It could be three months before California votes on CenturyLink buying Level 3. A California Public Utilities Commission memo Tuesday in docket A1703016 said it will issue a proposed decision within 60 days, with commissioners to vote 30 days later. It noted the companies wanted approval on the Sept. 14 meeting agenda. No hearings are needed, the CPUC said. A CenturyLink spokeswoman said “the California procedural rules allow for a decision within the 60-day standard time frame, and we continue to work diligently toward our time frame.” CenturyLink and Level 3 also are waiting for OKs from New Jersey and the FCC (see 1708010074). The FCC 180-day shot clock was suspended on Day 170. It has been collecting more information from the companies (see 1707130013), with some released -- partly redacted -- Wednesday in docket 16-403.

Legislation in the Wisconsin Assembly containing provisions of a deal Foxconn CEO Terry Gou signed with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) to bring a $10 billion display plant to Kenosha (see 1708110033) cleared the Jobs and Economy Committee Monday 8-5 along party lines. That the site is a 20-minute drive north of Illinois is fueling Assembly fear the jobs could go to Illinois residents, so committee Republicans wrote a successful amendment to thwart that scenario. It directs Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. (WEDC) to try “to the extent possible” to negotiate “terms” into the Foxconn contract that “encourage” the company to hire Wisconsin residents. Republicans defeated an amendment by Rep. Tod Ohnstad (D) of Kenosha that would have forced Foxconn to refund up to $3 billion in cash “tax credits” if the company “fails to demonstrate to the satisfaction” of WEDC that Wisconsin-resident job applicants “are accorded preference over other applicants having substantially equal relevant qualifications and credentials.” Ohnstad was “disappointed,” he said. Courts have found laws requiring employers give hiring preferences to state residents are invalid forms of nonresident discrimination under the 14th Amendment's Privileges and Immunities Clause, said Barbara Gadbois of the law firm Gibbs Giden. “Nothing in the language” of Ohnstad’s amendment “would create a safe harbor” protection from a constitutional challenge, Gadbois said Tuesday. The contract bears watching to see if it stands on firm constitutional footing, said the specialist in construction and public contracts law.

The Utah Public Service Commission tweaked proposed rules but rejected delay for shifting state USF contributions to a connections-based mechanism. In a Monday notice in docket 17-R360-01, the agency accepted some language tweaks by industry suggested in recent comments (see 1708030033). But the PSC disagreed with CTIA and AT&T that the proposed connections-based mechanism may violate federal law mandating that the state mechanism not be inconsistent with, rely on or burden the federal mechanism, which is based on revenue. “The PSC has made every effort to include in the rule provisions that legally separate the UUSF surcharge from any and all interstate revenues,” it said. It said issues raised about how to assess USF fees to prepaid wireless would be addressed through a separate rulemaking or legislative action. “However, the PSC considers that implementing a per-access line surcharge cannot be delayed beyond January 1,” the agency said. “That date is mandated by statute, and is also necessary to allow the PSC to move forward on other rulemaking related to the 2017 legislation.” The amended rule may take effect Oct. 9 at the earliest, the commission said.

California public utilities commissioners plan to vote on the Securus sale to Platinum Equity at their Aug. 24 meeting, said an agenda released Monday. It’s one of two states that Securus told the FCC wasn't contractually necessary to closing the deal (see 1708140040). Commissioners will vote on a proposed decision approving the deal as part of the consent agenda, the CPUC said. On the regular agenda, commissioners plan to vote on CPUC staff comments to the FCC on the federal agency’s second Further NPRM on proposed changes to rural call completion of long-distance calls. Comments are due at the FCC by Aug. 28 (see 1707270053). Other telecom items on the consent agenda: (1) a draft resolution imposing $1,000 fines on some VoIP providers that failed to report and remit public purpose program surcharges and (2) a proposed resolution adopting modified rules for the California Advanced Services Fund pursuant to SB-745, enacted last year (see 1609010058). Also Monday, the CPUC issued a scoping memo setting October for a proposed decision on the control transfer of West Safety Communications (formerly Intrado Communications) and West Telecom Services (formerly HyperCube Telecom) to Olympus Holdings from West Corp. No party protested the application and no hearing is scheduled, the CPUC said.

