News from the States

Spring 1999

CONTENTS

E-Government on Fast Track in Utah
Slamming
States vs. Federal Communications Commission
Cybersmears
Courts Act on Internet Pornography Issues
Countdown to 2000

E-Government on Fast Track in Utah

A new law in Utah, The Digital State Act, requires that state agencies be able to transact services through the Internet by July 1, 2002. Services that will be available include application for and renewal of professional and occupational licenses; renewal of drivers licenses; application for hunting and fishing licenses; filings for income tax, sales tax, court documents, and UCC; registration for products, brands, motor vehicles, corporations and businesses; and submission of applications for unemployment, welfare and health benefits.

The act also addresses access to the state's school system of public education and access to such services as student grades, progress reports, e-mail communications, school calendars, schedules, and teaching resources. State schools are directed to make "reasonable" progress toward making these services available through the Internet. In order to reach the accessibility goals, the state plans to partner with high-tech companies.

- submitted by Jo Anne Bourquard

Slamming

"Slamming" is the unauthorized switching of a customer's long-distance telephone service provider. Slamming can occur in several different ways. A telemarketer may ask a potential customer to switch, a consumer may sign a document that authorizes a switch of service even though the document does not appear to be about long-distance service, a consumer may enter a contest that switches his or her service. or a company may pay a consumer to switch by sending a check in the mail.

At least 12 states (Arkansas, Hawaii, Iowa, Illinois, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Utah, and Washington) introduced legislation in 1999 that regulates the practice. Approximately 19 states (Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Vermont, and Virginia) currently have statutes that regulate slamming. For example, Tennessee 65-4-125 prohibits slamming and requires the Tennessee Regulatory Authority to maintain a site on the Internet to handle consumer complaints.

- submitted by Bob Boerner

States vs. Federal Communications Commission

Congress enacted the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and, according to some analysts, the act's intent is to promote competition and fundamentally restructure the local telephone markets. After the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued regulations implementing the 1996 Act's local-competition provisions, incumbent local exchange carriers (LECs) and state commissions filed several challenges. The multiple challenges were consolidated in the Eight Circuit.

The U.S. Court of appeals for the Eight Circuit held the FCC lacked jurisdiction to issue rules regarding pricing, dialing parity, exemptions for rural LECs, the proper procedure for resolving local-competition disputes, and state review of pre-1996 interconnection agreements. The Court stated previous FCC rulings "trampled on state rights." Subsequently, the U.S. Supreme Court held in AT&T CORP. et al. v. IOWA UTILITIES BOARD et al. that the FCC does have general jurisdiction and overturned the Eighth Circuit's ruling.

- submitted by Bob Boerner

Cybersmears

In Seattle, one corporation is the newest victim of "cybermears," false and defamatory remarks posted anonymously on the Internet. Last December, anonymous messages about the company were posted on one of Yahoo's popular message boards. The company filed suit against 10 "John Does" alleging defamation and plans to subpoena Yahoo to unmask the anonymous speakers' real names. This Seattle case is but one of the many lawsuits filed against "John Does" for defamatory statements about a company or its stock. The majority of these lawsuits were filed in the past year. Many legal experts state the emerging cybersmear lawsuits highlight a conflict between a company's need to protect its reputation and the right of individuals to speak anonymously on the Internet.

- submitted by Sarah Killeen

Courts Act on Internet Pornography Issues

The federal Child Online Protection Act (COPA) makes it a crime for commercial websites to transmit material considered harmful to minors. In November 1998, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania issued a preliminary injunction against enforcement of COPA. The district court judge noted the case involved a "clash" between First Amendment rights and the nation's responsibility to protect children. The same court, two years prior, struck down another Internet censorship act, the Communications Decency Act (CDA), a decision that was later upheld by the Supreme Court.

The Justice Department appealed. The appeal is currently before a three-judge panel of the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia. This review could remand the case back to District Court for a full trial or up to the U.S. Supreme Court for an appeal.

In February, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Virginia law that prohibits state employees from accessing sexually explicit materials on the Internet from state computers. In rendering its opinion, the court held in Urofsky v. Gilmore that while "citizens do not relinquish all of their First Amendment rights by virtue of accepting public employment . . . the state as employer, undoubtedly possesses greater authority to restrict the speech of its employees than it has as sovereign to restrict the speech of the citizenry as a whole."

- submitted by Pam Greenberg

Countdown to 2000

In the last months of the 1990s, information systems experts race to finish year 2000 preparations and finalize contingency plans as lawsmakers consider scores of bills dealing with the year 2000 computer problem. In 1999, more than 200 Y2K-related bills were introduced. The focus of many of these measures is how to reduce the legal impact of the Y2K problem. Bills propose limits on government liability for Y2K, protect consumers from Y2K related dangers, limit liability and damages, and provide protection for those who share Y2K information or exercise due diligence in correcting the problem. Other Y2K measures include stepped-up reporting requirements for agencies and utilities, emergency procurements, tax credits, loan funds, limits on price increases, expanded refills for prescriptions and creating a holiday at the new year to provide additional time to make corrections.

See NCSL's Y2K page for links to legislation..

- submitted by Sarah Killeen

Updated 5-14-99

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