While many of us thought the FCC vote on Thursday would be enough to protect Net Neutrality, and that Congress was done trying to resist the vote, some members of Congress decided to submit a new bill that could still overturn the FCC's vote.
US Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Senator Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) submitted a piece of legislation that rescind the FCC's decision to preempt local laws in Chattanooga Tennessee and Wilson, North Carolina that stops municipal broadband providers from spreading out beyond their localized network. While this law wouldn't directly affect the reclassification of internet service, it would affect one of the smaller votes that the FCC completed on Thursday.
"The FCC's decision to grant the petitions of Chattanooga, Tennessee and Wilson, North Carolina is a troubling power grab," Blackburn said in a press release. "States are sovereign entities that have Constitutional rights, which should be respected rather than trampled upon. They know best how to manage their limited taxpayer dollars and financial ventures. Ironically, they will now be burdened by the poor judgment of a federal government that is over $18 trillion in debt and clearly cannot manage its own affairs."
This bill would take away the FCC's ability to preempt state laws, and it would make it so that the localized networks could not expand. The bill currently has five Republican cosponsors behind it.
This isn't the first time Blackburn has submitted such legislation. The TN representative submitted a similar bill last July. However, it did not pass.
"While Blackburn thinks the FCC shouldn't interfere with states' rights, she doesn't seem to be concerned about states interfering with municipalities' rights to offer their own broadband services," Ars Technica reported.
While the bill did not have much success in 2014, it's possible that the remaining Republicans who feel antagonistic towards the bill may be able to give Blackburn the political push she requires to pass the bill.
