The California Public Utilities Commission will audit carriers for compliance with the state’s April 2023 shift to connections-based contribution to universal service public purpose programs. In a Wednesday ruling, CPUC Administrative Law Judge Hazlyn Fortune directed the agency's utility audit branch to ensure carriers are reporting and remitting the surcharge in a reasonable manner and as directed in the CPUC's October 2022 decision (docket R.21-03-002). T-Mobile has resisted the contribution mechanism change in the courts (see 2310170042). In a separate ruling Wednesday, ALJ Robyn Purchia clarified that California LifeLine pilot programs using federal affordable connectivity program (ACP) funds will continue through at least May 31. "If the ACP receives additional federal funding, the pilot programs may continue up to June 8, 2025," said the ALJ: If the ACP doesn't receive more funding by April 30, providers must notify California LifeLine customers by May 1 "that their service may be discontinued or otherwise changed."

New York could soon become the sixth state to make prison calls free, advocate Worth Rises said in a news release Thursday. Advocates are pressing for a proposed policy and a $9.9 million appropriation to remain in the final budget that’s expected in days, Worth Rises said. “Making prison phone calls free is not only critical for true rehabilitation but strengthening the support systems that make successful reentry possible,” said Sen. Jamaal Bailey (D), who sponsored a bill (SB-1942) that would make calls free. Worth Rises Executive Director Bianca Tylek urged action. “For too long New York has been dragging its feet on this policy, driving some of the most impoverished women and families further into financial instability,” she said. “Five other states have bypassed New York at this point and already passed legislation to make prison communication free.” California, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Minnesota previously made prison calls free. Maryland was weighing the policy this year (see 2403070044), but the bill is now dead, said a Worth Rises spokesperson.

Consumers should have the right to repair electronics, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D) decided Wednesday. Kotek signed SB-1596, which passed the legislature earlier this month. The state joins California, New York and Minnesota in passing right-to-repair laws during the past two years, said Consumer Reports Director-Tech Policy Justin Brookman. Oregon’s law “raises the bar … by preventing software from becoming a tool to enforce manufacturers’ monopolies on the repair process,” Brookman said. The law is the first in the nation that prevents parts pairing, a manufacturer practice of using software to identify component parts through a unique identifier, CR said.

Maryland could lighten the load for 911 call centers by letting AI handle nonemergency 311 calls, state Sen. Cheryl Kagan (D) said at a House Health and Government Operations Committee hearing Wednesday. Kagan urged the committee to approve her SB-1068, which would direct the Department of Information Technology to evaluate the feasibility of an AI-based, statewide 311 system and possibly launch a pilot. She estimated that about 80% of the calls received by Baltimore’s call center are nonemergency. AI could help answer 311 callers’ questions while controlling costs, she said. Some committee members asked about adding more guardrails to the bill to avoid possible AI problems like implicit bias. Kagan said she is open to amendments, though she said the department would consider those issues, and she doesn’t want to be too prescriptive with the bill. Committee Chair Joseline Pena-Melnyk (D) said the bill will go to a subcommittee for further discussion. Also at the hearing, the committee considered SB-974, which would establish a 25 cent monthly 988 fee on landline and mobile services. There would also be a 25 cent fee on each retail transaction for prepaid wireless. The bill mirrors HB-933, which previously passed the committee. The House voted 121-17 to pass HB-933 March 18.

The Nebraska Public Service Commission will award $21 million for broadband from this year’s state universal service fund reverse auction, the PSC said in a Tuesday order. Great Plains Communications, the Hamilton Consortium, Midstates Communications and Pinpoint Communications won awards. The commission redistributed Nebraska USF support that was unused by or withheld from Frontier Communications and Windstream, using the cash to bring broadband-capable voice to rural areas where the two carriers had historically provided only traditional voice service. “This process is proving to be a valuable method in ensuring distributed NUSF funds are being used for broadband buildout to Nebraska’s unserved areas,” said PSC Chair Dan Watermeier (R).

