Legislative
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Verizon
and AT&T Universal Service and Access Charge Plan
Recently,
Verizon and, AT&T submitted a proposal to the
FCC concerning USF and access charge reform.
The plans call for several changes in
termination rates, USF support,
increases in rural SLC rates, and a benchmark local rate. This plan should be of
particular concern to
small, high cost phone companies, as it will drastically change the way
business is structured in the telecommunications industry.
One of the
central points of the plan is a uniform termination rate, which would
apply to
all companies. This
rate would be $.0007
and would apply to the entire telecommunications industry. Obviously, this presents a
serious departure
from the previous structure and would cause a great hardship to many of
our
member cooperatives.
Another part of the
plan is a mandatory increase in rural
SLC rates from their present levels, to around $10.50.
This presents a problem for some member
cooperatives as they would be forced to increase rates on their members
by a
significant margin.
Another
portion of the plan would also lead to a rate increase.
For companies to qualify for USF support
they
would have to reach a “benchmark” local rate.
If a company’s local rates fall below
this benchmark they would be
ineligible to receive USF support.
Although this “benchmark” rate was not
defined, the likelihood is that
it would be somewhere between $25-$30.
The
FCC scheduled a vote on this issue originally for November 4, as FCC
Chairman
Kevin Martin, wanted to move on USF reform before the administration
change in
January. However,
several companies and
organization objected to the plan and the vote was delayed. Currently, it appears
nothing will take place
before the change in administrations in January.
We have likely not heard the last on USF
reform and rural companies must continue to be vigilant to make sure
the final
reforms are fair to all industry participants, including rural, high
cost, companies.
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Broadband
Mapping Comes to North Carolina
As a result of a
legislative initiative in the 2008 short
session, the telephone and cable industries have spearheaded efforts to
develop
an on-line mapping system that will indicates all areas of the state in
which
broadband services are available to consumers.
Although the information is currently
available from industry sources,
the on-line map will create a web-based means for consumers to
determine
whether or not they have broadband access available.
Consumers will be able to enter their
personal address and determine not only if broadband is available but
the names
of the various vendors that are providing the service.
The system
will be created by a private vendor which has created similar maps for
other
states. Although
both the telephone and
cable industries have been actively involved in the process, the House Select Committee on High Speed Internet
in Rural Areas has been instrumental in the process.
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Bush,
Obama, and the Changing Face of the American Electorate
Regardless of one’s party
affiliation or candidate preference,
the
2008 elections represented an historic time in our history. For the first time, an
African-American was
elected to this country’s highest office. For only the second time a
woman was
included on a major party ticket.
On
November 4 the American people made their decision.
The important thing to understand is why
and
how this occurred and whether it represents a fleeting or permanent
shift in
our nation’s political process. Three
reasons for Barack Obama’s victory stand out.
Two suggest that his victory may be more
fleeting as opposed to
permanent change, while one factor may demonstrate a more permanent
shift in
the American landscape.
First, the
importance of the general dissatisfaction with President Bush cannot be
overstated. Bush’s
approval rating at
the eve of the election was only 27% according to a Fox News Poll. This perception made it
difficult for
Republicans at all levels not just at the federal level. Dissatisfaction with
President Bush was a
major reason if not the major reason for the Obama victory. Such dissatisfaction was
perhaps an even
greater factor in the Democrats gaining at least five seats in the
Senate and
at least seventeen in the House of Representatives.
Despite Senator McCain’s best efforts,
President Bush may have been the most important Republican and perhaps
the most
important figure in this election.
As
the pundits have said, Senator McCain lost to George Bush in both 2000
and
2008.
The second
reason for the Obama victory and increase in Democratic control of
Congress was
the Obama campaign itself. For
many
Americans, Obama was an inspiring candidate.
This was especially true of
African-American voters and young voters who
turned out in what appears to be record numbers.
However, possibly more important than
Obama’s
personality was his ability to raise massive amounts of money and use
that
money to organize an effective campaign.
Obama amassed a $600 million war chest,
far more than
anything we have ever seen in
politics. This
enabled Obama to spend
large sums on advertising including spending in states that in the past
have
trended Republican, including North Carolina.
Organizational efficiency was another
controlling factor. According to
many political organizers, Obama put an organization on the ground that far exceeded any previous
effort of any
presidential candidate. Obama
used more than 700
field offices to help increase
turnout, especially through the process of early voting, which gave him
an
advantage in nearly every state that adopted early voting procedures. Those who poked up at
Obama’s community
organization background seriously underestimated its importance in this
election.
While both
these reasons are important, they are factors unique to this election. However, the final reason
for the Obama
victory may be more permanent. The
make
up of the country’s electorate is changing.
This electorate was larger, younger, and
more diverse than ever
before. This is not
likely to change as
the population and voter share of African Americans and Hispanics
continues to
increase. For
example, John McCain won
55% of the white vote according to exit polling, and the tendency of
exit
polling to favor Democrats could have meant this margin was even larger. However, with the changing
face of the
electorate, this margin was not enough to offset Obama’s victory among
other
groups. It remains
to be seen whether this
change will lead to a more permanent restructuring of the American
political
landscape.
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The
Council of State and the Legislature
Perhaps surprisingly, in an
election dominated by promises
of change from both sides of the aisle, North Carolina’s
political landscape remained remarkably
unchanged. The
success of Obama and Kay
Hagan clearly helped Democrats in the Council of State,
especially Beverly Perdue, who carried Mecklenburg
County
largely because of the presence
of Obama on the ticket. The
other
Council of State races left things largely unchanged.
After the election, only two seats on
the
Council changed hands in terms of party control, when Beth Wood (D),
defeated
Les Merritt (R) in the State Auditor’s race and Wayne Goodwin (D)
defeated John
Odom (R) for the position of Commissioner of Insurance.
Cherie Berry and Steve Troxler, held on
to
the Republican posts of Secretary of Labor and Agriculture,
respectively. The
other seats remained in Democratic
hands. Clearly,
this was the year of the
woman in the Council of State as women now hold a majority on the
Council,
including Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer, Superintendent of
Public
Instruction, Secretary of Labor, and Auditor.
The North
Carolina Legislature saw little change as well.
Republicans picked up one seat in the
Senate while the House remained even.
Democrats still control both Houses of
the
Legislature. The
election left the
Democrats with a 30-20 majority in the Senate and a 68-52 majority in
the
House. The election
was generally
dominated by incumbents. The
House lost
two incumbents in the general election.
Hugh Blackwell (R) defeated Rep. Walter
Church (D) and Sarah Stevens (R)
defeated Jim Harrell of Surry County. Senatorial incumbents
faired even better, as
no incumbent was defeated in either the primary or general election. Clearly, the theory of an
anti-incumbent bias
in the electorate did not hold true at least in the North Carolina
legislature
Our
PAC did extraordinarily well in the general
election. In total, we gave donations to 74 candidates in the
Legislature in 72
races. Of those 72
races only one of our
picks was defeated, Jim Harrell (D) was defeated by Sarah Stevens (R). Our PAC members should be
proud of our 98.6%
success rate in the general election.
In
two races, the PAC Board felt it prudent to give to both candidates. In the race between Joe
Sam Queen (D) and
Keith Presnell (R), we contributed to both candidates. The election was
won by
Joe Sam Queen. The PAC also contributed to both Van Braxton (D) and
Stephen
Laroque (R). This
race was won by Van
Braxton. In both of
these races, the
incumbent managed to hold his seat.
In
the Council of State we gave to six candidates including both
candidates for
Governor and Lieutenant Governor.
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