By Ron Thaniel
September 11, 2006

While odds are increasing that the Senate will not approve the telecommunications bill prior to the October recess, the Conference is continuing to urge mayors to meet with their senators and express strong opposition to the bill and its sweeping state and local tax and video (cable) franchising preemptions.

The measure, The Advanced Telecommunications and Opportunity Reform Act of 2006 (H.R. 5252), approved late June by the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee would:

• Make permanent the current moratorium on taxation of Internet access while ending the “grandfather” clause that currently allows communities to continue to impose taxes on Internet access. The moratorium was slated to expire in November of 2007.

• Place a new three-year moratorium on the imposition of new discriminatory taxes on mobile services such as cell phones. Discriminatory taxes are defined as any tax that is not generally applicable to all businesses in the jurisdiction; and

• Exempt from the bill’s video franchising obligations any video service that is bundled with phone and Internet service if the video service is provided by satellite. This would exempt AT&T’s “Home Zone” service from any local franchise obligations because “Home Zone” service is the marriage of phone, Internet and Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS).

In addition, the measure would place significant new limitations on the local video franchising process and allow the providers of the video service to pick and choose which neighborhoods they wish to serve while bypassing all others completely.

As the Senate returned from the August recess, unconfirmed reports are that Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Chair Senator Ted Stevens (AK) has 60 votes to bring the bill to the Senate floor for a Motion to Proceed, but does not have 60 votes to cut off debate (cloture). Senator Stevens had been told by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (TN) that he needed 60 votes for floor consideration. Rumors persist that Senator Stevens likely will bring the bill to the floor the week of September 25th.

Local and state government groups are united in their opposition to H.R. 5252. Those groups, in addition to the Conference of Mayors, are National League of Cities, National Association of Counties, National Governors Association, National Conference of State Legislatures, The Council of State Governments, and International City/County Management Association.

It is important to contact your Senators and urge them to vote against closing debate and against the Advanced Telecommunications and Opportunities Reform Act (H.R. 5252). The bill would harm consumers and cities in many ways, including:

1. It fails to keep local governments financially whole because it strips local and state governments of tax authority over broadband and wireless telecommunications services.

2. It would permit local telephone companies to pick and choose the neighborhoods in which they want to provide video and broadband services, while allowing them to bypass other neighborhoods completely.

3. It would replace strong local and state consumer protection and customer service standards with federal standards drafted by federal bureaucrats not accountable to state and local communities and consumers.

4. It would unilaterally preempt other carefully crafted state and local laws that encourage competition and protect the public interest.

Tell them that local and state government associations are united in their opposition to the bill. Call the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask for your Senators’ office.