An Arizona VoIP deregulation bill changed bill numbers as state lawmakers shuffled legislation. Lawmakers last week struck the text of the House-passed HB-2106 so they could use it as a vehicle for another bill. They moved the VoIP language into HB-2209, formerly a parking bill pending in the Senate. It means the House will have to vote again on the VoIP bill if it’s passed by the Senate, said its author, state Rep. Jeff Weninger (R), in a Friday interview. The bill would prohibit the Arizona Corporation Commission from regulating rates, terms or service quality standards of IP and VoIP services (see 1802210005). It notes changing technology and supports the federal government overseeing the internet, Weninger said. Arizona never intended for VoIP or other IP services to be regulated, and while the state commission hasn’t tried to regulate them, it’s important to “get it codified,” he said.
States with laws or executive orders on net neutrality to counter the FCC’s December recision order should expect lawsuits, law experts and others said in interviews. Suits seem more likely to come from industry than the FCC, but industry may wait for the right moment, they said. In two states that passed net neutrality bills, ILEC associations said they won’t sue.
A Tennessee House panel voted by voice to advance a small-cells bill (HB-2279) to the committee that schedules floor votes. Like bills in many other states, the bill aims to streamline 5G wireless infrastructure deployment by pre-empting local governments right-of-way authority. At the Tuesday hearing in the Finance, Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Craig Fitzhugh (D) said he was concerned the bill was an example of industry “cherry picking” higher-revenue urban areas. “I just want to make sure they're not leaving rural broadband behind.” The panel’s Senate equivalent postponed voting on its version of the bill (SB-2504) until March 27. The Maryland Senate canceled a hearing set for Tuesday on its small-cells bill (SB-1188), which is opposed by local governments. “After multiple conversations, I think it became clear that this bill had numerous problems that could not be easily fixed,” said Mitsuko Herrera, cable communications administrator for Montgomery County, Maryland. SB-1188 sponsor state Sen. Mac Middleton (D) didn’t comment. Due to inclement weather, Montgomery County postponed until April 3 at 7:30 p.m. its own meeting scheduled Tuesday on local rules for processing small-cell applications (see 1710240053). Meanwhile, CTIA applauded Utah this week becoming the 15th state to enact a small-cells law (see 1803200058). “This legislation will ensure residents of Utah receive the investment and benefits that 5G will bring to communities small and large,” said CTIA Senior Vice President-State Affairs Jamie Hastings. An Illinois bill (SB-1451) still awaits its governor's signature.
Connecticut commissioners chose not to decide Wednesday whether the municipal-gain space on poles can be used for municipal broadband. The Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority voted unanimously at a public meeting to remove the draft decision from the agenda. Later Wednesday, PURA made a motion to extend its action deadline by 45 days -- to May 11 -- with any objections due Friday. Supported by CenturyLink and Frontier Communications, the March 6 draft in docket 17-09-37 would have restricted municipalities from using the space for broadband. Without extension, PURA would have until March 27 to decide the matter or the status quo remains, said Connecticut Office of Consumer Counsel Elin Katz. Her office, municipalities and some state representatives opposed restrictions. “We, and some of the municipal representatives, had urged them at oral argument NOT to rule, given what we viewed as legal errors in the decision, and jurisdictional and due process issues being raised by the munis,” Katz emailed Wednesday. PURA last year appeared to let the clock run out on approving a similar proposed order (see 1708230049), but industry filed a follow-up petition seeking a decision. In the March 6 draft, PURA proposed restricting “the public or other third-parties to physically connect to a municipal broadband network erected in the municipal gain” and banning “a municipality to assign to a third party the right to locate facilities in the municipal gain.” Connecticut law “does not permit a municipality to use the gain to provide broadband services to its residents or businesses,” the draft said. Frontier supports the draft “as it ensures a level playing field in the delivery of telecom services in the state,” a spokeswoman said. A CTIA spokeswoman said the PURA draft "appropriately indicates that access to public rights of way should be provided on a nondiscriminatory basis, and we trust its final decision will reflect that.”
