The California Public Utilities Commission received warnings Friday about how the CPUC plans to make a foster-youth pilot a permanent part of the California LifeLine program. IFoster, the pilot’s administrator, said the current draft is “unconscionable” and would create a program “destined to fail.” The CPUC "is about to take a successful Digital Equity program and destroy it while also making ineligible foster youth as they age out of foster care, the very time they need a communications device most to obtain housing, food, and apply for jobs,” the nonprofit iFoster commented in R.20-02-008. Moreover, it said the revised proposal “will result in 12,000 foster youth losing what has been to date a life-saving resource that they describe as a lifeline, a bright spot in their lives, and a necessity for their vital communications.” It's wrong for the CPUC to try to conform the program to the state's “ill-fitting regular LifeLine program,” which “routinely rejects foster youth.” Also, using the traditional LifeLine model would mean removing the mandate for providing a device for foster youth and "no requirements for high speed or unlimited data or hotspot capability,” said iFoster. Neither T-Mobile nor affiliate Assurance Wireless will participate in the proposed permanent program, T-Mobile commented. The revised proposal "still does not address how -- or whether -- current Pilot Program participants will receive service" after the pilot expires July 31, T-Mobile cautioned. Cox supported making the program a permanent part of California LifeLine. But the CPUC shouldn't assign the program its own minimum service standards or specific support amounts, the cable company said. The CPUC had planned to vote Feb. 15 on an earlier proposal but twice postponed the item. The commission now plans voting on the revised proposal at its March 21 meeting (see 2402290056 and 2403050016).

The Kentucky House unanimously approved a bill authorizing a state broadband office to use federal broadband equity, access and deployment funds. Members voted 95-0 Thursday to send HB-267 to the Senate. Also, that day, the Mississippi House voted 120-0 to pass an ethics measure for its state broadband office. HB-1471 would prohibit Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi (BEAM) officers and employees from accepting or receiving “any gratuity, gift, gift in-kind, money, emolument, or any other pecuniary benefit, either directly or indirectly,” from any broadband provider, association, nonprofit or other entity that works with BEAM. HB-1471 will go to the Senate.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signaled he will sign the legislature’s revised ban restricting kids on social media. Lawmakers approved a revised proposal that includes parental consent after DeSantis vetoed an earlier proposal to ban kids younger than 16 from having social media accounts (see 2403070058). A list of legislative accomplishments this session DeSantis posted on X included “protected children from the harms of social media.” At a Friday news conference alongside the governor, House Speaker Paul Renner (R) said that, with HB-3, “we’ve taken strong action to save our kids and save their childhood.” NetChoice is “disappointed to see Gov. DeSantis sign onto this route,” General Counsel Carl Szabo said. “There are better ways to keep Floridians, their families and their data safe and secure online without violating their freedoms.”

The California Privacy Protection Agency could open formal rulemaking in July on draft regulations related to cybersecurity, risk assessments, automated decision-making and updating privacy rules, CPPA General Counsel Phillip Laird said Friday. The rulemaking would likely conclude in 2025, he said at a partially virtual meeting. Before the rulemaking starts, CPPA plans a “roadshow” across California to engage with and encourage broad public participation, he said. The board discussed revised, pre-rulemaking proposals on the latter three issues, which privacy experts say could affect many industries, including communications and the internet (see 2312060021). It gave staff a green light to move ahead on the cybersecurity rules last December (see 2312080064), but this summer’s rulemaking would take up all four items as a package. Recent CPPA revisions tightened automated decision-making draft rules, McDermott Will privacy lawyers David Saunders and Cathy Lee blogged March 1. For example, the definition of automated decision-making “in the last iteration was so broad so as to include calculators or even spreadsheet formulas,” they said. Board member Alastair Mactaggart raised that concern at a December meeting. The current draft “expressly excludes ordinary technologies … so long as they are not used in a manner that replaces human decision-making. Ambiguity remains, however, as to what happens if one of the excluded technologies is used to facilitate human decision-making.”

