|
|
 |
2008 Legislative Session Summary
Lawmakers dropped the gavel on the Second Regular Session of the 94th Missouri General Assembly at 6:00 p.m. Friday, May 16, closing out a year seen by most as more productive than first anticipated. Governor Blunt's surprise January announcement that he would not run for a second term, coupled with the distraction of election-year politics, caused most observers to predict a do-nothing year early on. However, in the closing days of the session state lawmakers passed several far-reaching bills, including legislation on illegal immigration and a new law to provide property tax reform across the state.
The telecommunications industry fared very well this session, and was fortunate to gain passage of legislation providing ILECs and CLECs with new regulatory and pricing flexibility in light of increasing competition from cable carriers offering voice service. The bill, HB 1779 (link to text: Truly Agreed), passed both the House and Senate with strong majorities. The final approval vote in the House was 121-26, while the Senate tally was 32-1. The measure is now on Governor Blunt's desk for approval.
Momentum for the omnibus bill began during the 2007 session when the cable industry pushed legislation that would have unilaterally de-regulated voice over IP services, barring the Public Service Commission from having any jurisdiction over those providers. The issue became tangled up in a larger effort by both our industry and the cable industry to craft legislation regulating the provision of video services.
An interim legislative study last fall was the catalyst for the bill that for the most part deregulated VoIP services while granting new flexibility to traditional carriers. (For a summary of the bill's provisions, follow this link: Truly Agreed)
Another key victory gained in the closing days of the session was passage of SB 1034, a bill to increase record-keeping requirements on scrap dealers as a deterrent to theft of copper from utility operations. The telecommunications industry had worked with other utility groups and interested parties for passage of this measure.
Earlier in the session the association worked to defeat attempts to limit our industry's ability to recover for damages to underground facilities and reduce contractors' liability for damages. (Other provisions contained in SB 904 that modify the state's One Call law were passed as an amendment to HB 1779.) A late-session attempt to allow a local vote to tax wireless calls to fund 911 failed, but the issue is expected to return in the 2009 session.
Lawmakers will once again devote time this summer and fall to tackling another thorny telecom issue -- inter-carrier compensation. During committee work in the House on HB 1779, concern was raised regarding Missouri's exchange access charge regime and other inter-carrier compensation issues. Industry members, along with bill sponsor Rep. Ed Emery, agreed to address the issue during the interim so that legislative changes might be considered in the 2009 session. A joint resolution approved on the last day of the session sets up a House-Senate interim committee on the subject.
Although floor work ceased May 16, the 2008 session formally adjourns May 30, with the last two weeks reserved for administrative actions on bills previously approved. The effective date of laws approved this year is August 28, unless a measure has a specific effective date or an emergency clause. Governor Blunt must sign or veto legislation passed in this session by July 14. Lawmakers will return for a brief veto session September 10 to consider passage of any legislation not approved by the Governor.
Weekly Coverage Online:
For the latest on industry issues please visit our current Manager's Memo.
|
|
