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South Carolina Joins Franchising Fray
by Michael Martinez
A deregulatory telecommunications proposal in South Carolina won preliminary House approval on Wednesday. The bill would enable statewide regulators to pre-empt the video-franchising authority of localities, thus clearing the way for phone companies to obtain statewide franchises.
The House passed the measure, H. 4428, by voice vote after a second reading. A final House vote could come as early as Thursday.
Current rules require companies to seek separate franchising agreements with local authorities, a process that detractors have said is slow and cumbersome. Under the legislation, the secretary of state would become the sole video-franchising authority in South Carolina.
"Revising the current system of regulation of these services will relieve consumers of unnecessary costs and burdens, encourage investment, and promote deployment of innovative offerings that provide competitive choices for consumers," according to the text of the bill.
Indiana Puts Sex-Offender Data Online
Indiana residents without Internet access now will be able to obtain information on registered sex offenders living in their neighborhoods through a criminal-alert telephone hotline.
State prosecutors on Monday announced the phone service in Marion County that will let residents identify the locations of sex offenders and report criminals that have not properly registered their addresses with authorities.
Information on sex offenders already has been publicly available at a state-sponsored Web site. The online sex-offender registry was updated last month.
The site provides interactive maps that use icons to display the residences of registered criminals. By clicking on the icons, users can access pictures of sex offenders, as well as their personal information and criminal histories. The site also is integrated with a national registry.
"With the network and Web site, there are more tools through which people can report convicted sex offenders who have not registered as required by law," Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi said in a release.
Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter said the site soon will include an electronic notification feature to send e-mails to registered users when sex offenders move into their neighborhoods. He said the system would be online in April.
"By collaboration, cooperation and ingenuity, a user-friendly Web application about the location of sex offenders has been established to help citizens make informed decisions," Carter said in a statement. "The notification component of the registry makes government work proactively in today's fast-paced environment by bringing the information directly to citizens."
State officials also announced the launch of a search engine for air-quality permits. The Indiana Environmental Management Department and Access Indiana, the state's Web portal, have collaborated to allow online applications for air-quality permits.
"Being able to hop online and find every air permit in the state brings our agency one step closer to Hoosiers," Commissioner Thomas Easterly said. "What used to take an afternoon in the file room can be done with a few clicks of a mouse."
Washington Targets Online Degree Services
Lawmakers in Washington state are targeting employees who use phony degrees from unaccredited institutions and Web sites that offer them.
A House bill, H.B. 2507, would slap job applicants with $1,000 fines for claiming to have degrees they did not earn or for failing to disclose that academic honors listed on their resumes came from nebulous institutions.
The measure also takes aim at the businesses themselves. Some firms have created a niche market by selling various degrees from fictional academic institutions. Web sites even offer to provide fake accreditation for ordained ministers.
The legislation would make it illegal for businesses operating within the state to grant false or misleading academic degrees. Under the bill, institutions would have to seek approval from the Higher Education Coordinating Board before offering academic accreditation.
The House passed the bill last week; it awaits action in the Senate, where the measure has been referred to the Early Learning, K-12 and Higher Education Committee.
Illinois Considers Online Dating Bill
Lonely souls in Illinois who search for love online soon might have to meet a few more conditions to find companionship online.
State lawmakers there are considering a bill that would require online dating services to collect more comprehensive information on their prospective clients. A House measure, H.B. 5229, would mandate that dating Web sites conduct background checks on applicants for felony or sex-offender convictions before allowing them to communicate with other users.
Under the bill, businesses that fail to provide safety-awareness notifications on their Web sites would be liable for consumer fraud. Dating services that do not abide by the law would face penalties up to $1,000 per violation.
A committee approved the measure earlier this month, and it awaits a full House vote.
Utah Might Narrow Anti-Porn Measure
A House committee in Utah on Wednesday approved a measure that would repeal some provisions of an anti-pornography law.
The Rules Committee unanimously voted to pass modifications to an existing measure that requires the state attorney general's office to maintain an online adult-content registry and log pornographic Web sites. The proposal also would tweak the language requiring Internet service providers to offer blocking services for material listed on that registry, and it would change the standard for classifying material harmful to minors.
Last year, a group representing the porn industry, bookstore owners and various Internet sites filed a lawsuit to block an existing anti-porn act in Utah. The proposed modifications were written in response to the lawsuit.
Oregon Research Scandal Noted At Hearing
A House lawmaker on Wednesday prodded a White House official about recent allegations of censorship and manipulation of scientific research at a university in his home state of Oregon.
At a House Science Committee hearing on the Bush administration's fiscal 2007 budget proposal, Oregon Democrat David Wu queried White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director John Marburger about accusations that the administration suspended a forest research grant at Oregon State University for political ends.
Wu said the controversy in Oregon is among several recent incidents that have "sent a chill down the spines of the academic and research communities."
A House subcommittee field hearing has been scheduled in Oregon on Feb. 24 to examine the three-year study, which had its funding suspended last week by the Bureau of Land Management. The agency backtracked and restored the grant after it was accused of attempting to dismantle the study because its findings ran counter to White House policy.
Marburger told the committee he would investigate the incident and provide his results in writing.
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