Gov. John Baldacci today signed legislation asking the Maine Office of the Public Advocate to monitor federal activity to ensure
Mainers continue to have free and open access to the Internet. The resolve, sponsored by Senator Barry Hobbins and fully replacing an earlier bill that attempted to implement onerous net neutrality requirements, put to rest an effort to institute state level regulation of the Internet and in doing so acknowledged federal preeminence and the potential harm net neutrality legislation could have caused to the citizens and economy of Maine.

Maine joins the growing list of states that have recognized the Internet should remain free from net neutrality regulation:

• In Maryland this spring, the legislature declined to act after the state’s Democratic Attorney-General noted that such rules may be illegal.
• In Michigan last year, lawmakers rejected net neutrality after union members complained about the impact on jobs.
• Earlier this year, union members in California helped derail an effort by the state Democratic Party to put net neutrality in the party’s platform.

In response to Maine’s action, the following comment may be attributed to Mike McCurry and Christopher Wolf, co-chairs of the Hands Off the Internet coalition.

“Net neutrality creates regulatory uncertainly for companies requiring access to ubiquitous, unimpeded broadband. Worse, it radically shifts the huge investment costs of tomorrow’s Internet away from companies and onto ordinary consumers.

Fortunately, the Governor and legislature did the right thing by rejecting this unfair idea. Their decision means that Maine’s businesses can invest in broadband without hesitation keeping programs like ConnectMaine on track and Net users won’t have to pay the higher prices that come with net neutrality.

Maine has rejected government management of the Internet in favor of studying whether or not market competition is working and because it is, this bill will ultimately be good news for the citizens of Maine.”