A Washington state bill to establish a blockchain study group cleared the House Community and Economic Development committee at a livestreamed Tuesday meeting. The committee voted 11-2 for SB-5544 with an amendment changing aspects of the proposed work group, including membership and stated purposes. Authors of the House and Senate versions of the bill proposed the changes, said Chair Cindy Ryu (D). Voting no, Rep. Vicki Kraft (R) said she’s worried about the state getting too far ahead of the rest of the country, with the proposed work group possibly leading to state laws that will be federally preempted. Rep. Rob Chase (R), the other no vote, said, “I don’t like voting for something I don’t really understand.” SB-5544 earlier passed the Senate but will need to return due to the House changes. Also, the committee heard testimony on SB-5715 to update the state broadband definition to 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload, from 25/3 Mbps now. "Some of us would want it to be even faster than that," Ryu said: "Baby steps first." The committee is scheduled to vote Wednesday on SB-5715, which unanimously passed the Senate last week (see 2202160019).

Altice may have until March 11 to seek reconsideration of the West Virginia Public Service Commission’s Feb. 9 order fining the company, known there as Suddenlink, $2.2 million for service quality failures (see 2202090063), the PSC ordered Friday in case 21-05-15-CTV-SC-GI. The commission extended the deadline in response to an Altice motion last week.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) supported digital right-to-repair legislation Tuesday. The Minnesota House Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Committee heard testimony on HF-1156 at a livestreamed hearing. Manufacturers limiting how and by whom a consumer-owned product may be repaired “makes affording your life that much tougher,” said Ellison in prerecorded testimony: HF-1156 would make "repair markets competitive.” It wouldn’t harm manufacturers, protecting their ability to preserve trade secrets, the AG said. If after receiving a complaint, the AG office decided a company wasn’t complying with the law, it would give the company a chance to voluntarily resolve the issue before using litigation as a “last resort,” Ellison said. TechNet sees safety, security and privacy problems with the bill, said Executive Director-Midwest Tyler Diers: It could interfere with manufacturers’ existing contracts with authorized service providers. Multiple committee Republicans raised enforcement concerns in questions to sponsor Rep. Peter Fischer of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. Fischer said his bill would give consumers more choice, reduce e-waste and promote local tech repair shops.

LTD Broadband “will be seeking reconsideration” of the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission's denial of the company designation as an eligible telecom carrier, CEO Corey Hauer emailed us Tuesday. LTD suffered another blow to its Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) ambitions when South Dakota commissioners voted 2-1 Friday to deny the ETC status it needed to get about $46.6 million in 10-year RDOF support in the state. LTD didn’t meet its burden to show approval is in the public interest, said Commissioner Kristie Feigen (R) at the recorded hearing. States must protect scarce USF resources through ETC authority, said Chairman Chris Nelson (R): LTD lacks experience and doesn’t seem to understand true buildout costs. “There is a very low likelihood that the applicant has the ability to provide services throughout the designated area within a reasonable timeframe.” Supporting the company’s application, Commissioner Gary Hanson (R) said he worries commission denial would be “judicial activism” courts could rebuke. “I don’t believe the PUC has ever denied an ETC status.” The commission’s job is to assess if LTD should qualify as an ETC for federal USF support, not for RDOF, even though the decision will determine if the company gets RDOF support, he said. “This does not translate into giving us the privilege to use the RDOF regulations to determine qualification for ETC status.” Also, Hanson asked, “Who will step up to provide these services if LTD does not get a shot?” If the company fails, infrastructure it builds can be sold to others at a discounted price, he said. The California PUC denied an LTD application needed to get about $187.5 million in RDOF in support in December (see 2112160064). The company sought rehearing last month (see 2201200015). LTD sued the Iowa Utilities Board earlier that month for denying ETC status needed to get about $23.2 million (see 2112070065). The Iowa District Court for Polk County earlier this month scheduled April 15 oral argument. LTD’s brief is due Friday, said its attorney, Bret Dublinske of Fredrikson & Byron.

The Kentucky Public Service Commission won’t adjust the state USF surcharge or support levels due to uncertainty about the federal affordable connectivity program’s effect, the PSC said in a Monday order in case 2016-00059. Eligible telecom carriers participating in ACP should send a letter to the PSC by March 15 describing what plans they will offer Kentucky Lifeline customers, the total cost of their ACP offering, and how ACP and federal and state Lifeline support will be applied to eligible plans, it said. The PSC will open a review of Kentucky USF solvency by Feb. 1, 2023.

Seeking to spur broadband installation in unserved areas, a Florida panel cleared a proposed pole replacement fund at a livestreamed Tuesday hearing. The Senate Transportation, Tourism and Economic Development Appropriations Subcommittee voted 11-0 for related bills SB-1800 and SB-1802 with amendments to remove language specifying how they will be funded. As amended, the bill would structure but not pay for a program whereby the state could remove existing poles and replace them with new ones to support broadband in areas lacking service, said sponsor Sen. Jim Boyd (R). The state could use federal funding, including from the infrastructure law once it arrives, he said. The bill is one piece of a bigger puzzle to spread broadband, said Sen. Loranne Ausley (D), co-chair of progressive NewDEAL Forum’s Broadband Task Force. However, Ausley said she's concerned the state broadband office is already understaffed. Boyd said the office should be able to find contractors or add employees once federal funding becomes available.

A second Hawaii House panel supported creating and funding a state authority to oversee broadband infrastructure (see 2202030038). The Consumer Protection and Commerce Committee voted 10-0 Thursday for HB-2397 by Majority Leader Della Au Belatti (D). Friday, the panel recommended referring the bill to the Finance Committee.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) ordered a broadband plan to connect 99% of households in the state by 2027. The Colorado Broadband Office (CBO) will finish the plan later this year, the governor’s office said Thursday. The strategy will include how best to use federal funds, a process for soliciting stakeholder feedback, and a review of stage agencies’ broadband needs, said the executive order. CBO Executive Director Brandy Reitter said she wants to partner with local and regional leaders: “There’s no single answer for providing broadband access because every Colorado community has diverse needs and challenges.” The CBO scheduled a March 3 webinar at 11:30 a.m. MST to discuss the plan.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) issued subpoenas to USTelecom and ThinQ Technologies in an investigation into scammers using robocalls to pretend to sell AT&T DirecTV services, Nessel’s office said Thursday. Judge Joyce Draganchuk of Michigan’s Ingham County Circuit Court authorized the AG to issue subpoenas based on an ex parte petition describing about 500,000 spoofed calls coming into the state monthly. With the subpoenas, the AG seeks to learn the identity of the callers and VoIP or voice service providers involved in the scam, including contractual and financial arrangements and detailed call records, the petition said. The petition said there's probable cause to say ThinQ, of Raleigh, was one originating VoIP provider that brought the calls into the country. USTelecom and ThinQ didn’t comment.

The Illinois Commerce Commission voted 5-0 to clear Apollo to buy Lumen ILEC assets Thursday. The deal won’t adversely affect the ILEC’s ability to perform statutory duties or diminish its “ability to provide adequate, reliable, efficient, safe, and least-cost public utility service,” said the ICC order: The combination isn’t likely to hurt competition.