1. Equity for State Employees--I won't be satisfied until by next March
20th we have legislation passed and signed by the Governor that provides
state employees with a reasonable salary increase (several of us have
proposed an increase in the 4-6% range to the Governor). Increases in
that range have been made at least 5 times in the past. I will be
attending meetings with legislators at various locations in the state
during the next three months to solicit their support.
I'm working with Representatives Max Black and Paul Kjallander (Boise)
in drafting legislation to pay for the estimated $4.5 million tab for
increases in health care premiums. I met with Rep. Black twice last
week in Moscow and we will be asking Legislative Services to help us
in drafting the legislation. The plan will be to prefile the bill in
in early December and then ask the legislature to pass the bill as a
supplementary appropriation in January. Your District 5 Legislative
delegation met with President Hoover and Marty Peterson last week and
this is one issue we discussed. Once the draft legislation is ready
we'll have it reviewed by the President. We have Mike Simpson, Speaker
of the House, support on this.
The economy of the state appears to be moving ahead. We'll be working
with state legislators throughout the next months to convince them of
the great importance of this legislation.
2. Troy-Kendrick Long Distance Phone Status Report--The citizens of
the Troy-Kendrick area have to pay for long distance calls when they
call Moscow or other local areas in the county. We've been trying to
work with GTE and the Troy Provider to eliminate the long distance
charges. I recently contacted Marsha Smith, IPUC Commissioner, about
the situation and this is her status report.
In November 1996, Troy Telephone filed a calling plan alternative with the
IPUC that proposed four calling area options of increasing size with
corresponding increasing charges for each. In February, the staff issued a
production request to GTE to get the data necessary to analyze the Troy
proposal. GTE's response came on April 1st. GTE opposes the Troy proposal,
as well as any other calling plan option. It has been pointed out that the
long distance companies are offering calls at prices of 10 cents per minute.
GTE estimates that EAS would cost 30 cents a minute, so it is doubtful
that a revenue neutral calling plan could be successfully
developed. GTE also estimates that is would cost Moscow residents about
$1.00 per month for EAS to Troy and does not believe most customers would
be willing to pay that. GTE has indicated that it would prepare a survey
for the Moscow customers to get information on how many would support the
dollar increase for Troy EAS.
In the meantime, Troy has asked that the case be put on hold so it can
review the GTE comments, and work with its customers to develop other
alternatives. This includes looking into various public information
options to increase participation in the discounted rate plans of the long
distance companies
because very few customers are using those plans even though they could
save money by doing so.
The IPUC staff agrees with GTE regarding the probability of success with a
calling plan. Staff also does not want to agree to any plan that keep GTE
revenue neutral because it has been so long since the company had a rate
increase. In summary, Troy is now tyring to get informaton on the discount
toll plans that are available out to its customers and GTE is going to
survey its Moscow customers. This is the current status report from
Commissioner Smith.
3. FCC DECISION MEANS DISCOUNTS FOR RURAL LIBRARIES AND SCHOOLS--On May 7th
The FCC ruled that telecommunication providers will provide for significant
discounts on a wide range of telecommunicatons services for libraries
and schools. The new rules mandate discounts ranging from 20-90 percent
with deeper discounts for libraries and schools in rural, high cost and
low income areas. The discounts are expected to provide up to $2.25 billion
annually beginning January 1, 1998. The new FCC rules will ensure that
schools and libraries will be able to afford telecommmunications services
for students and library users, giving the flexibility to choose from
the most basic to the most advanced commercially available services.
Lori Keenan alerted me to this news. I called Jo Ann Mack, GTE, to
see what details she could give me and she is contacting GTE's Public
Affairs Director for further information.
Marsha Smith, IPUC Commissioner, sent me an e mail about a PBS telecon-
ference to be held on June 3rd/10:00 p.m. at the University KUID, Radio/TV
Center at the U. of Idaho. This will be a teleconference on the discount
rates for libraries, schools, and hospitals under the federal
Telecommunications Act of 1996. The essence of the teleconference will be
to help decision makers understand how they can benefit from the large
discounts and what one will need to do to be ready for the opportunity.
Specifically, the teleconference will cover how to get maximum discounts,
explain obligations under the law, provide guidance for working with
the IPUC, examine strategies for cooperation to increase cost reduction,
and examine ways to effectively utilize new telecommunications services
to improve library services. Registration can be e-mailed to Pamela
Bradshaw at pbradsha@isl.state.id.us
I sent the information out to all of the Latah County Schools. All of
the libraries have already been notified. This is an opportunity that
our libraries and schools should take advantage of at this point in time.
I've already registered and will attend the meeting.
4. There are other developing issues; however, I'll keep you posted
on these at a later date.
Tom Trail, Representative
District 5
Dr. Tom Trail
International Trails
2039 Mt. View Rd.
Moscow, Id. 83843
Tel: (208) 882-6077
Fax: (208) 882-0896
e mail ttrail@moscow.com