Passing 5G and other state telecom bills may be less likely as lawmakers respond to the COVID-19 outbreak, local and industry officials told us last week. One seeming casualty is an industry-backed section in the New York budget to streamline small-cells deployment by pre-empting local governments. Alabama’s small-cells bill is close to the finish line and may pass this spring, said Alabama League of Municipalities Deputy Director Greg Cochran.
Keeping 911 call takers safe is critical to maintaining emergency call systems during the U.S. COVID-19 outbreak, said stakeholders in interviews this week. APCO, the National Emergency Number Association and National Association of State 911 Administrators (NASNA) leaders are less worried about a potential surge in calls as there might be in a hurricane. Wider deployment of next-generation 911 would give call takers and responders more flexibility, they said.
Responding to the COVID-19 outbreak, Arizona telecom companies “are expanding broadband and increasing bandwidth and connectivity near schools and in libraries,” and making public Wi-Fi hot spots free, per the FCC’s Keep America Connected pledge, the Arizona Corporation Commission said Monday. The ACC held a special open meeting Monday on utilities’ continuity plans. Many utilities said they “implemented disconnect moratoriums and there will be no disconnection for electric, gas, telephone, wastewater and water due to unpaid bills during the COVID-19 epidemic,” the agency said. The Texas Public Utility Commission held an emergency meeting Monday to order staff teleworking and social distancing measures, including suspending agency rules requiring physical interactions and filing hard copies. "Diligent utilization of communications technology can keep us connected as we do what is best for Texans," said Chairman DeAnn Walker. The California Public Utilities Commission asked communications companies Tuesday to halt customer disconnections for nonpayment. The Wyoming Public Service Commission ordered no utility disconnections and adjusted several agency procedures, including allowing all filings to be submitted electronically and suspending some reporting requirements. The PSC won’t allow visitors and will postpone or teleconference meetings. The Nevada Public Utilities Commission closed Las Vegas and Carson City offices per an order by Gov. Steve Sisolak (D). The Michigan Public Service Commission canceled its Wednesday meeting. The Maryland PSC closed its Baltimore office, canceled meetings this and next Wednesday and waived paper filing requirements. Many state commissions are acting to stop disconnections while revising their own procedures (see 2003160035).
Advertisers raised the specter of litigation Tuesday as a Maryland digital tax bill neared final passage. Maryland state senators amended a smoking tax bill (HB-732) Monday to include the text of SB-2 that would impose taxes on annual gross revenue from digital ad services, ranging from 2.5% to 10%, for companies exceeding $100 million annual revenue. A New York state senator proposed a similar bill there on Friday.
T-Mobile/Sprint foes set meetings at the California Public Utilities Commission, after an administrative law judge last week proposed clearing the deal at commissioners' April 16 meeting (see 2003110043). But the transaction conversations are planned amid a growing public health crisis that’s stopping business as usual at the agency. The CPUC said Friday it's canceling public forums through April 22 in an electric rate-making case due to COVID-19. The agency is following guidance from Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) “to conduct essential proceedings using technology and other means to minimize gatherings of personnel,” an agency spokesperson emailed Monday. Newsom's executive order waived in-person participation requirements, allowing local and state agencies to hold meetings by teleconference. The Utility Reform Network, one of the groups planning CPUC ex parte meetings, has “already moved most of our meetings with Commissioner offices to phone calls and I imagine they’ll still happen unless the employees themselves are unavailable for personal reasons,” TURN Managing Director-San Diego Christine Mailloux emailed Monday. The CPUC Public Advocates Office (PAO) plans to meet Thursday with an aide to Commissioner Martha Guzman Aceves and March 24 with an aide to Commissioner Liane Randolph, said two filings distributed Friday to the docket A.18-07-011 service list. Representatives for TURN and the Communications Workers of America will join, PAO said. CWA said in a Monday filing it has Thursday meetings with aides to those commissioners and Commissioner Cliff Rechtschaffen, with TURN and PAO joining. PAO "will attend the scheduled meetings via conference call," emailed the office's program manager, Ana Maria Johnson, saying she didn't know if COVID-19 would affect the review or its schedule. CWA met in person Wednesday with Guzman Aceves’ chief of staff, Jonathan Koltz, said CWA in a Friday filing. “Despite the [Dish Network] divestiture and new commitments made by the applicants, CWA continues to be concerned about store closures, job loss and wage loss that would result from the merger,” the union said. CWA urged conditions to protect workers and “specific enforcement methods to ensure outcomes.”
More state commissions aim to reduce COVID-19 impact on services they regulate. Telecom and other utilities may not terminate service in Pennsylvania while Gov. Tom Wolf’s (D) disaster proclamation is in effect, said a Public Utility Commission emergency order signed Friday by Chairman Gladys Brown Dutrieuille. “It is beyond argument that the provision of public utility service is necessary for the safety of the public,” she said. The Oklahoma Corporation Commission’s Public Utility Division is coordinating a voluntary effort by utilities to help affected state customers who may face service disconnection, the agency said Monday. Moratoriums are under consideration “for those residential customers who are directly affected by the COVID-19 virus and for high-risk residential customers,” it said. Maine telephone providers of last resort should "not engage in any disconnection activity until further notice," the Maine Public Utilities Commission said Monday. The Regulatory Commission of Alaska canceled all meetings through May 1. The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission suspended meetings for two weeks. The public may view the New York Public Service Commission's Thursday meeting by webcast only, the agency said Friday. The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission is "still holding most open meetings and workshops, however many of them are moving to online-only participation," said a Monday update. Mississippi Public Service Commission Chairman Brandon Presley tweeted Monday that he will participate by telephone in the PSC's Tuesday meeting and urged the public to view the webcast. "While the Open Meetings Act allows for telephone participation, this is the first meeting I’ve not attended in-person in 12 years, but adherence with public health recommendations is paramount." Other state commission took similar actions last week (see 2003130065).
