Telecom bills were signed into law in S.C., N.C. and Mass. S.C. ...
Telecom bills were signed into law in S.C., N.C. and Mass. S.C. Gov. Jim Hodges (D) signed bill imposing regulatory requirements on telecom services run by municipalities. Under SB-290, localities can’t subsidize their telecom business from general tax revenue…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
or by transferring funds from other municipal operations. They also can’t offer tax deductions or govt. subsidies as incentives for customers to sign up. Measure also requires municipal telecoms to maintain separate accounts, submit to annual independent audits and to follow same regulations and pay same taxes as private sector telecom carriers. N.C. Gov. Michael Easley (D) signed bill altering business deductions for 911 fees, closing tax loophole. Under SB-1160, corporations can deduct 911 charges from their state income taxes only if they included charges as part of their federal taxable income. Change in law closed loophole that allowed unintended double deduction for 911 charges. Mass. Gov. Jane Swift (R) signed bill (SB-2349) allowing municipalities to modify telephone equipment so fire depts. could monitor 911 calls to speed equipment to fires without waiting to be contracted by 911 dispatchers. Monitoring must be done by fire dept. personnel in secure area.