VT
Vermont House Bill H0011

Vermont 2025-2026 Regular Session

Vermont House Bill H0011 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.
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66 H.11 1
77 Introduced by Representative Sibilia of Dover 2
88 Referred to Committee on 3
99 Date: 4
1010 Subject: Telecommunications; broadband; commerce; competition; unfair or 5
1111 deceptive acts; VoIP service; consumer protection 6
1212 Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to establish 7
1313 various consumer protection provisions applicable to broadband service and to 8
1414 Voice over Internet Protocol service. 9
1515 An act relating to consumer protections applicable to broadband and VoIP 10
1616 services 11
1717 It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 12
1818 * * * Vermont Broadband Consumer Protection and Competition Act * * * 13
1919 Sec. 1. 9 V.S.A. chapter 63, subchapter 10A is added to read: 14
2020 Subchapter 10A. Broadband Consumer Protection and Competition 15
2121 § 2490. TITLE 16
2222 This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as “the Vermont 17
2323 Broadband Consumer Protection and Competition Act.” 18 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.11
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2828 § 2490a. PURPOSE 1
2929 The purpose of this subchapter is to promote a thriving broadband market in 2
3030 Vermont free of anticompetitive, unfair, deceptive, or misleading practices in 3
3131 order to protect the public and to encourage fair and honest competition. 4
3232 § 2490b. FINDINGS 5
3333 The General Assembly finds that: 6
3434 (1) Broadband is a critical sector of the overall Vermont economy. 7
3535 (2) Broadband service is essential for supporting economic and 8
3636 educational opportunities; strengthening health and public safety networks; and 9
3737 reinforcing democratic, social, and civic engagement and for allowing 10
3838 Vermonters to benefit from new and innovative internet-based products and 11
3939 services, such as smart home energy-saving technologies. 12
4040 (3) Despite considerable public investments in broadband deployment 13
4141 and service, about 14.95 percent of Vermont locations (47,262 locations) do 14
4242 not have access to high-speed broadband service. Many more do not have 15
4343 access to service from more than one broadband provider. 16
4444 (4) Vermont is a rural state with many geographically remote, sparsely 17
4545 populated locations with no or limited access to public transit systems. 18
4646 (5) Those who live far from a town center or regional commercial hub 19
4747 are particularly disadvantaged by the lack of broadband access. They are 20
4848 burdened with the additional time and expense of traveling great distances to 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.11
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5353 either access a broadband connection, such as a public Wi-Fi hotspot, or to 1
5454 physically carry out activities they are unable to do from home, such as online 2
5555 banking and telehealth appointments. 3
5656 (6) The critical need for broadband service coupled with the lack of 4
5757 competition, particularly in high-cost areas, creates an imbalance of power 5
5858 between the provider and consumer. 6
5959 (7) The Attorney General, as the chief law enforcement officer in the 7
6060 State, must provide a strong presence in the broadband market and protect and 8
6161 advocate for Vermonters when necessary. 9
6262 (8) All policymakers, law enforcement officers, and regulators must 10
6363 work collaboratively to ensure the market is vibrant, efficient, and competitive 11
6464 and serves as an engine of economic growth and innovation in all four corners 12
6565 of the State. 13
6666 (9) No broadband provider should be permitted to exploit its market 14
6767 position to stifle competition and deprive a consumer of a meaningful choice 15
6868 among broadband providers. 16
6969 (10) Monitoring the broadband market through data collection and 17
7070 analysis will enable State government to identify and respond swiftly and 18
7171 appropriately to market failures or misconduct and promote a healthy 19
7272 economy. 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.11
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7777 (11) A well-functioning broadband marketplace will foster competition, 1
7878 higher wages, lower prices, better service, more consumer choices, further 2
7979 investment, and increased innovation and entrepreneurship. 3
8080 § 2490c. DEFINITIONS 4
8181 As used in this subchapter: 5
8282 (1) “Broadband provider” or “provider” means a business that provides 6
8383 broadband service to any person in Vermont. 7
8484 (2) “Broadband service” or “broadband” means a mass-market retail 8
8585 service by wire or radio in Vermont that provides the capability to transmit 9
8686 data to and receive data from all or substantially all internet endpoints, 10
8787 including any capabilities that are incidental to and enable the operation of the 11
