California’s Justice Department hasn’t submitted final rules implementing the California Consumer Privacy Act to the Office of Administrative Law, an OAL spokesperson emailed hours before a possible Monday deadline to get rules out to the public by July 1 when CCPA enforcement begins. Section 11343.4(b)(3) of California government code says how to request an earlier effective date, noted the agency’s representative. Privacy lawyers said the department would have had to submit rules by Sunday, but because that wasn't a business day, OAL would probably take them Monday. Missing the deadline might mean final rules wait until Oct. 1, three months after Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) says he will enforce them (see 2005210054). However, some attorneys said the statute section referenced by OLA provides potential ways to get rules out by July 1. “The AG could submit the final CCPA regulations late and ask for the July 1 effective date based on ‘good cause,’” Pepper Hamilton’s Sharon Klein emailed Monday. OAL “already has a long list of 55 regulations slated for review, and it is unclear how receptive OAL would be to expediting regulations that (as of the last draft) are nearly 30 pages long,” she said. BakerHostetler attorneys blogged Friday that California law might allow the AG to argue that CCPA is exempt from normal deadline rules because the privacy statute specifies July 1 is the effective date. Wiley’s Joan Stewart emailed us Friday that she doesn’t see how the AG can stay on schedule and expect “enforcement in a vacuum come July 1.” CCPA, which took effect Jan. 1, doesn’t require the AG to adopt rules before enforcement begins, said Media Alliance Executive Director Tracy Rosenberg. A delay’s practical effect is “to prevent AG enforcement of the specific areas of CCPA tied into their rule-making until they complete that rule-making,” she emailed. “While it is unlikely businesses would be reprimanded for highly technical CCPA violations until the rules are finalized, lack of a good faith effort to comply with the CCPA at all will probably be actionable as of July 1 regardless.” Becerra’s office didn’t comment.
The California justice department submitted final rules for implementing the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) by Monday night’s Office of Administrative Law deadline, Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) said Tuesday. The AG office just released the rules submitted for OAL review.
Louisiana electric cooperatives might seek veto of a state bill that sets rules for co-op broadband builds. The Senate voted 34-0 Thursday to concur with House changes to SB-406 Wednesday. Co-ops oppose language restricting them to unserved parts of their territories (see 2005270037). Association of Louisiana Electric Cooperatives CEO Jeff Arnold is polling members “to see if they support a veto request,” he emailed us Friday. The bill limits “cooperatives, affiliates and third parties from using cooperative easements and attachments to only serving the unserved,” he said. “I don’t know of any business model that works under this restriction.” The office of Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) didn’t comment Friday on whether he would sign the bill that's now before him.
Some local supporters don’t speak for most governments on the FCC’s latest infrastructure proposal, said their representatives in interviews last week. Many local officials have no time in a pandemic to consider a draft declaratory ruling on circulation clarifying industry can swap out antennas and other infrastructure on towers without delay under the 2012 Spectrum Act (see 2005190058), they said. Cheyenne Mayor Marian Orr supports the commission acting quickly because COVID-19 shows connectivity is critical, the Wyoming Republican said.
The California Public Utilities Commission suspended the state LifeLine renewal process for 90 days in a unanimous vote on the consent agenda at the agency’s livestreamed virtual meeting Thursday. The proposed decision authorized staff to extend renewals “for so long as the renewal processes of other state public assistance programs remain suspended due to the COVID-19 emergency,” temporarily suspend the non-usage rule as long as the FCC does the same for the federal program, and reimburse providers for federal subsidies they can’t collect if the state renewals suspension goes beyond federal suspension. During the pandemic, LifeLine “has been very important for people to be able to communicate,” said Commissioner Genevieve Shiroma. Also by unanimous consent, the CPUC adopted a resolution to streamline the eligible telecom carrier designation process for the FCC’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund recipients. It applies only to bidders with existing operating authority in California. The CPUC postponed until the June 11 meeting a vote on allowing staff to file comments due July 6 on an FCC NPRM about eliminating price regulation and tariffing of phone access charges (see 2005200006).
Legislatures took up broadband bills in California and other states this week. Bills address grants or change state policies including for electric cooperatives. “The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the acute need to expand broadband access across the country,” and “some states have recognized -- and are responding to -- that need in their legislative responses to the public health crisis,” said Anna Read, Pew Charitable Trusts broadband researcher.
