La. Senate panel kills Internet charge bill

[June 18, 2009]  BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- A Senate committee on killed a proposal to fund online crime investigations by charging an extra 10 cents on every monthly Internet service bill in Louisiana.

The Senate's commerce committee voted Wednesday without objection to defer Rep. Bodi White's House-backed bill, preventing a full Senate vote. Money raised from the proposed 10-cent charge would have gone to the state Attorney General's office for investigation of online crimes such as child pornography and financial fraud.

Internet provider companies opposed the idea, as did anti-tax advocacy groups and the state Republican Party. The vote came after lengthy debate over whether the 10-cent charge would be a fee or a tax hike in disguise.

The bill originally would have imposed a 15-cent charge on each Internet bill, but the panel approved a suggested amendment from White, R-Denham Springs, to reduce it to a dime. The committee rejected a proposed amendment from Sen. A.G. Crowe, R-Slidell, that would have instead allowed for voluntary donations to the Attorney General's online investigations unit.

[Associated Press]

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