State legislators advanced bills challenging national policy reversals on ISP privacy and net neutrality. A Maine legislative panel Tuesday cleared LD-946 prohibiting state broadband providers from using, sharing or selling access to state customer data without expressed consent. Rhode Island senators that day passed SB-40 to limit state contracts to ISPs that follow net neutrality principles.
Georgia is the 24th state to enact a small-cells law. Gov. Brian Kemp (R) Friday signed SB-66, meant to streamline 5G wireless infrastructure deployment by pre-empting local governments in the right of way (see 1903260058). Kemp also signed two rural broadband bills: SB-2 would empower rural electric cooperatives to provide broadband (see 1904040046), while SB-17 would authorize nonprofit phone cooperatives. “These measures will strengthen connectivity across our state, especially in rural Georgia,” said Kemp at the livestreamed signing. “In some areas of our state, there is no reliable internet, which diminishes economic opportunity for countless Georgians,” and hurts students, small towns and small businesses. With SB-66 law, wireless carriers plan to spend “hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure here in Georgia at their expense and not at the taxpayers’ expense,” said Sen. Steve Gooch (R), author of all three bills. Fiber “will do more for our economy and the country than the interstate [highway] system,” said Gooch. The electric co-ops bill is a “simple bill,” but “it can be very complicated when you try to make changes in an industry where you’ve got people that may not like competition,” he said. The new small-cells law "will help consumers across Georgia access next-generation wireless broadband and ensure the economic benefits of 5G can be delivered to communities,” said CTIA Senior Vice President-State Legislative Affairs Jamie Hastings. Other states last week moved electric co-op broadband bills forward. The Wireless Infrastructure Association also applauded. Thursday, the Alabama House Urban and Rural Development Committee supported HB-400, and the North Carolina House Energy and Public Utilities Committee greenlit HB-387 to go to the Judiciary Committee. Also that day, the North Carolina House Commerce Committee that day cleared HB-724 to fight caller-ID spoofing.
An Indiana bill to combat robocalls cleared the legislature unanimously Wednesday. The House voted 97-0 and the Senate 49-0 after a conference committee worked out a final bill that gives exemptions to ISPs and financial institutions (see 1903210010). It goes next to the governor. Several other state legislative chambers passed broadband bills. The Washington state Senate passed SB-5511 to create a state broadband office and grant program, and to expand state USF’s purpose to include broadband. The Senate voted 48-0 Wednesday to concur with House amendments. In Iowa, state senators concurred with a House amendment and voted 50-0 Wednesday to pass broadband grants HF-772. Colorado senators voted 35-0 Wednesday for SB-107 aimed at making it easier for rural electric cooperatives to provide broadband, though co-ops have raised red flags about its restrictions (see 1904150043). SB-107 goes next to the House. The Texas House voted 123-12 the same day for HB-2423 to set up a Public Utility Commission broadband office and establish a grant program (see 1903250062). It goes to the Senate.
CTIA raised concerns about two California bills responding to controversial incidents involving wireless carriers: Verizon throttling traffic of Santa Clara County firefighters during the Mendocino Complex Fire last year (see 1808220059) and carriers selling customers’ real-time data location (see 1904180056). But at a Wednesday hearing, the Assembly Communications and Conveyance Committee widely supported both measures. The panel also supported a bill to require text-to-911 across the state.
