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  "description": "California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1414 into law Friday.",
  "path": "/california-tenants-can-soon-opt-out-of-bulk-billing-plans/",
  "publishedAt": "2025-10-14T21:08:22.000Z",
  "site": "https://broadbandbreakfast.com",
  "tags": [
    "_signed into law_",
    "_requires landlords_",
    "_law reads_",
    "_in a statement_",
    "Orange County Register",
    "_were opposed_",
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  "textContent": "Oct. 14, 2025 – California renters will soon be able to opt out of paying for broadband plans arranged through bulk billing deals between ISPs and landlords.\n\nCalifornia Gov. **Gavin Newsom** (D) _signed into law_ Friday Assembly Bill 1414, which _requires landlords_ to allow tenants to opt out of such plans starting Jan. 1, 2026. The law applies to wired, cellular, and satellite broadband service offered to tenants as part of their lease agreement.\n\nHomeowners’ and condo associations aren’t covered by the law. If an apartment building owner still requires tenants to pay, they can deduct the subscription cost from their rent payments. Landlords “shall not retaliate against a tenant for exercising the tenants rights under this section,” the _law reads_.\n\nThe bill was sponsored by Democratic Assemblymember **Rhodesia Ransom**.\n\nWhen the bill cleared the California Legislature last month, she said _in a statement_ that “for too long, renters have been forced into internet deals they never asked for, paying more while being shut out of programs that could actually save them money. AB 1414 fixes that. It gives renters the freedom to choose what works for their family and their budget. Simple as that.”\n\nThe law doesn’t ban the practice of bulk billing arrangements, in which ISPs agree to offer service to all units in a building or homes in an HOA at an agreed upon rate.\n\nCalBroadband, a trade group representing cable ISPs in the state, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Last month the group’s president, **Janus Norman** , wrote a paid commentary piece in the Orange County Register opposing the law.\n\n“The crux of the savings realized through bulk billing is the efficient sharing of costs among every unit in a building,” he wrote. “The opt-out undermines the basis of the cost savings and will lead to bulk billing being phased out.”\n\n###  _Has been a hot button issue_\n\nThe issue was a hot button one at the Federal Communications Commission last year, when former Chairwoman **Jessica Rosenworcel** circulated a proposal that would have sought comment on banning bulk billing nationally.\n\nReal estate and broadband industry groups _were opposed_ to the idea, including small ISPs that said the stable revenue from bulk billing deals was critical for their businesses to continue serving low-income areas.\n\nThe FCC prohibits deals that explicitly prevent other providers from offering service in a building or HOA. Small ISPs and consumer groups told the agency that bulk billing arrangements could sometimes have the same practical effect by requiring tenants to pay for the bulk billed service.\n\nFCC Chairman **Brendan Carr** opposed the circulated item as a commissioner and was quick to take it off the table after becoming chairman in January. He _said at the time_ that the proposal “could have raised the price of Internet service for Americans living in apartments by as much as 50 percent,” and that “seniors, students, and low-income individuals would have been hit particularly hard.”",
  "title": "California Tenants Can Soon Opt Out of Bulk Billing Plans",
  "updatedAt": "2026-03-11T05:44:46.994Z"
}