1. Gongwer News Service Ohio Report
Volume #83, Report #221 -- Monday, November 17, 2014
Panel Amends Telecom Dereg Measure, Sends Final MBR Piece
To Full House
House members vetting environmental provisions of Gov. John Kasich's mid-biennium review
approved the measure Monday after tweaking an added proposal to deregulate local telephone
companies.
Both Republican and Democratic members of the House Agriculture & Natural Resources
Committee voted to recommend the last of several MBR measure (HB 490 ) for passage,
although several minority members expressed concerns about the telecommunications
amendment and other aspects of the wide-ranging bill.
Originally drafted to contain the administration's MBR updates to environmental and agriculture
laws, the bill was significantly expanded during its seven-month sojourn in the committee to
encompass the telecommunications measure, along with changes to the puppy mill statute, the
Great Lakes Compact, wild deer sanctuaries and the Thoroughbred Horsemen's Health Fund.
(See Gongwer Ohio Report, November 12, 2014)
An omnibus amendment adopted shortly before voting on the bill clarified several provisions
adopted last week and further expanded the bill to address water quality issues. (See separate
story)
Another amendment sponsored by Rep. Gary Scherer (R-Circleville) delays the effective date of
a provision requiring disclosure of country of origin information for steel pipe used in oil and gas
operations until 2017.
The bill could come up for a vote on the House floor later this week, but a caucus spokeswoman
said no such decision has yet been made.
Chairman Rep. Dave Hall (R-Millersburg) said changes to the telecommunications amendment
were designed to respond to criticism that rural and low-income Ohioans could be left without
viable telephone service - a concern that apparently prompted Gov. Kasich to issue a veto
warning. (See Gongwer Ohio Report, November 13, 2014)
The proposal to allow incumbent telephone companies to withdraw basic local service would be
subject to a collaborative process at the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, according to the
chairman.

2. The omnibus amendment also includes a "failsafe mechanism" that would authorize the PUCO
to order a carrier to provide voice service for up to two years to any customer deemed unable to
obtain alternative service if their landline would be withdrawn.
It remains unclear with those changes are sufficient to temper Gov. Kasich's threat to veto the
bill. Spokesman Rob Nichols said, "We continue to talk with them about the issue, but we don't
conduct those negotiations through the press."
Sarah Briggs, a spokeswoman for AT&T Ohio, which is lobbying for the proposal, said the
changes would help position the state for when the federal government orders a transition to
Internet provider-only service.
"The collaborative process and the fail-safe mechanism, both to be administered by the PUCO,
will ensure that all interested parties will have a seat at the table for education and engagement
prior to and during the transition and that no customers will be left behind," she said.
The ability for telephone companies to withdraw basic local service would be dependent on the
Federal Communications Commission taking action on the "IP transition."
Some Democrats who expressed concern about the proposal during last week's hearing
remained unconvinced.
Rep. Nick Barborak (D-Lisbon), who offered an amendment to delete the entire telecom
provision from the bill, said the industry's objectives were "laudable," but he was still concerned
that the measure would leave rural Ohioans without affordable access to telecommunications
technology.
"When individuals are deprived of the basic necessity to use a telephone within their homes,
that is a matter of life and death," he said.
Rep. Brian Hill (R-Zanesville) said he shared Rep. Barborak's concerns last week, but believed
the revised measure "goes a long way" to ensure Ohioans will have better telecom access.
"With the work that was done over the weekend it's a much better bill," he said.
Majority Republicans tabled a number of other Democratic amendments that sought to:
 Remove changes to laws implementing the Great Lakes Compact.
 Ensure property owners involuntarily included in drilling units receive the maximum level
of compensation.
 Require the state to draft rules to ensure compliance with federal fluoride guidelines for
public drinking water systems.
 Restore the administration's original changes to oil and gas well chemical disclosure
under the federal Community Right to Know Act.
 Create a fund to pay for groundwater monitoring near injection wells.

3.  Require the use of a chemical tracer in injection wells to trace the origin of potential
groundwater contamination.
Reps. Barborak, Rep. Michael Sheehy (D-Oregon) and Rep. Chris Redfern (D-Port Clinton)
voted against reporting the bill.
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