Today's Regulatory Mix:  Michigan Governor Vetoes Internet Tax Exemption Bill, Washington State’s Office of Cybersecurity 

Michigan Governor Vetoes Internet Tax Exemption Bill 

For the second time in two months, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer vetoed a bill proposing tax exemptions for broadband internet equipment for qualified business.  According to the bill’s sponsor, the legislation was rewritten to address the Governor’s concerns raised when the bill was initially vetoed.  However, Governor Whitmer concluded the revised bill still did not go far enough to make broadband Internet accessible to everyone in the state. 

Washington State’s Office of Cybersecurity 

Gov. Jay Inslee (D.) signed SB 5432, creating a state Office of Cybersecurity (OCS) within the Office of the Chief Information Officer.  The OCS will create security policies and develop protocols for managing the state's information technology assets, including data privacy and data protection. It will investigate all major cybersecurity incidents. In addition, the act will require an independent compliance audit of data security policies of each state entity at least once every three years. Finally, the new law directs the Office of Privacy and Data Protection to collaborate with the state attorney general's office to determine best practices for data protection and report the findings to the Legislature by December 1. 

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The Regulatory Mix, Inteserra’s blog of telecom related regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of an Inteserra Briefing.