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Illinois Takes Drug Battle To FTC
by Chloe Albanesius
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan last week filed a citizen's petition with the FTC to demand that the agency respond within six months to Illinois' request for permission to test a program for importing prescription drugs from Canada.
While Americans face the exorbitant costs of prescription drugs, state Gov. Rod Blagojevich said in a release, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) "sits back making symbolic gestures -- an open mind and another study -- but nothing gets done to help the people who can't afford their drugs. Our appeals have fallen on deaf ears. So today we're taking a formal step that requires the FDA to respond within six months, or we can take them to court."
People may file citizen's petitions with the FTC to request action or a policy change, and the agency must respond in writing within six months or a lawsuit can be filed in U.S. district court. Illinois' petition is accompanied by two affidavits from health experts who have studied the safety of such drug imports.
Virginia's 'Do Not Call' List Effective July 1
Virginia's "do not call" list against telemarketing will be effective July 1, Attorney General Jerry Kilgore announced Friday.
"This new law will strengthen state enforcement of the rights of Virginians who have placed their telephone numbers on the national do-not-call registry," he said in a release.
Under the law, telemarketers must make caller-identification information available and leave a pre-recorded message identifying the origin of a call if a live person on the receiving line does not respond within two seconds. Kilgore and state and local attorneys can file enforcement actions in state court against telemarketers and recoup up to $500 per infraction.
North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper, meanwhile, announced settlements with AT&T and American Communications for violations of the state's do-not-call law while soliciting for DirecTV services.
AT&T admitted no wrongdoing but agreed to pay the state $30,000 and keep meticulous records of its telemarketing calls for the next two years. The company may not be able to call North Carolina at all if any AT&T telemarketers every call another resident on the do-not-call list ever.
American Communications, meanwhile, must train its workers to follow the North Carolina law and pay a $15,000 fine.
Also in Virginia, the General Assembly's Joint Commission on Technology and Science on Tuesday issued a solicitation for ideas and recommendations. The committee has a mandate this year to "generally study all aspects of technology and science, and endeavor to stimulate, encourage, promote and assist in the development of technology and science" in Virginia.
Qwest's Bid For Telecom Exemption Opposed
Washington Attorney General Christine Gregoire on Wednesday opposed Qwest Communications International's request to be exempt from a performance program on telecommunications service quality established during the firm's 2000 merger with US West.
Qwest must adhere to eight quality benchmarks and compensate customers if it misses any of those benchmarks. The company is potentially liable for up to $20 million annually in customer bill credits for failing to meet minimum service standards, according to papers filed Wednesday.
Violations include failing to: complete 90 percent of orders for new telephone lines within five business days; complete 99 percent of orders within 90 days; repair service failures within two working days; answer 80 percent of calls to its business office within 30 seconds; and respond to state consumer-complaint staff within two business days.
In other telecom news, Nebraska Lt. Gov. Dave Heineman on Monday launched Network Nebraska, a statewide telecommunications initiative. The first stage of the program, implemented by Alltel, will connect the cities of Grand Island, Kearney, Lincoln and Omaha using a technology called multi-protocol label switching. The second phase will extend that network to Alliance, Norfolk and North Platte via a contract with Qwest Communications.
"Network Nebraska is about collaboration, advanced technologies, connectivity and opportunities," Heineman said in a release. The program "broadens opportunities for enhanced learning, improves access to health care and more efficiently delivers government services." Officials estimate the state will save nearly $50,000 thanks to aggregation of bandwidth and lower Internet costs.
On Tuesday, meanwhile, FCC Chairman Michael Powell and Sen. John Sununu, R-N.H., were in New Hampshire to discuss the development of high-speed Internet access throughout the state. Powell and Sununu met the New Hampshire High-Tech Council to discuss the importance of the digital migration before moving to a "fireside chat" format on the topic with audience members at Dartmouth College.
Kansas Posts Parole, Probation Data Online
Kansas law enforcement officials on Wednesday unveiled a Web site that features the profiles of state parole and probation violators.
The site will assist police by enlisting the public in helping identify parole and probation absconders, Attorney General Phill Kline said. Part of Kline's Operation PADLOC -- short for Parole Absconder Detection, Location, and Capture -- the Web site was the brainchild of Kline's office, the Kansas Criminal Justice Information System and the Kansas Corrections Department.
Internet users can either peruse a list of current absconders or enter the personal information of an individual they suspect to be in violation. Profiles include physical descriptions of the suspects, mug shots when available, any aliases used and details on the crimes committed.
Further south In Texas, prosecutors recently secured jail terms for two men apprehended by the state attorney general's cyber-crimes unit. Danny James Reeves was sentenced to eight years in prison for soliciting sex from someone he thought was a child in an Internet chat room. The "child" was actually an investigator with the cyber-crimes unit.
Cliff Neal Mullican received a 20-year prison sentence for trading more than 800 images of child pornography over the Internet. Texas authorities were tipped off to Mullican's activities by New York investigators who were monitoring a large volume of traffic for Internet child porn.
Nevada Tech Department Installs New System
Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn on Monday announced that the state's Information Technology Department installed a new state mainframe computer and operating system. "Our state depends on this technology to electronically process many different state services" like license and registration information and employment records, Guinn said in a release.
Funding for the upgrade was provided by the legislature during its 2003 session and administrators were able to save $2.4 million thanks to "aggressive software contract negotiations," Nevada Chief Information Officer Terry Savage said.
In other news, Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher last week took questions from constituents during his first online town hall meeting. "I am accessing every possible avenue to reach the people of Kentucky and discuss the issues that matter the most," Fletcher said in a release.
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