A proposed Texas House constitutional amendment on creating a state broadband fund will go to the Senate floor, but senators are making changes that would require House agreement. The Senate Finance Committee voted unanimously at a livestreamed hearing Monday on substitutes to HJR-125 and on an accompanying bill (HB-9) that passed the House by wide margins last month (see 2304270056). Substitute text wasn’t immediately available Monday. Sen. Robert Nichols (R) supported the bills but said he wants to work with sponsors on adding language to require a local matching requirement. “People treat money better when they have a little skin in the game,” said Nichols, saying even a 10% local match would help. AT&T supports the proposal to create a "comprehensive funding mechanism that takes a holistic approach,” David Tate, retired vice president-legal affairs, testified at the hearing. State funding now is important, with Texas not due to receive federal money until 2025 from NTIA’s broadband, equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program, said Texas Cable Association President Walt Baum. But the Taxpayers Protection Alliance thinks making residents pay for a $5 billion fund is a “waste of money and fiscally irresponsible.” Texas 9-1-1 Alliance Chairman Chip VanSteenberg supports the bill including funding for next-generation 911. The existing 50-cent 911 surcharge on phone bills hasn’t kept up with rising costs, he said.

Oklahoma will open electrical utility easements to broadband networks by ISPs and electric companies. Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) signed HB-1965 Thursday, two days after it passed the legislature (see 2305110016). The same day in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed SB-1418, which aims to support the state’s transition to next-generation 911 (see 2305030064). In Illinois, the Senate voted 56-0 Thursday to pass SB-851, which would require the state’s broadband advisory council to study expanding the Illinois Century Network to public schools, libraries and prisons.

California’s Assembly Appropriations Committee approved broadband and privacy bills Wednesday. The committee voted 12-0 for AB-286, which would expand broadband mapping requirements. Under the bill by Assemblymember Jim Wood (D), the map would have to identify the broadband provider and maximum speed offered at every address in the state. The map would have to allow users to submit speed tests, say how much they pay for stand-alone or bundled broadband, identify and rate their ISP and disclose the maximum speed provided. Also, the bill would let a user identify barriers to access and refute the broadband speed or technology that the ISP claims to offer at an address. Also Wednesday, appropriators voted 14-0 for AB-947, which would add immigration and citizenship status to the California Consumer Protection Act’s definition of sensitive personal information. And the panel voted 12-2 for AB-1194, which would say businesses aren’t required to comply with government requests for emergency access to personal information on abortion, contraception, pregnancy and prenatal care.

Oklahoma legislators sent the governor a broadband bill Wednesday to allow electrical utility easements to be used for high-speed networks by ISPs and electric companies. The House voted 83-0 Tuesday to agree with Senate amendments to HB-1965. The bill would ban “class action lawsuits alleging trespass, nuisance or inverse condemnation based on a claim of expanded easement use when the broadband facilities are located on above ground property owned or utilized by an electric provider,” said a summary of the amended bill.

New Jersey lawmakers merged two data broker bills at a livestreamed hearing Thursday. The Assembly Science, Innovation and Technology Committee voted unanimously to advance a committee substitute that combines A-4811 and A-5254 and would require a state data broker registry. A-4811 sponsor Assemblymember William Moen (D) will sponsor the combined bill, said his legislative director, Kyle Hanson. That there were two bills on the same subject shows it’s “crucial” to act, Moen told the committee: He pledged to work with stakeholders on the bill over “the next few months.”

Texas state senators passed a video bill Thursday to ensure franchise fees don’t apply to satellite and streaming TV services. Local governments opposed SB-1117 (see 2303210043). It goes next to the House.

The Texas Senate voted 20-0 to pass a comprehensive privacy bill Wednesday. The House earlier passed HB-4 but must vote again to concur with Senate amendments. The bill received industry kudos in the House for being compatible with Virginia and Connecticut laws (see 2304050018). Last week, Florida’s legislature passed a privacy bill (see 2305050048) and Indiana became the seventh state with a privacy law (see 2305030040).

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) supported banning TikTok at schools and requiring social media literacy education. DeSantis signed the bill (HB-379) Tuesday. The measure also requires district school boards to implement an internet filter to stop student devices from connecting to social media over district-owned server (see 2304190043). Meanwhile in Texas, the House voted 144-0 Tuesday to pass a bill (SB-1893) to ban TikTok on state government devices. The Senate passed it earlier, 31-0. Also, the House voted 132-12 to pass a broadband tax incentives bill (SB-1243). It previously passed the Senate in a 30-1 vote.

The Maryland Supreme Court overturned a lower court’s ruling that the state’s digital ad tax is unconstitutional. In a four-page order Tuesday, the court agreed with the state that the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County lacked jurisdiction because plaintiffs Comcast and Verizon failed to exhaust all their administrative remedies. The Supreme Court vacated the lower court’s March 14, 2022, order denying the state’s motion to dismiss, an Oct. 21 order partly granting the ISPs’ motion for summary judgment and denying the state’s motion, and the Nov. 18 final declaratory judgment. The state high court remanded the action to the circuit court with directions to dismiss. Writing the order, Chief Justice Matthew Fader said a majority of the court concurred and a forthcoming opinion will explain reasons for the decision. The Maryland Supreme Court decided the case just days after questioning parties on the administrative remedy issue at oral argument (see 2305050044). In a statement, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown (D) applauded the court “for acting quickly because the revenues generated by this tax will help us provide our children the best education possible for success.”

Reject incumbent ISPs’ “self-serving recommendations” for California rules on broadband, equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program funding, urged Center for Accessible Technology (CforAT). The California Public Utilities Commission received reply comments Monday in its BEAD rulemaking (docket R.23-02-016). Incumbents submitted ideas in opening comments (see 2304180075) that “would only serve to entrench these incumbents’ existing market power and would artificially exclude support for more qualified applicants that are more responsive to the communities they serve,” said CforAT. But BEAD isn't "a government handout to convince incumbents to provide broadband to unserved and underserved communities while reaping the highest possible profits and providing the fewest possible community benefits,” the consumer advocate said. The California Broadband and Video Association countered that the CPUC should reject proposals that exceed Congress’ and NTIA’s guidance. Don't direct funding toward overbuilding or "ignore commercial providers’ expertise in deploying and operating broadband networks in favor of applicants that lack such experience,” the state cable group said. GeoLinks chafed at CforAT and the Electronic Frontier Foundation implying in their opening comments that non-fiber technologies are inferior. NTIA has been clear that multiple technologies can provide reliable service, including wireless, said the CLEC: Don't set the extremely high cost per location threshold (EHCT) "so high as to risk a handful of fiber projects in extremely hard-to-build areas gobbling up most" BEAD funding. The wireless industry continued to urge the CPUC not to preclude fixed wireless. "There is no meaningful downside risk of setting the EHCT ‘too low’ because the Commission retains complete flexibility to prioritize and select broadband projects based on whatever factors it deems appropriate, including speed, capacity, cost, and time to deploy,” said CTIA. Wireless costs less and deploys faster, the Wireless ISP Association wrote. Fiber doesn’t cost more in the long term, disagreed Communications Workers of America. "Although fixed wireless has a lower upfront capital cost, costs are comparable over 30 years because of higher ongoing costs, for example equipment replacement," CWA said. The Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California suggested the CPUC wait to set the threshold until NTIA announces California's BEAD allocation.