CONSERVATIVE STATE LEGISLATORS PROPOSE BILL TO LIMIT ROW FEES

Forum of state lawmakers is considering 3 draft telecom bills for introduction in fall when many legislatures return for sessions. American Legislative Exchange Council’s (ALEC) Telecom & Information Technology (IT) unanimously approved proposed bill at recent annual meeting that will be considered by its board in late Sept. If approved, members will be encouraged to introduce bills that would: (1) Reform rights-of-way (ROW) management to limit what states could charge for access. (2) Establish protections for industry against municipalities that offered competing telecom services. (3) Establish statewide standards for cellphone driver safety legislation. ALEC describes itself as bipartisan association of conservative state lawmakers who focus on principals of limited govt., free markets, federalism, individual liberty. Aug. annual meeting in Orlando drew 2,500, including 1,000 state lawmakers. Task force meeting drew 45 state legislators.

ALEC’s proposed Broadband & Telecom Deployment Act seeks to provide “greater clarity regarding conditions and fees that can lawfully be imposed” on telecom providers related to their use of public ROW. ALEC Telecom Task Force Dir. Morgan Long said ROW fees were helping to smother broadband deployment. Many localities are viewing telecom services as “cash cows” and have begun to assess fees based on revenue telecom companies collect from lines, as opposed to fees based on upkeep costs of ROW portals. Telecom Act of 1996 attempted to correct discriminatory charging of ROW fees by requiring collection in “competitively neutral and nondiscriminatory basis,” he said, but it hasn’t deterred municipalities. Long cited Boston Mayor Thomas Merino’s proposal to raise $9 million in new revenue by charging telecom companies ROW rent based on revenue those lines produced. Model bill defines revenue-based fees or “excessive” per-foot charges as barriers to deployment. It said govt. entities wouldn’t be permitted to use control over public ROW to impose additional tiers of regulation not associated with management of that ROW. Bill would require action on permit requests within 30 days of submission. Long said that in some cases permit requests had taken 18 months before being acted on.

ALEC Telecom Task Force Chmn. Gary Burton (R) of Mo. House has proposed ROW reform in his state, Long said. Burton is member of Mo. Joint Interim Committee on Telecom & Energy. Task Force member Karin Brownlee (R), of Kan. Senate, introduced ROW reform last session, Long said. She’s chmn. of Kan. Senate Commerce Committee. U.S. House recently passed legislation to reform ROW fee collection on federal lands (CD July 24 p6). Rep. Cubin (R-Wyo.), sponsor of bill (HR-3258), said fees charged by Interior Dept.’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) had discouraged broadband deployment to rural areas. It was unclear whether Senate would consider similar legislation.

ALEC proposed bill that would prevent municipalities from using govt. regulation for competitive advantage against telecom and cable companies. As many municipalities have begun providing some telecom and cable TV services, some have used bonding and taxing authority, ROW management and fee and tax assessment to gain advantage over companies with which govt. competed. One provision in model bill would exempt municipalities that provided such services from antitrust immunity. Bill also would: (1) Require that municipality providing telecom services have revenue that exceeds costs. (2) Require feasibility study and public hearings. (3) Prohibit transfer of govt. funds into municipal telecom service. (4) Stipulate that municipal telecom services would pay same fees and operate under the same laws as private providers.

ALEC also proposed legislation that would require statewide standard for cellphone safety. Long said there was confusion because many counties or municipalities had passed laws making it illegal to drive while talking on cellphone handset. Model bill, which is just 2 paragraphs long, said only state, and no municipalities, would be able to pass legislation relating to cellphone use in motor vehicles.