States' Right-of-Way

STATES' RIGHT-OF-WAY
[SOURCE: Wired in Washington, AUTHOR: Drew Clark]
Two significant telecommunications developments took place last Friday: Congress adjourned without passing its sweeping re-write of communications law. And California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation that does pretty much the same thing. With Gov Schwarzenegger’s signature, 33 percent of Americans now live in states that have overhauled their telecommunications laws. In coming months, more states may follow the example first set by Texas, which enacted video-franchise legislation in September 2005. States including New York, Florida, Pennsylvania and Michigan are considering bills. If all of them followed suit, 53 percent of the U.S. would be covered by such laws. When confronted with a do-nothing Congress on this issue, the states are doing a do-around. This is odd, particularly at time when there seems to be near-universal agreement that telecommunications policy is an issue for the federal government, and not the states. Why is this happening? The answer is politics, telecom-style.
http://www.wiredinwashington.com/20061002.htm