H-1566.1 _______________________________________________
HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL 4011
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State of Washington 56th Legislature 1999 Regular Session
By Representatives Bush, Poulsen, Radcliff, Thomas, Scott, Huff, D. Schmidt, Lantz, Benson, Kessler, Wolfe, Schoesler, Santos, Grant, Quall, Boldt, Pennington, Mastin, Koster, Hankins, Esser, Regala, Cox, Schindler, McDonald, Clements, Wood, Cooper, Kenney, Reardon, Hurst, Talcott, Hatfield, Tokuda, Conway, Sump, Lovick, D. Sommers, Schual‑Berke, Carlson, H. Sommers, McMorris, Fortunato, Murray, O'Brien, Anderson, Veloria and Haigh
Read first time 02/15/1999. Referred to Committee on Technology, Telecommunications & Energy.
TO THE HONORABLE WILLIAM J. CLINTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED, AND TO THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE, AND TO THE MEMBERS OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS, TRADE AND CONSUMER PROTECTION, COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, OF THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:
We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:
WHEREAS, The Federal Communications Commission, pursuant to the Telecommunications Act of 1996, has implemented a universal service fund program to provide discounts on the cost of telecommunications services to schools and libraries; and
WHEREAS, On May 8, 1997, the Commission determined that schools and libraries that join consortia that include entities other than "public sector (governmental) entities" may not take advantage of the universal service fund program unless the services purchased by the consortia are based on tariffed rates; and
WHEREAS, This requirement effectively prevents schools and libraries from participating in consortia with nonprofit independent baccalaureate institutions without losing the advantages of the leveraged purchasing, economies of scale, and efficiencies that are the very rationale for such consortia; and
WHEREAS, Washington state has sought to leverage the state's purchasing power in its procurements of telecommunications and information services, and obtain the lowest prices for telecommunications services for universities, colleges, schools, and libraries; and
WHEREAS, The Washington Legislature in 1996 authorized and funded the development of the K-20 Educational Telecommunications Network, a sixty-two million dollar state-wide backbone network intended to link K-12 school districts, educational service districts, public and private baccalaureate institutions, public libraries, and community and technical colleges; and
WHEREAS, This network will provide the consortium of Washington colleges, schools, and libraries with enhanced function and increased efficiencies in their use of telecommunications services; and
WHEREAS, Washington state is home to several outstanding nonprofit independent baccalaureate institutions, including Antioch University, Cornish College of the Arts, Gonzaga University, Heritage College, Northwest College, Pacific Lutheran University, St. Martin's College, Seattle University, Seattle Pacific University, University of Puget Sound, Walla Walla College, Whitman College, and Whitworth College, that are not "public sector (governmental) entities"; and
WHEREAS, These institutions each year prepare thousands of students for jobs in Washington state, and their graduates comprise more than twenty-five percent of the state's school teachers; and
WHEREAS, The Washington Legislature has recognized the important public service that these institutions perform; and
WHEREAS, The Washington Legislature has recognized that the public interest would be served by their inclusion in the K-20 Educational Telecommunications Network; and
WHEREAS, On July 16, 1997, the Washington Department of Information Services petitioned the Federal Communications Commission to clarify universal service program eligibility for schools and libraries that participate in telecommunications consortia with nonprofit independent colleges; and
WHEREAS, The Commission has not responded to that petition in more than eighteen months; and
WHEREAS, The state continues to delay the inclusion of nonprofit independent baccalaureate institutions in the K-20 Educational Telecommunications Network out of concern that doing so may render the network services provided to schools and libraries ineligible for universal service discounts; and
WHEREAS, Such continued delay is detrimental to the interests of the state;
NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that the members of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the United States Senate; and members of the Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade and Consumer Protection, Committee on Commerce, United States House of Representatives, urge the Federal Communications Commission to address promptly the matters raised in the Department of Information Service's Petition for Reconsideration, and find that schools and libraries may participate with independent colleges in consortia to procure telecommunications services at below-tariffed rates without losing their eligibility for universal service discounts.
BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable William J. Clinton, President of the United States, the members of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the United States Senate, and members of the Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade and Consumer Protection, Committee on Commerce, United States House of Representatives, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, each member of Congress from the State of Washington, and the members of the Federal Communications Commission.
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