8888 communications service, but excluding dial-up service. 12
8989 (3) “Consumer” means a person to whom a broadband provider sells 13
9090 broadband service. 14
9191 § 2490d. NET NEUTRALITY 15
9292 Because the free and open flow of information underpins the free and open 16
9393 flow of commerce, beginning on October 1, 2025, a broadband provider shall 17
9494 not sell, offer, or advertise for sale broadband service without a valid 18
9595 certificate of net neutrality compliance from the Secretary of Administration 19
9696 pursuant to 3 V.S.A. § 348. 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.11
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101101 § 2490e. PROHIBITED PRACTICES 1
102102 (a) It shall be an unfair or deceptive act or practice in commerce in 2
103103 violation of section 2453 of this chapter for a broadband provider to engage in 3
104104 any of the following conduct: 4
105105 (1) failing to provide a consumer with broadband service that meets or 5
106106 exceeds the performance characteristics offered and sold to the consumer’s 6
107107 service location; 7
108108 (2) failing to reimburse a consumer any installation costs associated 8
109109 with broadband service that is discontinued by the consumer because the 9
110110 service did not meet or exceed the minimum performance characteristics 10
111111 offered and sold to the consumer’s service location; 11
112112 (3) engaging in marketing or promotional practices that misrepresent the 12
113113 actual terms and conditions of a broadband service plan or tend to mislead or 13
114114 deceive an actual or prospective consumer; 14
115115 (4) imposing excessive termination fees or other burdensome conditions 15
116116 that unfairly restrict a consumer’s ability to discontinue service or purchase 16
117117 service from another provider; 17
118118 (5) charging equipment or service fees that do not reasonably correlate 18
119119 with the cost of the broadband service or equipment provided to a consumer, 19
120120 excluding any State or federal fees; 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.11
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125125 (6) failing to submit broadband availability data in a form and manner 1
126126 prescribed by the Department of Public Service for the purpose of maintaining 2
127127 the State’s broadband availability maps under 30 V.S.A. § 202e(e); 3
128128 (7) violating privacy, security, or network management practices 4
129129 applicable to its broadband service; or 5
130130 (8) imposing a predatory data cap, as further defined in subsection (b) of 6
131131 this section. 7
132132 (b) A broadband provider shall not impose a data cap except when tailored 8
133133 for the purpose of reasonable network management, such as managing network 9
134134 congestion. For purposes of this section, “data cap” means a limit on the 10
135135 amount of bits or other units of information a broadband consumer may 11
136136 download or upload during a period of time specified by the provider before 12
137137 the consumer: 13
138138 (1) is charged a fee for additional usage; 14
139139 (2) is subject to an increasing cost per bit or other unit of information; 15
140140 (3) is charged for an incremental block of usage; 16
141141 (4) experiences a reduction of access speed; or 17
142142 (5) is otherwise discouraged or prevented from exceeding. 18
143143 § 2490f. CONSUMER COMPLAINTS 19
144144 (a) For the purpose of creating a single location within State government 20
145145 for the receipt and tracking of consumer complaints regarding broadband 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.11
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150150 service, the Attorney General, in consultation with the Commissioner of Public 1
151151 Service, shall establish and implement a protocol for handling complaints. The 2
152152 protocol shall include a process for maintaining a database that aggregates and 3
153153 tracks the number, nature, disposition status, and resolution time of complaints 4
154154 received directly by State government and indirectly from provider records 5
155155 submitted to the Attorney General under subsection (b) of this section. 6
156156 (b) Beginning on January 1, 2026, a broadband provider shall maintain a 7
157157 complete record of any consumer complaints received regarding its broadband 8
158158 service. The record shall include the total number of complaints received, the 9
159159 nature of each complaint, the disposition of each complaint, the time it took to 10
160160 process and resolve each complaint, and any other relevant information 11
161161 requested by the Attorney General. A provider shall submit a copy of the 12
162162 record of complaints for the preceding year to the Office of the Attorney 13
163163 General annually, beginning on January 1, 2027. 14
164164 (c) As used in this section, “complaint” means any communication 15
165165 primarily expressing a grievance. 16
166166 § 2490g. MONITORING COMPETITION AND PRACTICES 17
