Federal Election Commission (FEC) members peppered activists and reformers with questions about proposed FEC rules for Internet communications on the first of 2 days of hearings Tues. Everyone agreed individual speech should be protected, but differed on how to do that without bringing down the edifice of campaign finance laws.
“Digital goods” sales would incur the N.J. sales tax under a bill approved by the state Senate Budget Committee on a party-line vote Mon. S-2628 would extend the tax to downloaded movies, music and software, plus “information access purchases or subscriptions” to websites such as online journals, among several other extensions. The tax would mean a 99 cents iTunes Music Store download would cost $1.05. Out-of-state businesses wouldn’t have to collect the tax unless “related through common ownership” to businesses operating physically in N.J. Neither Sen. Majority Leader and sponsor Bernard Kenny (D) nor Sen. Budget Committee Chmn. Wayne Bryant (D) could be reached for comment. Bryant told Today’s Sunbeam the bill would level competition between brick-and-mortar stores and online retailers. Acting Gov. Richard Codey (D) said he wants to extend the sales tax to other products and services in his March budget, but didn’t specify which.
Hill action on telco video franchising and IP services will emerge soon, key members of the House and Senate told a Progress & Freedom Foundation (PFF) forum Tues. Sen. Ensign (R-Nev.) said he plans to introduce a bill in July to address Telecom Act revisions regarding franchising and VoIP. Rep. Pickering (R-Miss.) predicted reform legislation could clear the House in the fall, positioning the Senate to act in the Spring.
The FCC order on the proposed $6 billion Alltel- Western Wireless merger could circulate among the commissioners in the next 2 weeks, an FCC source said Thurs. The order “is still at the [Wireless] Bureau and I am hoping we are going to get it to the Commissioners in June,” the source said. The FCC started its self-imposed 180-day clock for deciding the merger March 1.
A federal court ruled N.Y.C. officials acted lawfully in rejecting a Global Network Communications application to install its payphones on city streets. The U.S. Dist. Court, N.Y.C., said the city was within its bounds when it rejected Global’s application on grounds that it raised major questions about whether Global would pay the compensation it would owe to the city. The city said Global’s owner, Ronald Massie, has an extensive criminal record, including allegations of ties to organized crime, and the company has a record of not paying compensation owed to property owners who let Global install payphones in their establishments. “Inherently, the city’s right to require compensation from telecommunications providers includes the reasonable expectation that its compensation will be paid accurately in full, on time, and without criminal involvement or fraud,” the court said. Nothing in state or federal law, the court said, forces a city to grant a payphone franchise when there is compelling evidence in the record that it could have serious problems collecting its compensation from the provider.
The individual arguably responsible for the blogger backlash against proposed Federal Election Commission (FEC) Internet communication rules Wed. announced his impending exit. Comr. Bradley Smith said he'll leave the FEC Aug. 21, 5 months after warning campaign activists and bloggers they might soon risk FEC wrath simply for linking to a political candidate’s website. A week later, Chmn. Scott Thomas labeled Smith’s warnings “quite a pile” at the Online Politics Conference (WID March 14 p1).
The Canadian Radio-TV & Telecom Commission (CRTC) will decide today (Thurs.) whether to allow satellite radio in Canada and, if so, under what conditions. There are 3 subscription radio license applications on CRTC’s table -- 2 satellite, one terrestrial. All have been incubating since a Nov. CRTC public hearing that set the Commission to wrestling in earnest with important policy calls.
The Canadian Radio-TV & Telecom Commission (CRTC) will decide today (Thurs.) whether to allow satellite radio in Canada and, if so, under what conditions. There are 3 subscription radio license applications on CRTC’s table -- 2 satellite, one terrestrial. All have been incubating since a Nov. CRTC public hearing that set the Commission to wrestling in earnest with important policy calls.
Most federal agencies aren’t taking adequate steps to combat spam, phishing and spyware, as the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) requires, the Govt. Accountability Office (GAO) said Mon. Cybersecurity experts in govt. and industry were unsurprised by the report.
On June 8, 2005, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 2744, the fiscal year (FY) 2006 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (Act). H.R. 2744 would provide FY 2006 funding for, among things, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), including the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), as well as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).