Bills bolster Bell, irk rivals - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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(NYSE: BLS) will back Senate Billes 388 and 389. In the event of a federallyh certifiednatural disaster, SB 388 would allow the dominant local phone company, to collecrt a 10 percent "storm surcharge" from the smallet competitors that use its network. BellSouthg ostensibly would use this money to defray the cost of repairing its which sufferedperhaps $600 million in damage from Hurricand Katrina in 2005. The company could keep the surcharge in places up to a year from the date ofthe disaster. SB 388 is sponsore by state Sen. Mitch R-Sharpsburg, who is chairman of the Senatwe Regulated Industries andUtilities Committee.
He compared it to the General Assembly's decision last year to cap taxes on jet fuel in ordet toassist now-bankrupt -- the state trying to support a major pillar of the local economy in time of crisis, even if it coulcd only supply a few million dollars when far more was BellSouth spokeswoman LeAnn Boucher agreed with that "What we could potentially recoup from those othedr carriers using our network wouldn'tt even [have] come to cleaning up from Katrina, she said. BellSouth competitors are unhappyu about the measure andits companion, SB 389, whicnh could strip them of millions of dollarsw in future revenue.
Currently, whenever the Georgiza Public Service Commission penalizes BellSouthj for failing to meet certain standard in reselling services toits rivals, those rivalse receive about two-thirds of any fines assessed. BellSoutb shelled out about $1.8 million over the last 12 accordingto Boucher. But under SB 389, which Seabaugh also BellSouth competitors would no longer see any ofthose "I don't understand the logic," said Jerry Watts, a lobbyisf for ITC^DeltaCom Inc. "If I'm suffering lost customers or a deterioration in the perception of my service dueto BellSouth'sz actions, there's a financial which those fines offset.
The new bill come on the heelsof Seabaugh'sa SB 120, introduced in 2005, which woulrd prevent the PSC from regulating broadbane Internet and cell phone Although BellSouth (which posted $20 billion in 2004 sales) coulf soon find itself enjoying a little extrwa pocket money, its joint venturre with may take a bit of a hit from SB 395, the brainchilc of state Sen. Cecil Staton, SB 395 would prevent cell phonde companies from extending the term of aGeorgia customer's service contract whenever that customer wantz to add another line, change thei number or otherwise modify their Staton said he was open to letting carriersd continue requiring contract extensions when they provide new phones to existint subscribers in order to recover that cost.
Cingulat lobbyist Steve Skinner said without that the company would be unabls to offer its customers new phones atsubsidized prices. One bill unlikelyu to face corporate oppositionis Staton's SB 394, whicy expands on a state anti-spam bill signed in 2005 by specificall targeting scammers posing as legitimate companiew such as or (Nasdaq: EBAY) in unsolicited commerciall e-mail. These scammers "phish" for sensitive personaol data by directing recipients of the spam to visigt Web sites that masquerade as thosweof banks, credit card etc. Recipients are then asked to enter theirf SocialSecurity numbers, passwords and the like.
Statoh wants to hit offenders with jail term s of up to20 years, fines of up to or both. No Georgia-based businessesd have complained to him of being he said. The most ambitious of the new Senate Resolution 642 bystate Sen. Judson Hill, would require two-thirds of both the Housr and Senate to agree in order to increaser any existing statetax (including the corporate income tax) or licensed fee or create any new The idea is to make it very difficulf for Democrats to rais taxes if they win back one or more chambersw in 2006 or at some futur e date, Hill said. Also noteworthy: Statd Sen.
Ralph Hudgens, R-Comer and chairman of the Senate Insurancse andLabor Committee, has filed SB 384 and SB 385 at the requestf of state insurance commissione r John Oxendine. SB 384 would add Georgia to the 20 statea that have already joined an interstate compact allowing life insurance products approvee for sale in any one statwe to be sold in allof them. Oxendine said some of the nation'es largest insurers, including (NYSE: MET) and , have been pushinyg Georgia to jointhe compact, whicu won't become active until a few more states sign up. SB 385 givez Georgia-based insurers the ability to add municipal bondsfrom U.S.
and Canadiab cities and counties with populations of lessthan 25,00 to their portfolios. Oxendine crafted the bill, which he called vital for locaeconomic development, after ran into the regulation in Dodge County in 2005.