Municipal broadband networks see a spike in subscribers and users upgrading speeds amid the coronavirus, said executives in recent interviews. The pandemic supports allowing muni broadband, they and other local advocates said. Skeptics countered that a short-term boom doesn’t set aside questionable economics. A North Carolina bill allowing public-private partnerships but keeping other limits has bipartisan support, but ISPs remain staunchly opposed, said state Rep. Josh Dobson (R).
California might enforce its privacy law three months before final regulations by Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D), said privacy attorney Christina Gagnier on a Carlton Fields webinar Thursday. The AG hasn't announced timing for California Consumer Privacy Act rules, but “it’s been communicated that the regulations might not be out until October,” even though Becerra hasn’t budged on starting enforcement July 1, she said. COVID-19 has moved many things back but it’s also brought “a heightened awareness of privacy,” Gagnier said. “The AG’s office is basically balancing those two things.” The final rules probably won't deviate much from proposed regulations as revised a few months ago (see 2004020043), unless the legislature this summer passes major changes like what’s proposed in AB-3119 by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D), the lawyer said. Wiley heard the same, attorney Joan Stewart emailed us. "While the AG hasn’t provided guidance yet on how enforcement would work in a world without implementing regulations -- we anticipate that initially enforcement could be focused on the requirements of the statute, rather than compliance specifics tied to the regulations." Expect the AG to "go after businesses that have made no effort to comply rather than businesses that have made a good faith effort but fell short." The International Association of Privacy Professionals blogged Monday about the possible delay to CCPA rules. "For regulations to become effective July 1, they must be filed with the Office of Administrative Law by May 31," but they haven't been submitted, IAPP said. If the AG doesn't meet that deadline, "their effective date will likely slip until Oct. 1." Becerra is "committed to enforcing the law starting July 1," a spokesperson emailed. "We encourage businesses to be particularly mindful of data security in this time of emergency."
NARUC will go virtual for its July 20-22 conference rather than meet in Boston, the state utility regulators’ association said Wednesday. NATOA said the same day that its board voted unanimously to virtualize its Aug. 31 to Sept. 3 conference rather than have it in Denver. See our news bulletin: 2005200060. NARUC decided based on surveys earlier this month of industry stakeholders and commission chairs (see 2005050052), said Michelle Malloy, senior director-meetings and member service, in an interview. Respondents raised concerns about safety, budget and travel bans at their organizations with no declared end dates, plus the planned location Boston hasn’t set an end date for its shutdown, she said. NARUC is reviewing bylaws to ensure committee business meetings and resolution votes may be conducted by video or audio and is working with the vendor of its existing meeting app to virtualize the conference, she said. The conference will go 12:30-5 p.m. EDT each day to accommodate West Coasters, she said. Expect a mix of live and prerecorded content, with sessions available for viewing afterward on demand, she said. Meeting virtually is an opportunity to bring in more commission staff, who may not have had budget to travel to physical meetings, she said. COVID-19 will be the big but not only topic, Malloy said. NARUC signed the contract for the Boston location in 2016, but “the venue was very accommodating” to cancellation, she said. “We have opened a dialog about a future meeting there.” The association hasn’t decided the fate of the Nov. 8-11 meeting in Seattle but may continue to incorporate some digital in future meetings, said Malloy. The regional Mid-Atlantic Conference of Regulatory Utilities Commissioners (MACRUC) conference also will be virtual June 22-24. NATOA decided not to meet in person after weighing "the costs to the organization, the well-being of our attendees, the economic hardship of our member communities and our responsibilities as individuals and as an organization to the public health and safety," President Brian Roberts and Executive Director Tonya Rideout emailed members Wednesday. The virtual event won't be "just fancy webinars," they said. "There will be keynotes, panel sessions, roundtables and networking in online lounges and virtual gathering spots."
The acquirer of Frontier Communications’ northwest network is weathering a global pandemic and the seller’s bankruptcy as it seeks to be “a different kind of company,” Ziply Fiber CEO Harold Zeitz said in an interview Monday. The rebranded Northwest Fiber is upgrading Frontier’s core network and plans to extend fiber further into rural areas where economical, he said. Whether Ziply finds success is “all about execution,” Moody’s analyst Neil Mack told us.