Alabama commissioners may vote Sept. 12 on revised inmate calling service rules, said Public Service Commission Utility Services Division Director Darrell Baker Tuesday. “Comments were due [Monday] but none were filed.” The proposal includes revising price caps for single-call usage fees so users pay only for actual minutes used, rather than a $6 flat fee based on a 12-minute call duration. Single calls -- one-time collect calls from inmates billed to people who haven’t set up a prepaid account -- cost up to $14.99 elsewhere, Baker said. Alabama had charged a flat rate, based on what it determined to be the average duration for inmate calls, because at least one provider said it wasn’t technically feasible to record duration, Baker said. The provider recently advised it's possible to measure duration, he said. The PSC’s proposed change to usage-based charging means a single call will cost less if it’s shorter than 12 minutes, and more if longer, he emailed: “Our single call prices will very likely be lower than other states and lower than what is permitted under [interstate] pricing wherein the FCC allows providers to ‘flow through’ a payment fee from third-party vendors without specifying a cap.” Some states are weighing intrastate ICS rate caps after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit struck down FCC intrastate rate limits (see 1707250044).

Local governments have concerns about potential FCC wireless infrastructure actions encroaching on recent small-cells state laws, NATOA Executive Director Steve Traylor said in an Aug. 9 meeting with an aide to Chairman Ajit Pai. Other topics included the possible impact on FirstNet deployment, usefulness of pre-application meetings and need for more education about small cells and deployment practices, said a Friday ex-parte filing in docket 17-79.

The Regulatory Commission of Alaska is seeking information by Sept. 8 on current and planned broadband service, RCA said in a Monday news release. In the same order, the RCA asked about the accuracy of a draft map showing middle-mile facilities in the state. Last month, commissioners agreed to open a staff investigation to inform a report due Dec. 1 to the legislature about broadband coverage, planned expansions and gaps in broadband infrastructure and financing (see 1707260028).

The Wisconsin Assembly’s Democratic Caucus members pressed leaders of the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau on ramifications of $3 billion in cash incentives Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) agreed to grant Foxconn to build a $10 billion plant near Kenosha (see 1708040060). Terms of the memorandum of understanding Walker signed with Foxconn CEO Terry Gou are incorporated in a bill pending in a special session of the Assembly that Walker called to consider the legislation. Though Republicans hold majorities in both chambers, Democrats made clear in Thursday's webcast hearing that they won't acquiesce quietly. “Treat me like an idiot and just give me the numbers,” said the most outspoken of these, Rep. Jason Fields (D). “What are we giving and what are we getting” in return? Fields asked Fiscal Bureau Program Director Rob Reinhardt. What the state pays out in payroll incentives depends on how many Wisconsin employees Foxconn actually hires and how much it pays them, said Reinhardt. What if the deal “goes to hell?” Fields asked. “How are we protected? That’s really what everybody wants to know.” Were Foxconn to “tell us next month, 'Sorry, we’re going to Ohio,' then we’ve wasted a lot of time here, but we didn’t give them any money,” responded Reinhardt.

Colorado commissioners suspended the effective date of a next-generation 911 tariff​ proposed by CenturyLink to allow staff and 911 stakeholders to evaluate the company’s proposed rates, terms and conditions for an NG-911 emergency services IP network. In the order released Friday in docket 17AL-0487T, the Public Utilities Commission suspended the effective date to Dec. 12 from Aug. 14. The PUC referred the matter to Commissioner Wendy Moser to issue a recommended decision, saying a hearing date will be decided later.

California will delay implementing revised LifeLine eligibility criteria until Nov. 1 -- or longer, if the FCC grants the state a later implementation date, the California Public Utilities Commission decided Thursday. Commissioners voted unanimously for the order in docket 11-03-013 as part of the consent agenda at their meeting. It responds to concerns that 81,000 LifeLine subscribers may soon become ineligible (see 1707120014). The decision will “prevent these potential disruptive changes from going into effect right away,” Commissioner Cliff Rechtschaffen said at the livestreamed meeting.