The Missouri House Utilities Committee weighed a broadband bill (HB-2052) that would set up a 12-year task force to evaluate the status of access, affordability and speed, monitor deployment and make recommendations. The bill recognizes broadband is a problem in rural, urban and suburban areas, said sponsor Rep. Louis Riggs (R) at a livestreamed hearing Wednesday. The proposed group would have at least 24 members, said Riggs, who chaired a special broadband committee over the summer. Utilities Chair Bill Kidd (R) said his concern about task forces are that they spend a lot of time and effort, “and in the end, nothing happens.” Riggs assured the chair that the task force will be accountable. Missouri Broadband Development Director BJ Tanksley, named to that position last week, said he sees the task force as a tool to get all the “voices into the room,” though it wouldn’t have decision-making power. If the group is formed, Tanksley would try to ensure it works toward concrete goals, he said. Supporting the bill, Missouri Municipal League Executive Director Richard Sheets said the group won’t “kick the can,” but instead will enhance coordination, which the broadband committee heard was a problem. AT&T supports the bill but is concerned the company won’t be adequately represented by a committee makeup allowing the only wireline member to be from a defunct Missouri telecom association, said Regional Vice President-External Affairs Madeline Romious. She suggested adding three broadband industry representatives. The bill also got support at the hearing from municipal utilities, electric cooperatives, small ISPs and farmers.
Adam Bender
Adam Bender, Senior Editor, is the state and local telecommunications reporter for Communications Daily, where he also has covered Congress and the Federal Communications Commission. He has won awards for his Warren Communications News reporting from the Society of Professional Journalists, Specialized Information Publishers Association and the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. Bender studied print journalism at American University and is the author of dystopian science-fiction novels. You can follow Bender at WatchAdam.blog and @WatchAdam on Twitter.
A West Virginia pole access bill meant to speed broadband deployment cleared the Senate Economic Development Committee at a livestreamed hearing Wednesday. In unanimous voice votes, the panel adopted SB-231 and an amendment by Sen. Eric Tarr (R). Tarr’s amendment put the West Virginia Department of Economic Development instead of the Public Service Commission in charge of carrying out the proposed law. As amended, pole owners would inform the department within 30 days of making a pole ready for telecom facilities. The department would notify other broadband providers within 15 days, then providers would have 30 days to notify the owner they too would make use of the available pole space. Tarr sought to replace the PSC with the Economic Development Department because the commission doesn’t regulate broadband and so it has no ISP list. The department includes a broadband council that would have a list, he said. PSC Chairman Charlotte Lane testified it would be best to remove the PSC from the bill.
A proposed Washington state data privacy commission got some support at a House Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday. The panel heard testimony on a comprehensive privacy bill before a possible vote at a Friday meeting. The question of enforcement continued to divide witnesses Tuesday. In Delaware, a House panel unanimously cleared a data broker bill based on Vermont’s law.
A Florida Senate panel unanimously cleared two bills to set up a $500 million program to reimburse broadband ISPs for pole removal and replacement costs in unserved areas. The Florida Senate Commerce Committee supported two linked bills (SB-1800, SB-1802) backed by Charter Communications, at a livestreamed hearing Monday. The legislation would direct the state broadband office to administer the program, which would be funded with $100 million from the U.S. Treasury’s Capital Projects Fund and $400 million in state appropriations for FY 2022-2023. Some Democratic committee members said they want Florida to do more to address broadband adoption gaps. Earlier at the hearing, the committee voted 10-0 for SB-1564 to tweak a 2021 state robocall law. The panel amended the bill to mostly align it with HB-1095 in the House, which cleared a subcommittee last week (see 2201200041).
A California legislator urged a state broadband group to accelerate middle-mile work under the governor’s $6 billion broadband law. The California Middle Mile Advisory Committee revealed 18 pilot projects in November (see 2111170072). Remaining projects will be announced this spring, said Mark Monroe, deputy director, California Technology Department Broadband Middle-Mile Initiative, at a virtual committee meeting Friday. Assemblymember Jim Wood (D) sought a more specific time frame. If projects aren’t announced until June, it will be nearly a year since funding was announced, said Wood, saying he wouldn’t want to see uncommitted funding returned: "I don't want to see this golden opportunity turned to bronze.” Expect a more concrete plan by April, said Monroe.
