, we need that, that knowledge out there because people will not accept and continue to pay for with with dollars that need to be need to be spent for reliable and high speed broadband, not for speeds that are even the current federal standard of 25 three or some of these incumbents in California that are that are still delivering projects that are at 10 Two. So that needs to change and this is how it can change by opening up a middle mile network for all 40 million people. Unknown Speaker 48:06 Thank you. Next we have definitely young with San Francisco bay here. Unknown Speaker 48:20 Thank you, Sara. So, I'm an education reporter. You guys can hear me okay right Unknown Speaker 48:26 yes we Unknown Speaker 48:26 can have my headphones on, sir. And of course Bayview is the tori is, you know, underserved community. Hunters Point, and I appreciate what you've said today is it's great to hear this, but what is it going to mean to the average person like you mentioned, sir. Supervisor Peters in communities that are affected how soon would this take place I realized that has to be approved and all that, But not only how soon would it be would be approved, but what's it really gonna mean, you know how soon are kids going to stop going to McDonald's or the library public library to get Wi Fi, what what does it mean to these communities like how quickly, and, and, you know what, what's it really mean when they hear this on the news tonight. John, did you want to respond to that supervisor Yeah, I think I mentioned earlier Unknown Speaker 49:23 in my comments, this, this plan that has really been in place to use the entire transportation infrastructure in the state of California to deliver the broadband fiber is potentially months away. If the money is, is appropriated for in the budget. If we continue to delay. We won't see this opportunity until potentially years, and I mentioned earlier that the fiber projects can occur. They don't have to occur continuous, they can, they can can, they can occur while projects that are now being proposed they've already been they've already had environmental analysis done, they are in there in the queue to happen, some with SB one money, and we just need a big, the big ones policy to be an effective when they disturb the grip the land around in a highway system. Fiber must go in, and it can, I believe, and I want to be optimistic but realistic, that we could see people being connected within 2021. If this gets, You know if it's gets in, for the July recess Unknown Speaker 50:45 and supervisor Washington also wanted to respond Daphne. Unknown Speaker 50:49 Yes, thank Thank you Cindy, you know, we're in a very unique time in American history. We're coming out of this pandemic. We're not all the way out. But as a result also it shined a light on the shortcomings, on the digital divide, on so many people that have fallen behind that didn't just happen in the band pandemic that have been going on for generations. It took generations to get to where we are now. And because of this windfall if you will, in the governor's budget that was unanticipated. Now we have funding that we can address this problem, we can start to fix the infrastructure with one time monies that really begin to address many of the the ills, social ills that we began to observe through the pandemic lens. So will it all get fixed overnight. John's probably a little bit more optimistic than I am. I hope that we start seeing some people getting better service by the end of the year. But this is, this is an investment that we have money now to put into to make sure that those kids that are coming and I'm a first five commissioners, so I'm always talking about early childhood education and development. We got to make this investment for their future, so that they have an opportunity to become productive, successful working adults and parents and families, and it begins with this one time investment right Unknown Speaker 52:29 now. Thanks. Thank you, Stephanie did you have another question. Oh, okay. All right, I'll turn it back I don't I don't see any other questions or hands or nothing in the chat. There, Unknown Speaker 52:48 there are any media who would like to ask a question of our panelists, please use the raise hand function now. Unknown Speaker 53:05 So seeing none, I think we can wrap up I first wanted to say to all of my colleagues, I am just so grateful to all of you for the leadership and the work that you're doing on the ground and and really appreciate each and every one of you spending time with us today, and I also want to thank CSAC for convening us. I think the last thing that I, I just want to say that I am so I'm so heartened to hear and to see this cross section of leaders and I just want to urge the legislature, it is difficult, I think this speaks to the question that Ben that you asked which is this. The challenges we have a lot of folks who've been making money off the system the way it is. And our dilemma is that we don't have a market solution to lifting up every family in the state of California. So what we're asking the legislature to do is lean in to the governor's proposal. Help us, right or wrong in our state. Let us do what we know is the right thing to do from a moral perspective and, and, and let's do what we know is right for the long term economic health of our state, each of the regions that we that we come from, and really we're just urging everybody everybody who's listening send a letter to your member of the legislature, we really need to demand not ask but demand that we get the resources to our local communities that are so so necessary, not just for this generation for, but for generations to come. So again thank you all very very much. Sara Thank you. Really appreciate you and CSAC pulling us together, and we look forward to a good fight, I know. Supervisor Mitchell is very enthusiastic about this but she is in closed session, we know she's probably doing battle on another great issue. Share Our appreciation, Caroline with her and thank her for her leadership as well. Thanks, all. Thank you. Thank you, Cindy. Be well. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Transcribed by https://otter.ai