SB3100 Summary

• Consolidates the Department of Budget and Finance and the Department of Human Resources Development into a single Department of Budget, Finance, and Human Resources, effective July 1, 2020, to improve coordination between budgeting and human resources management.

• Transfers telecommunications carrier regulation from the Public Utilities Commission to the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism (DBEDT), establishing a new Commissioner of Telecommunications position to oversee intrastate telecommunications services.

• Transfers cable television and broadband assistance functions from the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs to DBEDT, with the Broadband Assistance Advisory Council now advising the DBEDT Director on broadband deployment policies.

• Creates the Telecommunications Carriers and Cable Systems Special Fund to support operations of the new telecommunications regulatory functions, funded by fees and penalties from telecommunications carriers and cable systems.

• Establishes universal service program provisions including lifeline telephone rates, telecommunications relay services, emergency 911 services, and protections for domestic abuse victims to leave shared wireless plans without penalty.