Commissioner Mike O'Rielly slammed a New Jersey bill on 911 fees set for hearing Thursday in the Assembly Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee that would require at least 10 percent of state 911 fee revenue to be used for public safety answering point (PSAP) technology upgrades and maintenance. But FCC commissioners and the state wireless association earlier admonished New Jersey for diverting 89 percent ($108.1 million) of its 911 fee revenue to unrelated purposes in 2016, as shown in an FCC report last month (see 1802230012). “I appreciate that the New Jersey state legislature is looking at the issue but my initial read of this particular legislation is that it is far from fixing the problem," O'Rielly emailed. "Instead, it appears to authorize the stealing of 90 percent of the funds that are supposed to go to the public safety 9-1-1 system. New Jersey residents and its public safety officials, who have answered the call so many times, deserve better." The New Jersey Wireless Association plans to say at Thursday’s hearing that the 10 percent proposed in AB-2371 won't solve fee diversion, NJWA President Rob Ivanoff said. The Assembly Committee also plans to hear AB-122, which would require all publicly and privately owned public safety dispatch points to meet the same operational, equipment and staffing standards as PSAPs. PSAPs and dispatch points would also be required to have “a master street address guide or computer aided dispatch system that allows each call center to share 9-1-1 address data electronically.” The bill would require dispatching within 90 seconds of a 911 call, even if the call was transferred between call centers. And it would require PSAPs and dispatch points to keep detailed records of every 911 call received. The committee also plans to hear two other bills that haven't been introduced. AB-3742 would fund and require next-generation 911, while making texting 911 without need a fourth-degree crime. AB-3743 would impose a 90 cents 911 fee at the point of sale when buying prepaid wireless telephone service. Momentum grew to end Rhode Island 911 fee diversion after a state legislative effort there gained national attention (see 1803200052).
Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) welcomed legislation to end state 911 fee diversion -- after condemnations of the practice by FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly as well as a state representative and a mayor challenging Raimondo in this November’s election. The Republicans spoke Monday against the practice at a 911 summit (video) hosted by state Rep. Robert Lancia (R) in Cranston. Raimondo staff met with O’Rielly during a visit to a Providence call center.
Charter Communications may have to forfeit $1 million to New York state and could lose its franchise agreement in New York City, the state’s telecom regulator said Monday. New York Public Service Commission Chairman John Rhodes said Charter overcounted new connections, which would mean the company missed a December broadband buildout target that was a condition of its 2016 buy of Time Warner Cable. The PSC said it may launch a probe into whether the New York City agreement should be terminated for alleged underpayments and failure to meet cable deployment obligations. A company spokesman denied the allegations, saying it's "in full compliance with our merger order and the New York City franchise, and we will fight these baseless and legally suspect actions vigorously.”
Rollout of the nationwide public safety network on Band 14 began last week, and the core network is expected to be ready by month’s end, FirstNet officials said at a Thursday board meeting livestreamed from Little Rock. About 350 agencies in 40 states have adopted FirstNet, comprising more than 30,000 connections, said Director-Consultation Dave Buchanan.
The Berkeley City Council voted unanimously to require police to give public notice and seek comment before using surveillance technologies in the California city. Before voting, city councilors made semantic tweaks that neither strengthened nor weakened the proposed ordinance, said Media Alliance Executive Director Tracy Rosenberg, who advocated for the measure. The bill needs a final “pro forma” vote, expected in two weeks, but Tuesday’s vote was more significant, Rosenberg said in an interview Wednesday. A similar proposal is expected to come up for vote March 20 in Davis, California, with Oakland to follow within a few months, she said. Rosenberg supports SB-1186 covering all of California by Sen. Jerry Hill (D). The new version of last year’s SB-21 is set for committee hearing April 3. “Doing it city by city -- although we are very persistent -- will take a while, so we’re excited about the possibility” of state action, she said.
State regulatory agencies should keep their focus on ethics, state commissioners said after the Arizona Corporation Commission -- an agency with a troubled history on ethics (see 1712010034) -- voted 5-0 Tuesday to adopt an ethics code. The ACC adopted several amendments, including a campaign contributions proposal that doesn't require recusals as competing proposals floated by other commissioners did (see 1803130048 and 1803080054). The contributions language was “a step in the right direction,” but requiring recusal would be better, said Craig Holman, Public Citizen government affairs lobbyist.