The California Public Utilities Commission delayed a vote on making permanent a state LifeLine foster youth pilot that was planned for Thursday. CPUC staff delayed the item in docket R.20-02-008 to the March 21 meeting, said a Monday hold list. The delay isn’t surprising since the commission last week sought comments by this Friday on a revised proposed decision (see 2402290056). The commission still plans on considering an order Thursday modifying California Advanced Services Fund broadband public housing account and tribal technical assistance program rules (see 2401290059).

Virginia lawmakers approved bills that add children-specific protections to the state’s comprehensive consumer privacy law. The Senate voted 39-0 Monday for HB-707, which passed the House in a 98-0 vote on Feb. 6. On Friday, the House voted 97-0 Friday to approve the identical Senate bill, SB-361, which previously passed the Senate in a 40-0 vote on Feb. 9. The legislation requires a Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) signature.

Bipartisan support seems possible for a Minnesota bill that includes limits on social media, the House Commerce Committee’s lead Republican Rep. Tim O’Driscoll said during a livestreamed hearing Monday. The committee voted unanimously by voice to move the bill (HF-4400) to the Judiciary Committee. The measure, from Chair Zack Stephenson (D), would require more private settings by default on social media networks and for platforms to prioritize content that users prefer and perceive as high quality over posts that gain high engagement from other users. Also, the bill would set limits on how much users, especially new users, can engage with others on social media. Rep. Harry Niska (R) said he would support the measure, though he worries about the "constitutional thicket that we're stepping into." Minnesota should avoid regulating speech, said Niska, adding it might be good to wait for the U.S. Supreme Court to resolve NetChoice lawsuits against Texas and Florida social media laws. Also, Niska disagreed with the bill's inclusion of a private right of action; he favors leaving enforcement solely to the state attorney general. Stephenson aims to keep HF-4400 away from regulating content to avoid constitutional problems, he replied. Also, Stephenson conceded to having “mixed feelings” about the bill allowing private lawsuits and is open to talking more about that. The Chamber of Progress opposes the bill, which "would produce a worse online experience for residents of Minnesota and almost certainly fail in court,” said Robert Singleton, the tech industry group’s director-policy and public affairs for the western U.S. Among other concerns, imposing daily limits on user activity would restrict speech in violation of the First Amendment, the lobbyist said. The Computer & Communications Industry Association raised First Amendment and other concerns with HF-4400 in written testimony.

The Hawaii House voted almost unanimously to approve a bill (HB-2359) establishing a digital equity grant program (see 2402050024). Only Rep. Elijah Pierick (R) voted no on Friday. The House sent the bill to the Senate.

The Utah Public Service Commission set an April 5 technical conference on possibly tightening requirements for seeking state USF support. The Utah PSC said it opened docket 24-999-10 in response to Commissioner John Harvey’s request that the commission get more evidence showing that costs claimed by a telecom company to receive support are reasonable. Harvey suggested that this includes a showing that the utility has applied for federal funds that could offset broadband costs and that any broadband speed the company provides above the federal minimum “has been done without incurring additional costs … or that such extra costs are either insignificant (compared to the total costs of the project), or that the extra costs can be justified by other public policy considerations," the PSC said. Also, Harvey wants to see utilities show their network design “is the least cost design” and that they chose the lesser cost "option of self-construction versus contracted construction,” it said.

The Washington state House voted 96-0 last week to pass an amended bill (SB-6308) to extend timelines for implementing the 988 mental health hotline. That would include providing the state health department until Jan. 1, 2026, to develop the technology platform, which is currently due July 1 this year. Also on Thursday, the House voted 68-28 to approve SB-5838, establishing an AI task force. The Senate passed both bills on Feb. 8 (see 2402090055) but now must concur with House changes.

The Michigan Public Service Commission renewed rules Friday for telecom providers that cease providing basic local exchange services (BLES). Its three commissioners supported the PSC order (docket U-21368), which makes minor changes and adds rules on what information BLES providers must include in discontinuance notices. Without the order, the rules would have expired March 21 (see 2307070049).

The Indiana Senate unanimously supported a bill that would require the state broadband office to be inclusive when awarding grants under NTIA’s broadband equity, access and deployment program. Senators voted 47-0 Thursday for HB-1277 to create an Indiana Code chapter governing BEAD administration. The office may not exclude cooperatives, nonprofits, public-private partnerships, private companies, public or private utilities, public utility districts or local governments, the bill said. The House on Jan. 23 voted 94-0 to pass the bill but now must concur with Senate tweaks. Meanwhile, the Indiana House on Thursday voted 92-0 for a state 911 bill (SB-232) and returned it to the Senate with amendments on Friday. The Senate previously voted 49-0 on Jan. 29 for the bill (see 2401310070, which would require originating service providers to connect to state 911 using an industry standard or functional equivalent, update certain 911 terminology, increase penalties for giving false information, and exempt information about 911 system security from public disclosure.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) vetoed a proposed social media ban for kids younger than 16 on Friday. DeSantis earlier raised concerns about HB-1 lacking an option for parents to give their children consent to have social media accounts (see 2402220051). But legislators declined to provide a parental option to override the proposed state ban. He vetoed the measure because lawmakers are "about to produce a different, superior bill," the governor wrote to House Speaker Paul Renner (R). "Protecting children from harms associated with social media is important, as is supporting parents' rights and maintaining the ability of adults to engage in anonymous speech. I anticipate the new bill will recognize these priorities and will be signed into law soon." Renner, who had made the bill a priority, and HB-1 sponsor Rep. Fiona McFarland (R) didn’t comment by our deadline. Meanwhile, the Florida House voted 109-0 Friday for HB-1541, which would require social media platforms that foreign adversaries own to disclose how they curate, personalize and target content and how they treat misinformation and harmful content. The House sent the bill to the Senate, which has a similar measure (SB-1448).

A bill requiring content filters when minors use tablets and smartphones passed the Utah legislature Wednesday. The Senate concurred with the House, which approved an amended version of SB-104 on Tuesday (see 2402280046). The bill needs approval from Gov. Spencer Cox (R). Meanwhile, Thursday the Missouri House passed and sent the Senate a bill (HB-2057) clarifying that streaming content is exempted from paying video franchise fees. Municipalities earlier raised concerns about the proposal (see 2402270055)