Adam Bender

Oklahoma broadband and anti-robocall bills sailed through the state Senate Business, Commerce and Tourism Committee. Senators voted 12-0 Thursday for HB-3363, which would set up a state broadband office, council and governing board, and create a broadband grant program and revolving fund, said a summary. It goes next to the Appropriations Committee. The panel voted 11-0 to send to the floor HB-3168, which would prohibit robocalls without prior express written consent and caller ID spoofing. Sen. Cody Rogers (R) asked at the livestreamed hearing if it would also stop robotexts. No, replied Sen. Bill Coleman (R), but it’s a good idea. The House passed both bills last month.

Missouri local governments could be banned from using federal funds for broadband construction in areas deemed served by the state broadband office. The state’s Senate Commerce Committee heard testimony on SB-1074 at a livestreamed hearing Wednesday. Citing existing state definitions, the bill would consider areas without at least 10 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload wireline or fixed wireless as unserved and areas without at least 25/3 Mbps wireline or fixed wireless as underserved. If the area is determined to be unserved or underserved, the bill would require local governments to provide 100/20 speeds. No project area where an ISP is to receive federal funding to provide 100 Mbps symmetrical speed may be classified as unserved or underserved, it said. The bill is meant to prevent overbuilding, said sponsor Sen. Dan Hegeman (R). Chairman Mike Cierpiot (R) said he wants to focus on areas with no broadband and isn’t sure about saying speeds should be 100 Mbps. Scott Avery, city administrator of Houston, Missouri, said he has concerns about SB-1074 because his city is building a municipal broadband network. It’s unfair to let private companies challenge governments that get federal funding without allowing the reverse, Avery said. The Missouri Cable Telecommunications Association supports SB-1074 because it will stop overbuilding, said Husch Blackwell lobbyist Noel Torpey. In Colorado Tuesday, the House Transportation Committee voted 11-1 to clear HB-1306, which would update rules for awarding grant money under the American Rescue Plan Act to comply with finalized federal regulations. The Hawaii House Finance Committee voted 12-0 to clear a Senate-passed bill (SB-2479) that would require public housing built, renovated or reconstructed after Jan. 1 to have broadband access (see 2202040034). Two other House committees approved it earlier, so it can now go to the floor.

Advocates are still searching for the first state to pass an electronic right-to-repair bill, amid continued opposition from industry groups. A California Senate panel delayed hearing testimony on a bill Tuesday. Bills in other states haven't moved. CTIA, CTA, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) and others wrote several letters this year opposing state bills.

An Ohio bill to regulate social media companies’ alleged censorship of political views remained in committee after its sixth hearing Tuesday. The House Civil Justice Committee heard testimony but didn’t vote on HB-441, which would classify social media platforms as common carriers and allow users to sue platforms for viewpoint discrimination. Ohio Majority Floor Leader Bill Seitz (R) asked why Ohio should make a social media law when similar, court-blocked laws in Texas and Florida are pending appeal.

Require transparency for California’s $750 million broadband loan loss reserve fund (BLLRF) for infrastructure deployment financing by localities, nonprofits and tribes, said the California Emerging Technology Fund. The California Public Utilities Commission received comments Friday on the program from the state’s $6 billion broadband law. “There needs to be a lot more clarity and transparency on the scope and use of BLLRF in the broadband context,” CETF commented in docket R.20-08-021. "Given the amount of public funds being continuously appropriated by BLLRF to assist eligible applicants that may have no prior experience in broadband deployment, network operations and maintenance,” CETF suggests creating “a peer review panel comprised of finance experts … to evaluate independently the BLLRF final proposal and publish an annual report.” Use BLLRF "when and where there is no private capital investment to be leveraged in the public interest,” said CETF: Applicants should have the same rules as applicants of other California Advanced Services Fund broadband programs, including that all projects reach last-mile unserved households, CETF said. The California Cable and Telecommunications Association urged the CPUC to require local government transparency, including separate financing and accounting from other municipal finances. “Otherwise, the BLLRF may end up abetting unscrupulous financial practices such as those seen in Burlington, Vermont’s experience with municipal broadband, which resulted in substantial taxpayer losses.” Target funds to areas lacking 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload speeds, or at least prioritize areas without 100/20 Mbps, and keep a “level playing field to fund recipients and their competitors,” CCTA said. The state cable association bristled at CPUC references to "redlining," saying its members meet state and federal legal obligations to serve all households within service areas “without regard to race or income." Also, "references to the presence or absence of competition appear irrelevant to making funding decisions for an account that should be focused on connecting those without high-speed broadband service in the first place,” CCTA said. The CPUC plans to vote Thursday on rules for a $2 billion last-mile federal funding account established by the same state law (see 2203290041).

