Directing Secretary of Senate to Correct Enrollment of S. 150
DIRECTING SECRETARY OF SENATE TO CORRECT ENROLLMENT OF S. 150 -- (House of Representatives - November 19, 2004)
Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in the Senate concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 146) to direct the Secretary of the Senate to make corrections in the enrollment of the bill, S. 150.
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GENERAL LEAVE
Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on S. Con. Res. 146 currently under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Wisconsin?
There was no objection.
Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, the enrolling resolution before us from the other body makes some modest, but important, changes to S. 150, a bill to extend the moratorium on Internet access taxes and multiple and discriminatory Internet taxes, which we will consider in a few minutes. When we move to that bill, I will describe the underlying legislation. For now I will just state that the changes made by this enrolling resolution are necessary in order for me to support passage of S. 150.
The most important change to S. 150 contained in the enrolling resolution is that it will apply the same moratorium on Internet access taxes to my home State of Wisconsin that applies to at least 40 other States. Beginning in November of 2006, the special grandfathered status enjoyed by Wisconsin since 1998 that allows the State to continue to tax Internet users will end, and my State like most every other State will have to abide by the Internet tax moratorium and stop taxing Wisconsinites' Internet service.
The House passed legislation reported by the Committee on the Judiciary, H.R. 49, that would have ended the special grandfathered status of all the 1998 States effective immediately.
The section of language added to S. 150 by this enrolling resolution affecting grandfathered taxation is intended to apply to all States that have imposed Internet access taxes via an administrative ruling made well after the 1998 moratorium was enacted that taxes Internet access as a telecommunications service. I find this type of ex post facto attempt to circumvent the general moratorium without new State legislative action to be offensive. However, out of the 1998 grandfathered States, I believe only Wisconsin's actions today meet the requisite objective criteria in this provision. Therefore, only Wisconsin will find its 1998 grandfather status revoked by this language.
The other change contained in the resolution adds a new section to the bill that would clarify that certain taxes and fees imposed by Texas municipalities are not included within the scope of the moratorium on Internet access and that such Texas municipalities could continue to collect franchising and right-of-way fees when telecommunications companies build infrastructure and use public rights of way. We believe that this provision clearly only applies to Texas.
Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to extend the Internet tax freedom once again to most of our citizens and join me in supporting this concurrent resolution and the underlying bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Sensenbrenner) that the House suspend the rules and concur in the Senate concurrent resolution, S. Con. Res. 146.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor thereof) the rules were suspended and the Senate concurrent resolution was concurred in.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.