A Tennessee bill restricting children on social media passed the Senate in a 30-0 vote Monday. HB-1891, which Gov. Bill Lee (R) supports, would require parental consent for kids younger than 18 on social networks (see 2403120065). The bill would take effect Jan. 1. Meanwhile, a Tennessee panel will study a broadband reporting bill during the summer, the state legislature’s House Commerce Committee decided by voice vote Tuesday. HB-2910 would have required state and federal broadband grant recipients to list unserved areas where they plan to deploy high-speed internet using government cash, and to say when they aim to have service in those places. The Senate unanimously passed the cross-filed SB-2907 last week (see 2404020060). But at the House Commerce Committee’s final meeting of this session, Chair Kevin Vaughan (R) said more time is needed to develop how the reporting will work. “We all need to know more about broadband throughout the state,” so legislators will work “diligently” on the bill over the summer, he said. Lawmakers should move quickly because of "disparities and inequities that exist among the haves and have-nots,” said Rep. Goffrey Hardaway (D). The legislator said he distrusts summer studies, which sometimes are used to “dismiss a bill altogether.” The chair assured Hardaway that won’t be the case here. Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R) supports continued work on the bill, Vaughan said. "We're off to do a real summer study."
California next month could approve challenge process rules for NTIA’s broadband, equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program. The California Public Utilities Commission said it may vote at its May 9 meeting on a proposed decision, released Friday in docket R.23-02-016, to revise and adopt volume one of the state’s initial proposal for BEAD. The CPUC proposed opening its challenge process “no later than 60 calendar days” after issuing a final decision and “no sooner” than seven days after publishing eligible locations, the draft said. A 30-day challenge process would be followed by a 14-day evidentiary review period. After that, the CPUC would notify ISPs about challenges and give them 30 days to rebut. Then CPUC staff would get 30 days to make a final determination to the commission. Staff would publish final eligible locations not later than 60 days after the NTIA approves those final determinations. The agency attached a cured version of volume one. Comments on the proposed decision are due April 25. Meanwhile, Washington state's BEAD challenge process is delayed due to a glitch with the challenge portal, the state's Commerce Department said Monday. It was scheduled to open Monday. "Part of the registration process requires the challenge portal to send a confirmation email to someone registering to participate," the department said. "Due to a technical problem with the system, some individuals had trouble receiving these messages." The department said it will announce a new opening date when it resolves the problem.
Gov. Andy Beshear (D) directed the Kentucky Public Service Commission to make emergency rules within 45 days that streamline pole attachments for broadband providers. Beshear signed a resolution Thursday that the legislature had passed last month (see 2403250037). Also, Beshear signed a consumer privacy bill (HB-15) that Consumer Reports called weak (see 2403280057). It makes Kentucky the 16th state with a comprehensive privacy law. And Beshear signed a bill (HB-528) on how 911 revenue should be spent through July 1, 2025.
Bills on privacy, kids’ online safety and an AI-based 311 phone service neared the Maryland governor’s desk last week. On Thursday, the House voted 103-33 for a comprehensive privacy bill (SB-541). Meanwhile, the Senate is nearing a vote on the cross-filed House version (HB-567). Maryland’s privacy proposal earlier received generally positive reviews from consumer privacy groups (see 2402140053). Also Thursday, the House voted 136-0 for SB-571, a kids’ safety bill modeled after the California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act. The Senate passed the similar House version (HB-603) Wednesday (see 2404040030). In addition, the House supported similar bills to direct the Department of Information Technology to evaluate the feasibility of an AI-based, statewide 311 system and possibly launch a pilot. The House voted 126-9 to approve the Senate-passed SB-1068. And it voted 132-5 for HB-1141 after amending it to match the Senate bill. A House committee heard testimony on SB-1068 last week (see 2403270041). Gov. Wes Moore (D) would need to sign the bills if they pass the Maryland General Assembly.
