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To Deregulate Telecom Or To Tax It
by Chloe Albanesius
Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox on Tuesday appealed a Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) ruling that freed telephone companies from getting permission for rate hikes on local service.
Regulators last month voted to deregulate residential rates in metropolitan Detroit and other large cities 45 days after affected residents are notified. The state's local phone market is not "to a point where deregulation is justified by fair competition," Cox said in a statement. "Consumers need to be protected from unfair rate increases."
The dominant local provider SBC Communications pushed for the change, citing data that the company said shows a competitive market. Cox disagreed.
"Not only does the data not support SBC's contention that a truly competitive environment exists, but the MPSC failed to present any testimony, thus denying the commission the benefit of such review before making its decision," he said.
In other news, the O'Fallon City Council in Illinois on Tuesday voted to increase the city's telecommunications tax from 1 percent to 5 percent in order to fund a 200-acre family sports complex. On a 9-4 vote, members endorsed a tax that will generate about $1.38 per phone each month. Without the tax, the city would need 20 years to fund the park, Mayor Gary Graham said.
Councilman Michael Bennett expressed concern for those families with multiple phones and cellular phones, according to the meeting's minutes. He acknowledged that money collected would go toward a worthy cause but proposed a tax on hotels and motels instead.
Mary Schmidt agreed, pointing to the fact that the park itself would put "heads in beds" at local motels and therefore raise funds. She and Rick Reckamp, both of whom voted against the measure, said they received more negative calls on the tax than positive. Ed True, however, said people who contacted him prefer the telecom tax over a property tax.
Ned Drolet objected to not using the tax for telecom services but still voted for the measure.
Texas Delays Rules On Drug Import
The Texas Pharmacy Board has delayed implementation of a law that would let Texans purchase drugs from licensed Canadian pharmacies listed on a Web site created by the board.
The move comes after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sent a June letter to Gov. Rick Perry warning him about the potential dangers of imported prescription drugs. The board subsequently wrote a letter to Attorney General Greg Abbott questioning the FDA's concern.
The board was supposed to implement emergency rules to related to the law by Oct. 1 but voted for a delay in August pending a response from Abbott. He has yet to rule on the issue.
In other news, U.S. District Judge Joan Ericksen in Minnesota last week dismissed an antitrust case that accused major drug makers of joining forces to block U.S. customers from importing Canadian drugs. At least five major pharmaceutical manufacturers pledged last year to halt or reduce medicinal supplies to Canada in light of increased international drug purchases.
Tech Policy Issues Get Attention In California
Facing adjournment Friday, California lawmakers this week cleared measures that would ban online hunting, impose strict monitoring of sex offenders and encourage the use of telemedicine.
Under the telemedicine bill, A.B. 354, patients could receive distance ophthalmology and dermatology treatments, and the state Health Services Department would have to provide the legislature with a report on its use by Jan. 1, 2008.
Following the lead of other states, legislators also approved a bill, S.B. 619, that calls for global positioning systems to monitor sex offenders on probation and parole. Another measure, A.B. 437, would require Web sites for registering sex offenders to include the dates of crimes, convictions and prison release dates.
Legislators also cleared legislation, A.B. 1566, that calls for one year in prison or a $1,500 fine for people who steal the identities of military personnel. And on the telecom front, S.B. 210 would let the state's Public Service Commission continue collecting surcharges from providers until Jan. 1, 2010.
Last week, meanwhile, the Senate, approved Assembly-adopted amendments on a bill, S.B. 1028 that would ban computer users from manipulating weapons set up in the wild to kill game.
Guns And Wine In The Wolverine State
California is not the only state to address online hunting. On Tuesday, for instance, Michigan House members passed a bill, S.B. 620, that would ban the practice.
The state Senate passed the bill June 29.
Also in Michigan, House lawmakers took a different route than their New York counterparts last week by approving a bill, H.B. 4959, that would limit direct shipments of wine to Michigan citizens for personal consumption.
Licensed wineries could not ship more than 500 cases to all Michigan consumers. The legislation also would ban establishments from selling directly to retailers and restaurants, which is permitted under current law. And the measure contains proof-of-age regulations on Internet orders and shipment receipts.
The move comes after the Supreme Court in May ruled that Michigan and New York laws allowing intrastate wine shipments but not interstate ones violated the U.S. Constitution's Commerce Clause. The court allowed state legislatures to decide whether to allow both kinds of shipments or to ban the practice altogether.
New York Gov. George Pataki signed a law July 14 permitting out-of-state wine sellers to ship to state consumers and in-state wineries to sell to consumers in dozens of other states.
EDS Wins Florida's Medicaid Data Contract
Electronic Data Systems won a contract to develop a computer-based Medicaid system for Florida's healthcare agency, the state announced Tuesday.
The $253 million system, set to be online by July 1, 2007, will let Medicaid providers and recipients handle claims, measure health outcomes and report fraud via a Web portal. The system "will form the foundation for an effective medical-encounter data system while allowing us to better measure patient outcomes and empowering Medicaid participants" to be more involved in their care, Health Care Administration Secretary Alan Levine said in a statement.
Affiliated Computer Services now runs the state's Medicaid system for about $66 million per year. The department expects the EDS contract to cost $38 million for development and $43 million per year thereafter.
In other health news, AP reports that Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano on Tuesday announced the creation of a steering committee to make electronic medical records available statewide by 2010. The order gives the Arizona Health-e Connection committee six months to craft a healthcare information technology roadmap.
Meanwhile, South Carolina selected Spirit Telecom to replace the state's data network with multi-protocol label switching, a technology that enables operators to divert and route Web users around link failures and high-traffic areas. BellSouth will serve as a subcontractor on the $85 million contract.
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