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Some bill research does not include the Governor's file because at the time we researched the bill, the sitting Governor had not released his chaptered bill file. If the Governor's file is not included with this particular research, please contact our office (1-530-666-1917 or quote@legintent.com) and we will be happy to provide this file at no charge if it is available. Please Note: Governor files did not exist prior to 1943.
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LIS NEWS AND NOTES
Net Neutrality 101: “A network design paradigm that argues for broadband network providers to be completely detached from what information is sent over their networks .” The principle behind this concept is that the internet, as an information network, is most efficient and useful to the public when it is attentive to multiple users . (This is also known as an “end-to-end” [e2e] design principle.) Otherwise, network providers could choose to discriminate and decide how fast data will be transmitted and at what quality.
Historical Perspective: It does not surprise us at LIS that the concepts underlying “net neutrality” can be traced to early Roman law and later on to early English common law, which defined a “common carrier” as a private entity that performs a public function such as “bakers, brewers, cab drivers, ferrymen, innkeepers, millers, smiths, surgeons, tailors and warfingers.” Under the modern application of this centuries-old concept of “common carriage,” the owner of a network is prohibited from discriminating against information by halting, slowing, or otherwise tampering with the transfer of any data, except for legitimate network management purposes. The “neutrality” idea as it relates to communication has been around in the United States at least since the mid-1800s under the federal “Pacific Telegraph Act of 1860 ,” which sought to “facilitate communication between the Atlantic and Pacific states by electric telegraph,” signed into law on June 16, 1860, which required telegraphs to transmit all messages in the order in which they were received and were not to be discriminated against.
Telecommunications carriers are regulated by the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) under the Communications Act of 1934, Title II, as amended by the Telecommunications Act of 1996 , which gave telephone companies the option of providing video programing on a “common carrier” basis or as a conventional cable television operator. In 1996, the FCC elected not to classify broadband internet access service providers as recognized common carriers. Instead, the FCC classified these service providers as “information service providers” [“ISPs”]. As one neutrality researcher put it: “the concern was that the vertical integration of cable firms with ISPs would prove a threat to the e2e design of the internet .”
Today’s Issues: As online advancements such as streaming video content become more popular, carriers are finding it more challenging to comply with the previous compulsion for net neutrality. The FCC sought to enforce rules against wired broadband providers to prevent blocking or discriminating, but “the arrangements that attempted to isolate content from carriage appear to be failing. ”
In January, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the FCC had overreached its authority in barring broadband network service providers from slowing or blocking selected content because the framework that was intended to ensure that these carriers treated all content on an equal and non-discriminatory basis was beyond the authority of the FCC. Thus, the FCC lost its power to enforce network neutrality protections under the regulatory framework it was using, which provided an opening for telecommunications carriers to exploit technologies by monitoring and controlling data sent via their networks.
The FCC’s response to the Court of Appeals’ January ruling was not to reclassify internet carriage as a “telecommunications service,” which would have automatically subjected online communications to common carrier protections, but instead the FCC said it will propose a rule allowing companies to pay ISPs for access to a fast lane to deliver content to their customers. The FCC will vote on the new rules at the end of 2014.
Three Free Self-Study MCLEs: LIS now offers THREE California State Bar approved self-study exams on the separate subjects of legislative process (1 hr.), the California Records Act of 1968 (1 hr.) and ethics (1 hr. ethics!). These free exams are easily available 24/7 at our website for your convenience and State Bar MCLE compliance. In a timely manner, we will correct the exams and provide you with your State Bar approved certificates electronically.
LIS 40th Anniversary: With 2014 marking Legislative Intent Service, Inc .’s 40th year in business, LIS has been in the business of researching legislative history and intent longer than any other private research law firm in California. Many of our long-term clients can look back to our earlier days because they still have our research binders available to their attorneys on their office and library shelves. Now, with pdf delivery of documents, our clients have their legislative history research needs met quickly and completely without copying or scanning charges!
LIS provides excellence in research built upon these four decades of experience, leading to an unparalleled expertise in legislative intent, history and research by our staff attorneys and researchers. Our firm researches all 50 states’ and federal bills. We also research state and federal regulations and California’s Industrial Welfare Commission. Visit our website to learn more about how our legislative research, whether custom or online store , can help you win your case!
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