Kay Bailey Hutchison: “I think the bill of Senator Allen, the underlying bill, and now the bill of Senator McCain are attempting to do…”

“I think the bill of Senator Allen, the underlying bill, and now the bill of Senator McCain are attempting to do something that is right. They are attempting to assure that interstate commerce is not obstructed by taxes on Internet access. I am afraid, however, that the language is not clear enough as it deals with franchise taxes and right-of-way fees that have been in place in cities in many States in our country for a long time. That is why I have introduced an amendment that will clarify the definition of what is excepted from this Internet access tax ban. It says: . . . any payment made for the use of a public right-of-way or made in lieu of a fee for use of the public right-of-way, however it may be denominated, including but not limited to an access line fee, a franchise fee, license fee or gross receipts or gross revenue fee. I think we have found out since we started debating this issue years ago that cities determine their franchise fees, their right-of-way fees, in many different ways.”