The Vermont Public Utilities Commission asked to dismiss several counts in Comcast’s complaint in the U.S. District Court in Rutland, Vermont. In an Aug. 28 complaint (in Pacer), Comcast said the PUC exceeded authority under state and federal law by requiring the company in a cable franchise agreement to construct 550 miles of new cable lines and to enhance support for public, educational and government channels. “Comcast’s state-law claims are clearly barred by the Eleventh Amendment, notwithstanding the supplemental jurisdiction statute, and this Court has no subject matter jurisdiction to consider them,” the agency said in Monday's motion (in Pacer). The commission disagreed the deployment requirement violated the First Amendment. “Comcast’s claim that the VPUC’s line extension condition impermissibly burdens its free speech rights by allegedly making cable services more expensive fails to state a claim for violation of the First Amendment and should be dismissed,” the commission said. Comcast is reviewing the Vermont motion, which "involves only a subset of issues in the appeal," a Comcast spokeswoman said: "The Vermont PUC is looking to mandate requirements that are contrary to federal law and, further, are not imposed on any other competitor in the state of Vermont. Such mandates would cost millions of dollars, place discriminatory burdens on Comcast and its customers, and arbitrarily increase their costs for cable service."

It’s too soon to draw conclusions about the impact of deregulating FairPoint in Maine, the state Office of the Public Advocate said. It commented on a Public Utilities Commission November report about relieving provider-of-last-resort (POLR) requirements for the former FairPoint Communications under a 2016 state law (see 1711170047). The PUC has been phasing out POLR requirements across municipalities since August 2016. “OPA urges the Legislature and the Commission to refrain from making any judgments or decisions concerning the effects of the removal of POLR service until the Commission submits its second report in January of 2020,” the consumer advocate said Monday in case 2017-00070.

Forty-eight states applied to renew their state telecom relay service program certifications for the five-year period starting July 26, said FCC public notices (here and here) Monday in docket 03-123. The PNs said comments will be due 30 days after Federal Register publication, replies 15 days after that.

One state AG who hasn't committed to suing the FCC may have “financial incentive to make deep pocketed [telecom industry] donors happy,” Tellus Venture Associates President Steve Blum blogged Monday. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra sued over several other Trump administration actions but didn't immediately join about a dozen other Democratic state AGs planning to sue the FCC over last week’s order to rescind Communications Act Title II net-neutrality protections, said Blum, a telecom consultant for local governments in California. Becerra last week said the FCC was wrong but he was still weighing legal options (see 1712140044). Becerra raised $10,500 so far for the 2018 election from AT&T, Charter Communications and Comcast, including Comcast itself and two of its officials, according to figures on FollowTheMoney.org. “That’s just the start, since he’s only raised about $2 million for his campaign, which is less than a tenth of what it can cost to win a statewide race in California,” Blum said. Becerra didn’t comment Monday. Meanwhile, Maine Attorney General Janet Mills (D), also running for governor, tweeted Friday she will join the state AG lawsuit. In Washington state, Gov. Jay Inslee (D) and AG Bob Ferguson (D) were to answer questions on reddit Monday after our deadline, the Washington AG office tweeted. Other net neutrality news Monday: Legislators are debating whether to roll back the deregulation 1712180047 and eBay is opposing the order 1712180025.