167167 (a) The Attorney General shall routinely monitor current and emerging 18
168168 market trends and business practices in the broadband sector and assess their 19
169169 effect, positive or negative, on consumers, workers, businesses, and the 20
170170 broader Vermont economy. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.11
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175175 (b) Factors to be considered by the Attorney General under this section 1
176176 include the number of broadband providers actively engaged in providing 2
177177 broadband service, market share, ease of market entry, industry consolidation, 3
178178 and any other factors the Attorney General deems relevant to a market 4
179179 analysis. 5
180180 (c) The Attorney General shall periodically review and compare a 6
181181 provider’s broadband consumer label for multiple service locations in the 7
182182 provider’s market area. For purposes of this subsection, “broadband consumer 8
183183 label” means the label required to be provided to a consumer at the point of 9
184184 sale, pursuant to the Federal Communications Commission’s Broadband 10
185185 Labels Order, 37 FCC Rcd 13686, 13687, 13689-90, 13696, paras. 3, 12, 35 11
186186 (2022). 12
187187 (d) The Attorney General shall review provider business practices, 13
188188 including data practices, as appropriate, to determine whether any practices 14
189189 negatively affect marginalized or underserved communities or worsen 15
190190 disparities and inequities in the social and economic fabric of our State. 16
191191 (e)(1) To assist the Attorney General with carrying out the purposes of this 17
192192 section, on or before October 1, 2025, and annually thereafter, each broadband 18
193193 provider shall submit a report to the Attorney General, which includes the 19
194194 following information related to its provision of fixed broadband service to 20
195195 Vermont locations: 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.11
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200200 (A) the total number of active broadband service plans; 1
201201 (B) the total number of active wired broadband service plans, 2
202202 categorized by the technology used to deliver the service: digital subscriber 3
203203 line, coaxial cable, fiber-optic, or hybrid fiber coaxial; 4
204204 (C) the total number of active wireless broadband service plans, 5
205205 categorized by the technology used to deliver the service: terrestrial or satellite 6
206206 (geostationary or low-earth orbit), and whether the service is supported by 7
207207 licensed or unlicensed spectrum, or both; 8
208208 (D) the median and mean price, download speed, and upload speed of 9
209209 its active broadband service plans in Vermont, and within each county, if 10
210210 applicable; 11
211211 (E) the number of years the provider has been actively engaged in 12
212212 providing broadband service in Vermont; 13
213213 (F) the broadband availability data submitted to the Department of 14
214214 Public Service under 30 V.S.A. § 202e(e) and the broadband availability and 15
215215 subscription data submitted to the Federal Communications Commission 16
216216 through the Broadband Data Collection System; and 17
217217 (G) any other information deemed relevant by the Attorney General. 18
218218 (2) The report shall be submitted in a form and manner prescribed by the 19
219219 Attorney General. 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.11
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224224 (3) It is unlawful for a provider to knowingly or recklessly make or 1
225225 cause to be made, in a report submitted under this section, a statement that: 2
226226 (A) at the time and in light of the circumstances under which it is 3
227227 made, is false or misleading in a material respect; or 4
228228 (B) is false or misleading due to the omission of a material fact. 5
229229 (4) The accuracy of the information included in the report shall be 6
230230 verified by oath of two of the provider’s executive officers, under penalty of 7
231231 perjury. 8
232232 (5) As used in this section, “recklessly” means consciously disregarding 9
233233 a relevant fact. 10
234234 § 2490h. TRANSPARENCY; INFORMED CHOICES 11
235235 (a) To facilitate informed consumer choices, a broadband provider shall 12
236236 submit to the Attorney General its current policies and practices regarding: 13
237237 (1) network management; 14
238238 (2) security; and 15
239239 (3) privacy. 16
240240 (b) A provider shall submit the information required by this section in a 17
241241 form and manner prescribed by the Attorney General, not less frequently than 18
242242 annually. 19 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.11
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247247 (c) The Attorney General shall aggregate and disclose the information 1
248248 collected under this section on a publicly available, easily accessible website 2
249249 maintained by the Office of the Attorney General. 3
