Governors in 3 States Veto Telecom Bills
Governors vetoes killed a broadband development bill in W.Va. and a wireless telecom tax rollback bill in Mont. The Neb. legislature overrode veto of a bill to ban teens from using cellphones and other portable electronics while driving. Lawmakers elsewhere took up telecom deregulation, network neutrality, regulatory administration and other topics.
W.Va. Gov. Joe Manchin (D) vetoed a bill (SB-748) to authorize a statewide project mapping broadband service and levels offered. The state Dept. of Administration would have run it. The vetoed bill would have authorized the Commerce Dept. to encourage public-private partnerships to extend broadband into unserved areas. Manchin said he vetoed because W.Va. has a "strategic alliance" with broadband networking company Cisco Systems. Cisco began meeting this year with top state information system officials and cabinet members about lending its networking expertise to the state at no charge and helping to improve broadband networking there. W.Va. 45th in broadband availability, and 23% of households can't buy broadband access.
Mont. legislators couldn't override Gov. Brian Schweitzer's (D) veto of a telecom tax bill that would have reversed a Dept. of Revenue ruling doubling the property tax rate on wireless assets. The override vote on HB-469 fell 4 Senate votes short of the 34 needed. Revenue put wireless property in a higher-taxed classification going forward, with assessments done by the state, not locally. That boosts the effective tax rate on wireless property to 6% from 3%. HB- 469 would have codified past administrations' wrong readings of state tax law, Schweitzer said.
Neb. legislators overrode Gov. Dave Heineman's (R) veto of a bill to bar teens from using mobile electronic devices while driving. LB-415 bans use of cellphones, text messaging devices and other electronic communications devices by drivers on learner's permits or provisional licenses issued 15-17s. A violation would be a secondary offense, subject to ticketing only if the driver were committing another moving violation. But drivers convicted of unlawful device use could lose their permits or provisional licenses until age 18. Heineman deemed the law needless and hard to enforce. Legislators disagreed, voting 33-7 to override his veto.
The Nev. House passed a bill to end state rate regulation of all retail phone services other than basic exchange by Embarq and AT&T, the largest incumbent telcos there. The companies are under price cap regulation. Other incumbents, under rate-of-return regulation, could seek deregulation if they met competition tests. AB-518 would keep basic exchange under nonindexed caps until 2012. The bill was amended to require each incumbent local exchange carrier to report yearly on competition in its territory; to set methods for releasing an incumbent from its duty to be the provider of last resort; and to bar deregulation of 911 service.
The Ore. House Commerce Committee last week held hearings and this week a work session on a bill to deregulate nearly all retail phone rates of Qwest and other large incumbent telcos. HB-2621 would leave basic exchange service under price caps through 2010, immediately deregulating everything else. But the main issue with the bill has been a provision that would give the PUC jurisdiction over wireless and VoIP consumer complaints, rather than phone rate deregulation. The provision would authorize the PUC to review wireless and VoIP consumers' complaints and issue binding orders for relief.
Wireless and cable officials have been telling individual lawmakers that the bill would regulate wireless and VoIP while deregulating Qwest. Wireless in Ore. is highly competitive, has a voluntary code of conduct and causes fewer than 1% of 2.5 million wireless customers to complain, they say. Qwest said the bill wouldn't regulate wireless or VoIP, but only offer a forum for complaints. PUC Chmn. Lee Beyer wants the PUC to gain some authority over wireless companies, he said, adding that the Better Business Bureau cited wireless service as 2006's leading cause of consumer complaints.
The Me. Senate Utilities & Energy Committee plans a May 10 hearing on a network neutrality bill (SB-580) that would ban broadband providers from offering any service interfering with a user's access to any content, applications or services online. ISPs could offer services tiered by bandwidth if neutral regarding sources and ownership of Internet content. They also could offer optional consumer protection services such as spam blockers and parental controls for indecent or unwanted content. This is a "pure" network neutrality bill, not tied to any other telecom, cable, broadband or Internet legislation.
The N.H. House Science, Technology & Energy Committee defeated a regulatory administration bill (HB-476) proposing to set requirements for PUC nominees. The bill would have required one member to have public utility engineering experience. A 2nd member would have had to be a professional accountant. The 3rd would have to belong to the N.H. Bar.
The Nev. Senate Commerce & Labor Committee advanced an Assembly-passed bill (AB-27) to authorize the PUC to fine convicted violators of utility laws and regulations up to $1,000 a day, to a cap of $200,000 for any related series of offenses. Collected fines would go into the general fund. The PUC has no fining authority; its recourse is suing telecom and energy violators in state court for civil penalties. The bill also would authorize the PUC to sue offenders that fail to pay PUC-imposed fines.
The Wash. legislature passed 2 bills on drivers' use of portable electronic devices. The first would ban use of text- based or graphics-based mobile communications devices while driving on public roads. HB-1214, sent to Gov. Christine Gregoire (D), would exempt satellite navigation systems and other voice-prompted devices and use of text- based devices to report emergencies. The 2nd bill (SB-5037) would bar drivers from holding cellphones and other wireless communications devices to their ears while on public roads. The bill would exempt people with hearing aids and those reporting emergencies. The measure would take effect in July 2008.
The Ill. House passed a bill to create a nonprofit broadband development body, Connect Illinois, to inventory and map broadband availability and work with business to expand broadband availability, especially in unserved areas. HB-754 would assign Connect Illinois to promote technology literacy, work with counties to improve technology use and encourage broadband investment. The bill goes to the state Senate.
The Vt. House Commerce Committee advanced 2 related bills aimed at better aligning the state universal service fund with telecom technology and market trends. HB-268 would authorize state regulators to impose a universal service tax based on the price of retail telecom service provided to a Vt. address. The bill would exempt from the tax charges for paging, pay phone services, prepaid calls and non-voice data services. But it would tax VoIP and other IP-enabled voice services, and enhanced and value-added services. The bill specifies that the universal service fee is being imposed under state taxing authority, not under delegated federal Telecom Act authority. A companion measure (HB-269)would let state regulators assess a flat universal service surcharge per line if needed to keep the fund solvent or ensure nondiscriminatory application of charges.
A new bill in the N.Y. Assembly would require banks to put panic buttons on ATMs. HB-7423, assigned to the Banking Committee, would require that an emergency button activate a dedicated voice line connecting immediately to the local 911 dispatch center.