For decades, telephone companies provided telephone service and cable companies provided television service, and each industry was taxed and regulated differently.  Now telephone companies offer television service and cable companies offer telephone service.  They both offer Internet access and they both compete with satellite companies.  We have witnessed a convergence of technology, and the different taxing and regulatory regimes no longer make sense. 

It was against this backdrop that I chaired the first meeting of the Telecommunications Taxes, Fees and Franchising Study Committee.   I was happy to be joined by Senators Chip Rogers, Bill Heath and Tim Golden as we heard from a half dozen industry representatives.  

Four proposals emerged, and for those of you who are interested in telecommunications policy, Tom Crawford of Capitol Impact did a good job of summarizing them in this article: 

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The Lieutenant Governor has asked me to serve as chairman of two Senate study committees, the Telecommunications Taxes, Fees and Franchising Study Committee and the Cigarette Tax Evasion Study Committee. I have spent a good deal of time this summer preparing for hearings this fall.

I have set the date, time and place of the first two meetings of the telecommunications study committee. The first meeting will be Wednesday, September 5, at 1:00 p.m. in Room 450 of the State Capitol. The second meeting will be Thursday, September 20, at 10:00 a.m. in the same place. We will hear from the Georgia Department of Revenue at the first meeting, and we will begin examining various legislative proposals at the second meeting. A number of issues have been raised, and I will write about them here in more detail later.

The Lieutenant Governor appointed Senators Chip Rogers, Bill Heath, Jack Murphy and Tim Golden to serve with me. Senator Rogers authored the resolution creating the study committee.

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I attended the bill signing ceremony today for House Bill 227, the Consumer Choice for Television Act.  Immediately after the ceremony, AT&T announced a $500,000 million investment in Georgia.  The money will be spent upgrading the company’s fiber optics network to offer, among other things, “cutting edge television” service.

[UPDATE] The announcement is being discussed at Peach Pundit, which has posted a copy of the news release.

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I have been invited to a ceremony tomorrow afternoon, Wednesday, May 30, at which the Governor will sign House Bill 227, the Consumer Choice for Television Act.  Introduced by Representative Jeff Lewis, Chairman of the House Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications Committee, this bill reforms the video franchise laws to encourage competition to cable television providers.

AT&T plans to offer television service over telephone lines, and this bill should accelerate the offering. 

The Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee worked on this issue for almost a year, and I was pleased to carry the bill for Chairman Lewis in the Senate.  The final product represents a good effort by the House and Senate and the various interest groups.  I am a strong believer in the benefits of competition.  This bill should help bring about better offerings, improved service and lower prices.

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Our regular session began as usual at 10:00 a.m.  We unanimously approved Senate Bill 14 dealing with the Superior Court Clerks Cooperative Authority.  We also approved Senate Resolution 126 setting forth our schedule through Monday, February 12, which will be the eighteenth day. 

I introduced Senate Bill 84 at the request of the Insurance Department.  This bill updates the unfair trade practices section of the Insurance Code to deal with insurance scams aimed at members of the military.

My lunch hour was taken up meeting with lobbyists and constituents. I met with both hospital and insurance lobbyists about Senate Bill 73 dealing with continuity of care.  I visited with groups of architects, homebuilders and school children from my district.  I met with electric lobbyists about the shared use of the utility poles (”pole attachment”).  I met with a lobbyist from a leading beer maker about Sunday sales.  I also worked on legislation that would create a Gwinnett County Stormwater Authority.

My afternoon was packed with committee meetings.  At the Banking and Financial Institutions Committee meeting, we heard a presentation from the Commissioner of Banking.  He outlined the annual departmental “housekeeping” bill updating the Banking Code. 

The Health and Human Services Committee acted on several bills and resolutions, most creating study commissions and task forces.  We favorably reported Senate Bill 57 which would provide for a system of licensing dialysis technicians. 

The Rules Committee voted to place Senate Bill 10 on the calendar for tomorrow, the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Act.  The Democrats, self-proclaimed champions of the downtrodden, appear to be gearing up to oppose this bill.  It should be interesting.

I returned calls right before I left the office.  I reached the one constitutent who had contacted me in opposition to Senate Bill 10.  I explained my reasoning for supporting the bill, and I seemed to win him over.

We go into session tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. You can watch our proceedings live tomorrow at the Georgia General Assembly website.

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