250250 § 2490i. KEEP VERMONTERS CONNECTED 4
251251 (a) A broadband provider is prohibited from disconnecting any consumer 5
252252 from service, charging unconscionably high prices, or imposing data usage 6
253253 limits during a declared state of emergency under 20 V.S.A. chapter 1, 7
254254 provided that the state of emergency is declared in response to an all-hazards 8
255255 event that will cause financial hardship and the inability of consumers to pay 9
256256 for broadband services. 10
257257 (b) For purposes of this section, a price is unconscionably high if: 11
258258 (1) there is a gross disparity between the price charged during the 12
259259 emergency or seven days prior to the emergency and the price at which the 13
260260 same service was sold or offered for sale in the usual course of business 14
261261 immediately prior to the state of emergency; and 15
262262 (2) the disparity is not substantially attributable to increased prices in the 16
263263 wholesale market or increased costs due to the state of emergency. 17
264264 § 2490j. INVESTIGATIONS; ENFORCEMENT 18
265265 (a) The Attorney General may investigate the business practices of a 19
266266 broadband provider pursuant to the investigatory powers established under this 20
267267 chapter. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.11
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272272 (b) A person who violates a provision of this subchapter, or a rule adopted 1
273273 pursuant to this subchapter, commits an unlawful act under section 2453 of this 2
274274 chapter. 3
275275 § 2490k. INTERAGENCY COOPERATION 4
276276 (a) The Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of 5
277277 Administration, shall develop procedures and best practices for agency 6
278278 cooperation and coordination on matters of overlapping jurisdiction. The 7
279279 primary purpose of this section is to ensure the Attorney General has access to 8
280280 information related to the Attorney General’s enforcement authority under this 9
281281 subchapter, including any relevant information maintained by the Department 10
282282 of Public Service, the Vermont Community Broadband Board, the Department 11
283283 of Taxes, and the Agency of Commerce and Community Development. 12
284284 (b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to waive any privilege or 13
285285 protection otherwise afforded information by law due solely to the fact that the 14
286286 information is shared with the Attorney General pursuant to this section. 15
287287 § 2490l. ASSESSMENT 16
288288 To the extent deemed necessary and appropriate by the Attorney General, 17
289289 the costs incurred by the Office of the Attorney General in complying with this 18
290290 subchapter may be assessed against broadband providers on an equitable and 19
291291 practicable basis. The Attorney General shall adopt the assessment rate by 20
292292 rule. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.11
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297297 § 2490m. CONFIDENTIALITY 1
298298 The Attorney General shall maintain the confidentiality of any information 2
299299 received under this subchapter that the Attorney General determines is exempt 3
300300 from public inspection and copying under the Public Records Act or other 4
301301 applicable law, unless disclosure is ordered by a court. 5
302302 § 2490n. ANNUAL REPORT 6
303303 On or before January 15 of each year, notwithstanding 2 V.S.A. § 20(d), the 7
304304 Attorney General shall submit a report to the General Assembly, which shall 8
305305 include the Attorney General’s findings and recommendations related to the 9
306306 current state of competition in the broadband market and whether and to what 10
307307 extent anticompetitive conduct or unfair or deceptive acts or practices in 11
308308 commerce are occurring. The report shall include: 12
309309 (1) a summary of the market-monitoring data collected pursuant to 13
310310 section 2490g of this subchapter; 14
311311 (2) a summary of complaints in the State database established under 15
312312 section 2490f of this subchapter; 16
313313 (3) the total amount collected under section 2490l of this subchapter; 17
314314 (4) a description of any enforcement actions taken pursuant to this 18
315315 subchapter, and any monetary judgments recovered; and 19
316316 (5) recommendations for improving conditions in the broadband market. 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.11
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321321 § 2490o. RULES 1
322322 (a) In addition to the rules otherwise required by this subchapter, the 2
323323 Attorney General may adopt any other rules the Attorney General deems 3
324324 necessary to implement this subchapter, including rules that define in greater 4
325325 detail what constitutes unfair or deceptive conduct under this subchapter. 5
326326 (b) The rules, as well as any finding of unlawful conduct under this 6
327327 subchapter, shall be consistent with the rules, regulations, and decisions of the 7
