Morning tech tip sheet: Tuesday, May 4

What we're following on the morning of Tuesday, May 4...

Reps. Rich Boucher (D-Va.) and Cliff Stearns (R-Fl.) will release a draft of their new online ad privacy bill at noon on Tuesday. Both lawmakers will post the bill on their websites and solicit reaction, until the committee can act. However, if early reports are true, public-interest groups that have long called for regulation in the targeted-ad industry are likely to be upset with the duo's effort. Many of them plan to air their gripes in a conference call scheduled for this afternoon.

New White House task force on NASA to focus on job loss (Hillicon Valley) -- President Barack Obama is commissioning a new task force to address any job loss caused by the White House's proposed end to NASA's manned space-flight program. ... In a memo released late Monday, the president appointed Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden as co-chairs of the Task Force on Space Industry Workforce and Economic Development. ... The two leaders will preside over a board that includes a broad swath of federal agency chiefs and budget experts, who will together draft recommendations on how the administration can best spend $40 million to help any NASA employees affected by the White House's 2011 NASA spending plan.

Former telecom official takes leap into energy (Hillicon Valley) -- Reed Hundt is best known as the man who helped shape today’s wireless industry. Now he’s applying lessons he learned in the telecom world to his latest mission: getting clean-energy technologies off the ground."

Other tech news:

Movie groups seek to refute exchange supporters' claims (Tech Daily Dose) -- Writes Juliana Gruenwald: "Movie industry groups are keeping up their aggressive effort to block two firms from launching futures exchanges that would be based on speculation over motion picture box office receipts. ... In a letter sent late last week to senators, five movie industry groups, including the Motion Picture Association of America, tried to dispute recent claims made by supporters of such exchanges, who are aiming to strip language from a financial regulatory bill that would ban movie futures exchanges."

Connecticut AG probing Craigslist on sex ads (Reuters) -- "Craigslist.com was subpoenaed on Monday by Connecticut's attorney general, who is investigating whether the popular online classified ad service is doing enough to quash prostitution on its site and whether it may be profiting from it. ... Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who is co-heading a group of 39 states looking into the matter, said in a statement that thousands of ads remain on Craigslist despite assurances from the company they would be removed."

Chip sales are up 4.6% (Wall St. Journal) -- From Tess Stynes, "Global semiconductor sales rose 4.6% in March from the prior month, setting a new high for the month and second all-time to November 2007, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association. ... The recent growth has been driven by demand for personal computers and cellphones that began late last year."

Cash-strapped states go online, hoping to tax sales (Washington Post) -- Ylan Q. Mui reports: "For years, consumers have counted a legal quirk that allows many Internet retailers to forgo charging sales tax as one of the perks of shopping online. But as states face yawning budget gaps, there is a growing movement to lay claim to the billions of dollars lost through the loophole each year. ... In most states, the burden is on shoppers to track what they buy online, calculate the sales tax owed and then pay it. In reality, few consumers fess up -- many do not even know such a requirement exists. That will result in $9 billion in unpaid state and local sales taxes this year, according to a study at the University of Tennessee."

What we're covering this week... 

TUESDAY

New America Foundation

FCC: Toothless regulator or cop on the beat?

Where: 1899 L St., Suite 400

When: Tues., May 4, 12 - 1:30 p.m; RSVP required

Panelists include Hank Hultquist, VP for Federal Regulatory Affairs at AT&T; Barbara Esbin, a senior fellow at the Progress and Freedom Foundation; Harold Feld, legal director for Free Press; and Linda Kinney, a VP at DISH Network.

WEDNESDAY 

House Judiciary Committee

Full committee hearing on patent reform

Where: Rayburn 2121

When: Wed., May 5, 10:15 a.m.

House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties

Hearing on the Electronic Communications Privacy Act

Where: Rayburn 2121

When: Wed., May 5, 2 p.m.

THURSDAY

The FCC's Joel Gurin, head of the commission's Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, discusses a new initiative involving consumer billing.

Where: FCC headquarters

When: May 6

FRIDAY

American National Standards Institute and the Internet Security Alliance 

Cybersecurity briefing on Capitol Hill to present new report

Where: Cannon 311C

When: Friday, May 7, 11:30 a.m. RSVP required