A pair of FCC proceedings could result in significant changes to how state and local governments regulate access to public rights-of-way for broadband and telecommunications networks, Marashlian & Donahue communications lawyer Jonathan Marashlian wrote Wednesday. He said municipalities know they have leverage over time-sensitive construction projects and use permitting as a negotiation tool -- often resulting in delays and higher deployment costs. The FCC proceedings are "a direct response to these kinds of real-world friction points." A wireline infrastructure notice of inquiry asks about possible limits on how states and local governments restrict rights-of-way access, while a wireless siting NPRM seeks comment on streamlining deployment of towers and other wireless infrastructure. Commissioners approved both at the agency's September meeting (see 2509300063).

A U.S. District Court judge in Maryland issued a final judgment Wednesday that bars the state from enforcing portions of its digital ad tax law. The judgment follows a U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling Aug. 4 that the law’s pass-through provisions violate the First Amendment. The Computer & Communications Industry Association, NetChoice and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce had argued that the pass-through provisions prevented businesses from communicating with customers about the tax law’s effect on prices and were thus unconstitutional. The law imposes a tax of up to 10% of revenue on digital ad services.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed AB-476 into law Monday to tighten the regulations on scrap-metal purchasers. The bill requires anyone engaged in the sale of scrap copper to be licensed by the state. Communications network operators have complained that gaps in scrap-metal regulation are a big driver of damage to their networks from thieves seeking copper cabling (see 2510070018).

Alaska, Utah and Florida have closed public comments on their draft final BEAD proposals, according to a rundown that the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society posted Friday. Those states are among the last to complete their plans, the group said. Alaska’s total BEAD allocation was $1 billion, $766 million of which will go to broadband deployment. Utah’s plan accounted for $231 million of its $317 million BEAD award, which leaves $86 million for other uses. In Florida’s plan, which Benton said has been submitted to NTIA, $291 million out of more than $1 billion in BEAD funds has been allocated for broadband deployment.

Florida state Sen. Tina Polsky (D) on Wednesday introduced SB-134, which would revise the conditions for awarding attorney fees in civil actions relating to telephone solicitation. The bill also would amend state law definitions of "telephone solicitor" and "telephonic sales call" to make clear that the terms don't include tax-exempt nonprofit organizations.

Alaska's Quintillion said Wednesday that it's making "steady progress" burying the subsea fiber-optic cable that was cut in January, disrupting service for customers in the North Slope and northwest Alaskan communities (see 2501220001). Crews on two submarine cable repair ships, the IT Integrity and the CanPac Valkyrie, have been working along the trench line to reach planned burial depths, the company said. Absent unexpected weather or sea ice conditions, this phase of the project should be done in the coming week, it added.

CTIA is asking the California Public Utilities Commission to clarify post-disaster community engagement requirements for facilities-based telecommunications service providers. In a petition Tuesday, CTIA said the wireless industry and CPUC staff had been on the same page about community engagement requirements applying to situations where a communications provider must rebuild or do major restoration after a disaster. However, the CPUC now apparently expects community meetings for any service outage resulting from a declared disaster, CTIA said. That approach "risks frustrating and confusing communities."

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) this week signed into law AB-1303, which prohibits the state's Public Utilities Commission and Lifeline program from sharing the immigration status of FCC Lifeline applicants or subscribers with other government entities without a valid subpoena or warrant (see 2509170065).

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Monday signed into law SB-576, which mandates that the volume of commercials on streaming services can't be louder than the original programming. Newsom's office said the bill builds on the 2010 Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act passed by Congress, which applied to broadcast TV stations and cable operators.

The deadline for applications to the Advance Colorado Mini Grant Program is Nov. 7, the Colorado Broadband Office said Friday. About $800,000 is available to applicants that have previously been awarded a state or federal broadband deployment grant from the state broadband office, it said.