Texas BPL Bill Dead, but its Language Lives On in Other Legislation

NEWINGTON, CT, May 26, 2005--Texas Senate Bill 1748, a measure aimed at amending the Texas utilities code to "encourage the deployment of BPL" by electric utilities--is dead. But the bill's language lives on in another bill, to which it was appended in the Texas House of Representatives. North Texas ARRL Section Manager Tom Blackwell, N5GAR, says that because so many Texas residents contacted lawmakers urging opposition to SB 1748, the bill landed at the end of the "Major State Calendar" in the House.

"Consequently, there was not enough time before the [Tuesday] midnight deadline for it to be considered," Blackwell explained. "If it had been, floor amendments intended to protect the interests of amateurs were ready."

Blackwell reports that the original bill's sponsor--Texas Sen Troy Fraser--and BPL lobbyists anticipated this and managed to get the bill's language onto the Senate floor by amending it into another piece of legislation, House Bill 789 (HB 789), which bears the title "Relating to furthering competition in the telecommunications industry." That bill passed the Senate in its amended form May 24 and now is back before the House.

"In a `musical chairs' exercise, this is the third bill to contain Senator Fraser's Pro-BPL language during this legislative session," Blackwell said, dubbing the measure "a three-headed Frankenstein." He further accused lawmakers of ignoring the concerns of the Amateur Radio community and others who have expressed opposition to the original bill. Blackwell urges those worried about BPL to contact their Texas House of Representatives member as well as the office of Texas Gov Rick Perry.

"The governor should know about all the controversies involving the new BPL provisions on HB 789," he said. Fraser said this week in a news release that HB 789 will update a 10-year-old law that "would stimulate competition and create jobs in new and innovative communications technologies."

The House can concur with the amendments or the bill could go to a House-Senate conference committee to resolve any differences.

After radio amateurs voiced their concerns, the original measure, SB 1748, was amended in committee to state that BPL systems "must comply with applicable federal laws." Blackwell has said that hams are doing BPL interests a favor by opposing the bill and "keeping them out of risky and uncertain investments that are based on a technology that is apparently faulty, uncertain and misrepresented."

On May 17, Blackwell, Bill Lawless, W5WRL (now West Texas SM-elect), Gene Preston, K5GP, and Skip Cameron, W5GAI, testified in opposition to SB 1748 while it was being considered by the House Regulated Industries Committee. Blackwell says a representative of the Texas Coalition of Cities for Utility Issues who also testified against the measure called it unconstitutional.

There's more information and background on Blackwell's Web site.

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