The N.C. House Finance Committee took on this morning two of this session’s hottest topics: the state gas tax and competition for television service.
The committee took no votes, but leaders expect to roll out bills on both topics in the weeks ahead.
A handful of competing bills address caps on the variable rate of the gas tax. One bill would roll the gas tax back to 2004 levels.
Finance leaders expect to roll provisions from the various bills into one proposal. The governor and N.C. Senate already have endorsed a gas tax cap within their budget plans.
Most of the crowd overfilling the Finance committee room monitored discussion of the Video Service Competition Act. It’s designed to pave the way for telephone companies to compete with cable companies in providing television service — without facing franchise rules that date from the 1970s.
Legislative staff have been tweaking the act’s language — with changes made as recently as the early hours of this morning.
The bill would get rid of the old local franchise system, in favor of new statewide licensing. Local governments and consumer groups raised some concerns during a brief public comment section. A cable company lobbyist also testified his employers have some continuing concerns about the latest bill.
Supporters say their “paramount” goal is promoting competition in the marketplace — an effort that should lower prices for consumers.
One of the chief bill sponsors — Rep. Becky Carney, D-Mecklenburg — even quoted Churchill in talking about the need for the state to adapt to changes in technology and service.
