Chairperson Rebecca Cameron Valcq condemned political attacks against the Wisconsin Public Service Commission and Gov. Tony Evers (D) after a state auditor raised concerns with how the state handled broadband grants funded by federal dollars. Wisconsin Republicans said Wednesday that an alleged failure “to adequately and accurately track the millions of dollars they allocated for broadband service” shows Evers’ "ineptitude as a leader of our state.” Valcq responded in a Thursday statement, “It’s unfortunate that some would choose to take political potshots in this election season when we should be working together to get everyone connected with this very successful and transparent program.” Evers didn’t comment. The Wisconsin Legislative Audit Bureau said in a Sept. 1 report the agency “should improve its administration of broadband expansion grant programs, including by establishing comprehensive written program policies and improving how it reviews and awards grants, reimburses telecommunication providers, and oversees the programs.” The PSC awarded $5.4 million and later reimbursed $4.9 million to telecom providers using Cares Act funding, but the agency didn’t establish written program policies for administering funds and "almost all of the documents that providers submitted in support of their reimbursement requests did not indicate the amounts they had actually paid to construct the projects,” said the auditor: The PSC also didn’t write program rules for $99.9 million awarded under the American Rescue Plan Act “and did not consistently adhere to its grant application instructions when deciding which projects to fund.” Valcq said Thursday that after reviewing 400 documents, “the audit did not find any errors, unallowable expenses, or items purchased outside of the performance period.” It “recognized the robust internal controls our programs have in place to assess and prevent any misuse of funds,” she said. “All the projects that received reimbursement funding were completed as expected and agreed to.” In an Aug. 25 letter attached to the report, Valcq disagreed that reimbursement requests submitted by grant recipients didn’t show actual costs. “All reimbursed amounts were properly supported, per the grant agreement and federal guidance.” The PSC will better document its monitoring activities and establish written policies and report by Nov. 15 to the Joint Legislative Audit Committee on efforts to address audit recommendations, she said.

All but five of Florida's 27 members of the House of Representatives and both Senators are asking U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai to initiate a Section 301 investigation on Mexican exports of fruits and vegetables.

The Commerce Department properly included Vandewater International's steel branch outlets under the scope of the antidumping duty order on carbon steel butt-weld pipe fittings from China, the Court of International Trade held in a Sept. 8 opinion. Judge Leo Gordon found that while the plaintiffs, led by Vandewater, showed that information on the record could back a finding that their outlets could be excluded from the scope of the order, he could not agree that Commerce acted unreasonably in reaching the opposing conclusion using each of the (k)(2) factors.

DENVER -- Over-the-top streaming is a rising concern for local governments, said National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisers General Counsel Nancy Werner in an interview at the association’s annual conference. Local governments could be losing cable franchise revenue as customers cut the cord for the OTT services that don’t pay local fees, said a panel Wednesday.

The National Association of State 911 Administrators “has strong and urgent concerns” about language in the House-passed Spectrum Innovation Act (HR-7624) and “potential amendments” to the unaltered Senate companion S-4117 that “will unnecessarily detract from and delay” next-generation 911 tech upgrades, the group said in an open letter to senators posted Tuesday. The House passed HR-7624 in July with language allocating up to $10 billion in proceeds from a proposed auction of spectrum on the 3.1-3.45 GHz band for NG-911 implementation (see 2207280052). NASNA “supported” initial language funding NG-911 via HR-7624 that the House Communications Subcommittee advanced in June (see 2206140077) “and we still support the premise of federal assistance” for NG-911, said Executive Director Harriet Rennie-Brown in the letter. “However, we believe now is the time to voice our strong and urgent concern about” other NG-911 language in the measure that mirrors the group’s past qualms with language in the Leading Infrastructure for Tomorrow’s America Act (HR-1848), including interoperability requirements and language on “commonly accepted standards” (see 2104080003). NASNA is “fully aware that there have been matters raised by other public safety groups and we are concerned that these other interests will unnecessarily detract from and delay NG911 implementation,” Rennie-Brown said: The existing proposed language supports the National Emergency Number Association’s i3 standard “that is already in use and is saving lives today. While we support innovation and competition, we do not support any amended language that would give preference to an alternative standard. Every state, regional, and local agency that is implementing NG911 is based on the NENA i3 standard.” The group opposes a proposed Nationwide Next Generation 911 Cybersecurity Center as “redundant and unnecessary” and is concerned by HR-7624’s language to end the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s involvement in NG-911 implementation, she said. “Leaving the joint implementation and coordination office between NHTSA and NTIA in place for the present time is not only feasible, but HR 7624 language should allow for an objective evaluation of the proper federal ‘home’ for the resources to assist the states with 911 and coordinate federal 911 activities.” NASNA believes “the overly prescriptive conditions written into” HR-7624 “for the states’ NG911 plan are redundant, unnecessary, and create burdensome requirements for the states' 911 systems,” Rennie-Brown said: “The NG911 plan requirements are best suited to the grant rulemaking process, not congressional mandates.”

Only a small percentage of foreign real estate purchases are reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, but that may change given an uptick in concern, lawyers at Morgan Lewis said in an Aug. 29 blog post.

DENVER -- Over-the-top streaming is a rising concern for local governments, said NATOA General Counsel Nancy Werner in an interview at the association’s annual conference. Local governments could be losing cable franchise revenue as customers cut the cord for the OTT services that don’t pay local fees, said a panel Wednesday.

Wireless carriers supported a December waiver request by proponents of cellular-vehicle-to-everything use of the 5.9 GHz band asking to be able to deploy now (see 2112140070). Most initial comments supported approval of that, and other subsequent waiver requests, though NCTA and a few other commenters had reservations (see 207290032). Other commenters raised patent concerns. Replies were due Monday in docket 19-138.

Only an admissibility decision from CBP can stop a deemed exclusion from happening according to the law, importer Root Sciences argued at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in a bid to establish subject-matter jurisdiction in its case over seized imports. The Court of International Trade previously ruled that it doesn't have jurisdiction over cases in which CBP seized the subject goods, finding that a seizure does not constitute an admissibility determination (see 2110070022). Root argued that this decision throws it into a "jurisdictional wilderness" and calls into question the validity of past decisions the trade court relied on for the notion that seizure before the expiration of the 30-day deemed exclusion window stops the running of the statutory deemed exclusion period (Root Sciences v. United States, Fed. Cir. #22-1795).

Citing a nationwide class being certified in a Telephone Consumer Protection Act against it (see 2208020038), DirecTV asked U.S. District Court in Wheeling, West Virginia, to let it amend its answer to the complaint. In a docket 5:17-cv-00179 motion for leave to amend Monday, the company said it wants to add one affirmative defense: the court lacks personal jurisdiction over claims brought by out-of-state class members. It said the argument "is nothing new" to the plaintiffs, who have responded to the personal jurisdiction argument in opposing the motion to dismiss and in briefing for their class certification motion. It said the amendment would conform the pleadings to the arguments already raised, DirecTV said, adding it will continue to raise the arguments in the case. Counsel for the plaintiffs didn't comment.