State Senate stalls phone legislation

INDIANAPOLIS -- A controversial bill strongly pushed by telecom giant SBC Communications has stalled in the Indiana Senate and might be dead this session.\nSen. James Merritt, chairman of the Senate Utility and Regulatory Affairs Committee, said Wednesday he would not allow a vote on the bill that could advance it to the full Senate.\nMerritt will instead offer a resolution asking the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to take a fresh look at issues the bill touched on, including the rate at which SBC must lease its local phone lines to competitors.\nMerritt, R-Indianapolis, had previously expressed reservations about the bill and questioned whether part-time lawmakers had the expertise to deal with such complex utility issues in such a short period of time. The regular session must end by April 29.\nThe bill would require the IURC to consider an SBC-backed method for setting rates which former monopolies such as SBC and Verizon charge competitors for leasing their local phone lines. It also would remove broadbrand services such as high-speed Internet from IURC jurisdiction.\nSBC has said the bill would level the playing field for local service and protect company jobs, in part by allowing it to charge more reasonable prices for leasing its lines. Opponents, including AT&T and WorldCom, say it will stifle competition in the local service and high-speed Internet markets.\nThe House approved the bill earlier this session, and any bills that pass one chamber are eligible for late-session conference committee negotiations. This means the bill could resurface next month.\nBut Merritt's decision could prove a fatal blow. This is especially so because Senate President Pro Tem Robert Garton, R-Columbus, has for weeks been a critic of the bill and SBC's lobbying push.