California assembly committee gets a net neutrality do over today

22 August 2018 by Steve Blum
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California’s network neutrality revival is queued up for a key committee hearing this afternoon, with another one scheduled for tomorrow. Senate bills 822 and 460 are on the agenda – the only items on the agenda – of the California assembly’s communications and conveyances committee at 1:30 p.m.

That’s the same committee that gutted SB 822 in June. Its chairman, assemblyman Miguel Santiago (D – Los Angeles), had a change of heart after withering attacks from the online community and appeals – aka a stern talking to – from state and national democratic party leaders.… More

Where in the world is Miguel Santiago?

14 August 2018 by Steve Blum
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The legislative clock is ticking down in Sacramento, and there’s been no action on either senate bill 822 or 460. Those are the Siamese twin bills that would restore network neutrality rules in California.

Both are sitting in the assembly’s communications and conveyances committee. The chair, assemblyman Miguel Santiago (D – Los Angeles), hasn’t scheduled a meeting and his staff hasn’t prepared the obligatory analysis yet, despite a Friday deadline for committee action.

Both bills were trashed in Santiago’s committee in June.… More

California net neutrality bills back on track

8 August 2018 by Steve Blum
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The new versions of senate bills 822 and 460 were filed in Sacramento yesterday, and appear to once again be a legitimate revival of network neutrality, as promised last month.

SB 822, authored by senator Scott Weiner (D – San Francisco), is the big kahuna. The bill reinstates the three bright line rules first adopted by the Federal Communications Commission in 2015, when it had a democratic majority, and then repealed in 2017 after republicans took control: no blocking, throttling or paid prioritisation.… More

California’s net neutrality amigos ride into action tomorrow

5 August 2018 by Steve Blum
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The California legislature is back in session tomorrow, following a month long summer break. The fires ravaging California will certainly be top of mind for everyone, but broadband bills remain on the table. Network neutrality is the big issue, and activists are certain to keep the pressure on to pass effective legislation.

Senate bills 822 and 460 are paired up, and together will reinstate the 2015 Obama era net neutrality rules scrapped late last year by the Trump administration’s republican majority on the Federal Communications Commission.… More

California’s net neutrality crusade is back on track

6 July 2018 by Steve Blum
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Senators Scott Wiener (D – San Francisco) and Kevin de Leon (D – Los Angeles), and assemblymen Miguel Santiago (D – Los Angeles) and Rob Bonta (D – Alameda) lined up at a capitol press conference yesterday to announce that all was forgiven: strong net neutrality language would be restored to senate bill 822 and SB 460 would be raised from the dead.

What seemed to unite the four was shared democratic party opposition to the Trump administration and a desire to win federal congressional seats away from republicans in November.… More

One net neutrality bill still standing as California legislature preps for summer break

1 July 2018 by Steve Blum
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Senate bill 460 missed a key deadline on Friday and is now technically dead (with the caveat that resurrection is always theoretically possible in the California legislature). It was the weaker of two bills that aimed to restore Internet neutrality rules in California. Its author, senator Kevin de Leon (D – Los Angeles), pulled it from an ugly committee hearing two weeks ago and never put it back in play.

That leaves SB 822 as the only net neutrality measure still in the game.… More

Flood of lobbyists drowning California net neutrality bill

27 June 2018 by Steve Blum
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Senate bill 822 is sinking fast in the California legislature. Yesterday, the assembly’s privacy and consumer protection committee approved the gutted version of the bill, which would revive network neutrality rules, that came out of the industry-friendly communications and conveyances committee last week. The bill’s author, senator Scott Wiener (D – San Francisco), said he didn’t support SB 822 in its current form, and would withdraw it if it wasn’t fixed, but he wanted to continue negotiations with assemblyman Miguel Santiago (D – Los Angeles), the committee chair responsible for torpedoing it.… More

“Fake net neutrality bill” moves ahead in California assembly

26 June 2018 by Steve Blum
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As requested by the bill’s author, the California assembly’s privacy and consumer protection committee approved senate bill 822 without changes this afternoon. Wiener again blasted the amendments made last week by the industry-friendly communications and conveyances committee, saying he had no desire to pass “a fake net neutrality bill”. But if the bill died in today’s committee meeting, it would be game over, and Wiener wants to try to work something out with assemblyman Miguel Santiago, the committee chair who gutted SB 822.… More

Weak net neutrality language offered to save California assembly’s “integrity”

25 June 2018 by Steve Blum
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Network neutrality rules have another chance in Sacramento tomorrow. The California assembly’s privacy and consumer protection committee takes up senate bill 822, after it was eviscerated – to use the author’s verb – by the communications and conveyances committee last week. Anything might happen, but the cards on the table now point toward modest and rickety repairs, rather than complete reversal of the damage.

The privacy and consumer protection committee published its staff analysis of the bill, which suggested simplifying it by referencing the now-repealed 2015 net neutrality decision by the Federal Communications Commission, and telling Internet service providers to comply with the rules it laid down – no more, no less.… More