The NARUC board accepted a telecom resolution about keeping phone number exhaustion at bay during its Washington meeting Wednesday. NARUC will ask the FCC to update “guidance on how states should bring cases of telephone number resource mismanagement or suspected robocalling using rented telephone numbers” through audits under Section 52.15(k) of the Telecom Act, said the final resolution from Telecom Committee Chair Tim Schram. The resolution drew no opposition in the committee Monday (see 2402260071).

The Vermont Senate approved a telecom bill Wednesday updating merger rules for communications union districts (CUDs), groups of two or more municipalities that build infrastructure in rural parts of the state. Proposed changes in S-199 will “simplify the process by which two or more CUDs can merge and provide additional flexibility related to CUD governance and business practices.” The measure next needs House approval.

Municipal interests pushed back on a bill before the Missouri Senate Tuesday clarifying that streaming content is exempted from paying video franchise fees. In a Senate Commerce, Consumer Protection, Energy and the Environment Committee hearing on SB-947, Missouri Municipal League lobbyist Shanon Hawk of Armstrong Teasdale said municipalities started working with the Senate about eight years ago on updates to the state's public right-of-way rules, and streaming was part of that much larger conversation. She said subsequent updates included a promise that there would be a state task force on the future of right-of-way taxation, but that task force authorization expired in 2023 without ever meeting. Confusion remains about who must get a state franchise as a video service provider and municipalities are still trying to get right-of-way updates. ROWs are a financial liability for municipalities, as they carry maintenance and upkeep costs, said Pat Kelly, Municipal League of Metro St. Louis executive director. If streaming services don't pay using infrastructure in the ROW, taxpayers must, he said. Republican sponsor of the bill, Holly Thompson Rehder, said she had pushed for similar legislation when she worked as head of government relations for Galaxy Cablevision. She said streaming services weren't being considered when the state's Video Services Providers Act was passed, and that legislation never intended for streamers to be included under its franchise-fee obligations. She said franchise fees are intended to pay for actual access to rights of way. Levying a franchise fee on streamers is akin to levying such a fee on a cable provider's premium channels like HBO, she said. Representatives of Dish Network, DirecTV and Netflix all briefly testified in favor of the legislation. Backers of the bill repeatedly referred to franchise fees on streaming series as a tax that would be borne by those streamers' subscribers. Rehder said fee increases ultimately get passed to subscribers, and the clarification would prevent "our constituents from getting a tax increase, because that's exactly what this would be for them." The Municipal League's Kelly disputed that, calling it a fee. Similar legislation, HB-2057, has been introduced in the Missouri House.

The Kansas House supported a 911 administration shakeup in a 117-3 vote Thursday. HB-2690 would replace the Kansas 911 Coordinating Council with a state 911 board. Also, it would allow counties to contract with each other to consolidate public safety answering points and require transfer of 911 fees collected from monthly phone bills and prepaid wireless sales to various state 911 funds at the state treasury. Also Thursday, the House unanimously passed a bill to end a recurring state 911 audit (see 2402220062).

Florida’s proposed social media ban for kids younger than 16 will head to Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). The House voted 108-7 Thursday to concur with Senate changes to HB-1, which also would require age verification to block kids less than 18 from pornography online. DeSantis said he has concerns about the bill restricting parents from allowing kids to have social media accounts (see 2402220051). The Senate passed HB-1 by a 23-14 vote earlier Thursday.

AT&T’s nationwide wireless outage last week shows why California regulators shouldn’t relieve the company of carrier of last resort (COLR) obligations, Communications Workers of America said. COLR requires AT&T to make landlines available to anyone who requests them across the state. The hourslong wireless outage (see 2402220058) showed that landlines remain important, CWA District 9 Vice President Frank Arce said Thursday. As such, the California Public Utilities Commission should reject “AT&T’s attempt to cut service to our most vulnerable residents,” he said. An AT&T spokesperson responded Friday, “We are not canceling landline service in California, and none of our California customers will lose access to voice service or 911 service.” The carrier said it's focused on upgrading customers to fiber and wireless technologies that consumers increasingly demand. “No customer will be disconnected, and we’re working with the remaining consumers who use traditional landline service to upgrade to newer technologies.” AT&T is pushing for quick CPUC action on its COLR relief petition (see 2402210038). The carrier disclosed in a Thursday ex parte notice that it plans to meet virtually Tuesday with aides to Commissioner Karen Douglas.

An Ohio court can and should call Google Search a common carrier, the state argued Friday. "Ohio common carrier law needs no expansion … Google Search meets each and every criterion with no need to resort to the creative interpretation that Google proposes." In a separate opposition brief, Google protested that it’s nothing like a common carrier: "Google is not a 'dumb pipe' or 'mere conduit.' Ohio and Google responded to each other’s January cross-motions for summary judgment in case 21-CV-H-06-0274 at the Ohio Court of Common Pleas, Delaware County (see 2401260074). Reply briefs are due March 15 and trial is set for Sept. 3 under the court’s schedule. Judge James Schuck refused to dismiss Ohio’s lawsuit in May 2022, ruling that Ohio “stated a cognizable claim” that Google could be a common carrier (see 2205260057). The Ohio Chamber of Commerce supported the company in a Thursday amicus brief, arguing that Ohio’s attempt to regulate the search company would be “anti-business.” Concerns about how a big tech company participates in public discourse "provide no basis for making a novel exception to well-established common carrier tenets,” wrote the chamber.

The Wisconsin legislature passed a bill last week repealing a tax on personal property of telephone companies. The Assembly voted 90-7 Thursday and the Senate voted 30-2 Tuesday approving SB-323. Also on Thursday, the Wisconsin Assembly passed a bill that would require wireless carriers to provide device location information to law enforcement without a warrant if the subscriber consents and the company believes disclosure could prevent a person’s death or injury or if it receives a written law enforcement request stating that disclosure is needed to respond to an emergency call or situation involving possible death or serious physical injury. AB-960 also would give wireless providers immunity from criminal liability for such disclosures. The similar SB-890 cleared a Senate committee earlier this month (see 2402090055).

Maine could designate wireless companies as eligible telecom carriers (ETCs) for the federal Lifeline program under a bill a legislative panel approved Thursday. The Technology Committee voted 10-0 to advance LD-2193 by Sen. Matthew Harrington (R). Like some other states, Maine relies on the FCC to designate mobile phone providers as ETCs. The Florida Senate passed a similar measure Wednesday (see 2402210055).

Kansas House members unanimously supported ending a recurring state 911 audit. The House voted 120-0 Thursday to pass HB-2483, which would eliminate a five-year audit by the Kansas Legislative Division of Post Audit that checks if public safety answering points are appropriately using 911 funding, whether they have enough money, and the status of 911 service implementation (see 2401180065). It will go to the Senate.