The Ohio Public Utilities Commission sought comments on a review of local exchange carrier-to-carrier rules in case 22-48-TP-ORD. State law requires agencies to review rules every five years to decide if they should be continued, amended or cut, the PUC said Wednesday. Comments are due May 13, replies May 20, it said.

The Oregon Public Utility Commission will open a rulemaking to update state USF rules. Commissioners voted 3-0 Tuesday to adopt staff's recommendation in docket AR 649. Telecom industry groups gave mixed reviews last month to the PUC’s plan to adopt a CostQuest model to decide the size of the Oregon USF (OUSF) starting Jan. 1 (see 2203310040). Deciding to issue an NPRM is merely a “jumping-off point” for the rulemaking, reminded Chair Megan Decker at Tuesday’s virtual PUC meeting. The PUC signed a contract earlier in the week to use a CostQuest model, said PUC senior telecom analyst Nicola Peterson. But the proposed NPRM is a framework to move forward while allowing input, she said. "I don't think putting it off is going to help make it an easier process." The Oregon Telecommunications Association doesn’t want to open a rulemaking that says the PUC will use a model when it doesn’t yet understand the model’s potential results, said OTA attorney Rick Finnigan: The PUC should take more time. "This is important and we need to get it right," he said. The Oregon Cable Telecommunications Association supports moving forward because it thinks the proposed framework is “flexible enough” to let parties work with the model, said Davis Wright’s Mark Trinchero. Commissioner Mark Thompson supported moving forward, while sympathizing with OTA’s concerns. “It is resonating with me that it feels a little weird to ... adopt a rule that says we're going to use a cost model when there seems to be concerns that we really don't know what that cost model is going to produce.” Commissioner Letha Tawney said she sees “outs” for the commission if “this goes off the rails.” Concerned parties should proactively engage, she said.

Florida senators supported removing Disney’s exemption from its social media law. The Senate voted 24-15 Wednesday for SB-6 to remove the exemption for “a company that owns and operates a theme park or entertainment complex.” The Senate acted a day after Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) asked legislators to remove special districts and privileges for Disney in Florida in response to the company’s opposition to HB-1557, Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law (see 2204190063). SB-6 is moving a week before a scheduled April 28 oral argument on the state’s social media law at the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr is “pleased to see that Florida may remove the theme park exception to its Big Tech legislation,” the Republican tweeted Wednesday. “The district court cited that exception in support of its decision to stay the law. It’s important that common sense laws regulating these digital networks go into effect.” Tech industry challengers say the law is unconstitutional even without the theme park exemption.

Democratic and Republican Connecticut senators supported privacy legislation Wednesday. The Senate didn't vote by our deadline on the comprehensive SB-6, but it was widely supported during debate. Modeled after Colorado’s privacy law, the Connecticut bill would next need a House vote. "Technology advances faster than our ability to regulate it, and this will be a constant process to make sure that we're getting it right,” but it's important now to protect consumers, said SB-6 sponsor and General Law Committee Chairman James Maroney (D) at the livestreamed floor session. Committee ranking member Kevin Witkos (R) supported the amended bill, saying it’s “absolutely the case” that SB-6 is consumer-friendly. It’s like Colorado’s bipartisan-passed law but with stronger protection for children, he said. Witkos said he opposed an earlier version at committee stage because of “too many concerns” from industry, but Maroney addressed “99%” of those issues. Sen. Ryan Fazio (R) praised how Maroney balanced rights for consumers and small businesses. The amended SB-6 would be enforced by the state attorney general. If enacted, the proposed law would take effect July 1, 2023, and require a 60-day right to cure through Dec. 31, 2024, said Maroney: After that date, it would be up to the AG to decide whether to provide a cure period. After Jan. 1, 2025, companies would have to honor global opt-out signals from browsers, he said. The privacy bill cleared the Appropriations Committee earlier this week (see 2204190015).

