The California Public Utilities Commission sought comment on interim rate relief for inmate calling services. “Intrastate per-minute-of-use rates and ancillary service rates being charged to inmates in California" are "unreasonable,” and the ICS market “demonstrates market power abuse,” said the staff proposal Friday in docket R.20-10-002. ICS provider data requested by CPUC staff showed intrastate per-minute rates up to $1.75 per minute and connection fees or first-minute rates up to $3.60. “A 15-minute intrastate phone call in California can cost the caller as much as $26.25 in per-minute charges only, excluding any other transaction fees,” it said. The CPUC could lower the price of a 15-minute call to between $2.15 and $3.75 by temporarily adopting the FCC’s 2013 ICS rate caps until the CPUC can adopt permanent rates, staff said. "Staff estimates that 186 facilities and over 46,000 inmates would see immediate rate reductions from the interim rates, as they have rates that exceed $0.21 per minute.” If the FCC lowers its rate caps, the CPUC should follow suit, staff said. FCC rates aren’t appropriate long term because most calls are intrastate and therefore should be lower than interstate rates, staff said. Comments are due April 30, replies May 5.

Washington state privacy and municipal broadband bills head to the House floor after getting fiscal OKs Thursday. The House Appropriations Committee voted 19-14 for the Senate’s privacy bill (SB-5062), including last week’s Judiciary Committee changes, opposed by industry (see 2104010049), to add a private right of action and sunsetting companies’ right to cure. The committee voted 21-12 for the municipal bill (SB-5383) after adopting an amendment by unanimous voice vote. Rep. Drew Hansen (D), sponsor of a House muni bill (HB-1336), said at the webcast meeting that SB-5383 sponsor Sen. Lisa Wellman (D) suggested the amendment to her bill. Rep. Matt Boehnke said he and other Republicans are mixed on the bill because it “reduces barriers to access” but may not sufficiently target unserved areas.

Consumer groups supported Sprint repaying $41.7 million to California LifeLine for erroneously received reimbursements, and urged the California Public Utilities Commission to keep open its investigation. The CPUC plans to vote April 15 on resolution UEB-008 to adopt a settlement with Sprint and acquirer T-Mobile. The CPUC Enforcement Division alleged Sprint failed to comply with federal non-usage rules from July 2017 to August 2019 by claiming reimbursement for LifeLine discounts provided to about 3 million participants who should have been de-enrolled. Under the settlement, Sprint agreed to pay it back with interest, and T-Mobile agreed to compliance measures over the next year. The CPUC learned of the issue after talking to the Oregon Public Utility Commission about its investigation finding the same Sprint problem in its state, which led to the FCC adopting a $200 million settlement with T-Mobile (see 2011040050). The CPUC should approve the resolution and keep the probe open, said The Utility Reform Network, Greenlining Institute and Center for Accessible Technology, in comments emailed Thursday to the service list in docket R.20-02-008. “If customers were denied services or were delayed in receiving services,” require the carrier “to present a plan to provide remedies and restitution directly to those consumers or ... to present a plan for an equitable remedy that could provide resources for outreach and education to benefit the program.”

The Florida Public Service Commission granted Lumen eligible telecom carrier status so it can use $5 million from the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund for unserved areas in the state, the PSC said Thursday. “COVID-19 has made the digital divide even more apparent,” said Chairman Gary Clark. “Teleworking and remote learning requirements are greatly affecting those without adequate access to high-speed broadband networks.”

A Texas bill to ban large social media sites from censoring people or content based on the poster’s viewpoint passed the state Senate Thursday. Senators voted 18-13 for SB-12, which would allow users to sue to get back online and make the site pay their legal fees. SB-12 also would let the state attorney general sue on behalf of a user or group of users. “Social media companies are the new town square, and a small group of people from San Francisco can’t dictate free speech for the rest of us,” said sponsor Sen. Bryan Hughes (R) in a tweeted video: SB-12 “is going to get Texans back online.” The House received the bill the same day.

A Mississippi bill allowing energy companies to lease dark fiber to ISPs cleared the legislature. The House and Senate adopted a conference report Tuesday to resolve the Senate’s disagreement with House changes to SB-2798 (see 2102040030). The legislature “made a strong statement ... to take an all hands on deck approach to expand broadband,” tweeted Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley (D).

The Iowa House unanimously passed a broadband bill Monday that would require state grant winners to provide at least 100 Mbps symmetrical in targeted service areas. The bill (HB-848) arrived in the Senate the same day. State grants would be awarded based on a three-tier system. It would require state grants to cover 75% of a provider’s costs in unserved areas where no provider has 25/3 Mbps downloads/uploads, 50% in served areas where no provider has downloads of 25-50 Mbps, and 35% in areas where no provider has downloads of 50-80 Mbps. At least 20% of grants would have to go to projects in difficult-to-serve unserved areas.

Colorado senators supported studying social media regulation. They voted 20-14 Monday for an amended bill (SB-132) to set up a committee to report by Jan. 1 on “whether and how the general assembly could address, through legislation, consumer protection concerns related to digital communications platforms,” including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Senate President Pro Tempore Kerry Donovan (D) agreed at an earlier meeting to study rather than to regulate immediately (see 2103230070). The bill goes next to the House.

Broadband providers’ challenge of Maine’s ISP privacy law would be ready for trial Oct. 5 under a revised schedule (in Pacer) entered Monday by U.S. District Court in Maine. Trial was previously scheduled for August. Last July, in case 1:20-cv-00055, the court denied industry plaintiffs' motion for judgment on the pleadings and ruled Maine’s law isn’t preempted by the FCC or Congress (see 2007070053). Under the updated schedule, a written notice of intent to file summary judgment motions is due Aug. 24, motions themselves Sept. 7.

The California DOJ is “working with the Department of Veterans Affairs on resolving the zero-rating issue” possibly presented by California’s net neutrality law to veterans’ mobile telehealth services, a state DOJ spokesperson emailed Friday. VA said Thursday it's reviewing the impact (see 2103250027).