Adam Bender

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- State utility commissioners at the NARUC conference grappled Tuesday with the U.S. Supreme Court reversal of the Chevron doctrine. Loper Bright, “though not framed as a federalist decision," has "modest pro-state implications,” Wilkinson Barker’s Daniel Kahn said during a panel of telecom law experts. Earlier, an NTCA official told the NARUC Telecom Committee that his association plans to seek reconsideration of an FCC order on next-generation 911 if commissioners approve it at their Thursday meeting.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- A California rulemaking on modernizing carrier of last resort rules could inspire similar proceedings elsewhere, state and industry officials signaled at the NARUC conference Monday. The California Public Utilities Commission last month opened a rulemaking that took a fresh look at COLR rules after rejecting regulatory relief for AT&T (see 2406200065).

States hope they can increase federal engagement on telecom no matter who is president in 2025, current and former state utility commissioners said in interviews. In a possible second Donald Trump presidency, “the states and localities are really going to be where broadband policy is made,” predicted Gigi Sohn, Benton Institute for Broadband & Society senior fellow. Some said there is a lot of uncertainty about how a Trump administration might change rules for state grants under NTIA’s $42.5 billion broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program.

California will spend about $88.5 million on last-mile broadband projects using federal funding from the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act, the California Public Utilities Commission decided at a Thursday meeting. Commissioners voted 5-0 for resolution T-17826 to spend $44.1 million on unserved areas in Imperial, Lassen and Plumas counties. They also voted unanimously for resolution T-17829 to spend $44.4 million on unserved areas in Alameda, San Francisco and Sierra counties, including an Oakland project that especially received support from local officials and community groups in comments during the meeting. Awardees included Golden State Connect Authority and Plumas-Sierra Telecommunications and the cities of Oakland, Fremont and San Francisco. The CPUC proposed the resolutions last month (see 2406070073). "These projects are a shining example of our state's broadband-for-all values and objectives," CPUC President Alice Reynolds at the livestreamed meeting said. She praised the approved projects for exceeding the program's 100 Mbps symmetrical requirements and for focusing on connecting low-income and disadvantaged communities. A top state legislator recently criticized the CPUC for not rolling out last-mile grants faster (see 2406050065). Thursday’s resolutions awarding federal funding account support are the CPUC's first since the agency received 484 applications requesting $4.6 billion from the $2 billion program in January, Executive Director Rachel Peterson said. The commission plans a vote at its Aug. 1 meeting on another resolution that would include $95 million in proposed grants (see 2407010037). Before the meeting, the commission delayed until Aug. 1 voting on a proposed decision related to ratemaking for small local exchange carriers (see 2406070027).

Frontier Communications could pay nearly $2.5 million for missing two Connecticut service-quality standards, the state’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority said Wednesday. PURA issued the notice of violation after Connecticut commissioners voted 3-0 at a livestreamed meeting on a final decision (docket 24-01-15) directing the company to provide additional reporting about failures to meet metrics.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied rehearing en banc a Voting Rights Act case involving the Georgia Public Service Commission. The denial by a majority of 11th Circuit judges follows the U.S. Supreme Court rejecting a petition for certiorari from a group of Black voters challenging Georgia's election methods (see 2406240041). An 11th Circuit panel said earlier this year that elections must remain statewide for the Georgia PSC’s five members, who represent five separate districts. Three 11th Circuit judges dissented from the en banc rehearing decision: Charles Wilson, Robin Rosenbaum and Jill Pryor. Judge Nancy Abudu recused herself. Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act "provides a necessary mechanism for challenging state and local electoral schemes that deny voters equal participation in the political process to elect representatives of their choice,” Wilson wrote in his dissent. “In its reversal of the district court's well-reasoned opinion, the panel improperly narrows [section] 2, eroding the guarantees of the Voting Rights Act." Rosenbaum noted that the 11th Circuit panel didn't disagree that "the existing PSC elections result in racial bloc voting that prevents Black voters in Georgia from electing their preferred candidates to the PSC"; however, it ruled against the petitioners because their proposed remedy isn't the same as the state's electoral system. But given that the state's existing system isn't equally open "to Black voters, that's the point,” Rosenbaum said: The panel opinion "ignores binding and long-standing law governing Section 2 cases," inappropriately extends court precedent and "replaces the appropriate framework for Section 2 challenges with its own single-minded test." Petitioners’ attorney, Brian Sells, emailed, “We're still reviewing today's opinions and haven't made any decisions about next steps yet.” Georgia didn’t comment.

Sustaining broadband networks is a “paramount objective” of the Nebraska Universal Service Fund (NUSF) high-cost program, especially with the "influx of federal and state deployment funding," the Nebraska Public Service Commission decided in a Tuesday order. Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday for two orders on state USF changes (docket NUSF-139) and to consider sanctions against Windstream for three separate 911 outages (docket 911-076).

Maine and Vermont legislators will reintroduce comprehensive privacy bills next session, lead sponsors told us in interviews. Republican Gov. Phil Scott’s veto of Vermont’s privacy bill hasn’t discouraged supporters from seeking a private right of action (PRA) that Scott and industry opposed, Rep. Monique Priestley (D), the comprehensive measure’s sponsor, said. Meanwhile, in Maine, a veto threat from Gov. Janet Mills (D) means neither party will pursue a PRA in the upcoming session, Sen. Lisa Keim (R) told us. Mills' opposition to a PRA made it a nonstarter this session.

California state senators pushed back on two digital equity bills Tuesday. Multiple Communications Committee members during a livestreamed hearing raised concerns about the Assembly-passed AB-2239, which would ban digital discrimination as the FCC defines it. Also, the committee scaled back the Assembly-approved AB-1588, which had proposed to update the California LifeLine subsidy program to support broadband for low-income households. The committee directed the LifeLine bill’s sponsor to find a compromise with industry opponents and other stakeholders over the summer recess that runs from July 3 to Aug. 5.

An AT&T-backed California bill that reshapes rules for seeking relief from carrier of last resort (COLR) obligation won't move forward, the carrier confirmed Monday. A revised Senate Communications Committee agenda for Tuesday’s meeting said the bill was pulled from the hearing. AT&T had turned its attention to trying to pass AB-2797 in the California legislature to change COLR rules after the California Public Utilities Commission denied the company relief from the obligation last month (see 2406200065). “While we are disappointed that AB 2797 will not be voted on, we are committed to working with state lawmakers, community groups and stakeholders to find a path forward that keeps customers connected, modernizes California’s communications network, and ensures no customer will be left without voice and 911 services,” AT&T California President Marc Blakeman said in an emailed statement. The bill’s demise is a win for California phone customers, said The Utility Reform Network Telecom Policy Director Regina Costa: “AT&T retreated as a result of outrage from thousands of Californians and the organizations who oppose the bill because AT&T's plan is a threat to universal service and public safety.” Comments are due this fall on a CPUC rulemaking to consider updating COLR rules for modern technology. “The bill wasn’t about modernizing AT&T’s network,” Costa said. “It was about giving AT&T the power to walk away from providing any kind of service wherever it chose.”