The Minnesota Senate’s comprehensive privacy bill will return to the Commerce Committee, the State and Local Government Committee decided on a voice vote Friday. It will be considered as part of a Commerce omnibus bill, SF-2915 sponsor Sen. Bonnie Westlin (D) told the committee at a livestreamed hearing. The committee amended the bill to keep it in harmony with the House version (HF-2309). Sen. Mark Koran (R) struggles with knowing how businesses can implement the Minnesota measure, he said. Westlin responded that a federal law would be best, but in the meantime, Minnesota aims to take the best parts of bills from Connecticut, Oregon, Colorado and Texas.
The Wisconsin Public Service Commission seeks applications for $33 million in digital connectivity and navigators grants, the PSC said Friday. The state program is funded by the U.S. Treasury’s Capital Projects Fund. Nonprofits, libraries, higher education institutions, ISPs and local and tribal governments are eligible to apply by June 19.
A Maryland kids’ safety bill modeled after the California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act passed the state Senate. It voted 46-0 in favor of HB-603 with an amendment delaying the effective date to Oct. 1, 2025. The House passed the bill last month with a 2024 effective date, so it must vote again to concur with the Senate change. Education advocates supported and tech groups opposed the bill at a February hearing (see 2402140053). Also Wednesday, the Senate voted 44-3 to support a 25 cent surcharge to fund the 988 mental health hotline. The bill (HB-933) earlier passed the House, which Tuesday also approved the identical Senate version (see 2404030049). The 988 bills will go to Gov. Wes Moore (D).
The California Public Utilities Commission released NTIA curing instructions for volume one of California’s initial proposal for the broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program. The CPUC gave parties until Thursday at 5 p.m. PST to comment on the Tuesday notice in docket R.23-02-016. The record for volume one will stand submitted at the same time and date, said Administrative Law Judge Thomas Glegola. “A proposed decision may be issued anytime thereafter.” The CPUC attached NTIA’s curing instructions from Feb. 6 and March 8, plus the CPUC Feb. 23 response and a Jan. 13 letter to the FCC about the state’s challenge to the national broadband map. In California’s cured volume one, the CPUC added information from the FCC’s Jan. 6 broadband report showing that “advertised or claimed DSL speeds rarely meet or exceed actual speeds delivered to customers,” the agency said. That and other “sources of objective data provide ample evidentiary basis to substantiate” a CPUC modification to NTIA’s model that presumes “locations for which providers have claimed to deliver speeds only slightly above the ‘unserved’ threshold, up to [30 Mbps download and 5 Mbps upload], are actually receiving speeds below the ‘unserved’ threshold of 25/3 Mbps,” the commission said. “This modification is consistent with the CPUC’s and NTIA’s longstanding efforts to phase out legacy copper network infrastructure, and it does not seek to modify in any way the unserved threshold established in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.”
The Utah Public Service Commission granted SpaceX’s request to relinquish its eligible telecom carrier (ETC) designation, the PSC ordered Tuesday. The PSC made the company an ETC in 2021 so that it could participate in the FCC’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. But the FCC last year upheld the Wireless Bureau’s 2022 rejection of Starlink’s application for RDOF support (see 2312130027).
The Nebraska Public Service Commission will consider changes to telecom service outage reporting requirements, the PSC decided at its Wednesday meeting. Commissioners voted 4-0 for the order in docket C-5564. Commissioner Eric Kamler (R) wasn't at the meeting. Outage reporting is “essential,” but the PSC “has recently observed an increase in the number of significant and concerning outages, and in reports of cable cuts,” the agency said. In addition, the PSC said it has heard that “requirements in its outage reporting policy are unclear and could be subject to multiple interpretations.” One proposed change would require that a carrier’s initial outage report include a “listing of any public safety answering points, government officials, other agencies, or news media notified of the outage.” Also, the PSC would require daily updates for outages lasting longer than three days. The current requirement is an update every five days for outages longer than five days. A final report would be due five business days after service is restored, down from 14 days. It would have to address how the outage affected 911 services, in addition to previous requirements. Also, the PSC proposal would redefine what counts as a service interruption. It would exempt planned or scheduled outages when customers receive notice at least 24 hours in advance. The PSC set a workshop for May 29 at 1:30 p.m. CST and asked for written comments on proposed changes by June 14.