02/06/2018 03:00 PM House STATE AFFAIRS

         HJR 31-CONGRESS REVERSE FCC ON NET NEUTRALITY                                                                      
                                                                                                                              
3:47:28 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS  announced that  the final order  of business                                                              
would be HOUSE  JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 31, Urging  the United States                                                              
Congress  to  overturn  the  Federal  Communications  Commission's                                                              
order ending net neutrality.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
3:47:56 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  SCOTT  KAWASAKI,   Alaska  State  Legislature,  as                                                              
prime  sponsor of HJR  31, paraphrased  in part  from his  sponsor                                                              
statement,  included  in  the  committee  packet,  which  read  as                                                              
follows [original punctuation provided]:                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
     In December  2017, the Federal Communication  Commission                                                                   
     (FCC) adopted  an order to reverse regulations  that had                                                                   
     established   a   federal   broadband  policy   of   net                                                                   
     neutrality   and  attempted   to  preempt  states   from                                                                   
     imposing  regulations  on   Internet  Service  Providers                                                                   
     (ISPs).                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
     Net  neutrality  protects  an  individual's  ability  to                                                                   
     access  and  transmit information  on  a free  and  open                                                                   
     internet.  Without  net neutrality,  ISPs  can  lawfully                                                                   
     slow  down   and  block  access  to  sites   and  charge                                                                   
     customers  higher  rates  to  access  certain  websites,                                                                   
     download  music  or watch  videos.  The FCC's  order  to                                                                   
     repeal  net neutrality  risks making  the internet  into                                                                   
     an unfair  pay-to-play system  for small businesses  and                                                                   
     individual users.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
     Alaska's   isolation  from  the   Lower  48  means   our                                                                   
     citizens    rely   heavily    on   the   internet    for                                                                   
     communication,  commerce and  emergencies. Many  Alaskan                                                                   
     communities   already   struggle   to   obtain   stable,                                                                   
     affordable  internet  access. Alaskans  First  Amendment                                                                   
     rights of free  speech, free press and  free association                                                                   
     are  also at  risk  without  a net  neutral  environment                                                                   
     enabling the  free and open flow of thoughts,  ideas and                                                                   
     concerns over the internet.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     Upon  approval, this  resolution would  urge the  United                                                                   
     States  Congress to  exercise  its authority  under  the                                                                   
     Congressional  Review   Act  to  overturn   the  Federal                                                                   
     Communication   Commission's   regulatory  decision   to                                                                   
     reverse net neutrality protections.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
3:50:40 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
JACOB  GERRISH,  Staff,  Representative   Scott  Kawasaki,  Alaska                                                              
State  Legislature, on  behalf of  Representative Kawasaki,  prime                                                              
sponsor  of HJR  31, gave  a brief  history of  net neutrality  by                                                              
paraphrasing  from his written  testimony,  which read as  follows                                                              
[original punctuation provided]:                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     In the  1996 Telecom  Act, Congress  made a  distinction                                                                   
     between  two  types  of  services:   "telecommunications                                                                   
     services"   (Title  II)   and  "information   services."                                                                   
     (Title  I)  "Telecommunications   services"  transmit  a                                                                   
     user's   information  from   one  designated  point   to                                                                   
     another  without changing  the form  or content of  that                                                                   
     information.  For example,  a phone  call transmits  the                                                                   
     user's  voice   from  one   point  to  another   without                                                                   
     changing the  content of the  voice message,  similar to                                                                   
     the  way a  pizza delivery  service  transports a  pizza                                                                   
     from the  pizza parlor  to someone's home.  "Information                                                                   
     services,"  on   the  other  hand,  offer  a   user  the                                                                   
     capability  to create,  store,  or process  information.                                                                   
     An  information  service  is   like  a  website  hosting                                                                   
     service,  an  online  content   creator,  or  an  online                                                                   
     social media  service. Based  on the definitions  in the                                                                   
