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Michigan Claims Top Digital Honors
by Chloe Albanesius
Michigan has been named the most digitally advanced state for 2004, according to a survey released Tuesday by the Center for Digital Government.
The results measure how state governments' use of technology impacts average citizens in four areas: service delivery; architecture and infrastructure; collaboration; and leadership. Michigan placed second in the center's 2002 survey and 11th in 2000.
"Michigan has changed the citizen and business experience through a broad suite of real-time transactional services, powered by an increasingly shared and robust infrastructure, designed around a coherent statewide architecture, and supported by a collaborative planning process," Paul Taylor, the center's chief strategy officer, said in a release.
"We're using information technology to support and enhance the core functions of Michigan government and to position our state as a global economic powerhouse in the 21st century," Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm said. "Information technology is playing a critical role in every aspect of our work."
Washington ranked second in the survey. "Our participation and consistent high ranking ... points to the leadership, dedication and hard work of our state agencies to deliver the best possible online service to the citizens of Washington," Gov. Gary Locke said in a statement.
Virginia jumped from sixth place to third in the past two years, a position that center Executive Director Cathilea Robinett attributes to the state's "inordinate amount of vision and leadership." The state has "done more than any other state in the shortest amount of time. It is extremely impressive," she said.
Other top-ranked states include: Indiana; Arizona; South Dakota; Tennessee; Utah; Arkansas; and Colorado and North Carolina, which tied for 10th place.
In other news, the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) on Wednesday named Delaware Gov. Ruth Ann Minner as BIO governor of the year. Minner supported the Delaware Technology Park and the Delaware Biotechnology Institute. She also has recruited several biotech companies to the state.
Telecom Rumblings In The Heartland
The Texas Public Utility Commission (PUC) should move toward less regulation of the prices, terms and conditions of the state's communications services but still maintain a consumer protection and public-safety role, according to the Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF).
An April 2004 staff report released by the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission "misses the fundamental reality of competition in the Texas marketplace," PFF research fellow Kent Lassman said Tuesday at a hearing before the commission in Austin.
Lassman criticized the commission for not giving enough attention to emerging technologies like Internet telephony and high-speed Internet access over power lines. That oversight is a mistake because the communications marketplace "is pervasive and it comes through a variety of technological platforms," he said.
To that end, Lassman offered three suggestions: eliminate the economic regulation of retail communications services, minus "basic service" packages; reform the policy for providing service to all residents; and move regulation toward consumer protection.
He contended that the PUC currently is moving toward a more regulatory regime, with suggestions like upping the maximum administrative penalty from $5,000 to $25,000. He also warned against the PUC establishing and enforcing wholesale performance measures in the telecom marketplace. In its report, the PUC said without the clear authority to establish and enforce such measures, it is limited in its ability to foster fair telephone competition.
"Creating a pervasive, enhanced wholesale mandate may in fact impeded the emergence of ... new platforms, as regulators do their best to micromanage market shares on the old telephone system," Lassman said.
Also on the state telecom front, Susan Kennedy, a commissioner with the California Public Utilities Commission, and FCC Chairman Michael Powell on Wednesday attended a demonstration of broadband-over-power-line technology (BPL) sponsored by the Pacific Gas and Electric Company and AT&T in Menlo Park, Calif.
"Chairman Powell and I are working together, at both the federal and state level, to promote new technologies like BPL that will ultimately provide California's consumers with a choice of broadband platforms," Kennedy said in a statement.
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission last week approved the final wholesale rates that Verizon Communications charges competitors to lease portions of its networks. "We must be mindful that consumers are the most impacted by the very important and intricate policy decisions to be made in the months ahead," Commissioner Glen Thomas said in a reference to forthcoming line-sharing rules from the FCC.
The Pennsylvania PUC also approved a $1.50-per-month 911 charge per phone line for residents of Indiana County.
And in Seattle, Washington Attorney General Christine Gregoire on Wednesday notified the state Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) that it opposes Verizon's request for a $29.7 million emergency increase to local telephone rates. The request would result in a $3.54 monthly rate hike for consumers, a 27 percent rise for residential customers and 12 percent for businesses.
Verizon claims that the rate hike is necessary to offset the loss of revenues incurred from the decline in long-distance carriers using its network. If granted, the emergency rate hike would be in effect until May 2005, when the UTC makes a decision on Verizon's larger request for a permanent increase of nearly $240 million.
"We see no evidence that Verizon faces an actual emergency," Gregoire said in joint testimony filed with the seniors' group AARP and WebTEC. "Washington consumers shouldn't be forced to pay more for basic telecommunications until a company can demonstrate a real need for an increase after a full review of its books."
States Collect Fines For Telemarketing Violations
Officials in North Carolina and Texas this week announced several settlements of violations to their "do not call" rules on telemarketing.
Vitana Financial Group was ordered to stop making calls to North Carolina residents on the list of people who do not want telemarketing calls and to pay an undisclosed fine. The company left pre-recorded messages on consumers' answering machines pitching free electronics equipment.
Meanwhile, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott secured $59,250 in fines from eight companies who violated the state's do-not-call statute. The companies will pay between $1,000 and $7,500 in fees for peddling services like financial planning and home siding.
Florida Prosecutor Urges Tough Stance On Spam
Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist has urged citizens to "aggressively" pursue spammers who as of two weeks ago may be violating a state anti-spam statute.
"The combined efforts of the state and federal government, Internet service providers and concerned citizens will be required in order to win this fight," Crist said in his weekly newsletter. "By engaging in a dedicated and informed campaign against spam, consumers and Florida employers can be the long-term winners."
The law prohibits false or deceptive messages, as well as software that can automatically falsify headers on e-mail messages or conceal the messages' origin.
Gov. Locke Wants Washingtonians' Bone Marrow
Back in Washington, Gov. Locke urged citizens to join the National Bone Marrow Registry to see if they match someone in need. "Please give just a small blood sample so you can be included on the national registry," Locke said at a news conference.
There are currently 5 million names in the registry, but only 6 percent are of Asian Pacific Islander descent and less than 2 percent are multiracial. Locke, now near the end of his second term in office, is the first U.S. governor of Chinese descent.
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