328328 Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission and 8
329329 with federal court interpretations of the Federal Trade Commission Act, as 9
330330 amended, and the Communications Act of 1934, as amended. 10
331331 § 2490p. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS 11
332332 This subchapter shall not limit other statutory rights of a consumer or 12
333333 statutory obligations of a provider under Vermont law. 13
334334 § 2490q. STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION; SEVERABILITY 14
335335 (a) It is the intent of the General Assembly that the provisions of this 15
336336 subchapter are liberally construed to accomplish its purposes. 16
337337 (b) As provided in 1 V.S.A. § 215, the provisions of this subchapter are 17
338338 severable. If any provision of this subchapter is invalid, or if any application 18
339339 thereof to any person or circumstance is invalid, the invalidity shall not affect 19
340340 other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid 20
341341 provision or application. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.11
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346346 § 2490r. STATE AUTHORITY 1
347347 Vermont enacts this subchapter pursuant to all inherent State authority 2
348348 under the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and all relevant authority 3
349349 granted and reserved to the states by Title 15 and Title 47 of the U.S. Code, 4
350350 including the authority to impose requirements necessary to protect public 5
351351 safety and welfare, safeguard the rights of consumers, and enforce antitrust 6
352352 laws. 7
353353 Sec. 2. REPEAL 8
354354 9 V.S.A. § 2466c (concerning the Attorney General’s review of the network 9
355355 management practices of broadband providers) is repealed. 10
356356 * * * VoIP Service; Battery Backup; Compliance; Notice * * * 11
357357 Sec. 3. VOIP SERVICE; CONSUMER PROTECTIONS 12
358358 (a) The Commissioner of Public Service shall establish a program for 13
359359 monitoring the health and public safety risks associated with the use of Voice 14
360360 over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service in Vermont, particularly during 15
361361 originating carrier or electric power outages. As used in this section, VoIP 16
362362 service means a facilities-based, fixed, voice service that is not line powered. 17
363363 (b) As part of the program, the Commissioner shall: 18
364364 (1) Review, quarterly, the outage reports submitted to the E-911 Board 19
365365 pursuant to the Board’s Rule Governing Outage Reporting Requirements for 20
366366 Originating Carriers and Electric Power Companies to determine if there are 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.11
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371371 areas of the State particularly prone to carrier or power outages and assess 1
372372 whether locations in those areas have access to facilities-based, fixed, voice 2
373373 service that is line powered or to voice service offered by a Commercial 3
374374 Mobile Radio Service provider. 4
375375 (2) Establish a process for receiving an annual statement from each 5
376376 VoIP provider offering service in the State certifying compliance with FCC 6
377377 regulations concerning E-911 service, 47 C.F.R. § 9.5, and battery backup 7
378378 power requirements, 47 C.F.R. § 12.5. 8
379379 (3) Establish, in coordination with the Office of the Attorney General, a 9
380380 mechanism for receiving and tracking any consumer complaints concerning 10
381381 VoIP service quality and including a summary of any data collected in the 11
382382 Department’s annual report to the General Assembly. 12
383383 (4) Develop consumer education and community outreach initiatives 13
384384 designed to ensure all consumers are aware of the risks and best practices 14
385385 concerning emergency preparedness in the event of a power outage. 15
386386 (5) Make recommendations to the General Assembly concerning any 16
387387 additional consumer protections the Commissioner determines should be 17
388388 available in Vermont, which may include additional backup power 18
389389 requirements that supplement federal requirements, financial assistance to low-19
390390 income consumers for backup power equipment and installation costs, 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.11
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395395 enhanced consumer outreach and education initiatives, and any other 1
396396 requirements or initiatives deemed appropriate by the Commissioner. 2
397397 (c) In developing the program required by this section, the Commissioner 3
398398 of Public Service shall have the assistance of the E-911 Board, the Office of 4
399399 the Attorney General, the Department of Public Safety, the Public Safety 5
400400 Communications Task Force, and the Vermont League of Cities and Towns. 6
401401 * * * Effective Date * * * 7
402402 Sec. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE 8
403403 This act shall take effect on passage. 9