Bills to clarify that streaming video doesn’t pay franchise fees advanced in Arkansas and Missouri Wednesday. The Arkansas House Commerce Committee cleared HB-1388, which also exempts satellite TV from paying fees. The Missouri Commerce Committee advanced HB-479, HB-647 and HB-651, which all modify the state’s definition of video service to exclude streaming content. A similar Senate bill moved forward last month (see 2302150049).

The New Jersey Senate received a bill from the Assembly Tuesday that would make rules for abandoned telephone lines. The House voted 63-13 to pass A-1100 the previous day. It would require removing telecom and cable lines that don’t terminate at both ends to equipment or a customer premise, aren't in a safe condition or haven’t been operated for at least 24 consecutive months. Similar Senate bill (S-995) hasn’t budged since it was introduced Jan. 31.

The Hawaii House Ways and Means Committee approved a comprehensive privacy bill (SB-974) by unanimous voice vote at a webcast hearing Wednesday. The bill received Commerce Committee approval earlier this month and can now move to the floor.

Hawaii House and Senate committees advanced bills Tuesday to repeal some reporting requirements for broadband service providers. The House Consumer Protection Committee voted 9-0 for HB-371. At a joint meeting in the Senate, the Commerce Committee voted 4-1 and the Judiciary Committee each voted 4-1 for the similar SB-478. The bills would repeal Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 440J, which required wireline and cable companies to file broadband availability data at the census-block level and prices. The House Education Committee, which earlier cleared the bill, wrote in its report that Chapter 440J data collection “has effectively been replaced by the more comprehensive and granular data collection provided by the FCC.” Each bill may now go to its chamber’s floor.

Don’t preempt California’s privacy law, warned Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) and the California Privacy Protection Agency in a letter to Congress Tuesday. They opposed preemption language in the American Data Privacy and Protection Act (HR-8152) ahead of a Capitol Hill hearing Wednesday. Congress should set a floor, not the ceiling, for privacy protections, they said in a letter. In a separate statement, Newsom said any national privacy law “should strengthen, not weaken our existing laws here in California.” Bonta added, “There is no doubt that stronger federal action is needed to protect the privacy of Americans, but these actions must not preempt existing protections in place.” If HR-8152 is adopted as is, “not only could existing privacy protections be weakened, but it could prevent California legislators, and Californians through the ballot initiative, from passing new protections to address changes in technology,” said the privacy agency’s Executive Director Ashkan Soltani.

The Washington state House voted 96-0 Monday to pass a robocalls bill to expand state protections. Lawmakers supported HB-1051, which would ban automatically dialed calls to any telephone number on the federal do not call list that has a Washington area code or is registered to a state resident. Also, the bill would create a private right of action and would “extend liability to those persons who provide substantial assistance or support in the origination and transmission of robocalls.” The bill goes to the Senate.

The West Virginia Public Service Commission set an April 19 hearing in a proceeding on duplicative pole attachment processes. Frontier Communications and Monongahela Power and Potomac Edison filed an amended agreement in December in response to PSC scrutiny. But Citynet, another telecom company, said the pact failed to resolve the issues (see 2302010011). The 9:30 a.m. hearing is to “address Commission questions about the pole attachment process,” said Monday’s PSC order (docket 22-0885-T-E-SC).

A New York state Senate panel supported a wireless tower bill that would require cellphone companies and third-party infrastructure companies to submit plans to power all their towers with 100% renewable energy by 2031. Two Republicans voted no at the Energy and Telecommunications Committee’s livestreamed hearing Tuesday. Under S-4305, which goes next to a third-reading floor vote, companies would have to file plans with the New York Public Service Commission by Dec. 31, 2025. "New Yorkers deserve better than mandates,” protested ranking member Mario Mattera. “Why can't we transition to things when we're ready?” The technology already exists and moving to clean energy is important, responded bill sponsor and committee Chair Kevin Parker (D). Companies have several years before they have to get to 100% renewable, he added. Sen. Mark Walczyk (R) said local emergency medical services coordinators raised concerns about what it means for generators that provide backup power in many locations and sometimes primary power in rural areas. EMS should raise such concerns with Parker directly, the chair said: “This does not reduce or interfere with any redundancies.”

A Utah House bill to regulate social media cleared the chamber’s Public Utilities, Energy and Technology Committee by a 7-2 vote Monday. HB-524 would include requiring platforms to disclose content moderation practices and banning them from censoring users or banning or suspending accounts based on the user’s viewpoint. Platforms could still censor expression that they're “specifically authorized to censor under state or federal law” and certain kinds of unsavory content. Also on Monday, the Utah House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee voted 8-0 to advance a public safety bill (SB-212) including a provision allowing agencies to create a public safety answering point to provide 911 service to noncontiguous areas (see 2302160026).

Comprehensive state privacy bills advanced in multiple states last week. The Montana Senate Business, Labor and Economic Affairs Committee voted 10-0 Friday for SB-384 after hearing support from Microsoft and other industry groups for the bill that’s modeled on Connecticut’s law (see 2302240031). The Senate must vote by this Friday to meet a legislative deadline to transmit bills to the opposite chamber. On Thursday, a Kentucky bill (SB-15) with a limited private right of action cleared the Senate Economic Development Committee, which heard testimony on the bill earlier this month (see 2202150068). It went to the Rules Committee Friday. Oklahoma’s HB-1030 cleared the House Government Modernization and Technology Committee in a 10-0 Tuesday vote. The House has until March 23 to send it to the Senate. In West Virginia Feb. 20, the House Technology and Infrastructure Committee advanced HB-3498 to the Finance Committee. Also last week, a Texas privacy bill that was HB-1844 was renumbered HB-4 because it’s now a priority bill. In New Mexico, the Senate Tax, Business and Transportation Committee on Friday cleared a children’s privacy bill similar to a California law (SB-319).