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Agency of Administration: state Internet contracts must include net-neutrality certifications; deputy to supply provider counts
Summary
Deputy Director Sean Brown of the Agency of Administration told the House Energy and Digital Infrastructure Committee on Friday that state procurement guidance requires Internet-service contracts to include provider certification of compliance with state net-neutrality rules and that the agency will research how many contracts and providers are affected.
Deputy Director Sean Brown of the Agency of Administration told the House Energy and Digital Infrastructure Committee on Friday, Feb. 14, that state procurement guidance requires Internet-service contracts to include provider certification of compliance with state net-neutrality rules and that he will research how many providers and state contracts are subject to that requirement.
The requirement appears in agency procurement guidance known as Bulletin 3.5 and implements provisions in Title 3 addressing state contracting and net-neutrality requirements, Brown said. "All state contracts are required under this bulletin ... to have providers certified under compliance with the set requirements of section 3 48," he told the committee.
The comment came during a committee hearing taking testimony on H.11, an act relating to consumer protections for broadband and VoIP services. Committee members asked the Agency of Administration to provide two items: (1) how many existing contracts with Internet-service providers are subject to the Bulletin 3.5 requirement, and (2) which providers currently hold those contracts. Brown said he did not have those figures at the hearing and would work with the Agency of Digital Services to locate the information.
Brown said the agency updated Bulletin 3.5 within the last year and that the document requires certification from providers that they comply with the Title 3 net-neutrality section. He said the Agency of Administration does not see all state contracts because some contracts fall below thresholds or are routed through departmental budget-analyst review. "We only see certain ones," he said, adding that contracts which require waivers or exceed statutory procurement thresholds are escalated to his office.
On enforcement and monitoring, Brown said the agency's process relies on the certification required by the bulletin and on routine contract review by departmental budget analysts. He said the Agency of Administration has not identified any waiver requests related to section 3 48 or section 3 49 in its records. When asked whether the state regulates provider performance (for example, whether a provider’s speeds fall below declared levels), Brown said that responsibility would likely fall to the Department of Public Service or the broadband board rather than to his office.
Committee members asked for written follow-up. Representative Kathleen James asked the deputy director to submit bullet points and the additional information requested; James said, "If you could write up your talking points, today and get that to us sooner." Brown agreed to provide talking points and to follow up with the requested contract and provider data.
No formal agency position on H.11 was given at the hearing. Brown said he was not prepared to state a departmental stance on the bill at this time and preferred to consult his team before doing so.
The committee recorded the exchange as part of ongoing review of H.11; members said they expect written testimony and any additional documents the agency can supply before deciding whether to draft or revise bill language.