The Veterans Affairs Department is “encouraged” that California legislators are “considering the needs of Veterans and explicitly exempting VA telehealth applications from its zero rating restrictions,” a spokesperson emailed us Thursday. State Assembly Republicans proposed a bill last week to carve out veterans’ telehealth apps from the state’s net neutrality law (see 2201200057). After the open-internet law took effect last year, the VA talked with California officials and ISPs, the spokesperson said. A California DOJ spokesperson emailed, “We had conversations with the Department of Veterans Affairs when this issue arose.”
State small-cells bill action is slowing in 2022, said wireless industry and local officials. With laws in 32 states and Puerto Rico to streamline 5G deployment by preempting local authority in the right of way (ROW), eyes have turned to New Jersey, which is trying again to pass a bill that missed the finish line last year amid local opposition. Idaho legislators could soon consider small-cell rules for state highways recommended by the state Transportation Department.
A new-look Washington state Senate privacy bill took fire from all sides at its first hearing Thursday. Business groups at a Senate Technology Committee virtual hearing said they prefer the 2021 Washington Privacy Act (SB-5062) by Chairman Reuven Carlyle (D) to his pared-down SB-5813 this year. The American Civil Liberties Union, a SB-5062 opponent, said SB-5813 is better but still wouldn’t meaningfully protect privacy. Two state government offices also raised concerns.
A Washington state panel Thursday cleared two bills to tighten phone solicitation rules. The House Consumer Protection Committee at a virtual meeting voted 5-2 for HB-1497 to restrict phone solicitation hours to 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and require solicitors to identify themselves and provide a chance to opt out in the first 30 seconds, and end the call within 10 seconds of being asked. It would expand the definition of phone solicitation to include calls to nonresidential customers. The committee unanimously adopted an amendment to require only solicitors seeking donations to ask called parties if they want to continue or end the call or be removed from the solicitor's phone list. Members voted 4-3 for HB-1650 to increase civil remedies available for state law violations for commercial robocalls, emails or text messages, and update definitions of automatic dialing and other terms. The panel unanimously adopted an amendment that included exempting emails or texts that constitute collection activity and allowing electronic consent in certain circumstances. Rep. Jeremie Dufault (R) opposed the bills, saying they're contrary to his belief in American entrepreneurialism. Chairman Steve Kirby (D) supports the efforts to reduce robocalls, he said: "My phone just won't stop ringing." In Florida, all present members at a House Regulatory Reform Subcommittee hearing voted for HB-1095 to tweak a 2021 state robocall law. Sponsor Rep. Mike Beltran (R) said the measure seeks to prevent some unintended lawsuits, including by adding two-way attorney fees and banning suits against companies that use robocalls to respond to consumer inquiries.
Wireless and consumer tech industries opposed a digital right-to-repair bill Wednesday at a Washington state House Consumer Protection and Business Committee virtual hearing. HB-1801 would require manufacturers to label products with a repairability score. Sponsor Rep. Mia Gregerson (D) said an upcoming amendment would change the bill so it would set up a task force to study right to repair. The committee later voted 5-2 on HB-1810, which would require manufacturers to make documentation, parts and tools available to owners and independent repair providers on fair and reasonable terms. The panel voted 4-3 for HB-1697, which would ban websites from marketing or advertising certain products or services to minors, restrict certain online ad practices based on minors’ personal information and give minors the right to request removal of certain information posted online. HB-1697 would be enforced solely by the attorney general. Ranking Republican Rep. Brandon Vick, voting no, complained the privacy bill is too vague. Testifying on HB-1801, CTA lobbyist Charlie Brown said it would be tough to have a state right-to-repair standard that doesn't align with standards in other countries. CTA supports setting up a work group, he said. It would be better to handle this issue at the national or international level than to pass a state law that would be “extremely operationally burdensome,” said TechNet Vice President-State Policy David Edmonson: The proposed score would paint an incomplete picture of devices’ overall quality and confuse consumers. CTIA thinks the "requirements in this bill are unworkable,” said Director-State Legislative Affairs Lisa McCabe. Other attributes besides repairability, such as water resistance, factor into a device’s longevity, she noted. iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens backed HB-1801. Apple AirPods and Samsung Galaxy Buds are similar in quality, but Samsung’s product lasts longer because it has replaceable batteries, he noted: Consumers currently have no easy way of knowing that. Another right-to-repair advocate, Owen Rubel of SecuRepairs, doesn’t think it’s wise to trust manufacturers with determining their own repairability score, he said: A standards body should do that.