Chairs
Public Chair: Representative Blair Thoreson, North Dakota
Private Chair: Bartlett Cleland, Institute for Policy Innovation
Staff
John Stephenson, Director
202.742.8524 – jstephenson@alec.org
Constant, dynamic innovation in both telecommunications and information technology present numerous complexities that defy uniform public policy prescriptions. States must be careful not to stifle advancement in communication and technology by imposing excessive regulation and taxation. Economic assumptions about abundances and scarcities that once guided policymakers in the past are not wholly applicable in this evolving economy. Past political assumptions about regulative knowledge and incentives are often at odds with actual experience and modern reality.
To guide policymakers through the uncharted waters of the 21st Century economy, the Communications and Technology Task Force brings together state legislators, industry representatives, and public policy experts. Working together, the Task Force seeks to develop state public policy that will preserve free-market principles, promote competitive federalism, uphold deregulation efforts, and keep the communications and technology industries free from new burdensome regulations.
Major Issues
- a la Carte Cable Pricing
- Cable Video Franchising
- Commercial Negotiation (Cable)
- Cybersecurity
- E-Commerce
- Miscellaneous
- Municipal Broadband
- Network Neutrality Regulation
- Online Child Safety
- Online Privacy and Consumer Protection
- Wireless Tower Siting