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Californians Support Microsoft Settlement
by Liza Porteus
A survey of California voters has found that a majority supports the Microsoft settlement and believes California Attorney General Bill Lockyer should join the settlement. Lockyer was one of nine state attorneys general who refused to endorse the recent settlement among the Justice Department, nine other states and Microsoft, and he will continue litigation.
The survey of 804 people, conducted by the Microsoft-backed Americans for Technology Leadership (ATL) and released Wednesday, shows that 56 percent of Californians approve of the outcome of settlement negotiations, while 24 percent disapprove. Only 1 percent put further action against Microsoft at the top of the list of issues Lockyer should pursue. About 81 percent said if continuing the case would cost taxpayers millions of dollars, California should join the settlement. And 86 percent oppose the use of taxpayer money to fund the litigation.
During the spring, Lockyer and Microsoft rivals lobbied the state legislature and received $3.7 million to prosecute antitrust violations, specifically in the tech sector. Locker also has received two $25,000 donations from Microsoft competitor Oracle.
California Assemblyman George Runner, a Republican, recently wrote to Lockyer, a Democrat, to suggest that there might be a legislative battle next year over Lockyer's antitrust budget. With the economy on shaky ground, Runner wrote, it would be "unwise" for Lockyer to use taxpayer money to continue litigation against Microsoft.
A recent Los Angeles Times story noted that sources familiar with Microsoft's lobbying plans say the company expects to target the states opposed to the deal with a multi-pronged campaign. It reportedly will use various individuals and organizations to raise questions about the use of taxpayer money in the continuing lawsuit.
Local Officials Urge More Law Enforcement Funds
The U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM), National League of Cities and National Association of Counties wrote to Congress this week, urging lawmakers to oppose a House-Senate conference committee's decision to slash funding for a block grant program for local law enforcement.
The compromise version of a bill, H.R. 2500, that would fund Commerce, Justice and State department programs in fiscal 2002 would cut funding for the block grants by $122 million, a 25 percent reduction. "This undercuts our efforts to defend the homeland, and it is simply unfathomable," New Orleans Mayor and USCM President Marc Morial said in a statement.
The letter urges lawmakers to restore full funding of $522 million for the program, instead of approving the $400 million currently proposed.
The program, run by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, funds: the purchasing of equipment and technology to support local law enforcement; the hiring and training of law enforcement officers and overtime pay for them; security around schools and other facilities; insurance for law enforcement; and crime-prevention efforts.
Utah Ponders Taxes And Telecommunications
Utah is among several states that are working to enact legislation to comply with a 2000 federal law designed to coordinate tax systems with mobile telecommunications carriers.
The statute requires states to create databases of addresses and assign each address to a taxing unit so wireless companies know what taxes to collect from their users. Utah's House Interim Telecommunications Tax Policy Subcommittee met Tuesday to discuss the act and other issues.
"It looks like we're going to move forward, and the legislature will enact that bill during the next session," said committee research analyst Bryant Howe.
The subcommittee also raised the possibility of exempting telecom company purchases from sales and use taxes. One proposal to help fund the exemption was to extend sales taxes to long-distance phone calls. The state tax commission estimated a loss of about $23 million from the exemption for telecom company purchases but a gain of $32 million from taxing long-distance calls.
"The committee was pretty adamant that there be no net revenue gain to the state," Howe said, adding that the $8 million gain would be used for other purposes. The meeting was the panel's last, so "absent a member of the legislature introducing a bill to do these things next session, I don't know what the future for it holds," Howe said. But "philosophically, the legislature is trying to remove taxes from business inputs wherever possible."
Virginia Panel Postpones Privacy Recommendations
The Privacy Advisory Committee of Virginia's Joint Commission on Technology and Science met Wednesday to make recommendations on two privacy bills for the 2002 state legislative session but decided to postpone action after several issues were raised.
One bill, H.B. 2803, would prohibit businesses from soliciting consumers' personal information without advance notice of the businesses' privacy policies, including whether personal information is sold or disclosed to third parties. It also would prohibit suppliers of services from using information collected under a former privacy policy without consumer consent.
The second bill, H.B. 2382, would define three types of information to be protected during online transactions: personal information, such as names, addresses, phone numbers and credit-card numbers; optional personal information, such as information from a consumer survey; and profiled information that identifies a consumer, which often is collected by Internet companies that use "cookies" to track Web users' online activity.
The measure would require Internet companies to establish a privacy policy and provides for civil relief if a consumer's rights are violated. The state attorney general could prosecute violators.
Mitchell Goldstein, the Privacy Advisory Committee's counsel, said several issues -- such as whether the bills would treat the online world differently than the offline world and what types of personal information could be gathered and disseminated -- were left unresolved. They will be debated again at the panel's next meeting Dec. 12.
Legislators' Group Outlines Stimulus Goals
Duane Parde, executive director of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), joined officials at several Washington think tanks in signing a letter, prepared by the Heritage Foundation, to the Senate outlining essential elements of an economic stimulus package.
The letter calls for Congress to implement tax reductions currently scheduled for 2004 to 2006 no later than Jan. 1, 2002. It also proposes that the tax write-off for business investments in computers and other equipment be enhanced permanently, rather than temporarily, as it would be under current House and Senate stimulus plans. And the letter calls for the repeal of the corporate alternative minimum tax and significant capital-gains tax reductions.
Colorado's Owens Names Anti-Terrorism Czar
Colorado Gov. Bill Owens last week named Suzanne Mencer as head of the newly created state Office of Preparedness and Security.
Mencer, a former FBI terrorism expert, is currently the director of public safety. She will oversee efforts to assess the risks of terrorist attacks, to train for the response to attacks, and to protect state infrastructures like telecommunications systems and transportation.
The new agency will be composed of the Division of Fire Safety, the Office of Security and the Office of Anti-Terrorism, Planning and Training. The latter office will establish a working group focused on terrorist-threat assessment, which will include all pertinent state and federal agencies, cities and counties involved in the protection of physical or information security.
AP reported that the initial cost of the agency will be $1.4 million, and it may require news laws to operate effectively.
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