Wheeler Promises to Overturn Laws Blocking Muni Broadband

As reported previously on the Legislative Committee blog, a number of states have introduced or passed legislation that would prohibit the expansion of municipally-owned and -operated fiber networks.  The legislation, in several instances, has been promoted by incumbent oligopoly broadband providers.

In a statement made earlier this week at a cable industry conference, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler promised to use his regulatory authority (Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act) to “preempt state laws that ban competition from community broadband.”

A full transcript of his speech may be found here.

posted by Anant Raut

TN Legislature to Debate Definition of “Tennessee Whiskey”

The Wall Street Journal reports today that the Tennessee state legislature will debate today the definition of “Tennessee Whiskey.”  Last year, the state passed legislation requiring anything labeled “Tennessee whiskey” to be made in the state of Tennessee, made from at least 51% corn, filtered through maple charcoal, and aged in new, charred oak barrels.  As it stands, the law benefits Jack Daniel’s (which actively lobbied for the legislation last year), in that it mirrors the formula used by Jack Daniel’s.  Jack Daniel’s sells nearly 90% of “Tennessee whiskey.”

Diageo PLC, owned of (distant) number two Tennessee whiskey brand George Dickel, is lobbying for a relaxing of some of the rules, citing a desire to experiment with the formulation of its whiskey, as well as the difficulty in obtaining new oak barrels.  Jack Daniel’s owns its own cooperage, and plans to build a second one in Alabama.

posted by Anant Raut

New NJ Regs Seem Designed to Protect Auto Dealers, Block Tesla

The Wall Street Journal reports that New Jersey has passed regulations that appear designed to force electric car manufacturer Tesla into abandoning its direct sales approach and partnering with licensed auto dealers.  The new regulations passed today forbid renewal of licenses to sell motor vehicles without showing a franchise agreement between manufacturer and independent dealer – which, as WSJ points out, “[Tesla], as both manufacturer and dealer, can’t do.”

In addition, the new regulations impose requirements on automotive showrooms that appear to have less to do with consumer protection than targeting Tesla’s favored approach of locating in malls and commercial strips, requiring premises larger than 1,000 sq. ft., vehicle servicing facilities, and at least two cars on display.

posted by Anant Raut

FCC Fires Warning Shot at State Broadband Restrictions

Two weeks ago on this blog, we discussed pending legislation in Utah that would prohibit broadband competition from a fiber network developed by a coalition of local municipalities.  Today, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler asserted the FCC’s authority to review and possibly overturn such competition-restricting legislation, citing Judge Silberman’s dissenting opinion in last month’s D.C. Circuit decision in Verizon.  

ArsTechnica has full coverage here.

posted by Anant Raut

Utah Bill Would Protect Incumbent ISPs

ArsTechnica reports that a bill introduced by a Utah state legislator is designed to protect incumbent ISPs from competition from UTOPIA, a 16-municipality consortium that has built out a regional fiber network.  The article notes that the price of a “triple-play” package (Internet, voice, TV) offered by Comcast in Layton, UT, where the company faces no fiber competition, is $242/month at < 10Mbps, whereas the triple-play package offered by Comcast in Provo, UT, where it faces competition from Google Fiber, is $120/month @105Mbps.

The full article may be found here.

posted by Anant Raut

New Hampshire Bill Would Increase Debarment Penalty for Antitrust Violations

Legislation has been introduced in New Hampshire (H.B. 1175) that would increase the penalties in the state for violating the antitrust laws. Specifically, the legislation would prohibit a vendor that has either been criminally convicted of a federal or state antitrust violation, or had a civil antitrust judgment entered against it, from bidding for state contracts with the state Department of Administrative Services for a period of 5 years – the current law prohibits antitrust violators from seeking state contracts for a period of 2 years. If enacted, the Act would take effect January 1, 2015. The text of the bill can be found at the following link:

http://gencourt.state.nh.us/index/QueryResults.aspx

Posted by Jim Burns

Hearing Held on the Pennsylvania “Any Willing Insurer” Bill

As noted in earlier postings on this blog, legislation is pending in Pennsylvania that would require large hospital systems in the state to contract with any health insurer that desires to contract with them. The bills (H.B. 1621 and 1622), if enacted, would be the first in the nation to implement “any willing insurer” principles in healthcare — “any willing provider” bills that require insurers to contract with any provider interested in being in the insurer’s network have been enacted in several states.

The legislation is a response to a dispute in Western Pennsylvania between UPMC (a large hospital system) and Highmark Blue Cross (a large insurer). UPMC announced earlier this year that it intended not to contract with Highmark, and local legislators, believing that “out of network” status with Highmark would be harmful to their constituents, proposed this bill. Notably, however, the bill is not be limited to the UPMC/Highmark situation, it would apply throughout the state.

Yesterday, the Pennsylvania House Health Committee heard testimony on the bill. A link to an article describing the proceedings, from the local press, is attached below.

http://www.timesonline.com/healthandwellness/house-committee-hears-first-testimony-on-christiana-bills/article_1bf8d22f-7de8-5778-9f9a-a71f34329c9c.html

Posted by Jim Burns

NY Governor Signs Legislation Permitting Certain Hospital Affiliations to Avoid Antitrust Review

On October 23, NY Governor Andrew Cuomo signed Assembly Bill 7993 into law. The legislation permits the Nassau Health Care Corp. (“NuHealth”), a public benefit corporation, to partner with other health systems on Long Island, NY, without antitrust risk. The legislation is a response to the US Supreme Court’s Phoebe Putney decision earlier this year, which cast doubt on whether certain transactions of this nature were subject to the State Action Doctrine, and was passed unanimously by the NY Assembly and Senate. The legislation is intended to demonstrate that the Legislature has clearly intended to displace competition in approving such potential affiliations, which the Supreme Court held was critical in finding the State Action Doctrine applicable to a proposed transaction of this nature. A link to the text of the legislation can be found at:

http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/menugetf.cgi

Posted by Jim Burns

Text of Pennsylvania Healthcare Antitrust Bill Posted

Last week we published a post describing new legislation in Pennsylvania that would require hospitals that operate as part of an integrated health system to contract with “any willing insurer.” The legislation – HB 1621 and HB 1622 – has now been made publicly available. Among other provisions, the legislation would require that hospitals contract with any willing insurer on mutually agreeable terms (with the parties required to submit to AAA arbitration if they are unable to reach agreement) and also imposes other restrictions on hospitals that could impose restrictions on access (including anti-tiering provisions, etc.) A link to the text of the legislation is set forth below

http://www.legis.state.pa.us/CFDOCS/Legis/PN/Public/btCheck.cfm?txtType=PDF&sessYr=2013&sessInd=0&billBody=H&billTyp=B&billNbr=1621&pn=2483

Posted by Jim Burns

Additional Details on Pennsylvania Healthcare Legislation Released

Additional details on Pennyslvania House Bills 1621 and 1622, which would require that integrated health care systems in the state contract with “any willing insurer” have now been released. See the attached link below for a legislative memorandum with further information on the proposals:

http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20130&cosponId=13449

Posted by Jim Burns