OVER THE WIRES: The telecommunications market changes rapidly, and industry officials have longed pushed for greater flexibility and less regulation as the traditional land line companies struggle to compete with the wireless providers.

However, industry lobbyists may have gone a little overboard when a proposal was floated last week that would essentially deregulate the retail telcom industry.

Under the proposed amendment to Senate Bill 48, the Public Utilities Commission would have little or no say about much of what it oversees today, including how companies interact with customers regarding such things as disconnections or how utility companies must respond in emergencies.

The proposal shocked many consumer advocates and also was a concern to the PUC, which sent detailed comments outlining the commission’s problems with the bill.

For example, the PUC noted it could no longer require telecommunications companies to follow the National Electrical Safety Code and National Electric Code or to prevent interference with services provided by other carriers or utilities.

The bill would remove any ability of the PUC to regulate slamming or cramming on customers’ bills, regulators said. Slamming is charging customers for services without their permission, and cramming is charging customers for unauthorized services.

The PUC also noted the bill would eliminate any capital expenditure requirements companies may have to upgrade service or add additional services, such as DSL in rural areas.

Last week, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee was scheduled to decide on its recommendation on Senate Bill 48, but committee Chairman Sen. Bob Odell put off action until Jan. 4 after hearing concerns from groups, including Legal Assistance.

Dan Feltes of Legal Assistance said Friday, “We are very concerned about this bill, but at this time we are unable to comment any further.” He said his organization hopes to work with others to change the bill.

SB 48 originally concerned rate filings for telephone companies under alternative regulation, but the Senate sent it back to the committee for more work in February.

Now more work will be needed before the Senate votes on it in January.

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WAIT A MINUTE: Last week, it was a case of “if you don’t like this tax, maybe we can find another one for you.”

Much was made of the Medicaid Enhancement Tax shortfall after the states’ hospitals worked with federal Health and Human Services regulators to reduce their state bill by about $50 million this year.

Last week, Senate budget writers called in Health and Human Services Commissioner Nickolas Toumpas and Revenue Administration Commissioner Kevin Clougherty to explain what happened. The commissioners assured the senators the money would be forthcoming once the Center of Medicaid and Medicare Services agreed with the state’s intent over outpatient fees.

Senate Ways and Means Chairman Odell, however, fired a shot across the hospitals’ bow when he asked Clougherty whether not-for-profits that operate almost like corporations (read hospitals) could be taxed. If the revenue stream is not what it once was, Odell noted, “maybe it should be replaced with a different type of revenue stream.”

Clougherty begged off answering the question immediately, saying he would like some time to think about, then send a written response.

The room was filled with lobbyists who were concerned lawmakers might be eyeing deeper budget cuts to adjust for the shortfall.

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CLEARER PICTURE: House and Senate budget writers will hold a summit Tuesday and Thursday to hear from local and national economists on the state and national economies.

Among those addressing the budget writers will be:

Ross Gittell, University of New Hampshire; Charles Arlinghaus, Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy Studies; and Dennis Delay, New Hampshire Center for Public Policy Studies, on the New Hampshire economy.

David Wyss, Brown University; and Jeff Applegate, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, on global and national economic updates.

Russ Thibeault, Applied Economic Research, on New Hampshire real estate.

Bruce DeMay, New Hampshire Department of Employment Security, on labor and national economic trends.

Jim Roche, New Hampshire Business and Industry Association, on the organization’s business confidence survey.

Jonathan Williams, American Legislative Exchange Council, on the state economic index.

And Frank Nitkiewicz, Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston, on interest rates, housing and the economy.

The presentations will begin at 10 a.m. each day and will be in Rooms 210-211 of the Legislative Office Building.

Currently, state revenue for the 2012 fiscal year is down $45.8 million from what budget writers had planned, due largely to shortfalls in the Medicaid Enhancement Tax on hospital services, the tobacco tax and the interest and dividends tax. The revenue picture would be even bleaker if not for good business tax returns, which are $13 million better than projected.

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TRY AGAIN: House Finance Committee Chairman Ken Weyler is tenacious.

Last year, Weyler was the prime sponsor of House Bill 89, which told the attorney general to join Florida’s suit against President Obama’s federal health care reforms.

When Attorney General Michael Delaney testified against the bill — saying that if they passed it, he would take the issue to court — Weyler was not pleased. He raised the possibility of changing the state constitution so lawmakers would elect the attorney general, as they do the secretary of state and the state treasurer.

The constitution calls for the governor to appoint the attorney general, with the consent of the Executive Council.

Weyler did not file a proposed change to the constitution last session, but backed a bill to study the idea, which was killed by the House.

However, Weyler has not given up.

He was the chairman of the legislative committee that studied issues surrounding the Financial Resource Management fiasco.

The committee issued its report last month, and one of the recommendations was to have lawmakers elect the attorney general.

Committee members note the Attorney General’s Office “believes they are beyond the reach of the Legislature or any other agency, that they are the ‘top dog’ and that they are able to make decisions in a vacuum because they are answerable to no one. The committee appreciates the need for the DOJ to be independent, but that does not mean unaccountable.”

Enough said.

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DRAWING LINES: What happens in the next two weeks will do more to shape the political landscape of the House for the next 10 years than any single issue.

Subcommittees of the House Special Committee on Redistricting will present their plans to redraw the state’s political boundaries to the full committee, beginning Tuesday.

The committee’s chairman, Rep. David Bates, expects it to decide Wednesday on a plan to reshape congressional, House, Executive Council and county commissioner districts throughout the state. The plan will have a public hearing Thursday, and the committee will take a final vote Dec. 20 on what it will present to the House next session.

By the nature of the beast, the plan will favor Republicans because Republicans resoundingly control the House, Senate, Executive Council and county commissions.

If Democrats had held on for one more term, they could have decided where the lines would go so they would have the advantage. That’s how redistricting works.

Ten years ago, Republican plans were vetoed by then-Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, and a standoff ensued. The state Supreme Court eventually had to draw the political boundaries, pleasing no one.

In the ensuing decade, voters approved a constitutional amendment basically requiring every community that meets the population requirements to have its own representative.

Using 2010 census figures, ideally every House member should represent 3,291 citizens.

The amendment has made the 2011 exercise more complicated than in the past, when large, multi-town districts with a number of representatives were the norm. The new amendment makes those kinds of districts much less prominent.

The process has not been without controversy. Partisan tempers flared over who could use redistricting software paid for by taxpayers, and some lawmakers charged leadership with using the process to try to sway votes on right-to-work.

The public pays little attention to what is generally considered insider baseball, which is why it almost always flies under the radar.

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ON BOARD: Bedford resident and Segway inventor Dean Kamen has joined the effort to preserve the state’s gay marriage law.

“We’re grateful to have Dean join the growing ranks of leaders and regular people who are publicly standing up for all New Hampshire families,” said Lew Feldstein, co-chairman of Standing Up for New Hampshire Families. “The freedom to marry is not a partisan issue, but a bedrock of family and community life.”

Garry Rayno writes the State House Dome column every week. Email him at grayno@unionleader.com.