The Washington state House voted 96-0 Monday to pass a robocalls bill to expand state protections. Lawmakers supported HB-1051, which would ban automatically dialed calls to any telephone number on the federal do not call list that has a Washington area code or is registered to a state resident. Also, the bill would create a private right of action and would “extend liability to those persons who provide substantial assistance or support in the origination and transmission of robocalls.” The bill goes to the Senate.

A New York state Senate panel supported a wireless tower bill that would require cellphone companies and third-party infrastructure companies to submit plans to power all their towers with 100% renewable energy by 2031. Two Republicans voted no at the Energy and Telecommunications Committee’s livestreamed hearing Tuesday. Under S-4305, which goes next to a third-reading floor vote, companies would have to file plans with the New York Public Service Commission by Dec. 31, 2025. "New Yorkers deserve better than mandates,” protested ranking member Mario Mattera. “Why can't we transition to things when we're ready?” The technology already exists and moving to clean energy is important, responded bill sponsor and committee Chair Kevin Parker (D). Companies have several years before they have to get to 100% renewable, he added. Sen. Mark Walczyk (R) said local emergency medical services coordinators raised concerns about what it means for generators that provide backup power in many locations and sometimes primary power in rural areas. EMS should raise such concerns with Parker directly, the chair said: “This does not reduce or interfere with any redundancies.”

The New York Public Service Commission is seeking comment on residential and commercial broadband availability, affordability and adoption, the PSC said Monday. The commission scheduled virtual hearings for March 21 at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. EDT. Written comments are due April 3 in case 22-M-0313, it said. The PSC suggested comments including on locations lacking services with 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload speeds, locations with only one ISP, locations where broadband costs too much for some consumers or businesses and reasons why residents or businesses don’t subscribe or subscribe to cellular service rather than wired or wireless broadband.

Comprehensive state privacy bills advanced in multiple states last week. The Montana Senate Business, Labor and Economic Affairs Committee voted 10-0 Friday for SB-384 after hearing support from Microsoft and other industry groups for the bill that’s modeled on Connecticut’s law (see 2302240031). The Senate must vote by this Friday to meet a legislative deadline to transmit bills to the opposite chamber. On Thursday, a Kentucky bill (SB-15) with a limited private right of action cleared the Senate Economic Development Committee, which heard testimony on the bill earlier this month (see 2202150068). It went to the Rules Committee Friday. Oklahoma’s HB-1030 cleared the House Government Modernization and Technology Committee in a 10-0 Tuesday vote. The House has until March 23 to send it to the Senate. In West Virginia Feb. 20, the House Technology and Infrastructure Committee advanced HB-3498 to the Finance Committee. Also last week, a Texas privacy bill that was HB-1844 was renumbered HB-4 because it’s now a priority bill. In New Mexico, the Senate Tax, Business and Transportation Committee on Friday cleared a children’s privacy bill similar to a California law (SB-319).

A Utah House bill to regulate social media cleared the chamber’s Public Utilities, Energy and Technology Committee by a 7-2 vote Monday. HB-524 would include requiring platforms to disclose content moderation practices and banning them from censoring users or banning or suspending accounts based on the user’s viewpoint. Platforms could still censor expression that they're “specifically authorized to censor under state or federal law” and certain kinds of unsavory content. Also on Monday, the Utah House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee voted 8-0 to advance a public safety bill (SB-212) including a provision allowing agencies to create a public safety answering point to provide 911 service to noncontiguous areas (see 2302160026).

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission should “avoid rule changes that may exacerbate … uncontrolled growth” of Oklahoma USF (OUSF), CTIA said in Friday comments on a proposal in docket RM 2023-000006. One proposed change would “lower the evidentiary standard for OUSF surcharge increases” by allowing the fund administrator to forgo filing supporting testimony, said CTIA: That would be OK only for proposals to maintain or reduce the surcharge. The wireless industry association also raised concerns with a proposal to give the commission “sole discretion” on whether to hold a hearing to resolve objections to proposed surcharge changes. That, coupled with a proposal that would automatically deny objections if the commission doesn’t act on them within 30 days, would limit stakeholders’ opportunity to disagree with fee changes, CTIA said. Rural carriers proposed making it easier for surcharge changes to take effect. If no objection is filed to the administrator’s recommendation and commissioners choose not to adjust it, the recommendation should take effect in 30 days, said Atlas Telephone, Consolidated Communications and others. If an objection is filed but the commission takes no action on it in 45 days, then the objection should be deemed denied and the administrator’s recommendation should take effect the next day, the RLECs said. With a more efficient process for modifying the OUSF assessment, recipients will likely obtain support in a “more timely” manner, said Oklahoma Corporation Commission staff in a Wednesday rule impact statement. Staff said it doesn’t expect any adverse economic effects to small businesses or increases to compliance costs.

A Colorado Senate panel supported continuing subsidies from Colorado's high-cost support mechanism (HCSM) to a dozen rural telecom providers until Sept. 1, 2024 (see 2301310060). The Colorado Senate Transportation and Energy Committee voted 6-0 for HB-1051 at a livestreamed meeting Monday. The committee unanimously agreed to add the measure to the Senate’s consent calendar, which will allow senators to pass HB-1051 alongside other noncontroversial bills in one vote, without substantial debate or floor amendments.

The District of Columbia Council will consider final action on a nomination for Office of Unified Communications director in “not less than 15 days,” said a notice in Friday’s D.C. Register. The D.C. Council will consider a resolution (PR25-0115) to nominate Heather McGaffin to lead the scrutinized 911 center. The Judiciary and Public Safety Committee plans a roundtable on the resolution March 15 at noon, said a revised notice. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) on Feb. 17 nominated McGaffin, who is currently OUC’s deputy director and was the office’s chief of special operations and investigations from October 2020 to February 2022. From September 2015 to October 2020, she worked with Mission Critical Partners to help states with next-generation 911 transitions and other projects. From April 2006 to September 2015, McGaffin handled call taking, dispatching and supervising at the emergency communications center in Calvert County, Maryland. Bowser withdrew previous nominee Karima Holmes in December after D.C. Council members signaled they would reject the former OUC director’s confirmation (see 2212060042).

The California Public Utilities Commission agreed to open a proceeding to consider rules for NTIA broadband, equity, access and deployment (BEAD) grants, the CPUC said Thursday. Commissioners adopted a proposed order released earlier in February (see 2302160020). The rulemaking kicks off “an in-depth public engagement process to develop the roadmap for how these funds will be used in California,” said CPUC President Alice Reynolds. The commissioner seeks collaboration with local governments, tribes, regional broadband consortia, digital equity advocates, labor groups and ISPs, she said. “This outreach is essential and will ensure we are using these funds as effectively and equitably as possible to build sustainable networks that will offer future-proof, reliable, and affordable service to unserved and underserved regions of the state.” Commissioner Genevieve Shiroma said the effort will allow the CPUC to use federal money to address lingering connectivity gaps in rural and urban California.

Representatives of Puerto Rico Telephone Co. (PRTC) cited the importance of ensuring transitional support for network resiliency as proposed in an NPRM (see 2212120053), in meetings with FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington and Wireline Bureau staff, said a filing posted Thursday in docket 18-143. PRTC said it “identified specific resiliency measures in the municipalities for which it did not win Uniendo support for which frozen phase-down support will be critical.” Absent an extension of phase-down support, the carrier said it would “either not be able to implement … identified resiliency measures within the specified time frame or would be required to scale back. … Either outcome would impede PRTC’s ability to harden its network in a timely manner, thus harming consumers in Puerto Rico.”