New Mexico lawmakers filed small-cells bills in the House and Senate, before the 2018 session starting Jan. 16. The bipartisan bills, HB-38 and SB-14, would pre-empt local jurisdiction over wireless infrastructure siting in the right of way, similar to legislation elsewhere. They would prohibit local governments charging more than $250 yearly per small-cell facility. Applications would be deemed granted if a locality doesn’t say it’s incomplete within 30 days or if the local government doesn’t approve or deny a complete application within 90 days. Reps. James Smith (R) and Debbie Rodella (D) sponsored HB-38, and Sens. Jacob Candelaria (D) and Candace Gould (R) sponsored SB-14. Wireless carriers supporting the bill consulted the New Mexico Municipal League; the current version is the fourth draft, said Executive Director William Fulginiti in an interview. The proposal was improved, but local governments still oppose legislation, he said. In negotiations, carriers agreed to lengthen shot clocks and increase the annual fee caps to $250 from $50, Fulginiti said. Carriers also responded to local government concerns about historic districts and concealment and agreed to a 180-day shot clock for applicants to deploy facilities, he said. Talks continue, with the league official planning to meet with carriers Tuesday, he said. A legislative hearing could take place as early as the week of Jan. 22, he said. Fifteen states passed small-cells bills already and local governments are bracing for more in 2018 (see 1712110044).

Illinois said yes to FirstNet, as Gov. Bruce Rauner (D) announced opt-in at a livestreamed event at Mutual Aid Box Alarm System in Wheeling (news release). Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) announced his state's decision to opt in Monday evening. That makes 40 states and territories to opt in. Illinois did a request for information about alternative plans, not a request for proposals, while Colorado did an RFP. Wisconsin and South Dakota said yes last week; 15 states and territories are undecided before the Dec. 28 deadline (see 1712150021). New Hampshire is the only state that said no. Oregon and Washington state postponed a Monday meeting on FirstNet until Tuesday due to the Amtrak derailment near Olympia, Washington, said a spokeswoman for Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D).

A proposed revamp to a contributions mechanism in Maine’s E-rate fund “could run afoul of federal law by potentially burdening the federal program,” CTIA commented, filed Friday in docket 2017-00283. The Public Utilities Commission is deciding how to implement this year's state law changing Maine Telecom Education Access Fund contributions to a voice connections-based mechanism from one based on intrastate revenue, and telecom officials raised no major objections at an agency hearing this month (see 1712050041). But CTIA said the proposed flat-rate assessment of 21 cents per connection may inadvertently apply to interstate revenue. The association sought changes to ensure the proposed rule follows the federal Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Act, which permits states only to charge mobile customers whose primary address is in the state. Comcast similarly commented that assignment of the state's 207 area code shouldn’t be a factor. The rule should treat VoIP and traditional phone service the same, the cable company said. The Telecommunications Association of Maine supported the proposed rule, urging the commission to set a July 1 effective date.

Windstream talks with New Mexico Public Regulation Commission staff yielded no resolution, staff and the company said in a Thursday status report about phone service quality lapses flagged by the commission (see 1710110034). They asked the hearing examiner to set case 17-00081-UT for prehearing conference.

Wisconsin and South Dakota opted in to FirstNet, joining 36 other states and territories in accepting AT&T plans, said AT&T news releases Friday (Wisconsin, South Dakota). Wisconsin had solicited alternatives in a request for proposal. Pacific territories have until March 12 to opt out of FirstNet, the FCC said in a Friday public notice in docket 16-269. The deadline applies to governors of Guam, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands. Others have until Dec. 28 to decide. New Hampshire opted out and 17 are undecided (see 1712120025).

The California Public Utilities Commission unanimously cleared multiple procedural orders partly implementing a 2017 law to revamp the California Advanced Services Fund. Commissioners voted 5-0 at their livestreamed Thursday meeting to approve changes to the “right of first refusal” process and reinstating a CASF surcharge of 0.56 percent on intrastate telecom revenue, effective March 1. “Frontier supports the CPUC moving swiftly to implement this important legislation to help close the Digital Divide,” a spokeswoman said. The law ensures “no overbuild of infrastructure deployment funded by private investment and the federal Connect America Fund,” she said. Tellus Venture Associates President Steve Blum said the “heavy lifting on implementing AB 1665 is still to come,” and probably will happen in January or February. CPUC still must redo grant procedures and screening methods and implement a new adoption program, said Blum, a local government consultant who opposed the legislation because he said it favored incumbents like Frontier.