[Nolug] IMPORTANT: State radio and TV board wants to license computer techs

Y'all, sorry for the cross-posting, but this is rather important.

The Louisiana Radio and Television Technicians Board is sending out letters
to computer techs demanding a yearly licensing fee, on the premise that since
a computer can do home entertainment, it must be either a TV or a radio and
should be regulated as such.

Times Picayune article (bogus login required):
http://www.nola.com/business/t-p/index.ssf?/base/money-0/1091633106206812.xml

The article quotes a tech saying that if the state were to go with a real
computer cunsultant license, he would be more willing to abide by that.

I think licensing techs of any kind is a charade, as we all know how useless A
+ and MCSE testing is to determine whether a tech knows anything at all.
Fools pay chump schools who in turn teach to the applicable tests, and the
then-certified techs don't even know which end of a mouse to hold, etc. The
state's noble goal (that of protecting consumers) has degenerated into a
revenue stream only.

Slashdot story:
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/08/05/2235213&tid=103&tid=126&tid=17

Text of an email alert put out by the Louisiana Technology Council:

-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Lewis [mailto:mlewis@ltc-la.org]
Sent: Tuesday, August 03, 2004 11:47 AM
To: LTC Information
Subject: CRITICAL: State Board Wants to Control Computer Consultants &
Technicians

To: Business Community and technologists

It has come to our attention that the Louisiana State Board of Radio and
Television Repair Technicians desires to MANDATE the licensing of Computer
Consultants and Technicians by extrapolating Act 428 which was passed by the
Louisiana State Legislature in 1958. In a copy of a letter sent to me by
@Site Computer Services, the Board states that "home computers provide for
television reception and recording and all provide audio/visual playback and
recording capabilities. Therefore, in accordance with the existing law (Act
428), the Board has elected to license computer technicians." As the letter
from the Board states, the general provisions of Act 428 is to protect the
public welfare, aid the department of revenue in collecting sales taxes on
labor and on retail prices of material used in the service and maintenance
of radio and television receivers, CB radios, playback and recording
devices, VCR's, and satellite signal receiving equipment ......

The bottom line is that if any employee is engaged in the repair,
maintenance, consultation or training of computer equipment, including
hardware, peripherals, and networks, as used in the home (or possibly even
the office), they must fill out an application and PAY an annual $55.00
licensing fee (per person). There are other license requirements as well.

It appears that this Board is sending letters to companies and individuals
that perform most all computer services and giving them 15 days to comply
with the Board's licensing procedures or face fines and prison penalties.

Personally I think this a very broad interpretation of the law and would
hurt the technology community if this were to be enforced. In fact, there
is also a provision in the Act that specifically states, "the term playback
and recording devices does not mean or include playback and recording
devices normally designed for use as office equipment...." This seems to
make a lot more sense when computers are involved.

I am sending you this email for the very purpose of notifying you of this
initiative by the State Board. If you choose to voice your opinion, please
do so immediately by contacting your congressional delegate or by writing or
calling Mr Stanley Brohn, Secretary of the State Board who wrote the letter:

State of Louisiana
Radio and Television Technicians Board
6554 Florida Ave. - Suite 109
Baton Rouge, LA 70806
(225) 231-4710

You can access the letter sent by Mr. Brohn to @Site Computer along with
their response at our web site:
http://events.ltc-la.org/downloads/State_Board_Letter.pdf (650k)

Please pass this information on to anyone you feel might be interested in
this initiative and if you feel they would like to voice their opinion.
Again, feel free to contact your state legislators and let them know your
feelings. If you have any questions, please feel free to call me as well.
Special thanks goes to Jarrod Broussard of @Site Computer Services for
drawing this to our attention.

Mark S. Lewis, President
Louisiana Technology Council
Louisiana - Tech Capital of the South
"Quality Always Wins"
Voice: (504) 304-2911
URL: http://www.LTC-LA.org

-- 
Joey Kelly
< Minister of the Gospel | Linux Consultant >
http://joeykelly.net
"I may have invented it, but Bill made it famous."
 --- David Bradley, the IBM employee that invented CTRL-ALT-DEL
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