Maine Lawmakers Hear Bills Seeking Nondiscrimination for Internet, PEG
Maine “shouldn’t just wait around to act” on net neutrality “because the federal government may or may not do something,” state Rep. Nicole Grohoski (D) said Wednesday at the legislature’s Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee hearing. Grohoski’s LD-1364 would ban…
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government contracts with companies that don’t follow the FCC’s rescinded 2015 net neutrality rules. NCTA, CTIA and Telecom Association of Maine (TAM) officials disagreed Maine should act. The bill is unnecessary, bad policy and unlawful, said Latham & Watkins' Matthew Brill for NCTA. A state can’t require ISPs to adhere to a repealed FCC order, he said. Rep. Chris Caiazzo (D) bristles at the idea Maine can’t control its own spending. Brill responded it might be OK for government to specify terms in its own contracts, but the bill would leverage state spending power to improperly regulate terms for all of an ISP’s customers. CTIA Vice President-State Legislative Affairs Gerard Keegan agreed. When Caiazzo followed up asking if Maine could restrict state funds for broadband infrastructure -- a concept Colorado proposed in its open-internet bill (see 1904080051) -- Keegan said he would need to ask his wireless members. LD-1364 would force Maine wireline companies to violate federal law, but TAM would be willing to work with legislators to come up with acceptable rules, said Vice President Beth Osler. The committee also heard testimony on LD-1371, which would require cable companies give nondiscriminatory treatment to public, educational and governmental channels. Sponsor Sen. David Woodsome (R) wants to stop “channel slamming” that moves PEG channels away from the broadcast channel lineup area to a much higher number, he said. The bill would require PEG to be carried in HD if available, he said. It aims to spur rural deployment by requiring cable TV franchises to provide line extensions to areas with a density of 15 homes per mile. Many PEG and local government officials supported the bill, saying such channels provide a valuable service to their communities that cable decisions are stunting. The bill is pre-empted by federal law, said Charter Communications Senior Director-Government Affairs Melinda Kinney. Not all towns want PEG channels, and consumers consume TV content differently than in the past, she said: “You don’t have a dial anymore.”