Information Technology in a Time of Devolution

CPA Provides Resources for Policymakers to Navigate Our Technological World

During the 2000 legislative sessions, thousands of bills related to the Internet were proposed at the state level, on topics including content control, privacy, intellectual property, infrastructure, and taxation of electronic commerce. State legislators, more than ever, need the resources to understand the choices that information technology will present.

CPA’s Democracy and Technology Initiative seeks to help policymakers make sense of these issues. CPA is helping forge lasting policy solutions by raising the bar on the policy knowledge of state leaders and advancing them into the national technology debate, introducing and promoting new model policies, and taking a more pro-active approach to help close the gap between the information haves and have-nots.

By providing our network of state leaders with resources, training, and links to partners, CPA will enrich the information policy debate and convene stakeholders to collaborate on policy innovations, and, most importantly, engage new voices in this critical policy arena.

Mastering the language and technical details of information technology policy is a good goal, but not a sufficient one. If democracy is to be served, it will not depend on the quality and character of our technology, but on the quality and character of our political institutions, leaders and citizens. CPA seeks to educate and, in that process, reinforce for legislators the broader democratic leadership values that play a role in 21^st century policy solutions. “As the rules of the new economy and Internet technology are being developed, state leaders need to claim their seats at the table to ensure citizen access to information technology,” states John Wilcox, Director of CPA’s Democracy and Technology Initiative.

Technology Policy Points of Interest In a rapidly changing and technically complex world, public responses to technology are lagging far behind private ones. There is much at stake as we stand on the edge of the new economy’s uncharted waters. Recent technology headlines have sparked debate and demonstrate the need for thoughtful solutions. – Michael Powell, the newly appointed Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), recently unveiled a sweeping reordering of the FCC’s priorities that embraces a deregulated approach. – In December 2000, the federal government auctioned a number of wireless licenses—the rights to use and sell pieces of the spectrum—and offered discounts to small firms. The FCC’s effort to promote competition instead saw the nation’s largest telecommunication companies win more than 90 percent of the licenses by striking deals with the smaller firms. – After a federally-appointed blue ribbon commission failed to reach agreement on whether and how to tax internet commerce, a door has begun to swing open for state action. The current moratorium on taxation expires October 20, 2001—and although federal legislation has been introduced to extend the ban for another five years, 27 states have put forward legislation to simplify Internet taxes as well as create a standardized taxing system.

For more information about leading state technology issues, click here.