Gov. Phil Scott signed an executive order Thursday night that would require state bodies to uphold net neutrality protection when contracting internet service providers, effective April 1.
The House and Senate recently proposed bills to push back against the Federal Communication Commission’s December decision to repeal Obama-era net-neutrality rules — a highly controversial move in line with President Donald Trump’s focus on deregulation.
The governor’s order directs the Agency of Administration to amend its procedures to ensure that internet providers who contract with the state comply with net neutrality standards, according to a news release from the Scott administration.
The order “implements the policy direction expressed” in S. 289 — the Senate’s net neutrality bill, which it passed on Feb. 2 and is currently before the House Energy and Technology Committee.
“I did not support the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to repeal net neutrality, but we can take steps here in Vermont to uphold these values, while ensuring compliance with Federal law,” Scott said in the news release.
Loss of federal net neutrality protections could result in major changes to how internet service is provided. Internet companies could start charging for access to certain content; they could block websites, or promote them; they could take action to slow down, or speed up, internet service to particular companies, news organizations or citizens groups.
The governor’s executive order would prevent internet companies who contract with the state from blocking content, engaging in paid prioritization of internet services or acting to “throttle, impair or degrade lawful Internet traffic on the basis of Internet content, application, or service.”
In a statement, Senate President Pro Tem Tim Ashe and House Speaker Mitzi Johnson said they welcomed the governor’s support for net neutrality, but criticized the executive order for not being hard enough on internet providers.
“Though we have had little time to review the Executive Order, we believe it offers too wide an off-ramp for the Administration to use State funds to contract with telecommunications companies that do not practice net neutrality,” the statement says.
“The Senate bill permits prioritization of public safety and emergency response communications; the Executive Order effectively grants a blanket opportunity to waive net neutrality in state contracts,” it says.
A section in the governor’s order allows state agencies to request a waiver if they believe bypassing the rules is in the state’s interest.
“Waivers to these Procedures may be granted by the Secretary only upon receipt of a written justification from a State Agency and a finding by the Secretary a waiver would serve a legitimate and significant interest of the State,” the order says.
The Scott administration had previously expressed concerns over the Senate’s net neutrality bill.
In a memo sent to the Senate Committee on Finance earlier this month, two agency secretaries and the state’s director of telecom and connectivity expressed concern that the law could leave the state vulnerable to “costly litigation.”
“The FCC’s recent net neutrality order made clear that the new rules preempt any state attempts to regulate internet traffic,” the memo said. “Although this bill may ultimately evade the scope of the FCC’s preemption decision, it likely still lead to lawsuits with providers.”
The governors of New York, Montana, and New Jersey have all recently signed executive orders aimed at preserving net neutrality standards.
Scott’s executive order says the Agency of Administration must have the new procedures in place by April 1.