     1996  Telecom  Act, in  2002  the FCC  classified  cable                                                                 
     broadband  as an  "information  service," but  attempted                                                                   
     to  regulate  Internet  Service Providers  (ISPs)  as  a                                                                 
     "telecommunications   service"    by   imposing   common                                                                   
     carrier-style  telecommunications  regulations. In  this                                                                   
     way,  the  FCC  attempted   to  enforce  net  neutrality                                                                   
     without specifically  classifying ISPs as  utility-style                                                                   
     service  provider.  The FCC  was  attempting  to find  a                                                                   
     common middle  ground for net neutrality  supporters and                                                                   
     ISPs.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
     In  2007  Comcast  was  caught   slowing  down  people's                                                                   
     internet (also  known as throttling) and the  FCC issued                                                                   
     an order  to stop  the throttling  and tell  subscribers                                                                   
     exactly how  it managed their traffic. Comcast  took the                                                                   
     order to court  and in 2010, a judge found  that the FCC                                                                   
     lacked  the  authority  to  enforce  the  open  internet                                                                   
     principles  exactly because  Comcast  was classified  as                                                                   
     an   information    service   provider,   and    not   a                                                                   
     telecommunications  provider.  Earlier  that  year,  the                                                                   
     FCC  Chairman,  Julius  Genachowski,  had  attempted  to                                                                   
     bolster net  neutrality rules by applying some  Title II                                                                   
     regulations   to   Title    I   services.   When   those                                                                   
     regulations  went into  effect in 2011,  this time  they                                                                   
     were  immediately challenged  by  Verizon and  MetroPCS.                                                                   
     In  2014,  DC  Circuit Court  Judge  David  Tatel  again                                                                   
     ruled  in favor  of the  broadband  companies and  found                                                                   
     that  unless  ISPs  were  reclassified  as  a  Title  II                                                                   
     "telecommunications  service", it  would be illegal  for                                                                   
     the  FCC to  impose any  common  carrier regulations  on                                                                   
     them.   In   that  ruling,   he   specifically   stated,                                                                   
     "Broadband  providers  represent  a threat  to  internet                                                                   
     openness."                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
MR.  GERRISH relayed  that since  1996,  the FCC  has intended  to                                                              
regulate  net neutrality;  however, it found  through the  various                                                              
court  cases that to  do so  would require  reclassifying  ISPs as                                                              
Title  II telecommunication  services.   He stated  that the  2017                                                              
FCC  rule-making  proposal  reclassified   the  ISPs  as  Title  I                                                              
services,  thereby  eliminating   the  authority  of  the  federal                                                              
government to enforce net neutrality.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
3:54:48 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE BIRCH  opined that "I  think we're kind  of getting                                                              
the cart  ahead of  horse here."   He offered that  the law  is in                                                              
the process of  being changed; Alaska has an  opportunity to weigh                                                              
in  on this  issue through  its congressional  delegation; and  he                                                              
suggested that  those who  were around during  the time  of rotary                                                              
phones  remember the  days of  heavy-handed government  regulation                                                              
involved  in the phone  service,  which kept  that phone in  place                                                              
for many  years.   He opined  that the  proposed resolution  would                                                              
interject government  regulation into a process that  arguably has                                                              
advanced  the  United  States;  from  a  technology  and  internet                                                              
standpoint, the  country has done  very well.  He  maintained that                                                              
he is  concerned with having  the regulatory engagement  throttled                                                              
back and managed in the way proposed.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE BIRCH  stated that he  does not support HJR  31 and                                                              
its  objective and  believes it  is  unnecessary because  Alaska's                                                              
congressional  delegation  will  be  taking  a hard  look  at  the                                                              
issue.   He added  that he  is not sure  the Congressional  Review                                                              
Act is  the appropriate  vehicle  in this situation.   He  offered                                                              
that he understands  the intent of the proposed  resolution but is                                                              
skeptical that  inviting the  government in  to manage  the effort                                                              
is good for the end consumer.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
3:56:58 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE KNOPP  asked for confirmation of  his understanding                                                              
