Wheeler Hopes States Act Fast on Net Neutrality, but 2 Laws in Courts
Ex-FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler hopes California and other states “rush through” the door opened by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruling the FCC can’t pre-empt state net neutrality policies with its 2018 order, he emailed Wednesday.…
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Vacating the pre-emption declaration “in and of itself doesn’t mean California and Vermont can ignore parallel judicial process,” countered Wilkinson Barker's Raymond Gifford. California and Vermont AGs agreed not to enforce their net neutrality laws while the D.C. Circuit decision was pending, in exchange for challengers of the state laws pausing lawsuits against the states. “It is clear, based on judges’ language in the California and Vermont cases, that neither state can enforce their legislation (or, in Vermont’s case, its parallel Executive Order) yet -- regardless of any potential desire,” emailed Gifford, a former Colorado Public Utilities Commission chairman. The judge in the Vermont case stopped the state from enforcing or directing enforcement of the law and EO “in any respect until 30 days after the expiration of the stay,” and Gifford said the “stay doesn’t lift until either the period for seeking further review from the D.C. Circuit and U.S. Supreme Court expires, or the D.C. Circuit or Supreme Court issue a final decision.” In California, the judge’s “stay is predicated on the state of California, in a stipulation, agreeing to ‘not take any action to enforce, or direct the enforcement of, Senate Bill 822 in any respect, including through participation in private action seeking to enforce Senate Bill 822,’” he said. California and Vermont AG offices confirmed Wednesday they must wait (see 1910020028).