Arizona could modify state USF into a rural-focused fund to expand broadband, said Smith Bagley in comments Monday at the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC). "A narrowly tailored state universal service fund may be uniquely qualified to understand and address specific local needs in a manner that large temporary federal grant programs cannot.” The ACC could, through a rulemaking, amend Arizona USF rules “to create a rural universal service fund similar to the fund created by the New Mexico Public Utilities Commission,” it said in docket T-00000A-20-0336. Smith Bagley provides wireless and wireline service to tribes in remote parts of Arizona, but some areas in that territory remain unserved, and the company's voice, 3G and 4G networks "cannot be upgraded to 5G without substantial additional investment in wireless equipment and middle-mile fiber connections to its towers,” it said. "In areas with poor demographics and sparse population density (often less than ten people per square mile) there is no business plan supporting these additional investments without assistance from either a universal service mechanism or a grant program specifically designed to encourage investment.” Smith Bagley disagreed with Frontier Communications that the fund should be limited to voice. Tuscon Electric Power and UNS Electric on Friday supported using AUSF for “broadband development in rural and tribal communities, especially those that may be impacted by coal plant closures.” ACC Chairwoman Lea Marquez Peterson sought comments from tribes and cooperatives after only telecom companies commented initially on a possible AUSF update (see 2203280052).

Vermont net neutrality litigation will be further stayed until the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals resolves a New York appeal of the state’s broadband affordability law, the U.S. District Court in Burlington ruled Tuesday. Judge Christina Reiss said the court’s Dec. 17 injunction on enforcing Vermont’s net neutrality law and executive order expired April 15. Defendant Vermont and plaintiffs ACA Connects, CTIA, USTelecom and the New England Cable and Telecommunications Association sought the order in a Friday stipulation. The district court in December paused the until April 15 or when the 9th Court resolved suits on California’s net neutrality law (see 2112170032). The 9th Circuit upheld California’s law, but industry in February filed a petition for rehearing en banc that's pending (see 2202100072). “The scope and conduct of this action could be significantly shaped by” 2nd Circuit resolution of the New York case, the Vermont parties said Friday.

Connecticut’s comprehensive privacy bill neared a Senate floor vote. The Appropriations Committee voted 48-0 Monday to clear SB-6. The Judiciary Committee supported it in a 25-14 vote on the previous Monday. The General Law Committee cleared it earlier (see 2204110039. A Maine biometric privacy bill (LD-1945) cleared the Senate in a 20-14 vote Monday. It returned to the House for a concurrence vote because it was amended. The Maine legislature is to adjourn Wednesday (see 2204180028).

Arkansas can bring broadband to 110,000 unserved homes that don’t currently receive Rural Digital Opportunity Fund support, said a state report released Monday by Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R). Arkansas has 210,000 unserved households, with 100,000 of them covered by an RDOF grant, the governor’s office said. “I look forward to expedited progress as we put into operation the recommendations,” Hutchinson said. Arkansas Commerce Secretary Mike Preston said “we now have a roadmap and a detailed plan to fill the remaining gaps of the underserved areas of our state.” Arkansas will continue partnerships with ISPs, electric cooperatives, the legislature and other stakeholders, “taking recommendations from this plan and updating the broadband rules,” he said. Also Monday, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) said the state will spend $189 million on 14 broadband infrastructure expansion projects in the third round of the state’s broadband grant program. It will cover about 52,900 homes and commercial locations in 80 counties, Holcomb’s office said. Adding to the state’s investment, 35 telecom providers and electric cooperatives committed about $239 million in matching funds, it said. Indiana grants included $13.6 million to Comcast, $6.1 million to AT&T, $2.9 million to Mediacom and $2.2 million to Frontier Communications.

The Maine House passed a biometric privacy bill (LD-1945) in an 89-38 vote Friday and sent it to the Senate to concur. The legislature is to adjourn Wednesday.

Objecting to a proposed ISP challenge process, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) vetoed a Republican state broadband bill that would narrow what areas may receive grants but not limit by speed what projects could get money (see 2202240041). The challenge process in SB-365 would let ISPs “block competition in rural and outlying areas of the state for up to two years by interfering with grants to other providers, potentially leaving residents with no service, inadequate service, or unaffordable service for a longer period,” Evers said in a Friday veto message: “Now is not the time to grant a competitive advantage to providers that have chosen not to deliver this service to these communities.” Evers also objected to codifying the speed definition of unserved areas, which the bill defines as places where no provider has service with 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload speeds. “Broadband technology is evolving at a rapid pace and defining the speed of broadband service that leaves an individual as ‘unserved’ in state statute could leave the Public Service Commission unable to make necessary updates” to the state’s grant program quickly, the governor said. SB-365 sponsor Sen. Howard Marklein (R), Senate President Chris Kapenga (R) and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R) didn’t comment Monday.