Among the 10 bills that Governor Kaine vetoed over the past few days was Terry Kilgore's HB1755, which would have eliminated the requirement that the State Corporation Commission (SCC) approve the acquisition or disposal of the assets or of control of a telephone company. The bill was approved 94-1 in the House of Delegates, and 24-13 in the State Senate, so it will be interesting to see if Kaine's veto is upheld or overridden. As I wrote on January 18, there's a lot wrong with this bill, which is why I'm very glad that Gov. Kaine vetoed it. Here's what Irene Leech, President of the Virginia Citizens Consumer Council, had to say about the bill moving out of committee:
"That's awful, absolutely horrible...Once again, they are taking away the authority of the [State Corporation Commission]," which routinely "review[s] telephone company mergers or acquisitions to determine if they might have an effect on competition and, thus, consumers."
Great, huh? Well, it gets worse. According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, not exactly a liberal rag, "Kilgore sponsored the legislation at the behest of Verizon and other phone companies."
Finally, is it mere coincidence that John Kilgore, Sr., Terry's daddy, is the President of the board of directors for the local Scott County Telephone Cooperative (SCTC)?
Hmmmm.