The California Senate voted 29-0 for a broadband bill (AB-955) Tuesday meant to streamline California Transportation Department review of encroachment permits for facilities. The bill was amended, so it must go back to the Assembly, where it earlier passed 79-0 (see 2106030037).

Three Louisiana public safety answering points are rerouting calls to other lines and another has been “partially rerouted,” said Thursday’s FCC disaster information reporting system post. That’s a slight improvement from Wednesday's one PSAP down and two rerouting calls. See our report here. No PSAPs are affected in Alabama and Mississippi. More than 25% of cellsites in affected portions of Louisiana are out of service, slightly over the 28.5% reported Wednesday. Alabama and Mississippi cellsites continue to hover at or below 2% out of service. Out-of-service cable and wireline subscribers decreased in Louisiana from 468,674 to 448,557; Alabama dipped from 1,125 to 1,119, and Mississippi declined from 10,909 to 7,127. Off-air TV stations went from four Wednesday to two Thursday and downed AMs from five to four, but off-air FM stations increased from nine to 11. The FCC has approved two grants of special temporary authority.

Alaska telecom associations submitted state USF update proposals with a connections-based contribution method to the Regulatory Commission of Alaska in docket R-21-001. The Matanuska Telecom Association submitted its proposal for a flat-rate surcharge Wednesday after previewing it at an RCA meeting last month (see 2108110059). The revenue-based fee went as high as 19% in 2018 before the RCA capped it at 10%, MTA said. The RCA would require the new method and let the Alaska USF administrator set the monthly per line fee, the group proposed: No distribution changes are necessary. The Alaska Remote Carrier Coalition filed a plan for a new “Remote Alaska Fund” with a connections-based method that at first would support voice and later broadband. The RCA should set the AUSF at $30 million yearly, split evenly between small and large carriers, it said. GCI neither supports nor opposes any reform plan, and “is ambivalent about a connections-based funding mechanism,” the carrier commented. “Such a charge is certainly not a magic bullet that will solve the funding issue; the source of funding would continue to remain with ratepayers.” It could mean $2 per line monthly for every Alaska phone customer, and the RCA should consider how that “charge itself harms the goal of universal service,” GCI said. Alaska Communications suggested splitting the proceeding into two phases, the first to decide whether to continue the fund and any contribution changes, the second to tackle distribution changes.

The Regulatory Commission of Alaska seeks comment by Sept. 30 on proposed rules to implement deregulation for telecom carriers other than inmate calling service providers, the RCA said Tuesday in docket R-19-002.

“Altice recognizes that it has faced performance challenges in West Virginia, particularly with respect to its delivery of field services and customer care,” the cable operator responded Tuesday to a Public Service Commission probe into subsidiary Suddenlink (see 2108240030). Altice “has taken tangible steps to improve its operating model, investing millions of dollars” in the state, it said. A 2018 change separating field service operations from the larger organization “introduced certain service gaps and frailties,” leading to higher call volumes in 2019, Altice said. Problems were exacerbated by a new billing and operational support system in September 2019 and severe weather and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, it said. “Altice took these issues seriously and substantially reorganized its field operations organization in November 2020.” Altice tried to improve technician timelines and increased “service time allowances so that technicians spend enough time in the customer’s home to ensure that services are installed and inquiries are resolved.”

Lawmakers redrafted broadband bills to update the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) ahead of floor votes expected next week. Items from the once similar SB-4 and AB-14 will be split between the bills by Sen. Lena Gonzalez (D) and Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D), with the complementary measures contingent on each other’s enactment, showed fact sheets. Legislators adjusted the bills to complement a $6 billion broadband budget bill (see 2107200056). AB-14 now includes proposals to extend the existing CASF surcharge by 10 years until Dec. 31, 2032, require ISPs to report affordable internet plans and to adjust VoIP contribution methodology. SB-4 now includes proposals to streamline permit reviews, raise the CASF surcharge cap to $150 million yearly from $66 million and make local governments eligible. The Senate bill would require CASF infrastructure grant applications to provide 100 Mbps downloads and 20 Mbps uploads and would identify households with less than 25/3 Mbps as unserved, while prioritizing households that have only 10/1 Mbps or that are in mostly low-income census tracts. SB-4 could get a vote by Tuesday or Wednesday next week, said a Gonzalez spokesperson. The redrafted bills, contingent on each other's enactment, should be in print by Friday, emailed Gonzalez aide George Soares. "We are very excited about this development and look forward to taking both bills up early next week."

A district court paused proceedings on Florida’s social media law until the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules on the state's appeal of a preliminary injunction. Plaintiffs NetChoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association sought the stay, but Florida disagreed (see 2108190021). The appeals court’s “decision on the pending appeal will almost surely provide substantial guidance for, if it does not dictate the outcome of, further litigation in this court,” wrote Judge Robert Hinkle in an Aug. 25 ruling in case 4:21-cv-00220-RH-MAF.

The Copyright Office can’t recommend legislation that would abrogate “state sovereign immunity when states infringe copyrights,” the CO reported Tuesday. However, the office said it "nevertheless continues to believe that infringement by state entities is an issue worthy of congressional action." It responded to a request from Senate Intellectual Property Subcommittee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and ranking member Thom Tillis, R-N.C. They asked in April 2020 to determine whether there’s “sufficient basis” for legislation, the CO said. The request followed the Supreme Court’s decision in Allen v. Cooper, in which the high court “held that Congress had exceeded its authority under section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment when it enacted legislation authorizing copyright infringement suits for damages against states,” the CO said. Given legal standard demands and “ambiguity” in application, the office can’t “conclude with certainty that the evidence would be found sufficient to meet the constitutional standard for abrogation,” the CO said, noting it supports exploring alternatives.

Let electric utilities focus on wildfire efforts, said some comments posted Tuesday. The California Public Utilities Commission is considering pilot projects by investor-owned utilities (IOUs) in unserved areas as part of its broadband rulemaking in docket R.20-09-001. Because it's critical IOUs "safeguard infrastructure from igniting catastrophic wildfires, the Commission should not overburden electrical utilities and slow that urgent work,” commented Rural County Representatives of California. The Utility Reform Network agreed: “The CPUC should not require the IOUs to undertake work to expand broadband infrastructure that would divert resources from utility wildfire risk mitigation or service restoration.” Charter Communications wants to ensure there isn’t any overbuilding. Southern California Edison’s proposal for Ventura County is in Charter territory, Charter said. Focus on supporting ISPs deploying broadband, suggested AT&T. Utilities appear reluctant about helping, so don't rely on their "substantial participation,” said Center for Accessible Technology.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission cleared Starlink and three other companies’ petitions to be eligible telecom carriers so they can access Rural Digital Opportunity Fund money, the PUC said Thursday. Commissioners voted 4-0 in favor of petitions by SpaceX’s Starlink, Blue Fiber and Starry, and 3-0 for Frontier Communications. Chairman Gladys Brown Dutrieuille recused herself from the last vote because her brother works for Frontier, a PUC spokesperson said.