FCC Collaboration Act 'An Important Step Forward,' NARUC Says

For Immediate Release: March 18, 2015
Contact: Robert J. Thormeyer, 202-898-9382, rthormeyer@naruc.org

WASHINGTON—The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners issued the following statement in support of the FCC Collaboration Act, introduced in both the House (HR 1396) and the Senate (S 760) with bipartisan support:

“The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners appreciates the leadership of Reps. Eshoo, Shimkus, and Doyle in the House, and Senators Klobuchar and Heller in the Senate for introducing bills that update the Federal Communications Commission’s so-called ‘sunshine’ rules. The legislation allows more than two FCC commissioners to meet outside of an open meeting and covers deliberations of the federal-State joint boards and conferences which serve as an important conduit for the agency to gather State input. NARUC has endorsed this significant and necessary improvement to the current process for years and hopes it will become law as soon as possible.

“The agency’s existing sunshine rules, while well intended, make it difficult for commissioners to deliberate on complex issues. The FCC Collaboration Act is an important step forward in better positioning the agency to meet the nation’s communications challenges ahead.”
--NARUC President Lisa Edgar of Florida, NARUC Committee on Telecommunications Chair Chris Nelson of South Dakota

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NARUC is a non-profit organization founded in 1889 whose members include the governmental agencies that are engaged in the regulation of utilities and carriers in the fifty States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. NARUC's member agencies regulate telecommunications, energy, and water utilities. NARUC represents the interests of State public utility commissions before the three branches of the Federal government.

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