The Missouri Senate Commerce Committee supported extending the sunset date for the state’s 2018 small-cells law to Dec. 31, 2029, from Jan. 1, 2025. The committee voted 9-0 for SB-1411 at a livestreamed hearing Tuesday. The 2018 law preempted local governments on right of way in an effort to streamline 5G infrastructure deployment. The House has a similar bill, HB-1995. The Senate panel also heard testimony on HB-2057, which would explicitly exempt streaming content providers from paying video franchise fees. The House passed the bill Feb. 29 (see 2402290065). The Senate committee last month OK’d the Senate version, SB-947. Dish Network, DirecTV and Netflix lobbyists supported HB-2057, while the Missouri Municipal League and others representing cities opposed the measure. No regular constituents have ever testified for the bill, said Korein Tillery attorney Steve Berezney, who said he represented cities involved in litigation to collect fees from streamers. "This is something that is being pushed by the industry." Also at the Commerce Committee meeting, AT&T, Missouri Cable Telecommunications Association and other ISPs supported SB-1018, which would require the state or municipalities to reimburse internet and video service providers whenever they require them to relocate their infrastructure. Sponsor Sen. Justin Brown (R) proposed an amendment to match the bill’s language with the House’s HB-2056. At a meeting Monday, the House Fiscal Review Committee voted 7-0 to clear HB-2142, which would provide a tax deduction for broadband grant funds for 2022 and later tax years.

Briefs in a Connecticut Frontier Communications probe will be due May 17, the state’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority said Tuesday. PURA granted an Office of Consumer Counsel (OCC) request to extend the deadline from April 4 in docket 24-01-15. The office sought more time “because full discovery has not yet been completed and essential members of OCC staff will be on medical leave until May,” the agency said. OCC asked PURA to investigate Frontier service quality in January (see 2401080041).

The Colorado House passed broadband and anti-junk fees bills Monday. The House, on a 45-18 vote, approved HB-1334, which would prohibit owners of multiunit buildings from denying broadband providers access to install high-speed internet. In addition, it voted 45-18 for HB-1151, which would ban advertising prices that don’t include all mandatory or nondiscretionary fees. Both bills will go to the Senate.

The Kentucky Public Service Commission should make emergency rules within 45 days that streamline pole attachments for broadband providers, state lawmakers said in a resolution passed last week. The House voted 94-0 on Friday, while the Senate supported the measure 33-0 on March 1. The PSC should remove “any utility pole attachment-related impediments to the deployment of broadband service” and set “parameters for expediting and processing pole attachment requests for unserved and underserved areas … in accordance with” NTIA’s broadband equity, access and deployment program, the resolution said. Also, the emergency rules should aim to reduce the backlog of attachment requests.

Vermont could be the first state to include a private right of action in a comprehensive privacy bill. The Vermont House voted 139-0 Friday to approve H-121, which would allow individuals to sue in privacy cases and give the state's attorney general an enforcement role. The bill will go next to the Senate. Initially, the House Commerce Committee decided not to advance H-121 in 2023 after members determined it needed work (see 2304060060). But on Thursday, lawmakers amended the bill, teeing up H-121 for a Friday vote. The Commerce Committee considered privacy testimony for four years to draft a “protective but largely technology-and industry-neutral proposal,” Rep. Monique Priestley (D) said. The amended bill would align with privacy laws in Connecticut and many other states, taking some features from each, Priestley added. Some would be “unique to Vermont,” including the private right of action and restrictions on “how businesses may use data to what is consistent with the reasonable expectations of consumers,” she said. For the Computer & Communications Industry Association, the “private right of action is our main point of concern with the bill's current language,” said CCIA State Policy Director Khara Boender: “The bill otherwise is largely harmonized with existing privacy frameworks” like Connecticut’s. Private rights of action in state laws such as the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act “have resulted in plaintiffs advancing frivolous claims with little evidence of actual injury,” Boender said. No other comprehensive privacy bill has a broad private right of action, though the California Consumer Privacy Act has a narrower one, said Husch Blackwell privacy attorney David Stauss. Whether it survives the Vermont Senate is an open question, he said. "I certainly expect that there will be significant pushback."