Business and tech industry groups sought to stop Maryland’s digital ad tax in federal court Thursday. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Internet Association, NetChoice and Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) sued in U.S. District Court for Northern Maryland after the Assembly voted last week to override Gov. Larry Hogan’s (R) veto of the bill (see 2102120050). The Internet Tax Freedom Act preempts the Maryland law, which also violates constitutional due process and commerce clauses “by burdening and penalizing purely out-of-state conduct and interfering with foreign affairs,” industry plaintiffs said. “The Act is a punitive assault on digital, but not print, advertising. It is illegal in myriad ways and should be declared unlawful and enjoined.” Though “styled as a tax, several features confirm its punitive character, including its severity (up to 10% of gross revenues), its focus on extraterritorial conduct, the segregation of its proceeds from the State’s general fund, and the legislative history leading to its enactment,” they said. A Hogan spokesperson emailed that the suit "highlights how not only are there real policy problems with the digital ad tax, but also serious legal questions surrounding it as well." The Maryland attorney general's office didn't comment.

T-Mobile, working with the Curiosity Lab at Peachtree Corners and the Georgia Institute of Technology, announced Wednesday the creation of the 5G Connected Future incubator program in suburban Atlanta's Gwinnett County. T-Mobile deployed both of its 5G offerings across Peachtree Corners, it said: “Here developers will build and test new 5G use cases.”

State lawmakers from both parties are proposing increased broadband cash due to COVID-19, CCG Consulting President Doug Dawson blogged Tuesday, listing plans in nearly half the states that would total more than $2 billion. “Few of these proposals are a done deal,” but “this is a far greater amount of state broadband funding than anything we’ve seen in the past and reflects the serious nature of the rural broadband divide,” Dawson wrote.

The Washington state Senate's privacy bill cleared the Ways and Means Committee 22-1 Monday, sending SB-5062 to the Rules Committee. The House has a rival bill (see 2101290053). In Virginia, the House Communications Committee voted 18-3 Monday for a similar comprehensive privacy bill (SB-1392). The panel adopted changes to the Senate-passed bill, including to add a work group to review the law and implementation issues and report back to the legislature by Nov. 1, before the law takes effect Jan. 1, 2023. The Senate bill is next expected to get a floor vote. The Senate General Laws and Technology Committee voted 13-0 Tuesday for the House-passed version (HB-2307) with the same amendment. The Senate panel sent it to the Finance and Appropriations Committee.

Dismissing DOJ’s lawsuit against California’s net neutrality law (SB-822) doesn’t require postponing a Feb. 23 hearing on a pending preliminary injunction motion by ISP associations, said industry plaintiffs and California in a Tuesday joint status report (in Pacer). The court asked last week how DOJ's withdrawal affected the case (see 2102090053). California’s position is DOJ’s exit “underscores Defendant’s arguments that SB 822 is not preempted” because “there is no currently operative statement” suggesting that from the FCC or U.S., said the report in case 2:18-cv-02684 at U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of California. But plaintiffs say it has “no bearing on Plaintiffs’ claims that SB 822 violates the Supremacy Clause,” it said.

The Washington state House's Finance Committee cleared a bill 10-7 Tuesday to implement national 988. HB-1477 would apply a 30 cent fee to wireless and VoIP lines starting Oct. 1, with increases to 50 cents in 2023 and to 75 cents on July 1, 2024. The national suicide prevention line is even more important during the pandemic, said sponsor Rep. Tina Orwall (D) at the virtual hearing. Some committee Republicans raised funding issues. Rep. Brandon Vick (R) said it’s good policy but he's voting no now because he hopes the bill can be improved before final passage. The panel decided not to vote Tuesday on HB-1460 to set up state Lifeline, digital equity and other new USF programs and add a 25 cent telephone and VoIP tax on switched access lines and a 25 cent internet access tax on all internet services.

Arizona House members supported requiring telehealth insurance coverage. The House voted 37-22 Thursday to send HB-2454 to the Senate.

The Maryland General Assembly enacted a digital sales tax opposed by advertisers. The Senate voted 29-17 Friday to override a veto by Gov. Larry Hogan (R) on HB-732. The House overrode the veto Thursday (see 2102110052). At the livestreamed floor vote, Sen. Stephen Hershey (R) said the first-in-the-country state digital tax will hurt small businesses in the midst of a pandemic. Google and Facebook aren’t suffering during COVID-19, countered Sen. Jim Rosapepe (D). “That’s who this bill addresses.” Lawmakers worried about tech companies passing costs to small businesses should support bills (HB-1200/SB-787) up for hearing later this month to prevent that and to exempt news media, he said. Tech companies are too smart to absorb the tax’s costs and will figure a way around the proposed fixes, disagreed Senate Minority Leader Bryan Simonaire (R). The Maryland law "needs to be overturned in the courts," said Dan Jaffe, Association of National Advertisers group executive vice president-government relations. “ANA believes this law will be found to be unconstitutional and violates the Internet Tax Fairness Act that bans discriminatory taxes on Internet digital communications."

Alabama passed a bill meant to streamline 5G small-cells deployment by preempting local government in the right of way. The House voted 101-0 Thursday to pass SB-76 after the Senate voted 27-3 Feb. 4. Wireless Infrastructure Association CEO Jonathan Adelstein urged Gov. Kay Ivey (R) to sign it. Alabama would be the 31st state to pass such a bill. Ivey's office didn’t comment.

NARUC’s board unanimously agreed the FCC should closely review Rural Digital Opportunity Fund long-form applications to ensure RDOF providers have what's needed to deliver on promises. The Thursday vote at NARUC’s virtual meeting came a day after the Telecom Committee cleared the resolution (see 2102100053). The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association praised NARUC “for prioritizing the needs of rural customers.”