Missouri Farm Bureau
|
Kevin Craig - "Liberty Under God"
|
| Cell
Phones |
|
| We believe that rural people should have equal access to
cell phone services and that Farm Bureau should represent the
membership before the Public Service Commission, so one company cannot
own and control the cell service in that area. |
|
| We believe fees
assessed by cell phone companies for the early termination of
contracts are excessive and should be eliminated. |
|
| Rural
Electrification |
Electricity
Policy |
| We support the
continuation of the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) as the primary
source of financing for the rural electric cooperative system. |
|
| We will oppose
state and federal regulations for electric utility restructuring which
would shift costs from large industrial users to farm and residential
users. This includes "retail wheeling", the ability of an
electric company to deliver their electricity over another companies
lines to serve retail customers. |
Electrical
Utilities: The Final Deregulatory Frontier |
| We will support
provisions in retail wheeling plans that provide for the full recovery
of stranded costs and ensure electric system safety. We urge Farm
Bureau to work to ensure that proposed deregulation of the electrical
industry will treat rural customers fairly. |
|
| We favor
legislation to protect rural electric cooperatives from unrealistic
and damaging liability claims for environmental clean up costs being
imposed on them by the Environmental Protection Agency under such laws
as the Comprehension Environmental Response, Compensation and
Liability Act (CERCLA). |
|
| We oppose
additional restrictions on the use of coal in the production of
electricity through government rules, regulations and laws. |
|
| We support the
efforts of Missouri rural electric cooperatives to provide customers
with ethanol powered hydrogen fuel cells. |
|
| Telephones |
|
| We believe
rural people should be allowed to call their trade area toll-free if
economically feasible and if they so desire. |
|
| Farm Bureau
should continue to represent its membership before the Public Service
Commission. Farm Bureau should work to have one individual with a farm
background on the Public Service Commission. |
|
| We believe that
commercial mass cold canvass telephone calls should be prohibited. |
|
| We strongly
encourage efforts by telephone companies to improve telecommunications
systems in the rural areas of the state. |
|
| When a boundary
line between two telephone companies divides a piece of real estate,
we believe the property owner should have his/her choice of which
company or companies serves him/her anywhere on that property. |
|
| We support
telephone companies becoming involved in electronic data and
information transfer and cable TV services. |
|
| We believe that
it is of great importance that 911 service be available to all
counties of the state, including the rural counties not currently
being served. |
|
| We support
assessing a fee on cell phones, voice over internet protocols, or any
other device that can access the 911 system to support local 911
emergency response services. |
|
| We support the
National and State No-Call list. |
|
| Utilities |
|
| We believe that
damages collected by utilities should be limited to repairs. |
|
| We support the
concept that public utilities maintain certain height, width, and/or
depth safety standards in new installations which will accommodate
modern farm equipment. |
|
| We favor the
Public Service Commission being more strict in granting rate
increases. |
|
| We recommend
continued research in storage of electricity for use during peak
hours. |
|
| In the interest
of safety for firemen and other emergency personnel as well as the
safety and convenience of the property owner, we believe all electric
utility companies should provide a "main disconnect" switch
located below the meter. |
|
| We believe
legislation should be introduced to ensure property owners have the
ability to choose which company or companies serve them when the
boundary line between two utility companies borders or divides their
real estate. |
|
| We believe that
landowners should not be liable for damages that result from
incorrectly marked or located utilities. |
|
| Rural electric
cooperatives should continue to expand service to customers even if
they are incorporated into city limits. |
|