Public advocates opposed T-Mobile’s agreement with the California Emerging Technology Fund to end CETF’s opposition to the carrier’s Sprint buy at the California Public Utilities Commission. The agreement, which included $35 million for CETF, failed to appease other opponents (see 1904170027). The CPUC Public Advocates Office said Tuesday that what CETF and T-Mobile did “is procedurally improper and seeks relief that is not allowed by law.” If it’s a settlement, they failed to follow CPUC rules requiring “notice of the agreement, public settlement conferences, reasonableness requirements,” and the commission’s public interest test, the office said in docket 18-07-011. The agency should hold more evidentiary hearings to “determine whether there is any basis for the facts and figures and dollar amounts listed in the Agreement,” or order parties to follow proper procedure, it said. While supporting efforts to close the digital divide, the office said parties didn’t “sufficiently describe what these programs do, the amount of money necessary to properly fund them, who operates them, or any other details about them.” The Greenlining Institute and The Utility Reform Network jointly raised similar concerns. The kerfuffle could mean further delay to the review, Tellus Venture Associates President Steve Blum, local government consultant, blogged Wednesday. “One possible outcome is that the administrative law judge managing the CPUC’s review could order new hearings to delve into the details of the agreement.” The agreement is a "very good deal" for the "digitally disadvantaged," CETF President Sunne McPeak said in an interview. CETF filed its agreement the same way it and others have done on past mergers, while providing more detail than others have, McPeak said. CETF contacted TURN, the Public Advocates Office and others before submitting the pact, she said, saying CETF was set up to be accountable to the legislature and CPUC. T-Mobile didn’t comment.
New Jersey’s failure to spend money tagged for 911 to upgrade an aging backbone network is delaying potentially life-saving next-generation features, local government officials said in interviews. Some counties years ago upgraded local systems and equipment to be NG-911 capable. They can’t use them to their full potential until the state modernizes its network integrating local public safety answering points (PSAPs). New Jersey probably would have enough money for upgrades if it stopped moving 911 fee revenue, they said.
New Jersey’s failure to spend money tagged for 911 to upgrade an aging backbone network is delaying potentially life-saving next-generation features, local government officials said in interviews. Some counties years ago upgraded local systems and equipment to be NG-911 capable. They can’t use them to their full potential until the state modernizes its network integrating local public safety answering points (PSAPs). New Jersey probably would have enough money for upgrades if it stopped moving 911 fee revenue, they said.
Maine lawmakers condemned Charter Communications’ corporate citizenship as a top panel Wednesday cleared a bill to require cable companies give nondiscriminatory treatment to public, educational and governmental channels. That bill seeks to empower communities. But another Maine committee later that morning weighed a small-cells measure to pre-empt local authority in the right of way (ROW) to streamline 5G deployment.
A California Assembly panel cleared several industry-backed bills amending the California Consumer Privacy Act, after not taking up a CCPA bill (AB-1760) backed by consumer privacy groups, comporting with expectations (see 1904230036). That bill’s sponsor, Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D), abstained from voting Tuesday as the 2018 law’s author and other members approved sending the other CCPA bills to the Appropriations Committee. In Maine, a legislative panel heard testimony Wednesday on an ISP privacy bill (see 1904240061).
A California Assembly panel punted a bill backed by consumer groups to tighten the California Consumer Privacy Act. Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D) withdrew AB-1760 before a Privacy Committee hearing Tuesday afternoon. Chairman Ed Chau (D) “rallied” committee members against the only CCPA-amendment bill at the hearing supported by consumer groups, so now AB-1760 won’t be considered this year, Electronic Frontier Foundation Legislative Counsel Ernesto Falcon told us. The panel still planned to have heard other bills backed by industries and opposed by consumer groups, he said. AB-1760’s demise leaves SB-561 proposed by Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) as the “last and only bill” to improve CCPA, Falcon said. That bill, which cleared a key committee earlier this month (see 1904100051), could fare better than AB-1760 because Becerra and Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Hannah-Beth Jackson (D) are driving it forward, Falcon said. Consumer Federation of America is disappointed the Assembly panel wouldn’t consider AB-1760, emailed Director-Consumer Protection and Privacy Susan Grant. “If more time is needed to build support for it, that’s understandable, but I worry that the forces against the bill will also have more time to try to build opposition.” CFA will focus on defeating other bills that would weaken CCPA, she said. California lawmakers introduced about 30 bills this year to amend the 2018 state privacy law. Chau and Wicks didn’t comment.