that the "failure"  was due to ISPs not being  classified as Title                                                              
II  services,   proposed   in  the  court   case,  but   remaining                                                              
classified as Title I services.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
MR. GERRISH  answered that  before 2015,  ISPs were classified  as                                                              
Title  I information  service providers.   When  they were  caught                                                              
slowing  down the  internet,  the FCC  issued  an order  requiring                                                              
them to  stop.  The ISPs  took the issue  to court and  the ruling                                                              
stated  that under  Title  I, the  FCC  did not  have  enforcement                                                              
powers.    In  2015,  the  FCC   reclassified  ISPs  as  Title  II                                                              
telecommunication  service providers; the  FCC was taken  to court                                                              
again, resulting  in the order  for net neutrality  regulations to                                                              
be  upheld.    He  relayed  that   under  Title  II,  the  federal                                                              
government  has enforcement powers,  under Title  I, it  does not.                                                              
The 2017 [FCC]  resolution [Notice of Proposed  Rulemaking (NPRM)]                                                              
returned ISP  classification back to  Title I; therefore,  the FCC                                                              
has no powers to enforce net neutrality.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE   KNOPP   asked    why   the   FCC   returned   ISP                                                              
classification back to Title I.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
MR. GERRISH replied  that he believed the decision  was subject to                                                              
the opinion of the FCC chairman at the time.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  KNOPP expressed  that he  does not understand  the                                                              
potential outcome  of the  repeal of net  neutrality.   He offered                                                              
his  understanding  that  with  the  repeal,  internet  speed  and                                                              
services  would   be  subjective,   while  with  net   neutrality,                                                              
government mandates open and equal access to the internet.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
MR. GERRISH agreed.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
3:59:22 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  LEDOUX cited  the sponsor  statement, which  read,                                                              
"The  FCC's decision  is  extremely  unpopular with  the  American                                                              
public.   A survey conducted by  the University of  Maryland found                                                              
that 83  percent of Americans  opposed repealing  net neutrality."                                                              
She asked  whether the  survey was a  "push poll"; she  questioned                                                              
whether  83 percent  of Americans  even know  what net  neutrality                                                              
is, let alone have an opinion on it.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
MR.  GERRISH  answered   that  the  survey  is   included  in  the                                                              
committee  packet for  review.   He expressed  his belief  that it                                                              
was  not  a  push  poll;  the  breakdown  of  responses  by  party                                                              
affiliation revealed  that both Democrats and  Republicans support                                                              
net neutrality.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX  pointed out that  the goal of  the proposed                                                              
resolution is  to have  the issue addressed  by the  U.S. Congress                                                              
under  the Congressional  Review Act.   She  suggested that  since                                                              
net neutrality  was repealed in  December 4, 2017,  and submission                                                              
to the U.S. Congress  for reversal of the rule under  the Act must                                                              
be  done  within   60  days,  in  the  time  it   would  take  the                                                              
legislature  to act on  the resolution,  that deadline  would have                                                              
passed.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
MR. GERRISH  expressed his  belief that the  60 days  begins after                                                              
the new  regulation has  been added to  the Federal  Register, and                                                              
that has not occurred yet.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
4:01:51 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  TUCK  commented  that  his  26-year-old  son,  who                                                              
doesn't  follow  any legislation,  has  expressed  strong  support                                                              
along  with  his  friends  for net  neutrality;  it  is  an  issue                                                              
important  to  people  who spend  a  great  deal  of time  on  the                                                              
internet.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
4:02:23 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  WOOL  commented  that  he  has  followed  the  net                                                              
neutrality  issue  throughout  its  history; he  noted  that  many                                                              
millions  of people  commented  to  the FCC  about  the issue;  he                                                              
agreed that  it is a  very important issue;  and he  expressed his                                                              
concern  that without  net neutrality,  consumers  will be  paying                                                              
extra  for access  to  certain internet  websites  in addition  to                                                              
their monthly data plans.  He stated that he supports the intent                                                                
of the proposed resolution.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
4:03:27 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS announced HJR 31 would be held over.