IO Says SB. 271 Is a “Wrong Number
Think Tank Urges Legislature To Kill Latest Telecom “Reform”
Columbus: Innovation Ohio, a progressive think tank headquartered in Columbus, released a report today that says SB 271 is “unnecessary, anti-consumer, and potentially harmful to elderly, rural, and low-income Ohioans. It should not be passed by the General Assembly.” The think tank offered four “alternative recommendations” for consideration by lawmakers. SB 271 is the latest “reform” bill to be pushed by the telecommunications industry. Less than three years ago, the industry successfully lobbied for enactment of SB 162, and used many of the same arguments it’s now offering on behalf of SB 271. The IO study released today says that many of the industry’s claims and predictions — especially those related to job creation — failed to materialize and that the General Assembly should not pass any new reforms until the “Select Committee” it created to assess the impact of SB 162 finishes its work and issues its report. Among the principal findings of the IO Report are:- Current law already provides multiple remedies for telephone companies claiming “financial hardship” because of their obligation to provide basic landline service;
- SB 271 would “erode consumer protections”, force many to purchase higher-cost service plans, and leave many Ohioans without access to 9-1-1 and other emergency services;
- The so-called “fail-safe” provision in SB 271 — which the industry claims will ensure that no Ohioan goes without basic phone service — is fatally flawed;
- Industry assertions that enactment of SB 271 will create jobs are highly dubious. Similar claims were made in 2009 on behalf of SB 162 — yet AT&T, for example, admits that it actually employs 3,000 fewer workers now than it did then;
- The General Assembly should not pass SB 271 until the “Select Committee” it created to study the impact of the last reform (SB 162) issues its report. That report is due in 2014.
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