Net neutrality in Missouri

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The “battle for the net” is moving to the states, as summarized in a table in “Summary of state-level net neutrality actions” section of the Wikipedia article on w:Net neutrality in the United States and the Category:Net neutrality in US states in Wikiversity. This seems likely to be driven by the gap between the public and the US Congress over net neutrality.

Net neutrality positions: US public v. Congress. Public opinion survey data from Graham, Edward (2017-11-29), Majority of Voters Support Net Neutrality Rules as FCC Tees Up Repeal Vote; Follow-up action from lawmakers on Capitol Hill is iffy, at best, Morning Consult, retrieved 2018-02-01. Data on US Congress from We can make Congress save net neutrality, Battle for the Net, retrieved 2018-01-31

As of 2018-02-19 Missouri is NOT one of the states:

1. whose governors have signed executive orders requiring any company supplying Internet access to state agencies to make an enforceable commitment to abide by net neutrality principles for all their business in that state.
2. that have joined the lawsuit against the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), claiming that their “Declaratory ruling, report and order” in the matter of “Restoring Internet freedom”, adopted December 14, 2017, and released January 4, 2108, is “arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion within the meaning of the Administrative Procedures Act” of 1946 “and is otherwise contrary to law.”
3. with bills pending in the state legislature either regulating the provision of Internet access service in the state or requiring companies to abide by net neutrality principles to be eligible for a contract with the state and optionally other governmental entities in the state.

Governor

The Governor of Missouri in 2018 is Eric Greitens, who won the position in the 2016 election as a Republican, though he had been a Democrat until 2015.

The web site for the Governor of Missouri includes a page to “Contact Us”, which includes an electronic form as well as a phone number and mailing and physical addresses in Jefferson City.

Attorney General

The Attorney General of Missouri in 2018 is Josh Hawley, a Republican elected to this post in 2016. He is currently running in the Republican primary for US Senate. The “Contact Us” page on the Attorney General's web site lists offices in Cape Girardeau, Kansas City, Springfield, and St. Louis, as well as Jefferson City.

People concerned about this issue could call or visit any of his offices as well as writing using addresses or the online form, listed there.

Legislature and 'Legislator Lookup'

Missouri has a bicameral General Assembly, composed of a 34-member Senate and a 163-member House of Representatives.

One place to find your elected representatives it via Legislator Lookup in the web site of the Missouri Senate. Enter a Street Address with City and click “Lookup Legislators” to get a list of your representatives in the state Senate and House as well as the US House and statewide elected officials. When I did this with two different Missouri addresses, I got lists of the elected officials representing that area with links to their web pages.

Deadline to file to run for office

Prior to March 27, 2018, anyone who otherwise meets the qualifications to run for office in Missouri can file to run. All the seats in the Missouri House of Representatives and in the Missouri delegation to the US House as well as half of the Missouri state Senate and one of Missouri's two US Senate seats are in play this year, 2018.

Discussion and follow-up

If you contact anyone on this issue -- and especially if you get a reply -- it may be worth posting a summary here. If you schedule a visit to the office of an elected official, you may (or may not) want to post it here inviting others to join you. If you support net neutrality, you may wish to sign the state-level petition from Fight for the Future (FFTF).

If people post more information here than seems convenient or appropriate for this page, some may be moved to separate but related Wikiversity article(s).

References

• Attorneys general for 21 states and the District of Columbia (2018-01-16), Protective Petition for Review, Case No. 18-1013 (PDF), Attorney General of the State of New York, retrieved 2018-02-01, State of New York, State of California, State of Connecticut, State of Delaware, State of Hawaii, State of Illinois, State of Iowa, Commonwealth of Kentucky, State of Maine, State of Maryland, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, State of Minnesota, State of Mississippi, State of New Mexico, State of North Carolina, State of Oregon, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, State of Rhode Island, State of Vermont, Commonwealth of Virginia, State of Washington, and the District of Columbia Petitioners, v. Federal Communications Commission, and United States of America, Respondents.

• FCC Restoring Internet Freedom Order (2018): Declaratory ruling, report, and order in the matter of restoring Internet freedom (PDF), 17-166A1, U.S. Federal Communications Commission, 2018-01-04, retrieved 2018-02-07

• Fight for the Future (2018), These states are fighting for net neutrality. Is yours one of them?, retrieved 2018-02-11