The California Public Utilities Commission voted 4-0 at its open meeting Thursday to adopt changes to the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) broadband public housing account and tribal technical assistance program (docket R.20-08-021). CPUC Commissioner Matthew Baker, appointed Feb. 16, recused himself from the vote because he was previously director of the CPUC’s independent Public Advocates Office, which participated in the proceeding. The order, as revised March 4, includes clarifying that public housing broadband grant recipients should provide free service without government subsidies, among other things (see 2401290059). "To meet our goal to close the digital divide and provide equal opportunity to all Californians, we need to make sure that we can allocate funds in an efficient manner that can meet the needs of our diverse communities,” said Commissioner Darcie Houck, who was assigned to lead the docket. "This decision has been in the works for a long time and is a product of extensive engagement with a diverse group of stakeholders and community groups.” It’s important that public housing receives free broadband service, said President Alice Reynolds as she supported the order.

The Florida legislature passed a second try at restricting kids on social media. The House voted 109-4 to concur with the Senate-amended HB-3 on Wednesday. Lawmakers revised the proposal to include parental consent after Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) vetoed an earlier proposal (see 2403040054). NetChoice sought another veto in a Thursday letter to DeSantis. HB-3 similarly “would violate Floridians’ constitutional rights and place their privacy at risk,” the tech industry group said. DeSantis didn’t comment Thursday. Two other states advanced social media bills Wednesday. The Iowa House voted 88-6 to pass a bill (HF-2523) that would restrict minors younger than 18 from having social media accounts unless they have parental consent. It's now in the Senate. The Arizona Senate voted 16-14 to pass SB-1124, which would require social platforms to publish standards for deplatforming political candidates.

New Hampshire is the 15th state with a sweeping privacy law. Gov. Chris Sununu (R) signed SB-255 on Wednesday, which provides "transparency about what information is collected, why, and confidence that in the age of AI, steps are taken to protect that data," he said. A West Virginia comprehensive privacy bill passed the Senate on a 27-6 vote Thursday. The Senate asked the House to concur with its amendments to HB-5338. The House previously voted 91-0 for the bill (see 2402280046).

It’s time for Kansas to crystallize 911 as a “state function” by establishing a fee-based agency, Kansas 911 Coordinating Council Chairman Troy Briggs said Wednesday. The Haskell County sheriff supported HB-2690 at a livestreamed Senate Utilities Committee hearing. The proposed state 911 administration shakeup would replace the council with a state 911 board, 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. The Kansas House last month voted 117-3 for the 911 bill (see 2402230016).

Several states advanced multiple broadband infrastructure bills Tuesday. The Indiana legislature passed HB-1277 to create an Indiana Code chapter governing administration of NTIA’s broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program (see 2403010047). The Indiana House voted 90-0 to concur with Senate amendments to the bill, which would require the state broadband office to be inclusive when awarding BEAD grants. It needs a signature from Gov. Eric Holcomb (R). The Virginia legislature approved HB-800 regulating how public utilities handle attachment requests (see 2402210043). Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) will consider it next. The Hawaii House passed a bill (HB-2710) requiring wireless carrier facilities to have eight hours of emergency backup power (see 2402280047). It will go to the Senate. Only Rep. Sam Kong (D) voted no. The Colorado House voted 55-10 Tuesday to pass a bill (HB-1234) that would indefinitely continue the state’s high-cost support mechanism for rural telecom providers. It will go to the Senate.

Multiple bills on 911 and 988 received greenlights from lawmakers on Tuesday. South Dakota legislators adopted a conference committee report on a 911 bill (HB-1092). The House voted 50-10 and the Senate 29-4 for the final bill, which would increase South Dakota’s 911 fee on monthly phone bills to $2, from $1.25 (see 2402290070. The conference committee version requires public safety answering points to file an annual report. The bill next needs a signature from Gov. Kristi Noem (R). Elsewhere, the Kentucky House voted 94-0 to pass HB-528 on how 911 revenue should be spent through July 1, 2025. It will go to the Senate. Also, the Hawaii House unanimously passed HB-2339 to remove the term “enhanced” from state 911 law so that Hawaii can fund future 911 technologies. The similar SB-3028 awaits a Senate vote. In Washington, state lawmakers approved measures related to the 988 mental health hotline. The Senate voted 49-0 to concur with House amendments to SB-6308 to extend implementation timelines, including giving the state health department until Jan. 1, 2026, to develop the 988 technology platform currently due July 1 this year. Senators also voted unanimously to concur with the House on SB-6251, which includes a provision allowing behavioral health administrative service organizations to recommend 988 contact hub contractors within each regional service area. The bills will go next to Gov. Jay Inslee (D).