The Electronic Frontier Foundation condemned a net neutrality bill by New York Senate Energy and Telecom Committee Chairman Kevin Parker (D). It pales compared with language in the state budget, said EFF Senior Legislative Counsel Ernesto Falcon in a Friday interview. Parker introduced SB-8020 Tuesday (see 2003110017). Falcon blogged Thursday that the bill “ignores critical net neutrality issues such as zero rating” and “would legalize paid prioritization” by ISPs. Due to Parker’s rank, SB-8020 bill seems to be the leading alternative to passing net neutrality through the proposed budget by Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), Falcon told us. EFF is working with Cuomo to strengthen budget language that’s not yet as strong as California’s law but prefers it to Parker’s bill. “Industry wants to get this out of the budget process” because it wants to avoid a bipartisan vote; legislators must vote on the budget but nothing forces them to vote on a stand-alone bill, the EFF official said. One thing EFF is working on with Cuomo’s office is to make sure rules stop anti-competitive conduct against internet companies; currently, only end users would be protected, he said. NCTA and USTelecom declined comment. Parker didn’t comment.
The Washington legislature passed a facial recognition bill Thursday after failing to reach agreement on a comprehensive privacy bill (see 2003120035). The House-Senate conference committee’s second attempt at a compromise S-6280 covered only government and law enforcement usage, leaving rules on private usage for next session. “The agreement we reached is a sensible compromise,” said Rep. Debra Entenman (D), who earlier sought a moratorium on facial recognition technology. “This bill now provides adequate guardrails for this emerging technology. It will mandate community input in how facial recognition technology is used and ensure that any use by the government is thoroughly vetted.” The bill “isn’t perfect” but “creates accountability and guidelines for how this powerful technology is used,” said House Innovation, Technology and Economic Development Committee Chairman Zack Hudgins (D). Sponsor Sen. Joe Nguyen (D) tweeted, “Senate Bill 6280 is headed to” Gov. Jay Inslee (D) “for a signature!” The Electronic Frontier Foundation opposed the bill because it wants a moratorium on facial recognition technology, said EFF Legislative Activist Hayley Tsukayama. The proposed Washington Privacy Act (SB-6281) failed after lawmakers couldn’t agree on enforcement. The House wanted a private right of action; the Senate supported attorney general enforcement only. Hudgins was “disappointed that we were not able to find common ground on the issue of consumer-focused enforcement with the Senate after both sides moved on the underlying policy so much,” the House member said. “It is unfortunate that multiple reasonable alternatives that kept a consumer voice in the enforcement process were rejected.” The bill “would have provided consumers with the strong privacy rights they deserve while also putting obligations on companies to protect and safeguard their data,” said Microsoft Chief Privacy Officer Julie Brill. Her company, which supported the Senate’s view, hopes to “build upon our learnings here, to create comprehensive legislation that will provide needed protections for all of us.” EFF and American Civil Liberties Union officials opposed the privacy bill. “For privacy rights to be meaningful, they must not be undermined,” emailed ACLU-Washington Technology and Liberty Project Manager Jennifer Lee. EFF wanted a private right of action and “there were a lot of loopholes ... that we had serious concerns about,” said Tsukayama. She doesn’t expect the fight is over.
State regulators are acting to stop utility disconnections during the novel coronavirus outbreak. The Louisiana Public Service Commission issued an emergency action Friday ordering that regulated utilities “are prohibited from disconnecting customers for non-payment of utility bills statewide.” The Ohio Public Utilities Commission directed utilities to review reconnection policies Friday, after Thursday asking them to review disconnection and other policies (see 2003120066). In New Jersey, “phone and cable providers have agreed voluntarily to suspend shutoffs, pursuant to the FCC’s recommendations” (see 2003130066) and the Board of Public Utilities “received notifications from Verizon, CenturyLink, Altice, Comcast and Charter,” a board spokesperson emailed Friday. Georgia Public Service Commission employees are teleworking, said the agency: stakeholders should do the same. NARUC is arranging COVID-19 briefings with telecom and other utilities, President Brandon Presley tweeted. "Clear dissemination of info to our members is a top priority. State Commissioners have a unique role in communicating to their constituents and gov’t agencies about vital utility services."
Washington state lawmakers couldn’t agree on a privacy bill for the second straight year, appearing to run out of time on the session's last day, amid a growing public health crisis. A related facial recognition bill was still alive Thursday afternoon. Maryland legislators punted privacy and net neutrality proposals until next year, legislators told us Thursday. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) sought comments Wednesday on a second set of revisions to proposed regulations to implement the California Consumer Privacy Act.