Del. Terry Kilgore (R-1; pictured on left along with another fine Republican), the "better looking" half of the Kilgore "Heckle and Jeckle" brothers, has proposed some new legislation, and it's a doozy. According to the summary on Richmond Sunlight, HB1755 "[e]liminates the requirement that the State Corporation Commission approve the acquisition or disposal of the assets or of control of a telephone company." Now why on earth would Kilgore want to do that? Clue #1: John Kilgore, Sr., Terry's daddy, is the President of the board of directors for the local Scott County Telephone Cooperative (SCTC).
Clue #2: According to a well-informed source of mine in SWVA:
I have suspected for some time that SCTC would try to sell out, not unlike the Blue Cross-Blue Shield giveaway of a few years ago. It was called a "demutualization," once the non-profit BC-BS was converted to a mutual company. The officers, directors and a few others made off with the bulk of the proceeds from the subsequent sale of the stock to Anthem, with no more than 15 cents on the dollar for the policyholders.If Kilgore's bill is passed, this should make the value of SCTC more valuable since it will not be subject to review and conditions.
Note: my source points out that "the conversion to mutual company, or similar entity, and subsequent sale, is just my speculation." Intriguing speculation, though...
Clue #3: According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, "Kilgore sponsored the legislation at the behest of Verizon and other phone companies." Is SCTC planning to sell out to Verizon and/or other phone companies?
Clue #4: Irene Leech, President of the Virginia Citizens Consumer Council, has this to say about the bill moving out of committee, "That's awful, absolutely horrible...Once again, they are taking away the authority of the [State Corporation Commission]," which routinely "review[s] telephone company mergers or acquisitions to determine if they might have an effect on competition and, thus, consumers."
In sum, the answer to our question, "what's wrong with this bill by Terry Kilgore," appears to be: a great deal.