California's Senate Appropriations Committee placed a state USF bill in its “suspense file," a category reserved for bills deemed to be costly and that will be taken up later. Nobody testified on the bill at a livestreamed hearing Monday. SB-857 would extend California High-Cost Fund A and B programs, set to expire Jan. 1, until Jan. 1, 2028. CHCF-A is for small independent telcos; CHCF-B is for telcos serving areas where cost exceeds rates charged by providers. The bill would extend CPUC authority to collect surcharges, but it doesn't "necessarily mean that surcharges will be collected for both funds,” said a March 31 fiscal note on SB-857. The CPUC hasn't collected the CHCF-B surcharge since December 2013 due to a surplus that’s now about $22 million, it said. "In recent budget years, the state has borrowed funds from the” B surplus to fund other USF programs. As those funds are repaid, the surplus could grow to $106 million, it said.

The Oregon Public Utility Commission faces “a really tight deadline” to update state USF rules, said the Nicola Peterson, PUC senior telecom analyst, at a virtual workshop Thursday. There and in written comments earlier this week, telecom industry groups gave mixed reviews of the PUC’s plan to adopt a CostQuest model to determine the size of the Oregon USF (OUSF) starting Jan. 1.

The Kentucky General Assembly passed a bill to set up a state broadband office with $300 million from the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act (see 2203210034). In Tuesday floor sessions, the House voted 92-0 to concur with the Senate, which voted 35-1 to pass an amended HB-315. A Senate floor amendment added a required annual audit of the broadband office’s fund administration. The bill needs a signature from Gov. Andy Beshear (D), who didn’t say whether he will sign. Wednesday in Minnesota, the House Judiciary Committee members voted 16-0 for a broadband bill to establish a grant program to extend service to unserved areas via reverse auction. HF-3605, which would also allow companies to use existing easements for broadband, can next go to the floor.

California's privacy agency should try to counter inequity and manipulation, said academics at California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) informational sessions this week (see 2203290062). The CPPA board held the second day Wednesday of a virtual hearing to gather background information for an upcoming rulemaking to implement the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), which is the sequel to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Across the country, the Maryland House Economic Affairs Committee weighed a bill Wednesday to set up a privacy study group to make recommendations for comprehensive legislation next year.

Louisiana commissioners quickly and unanimously supported Apollo buying Lumen ILEC assets, at a livestreamed meeting Wednesday. The Louisiana Public Service Commission adopted a March 14 staff recommendation in docket S-36166 that said the deal “will serve the public interest while at the same time having no negative impact on the ratepayers or the Commission’s jurisdiction.” The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission sought comments Tuesday on a proposed decision approving Apollo/Lumen. Exceptions are due April 18, with replies due April 28, in docket A-2021-3028668. Administrative Law Judge Marta Guhl’s proposal would approve a settlement made by the companies with consumer and small business advocates that includes fiber build and rate commitments (see 2202240043). “It is the Commission’s policy to encourage settlements,” wrote Guhl. “The Settlement represents a mutually acceptable and reasonable compromise,” and “provides substantial affirmative benefits and is in the public interest.” The deal still needs approvals from the FCC, New Jersey and Virginia. A Virginia State Corporation Commission spokesperson emailed, "A final order is expected to be issued by the commissioners in a few months." Lumen declined to comment.