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To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (53300)	4/28/1999 3:27:00 PM
From: Glenn D. Rudolph	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

Ex Netscape chief steps down from US cyberpanel-Lott By Vicky Stamas WASHINGTON, April 27 (Reuters) - U.S. Senate brass on Tuesday announced a reshuffling of a blue-ribbon panel studying Internet taxes, ending a two-month legal battle with the nation's mayors and counties over the makeup of the group. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott said in a statement that James Barksdale, the former top executive of Netscape Communications Corp., had "graciously" stepped down from the Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce. Barksdale, who last month was named a member of the board of America Online Inc. <AOL.N>, in the wake of his company's merger with AOL, is replaced on the panel by Delna Jones, county commissioner of Washington County, Ore., Lott said. AOL chief Robert Pittman remains on the advisory commission, created by Congress late last year to study what taxes states and localities should be permitted to levy on the goods and services sold over the Net. Lott's action Tuesday cleared the way for the 19-member commission, which also is studying national and international access to the Net, to meet for the first time as scheduled June 21-22 in Williamsburg, Va. The U.S. Conference of Mayors and National Association of Counties had asked a federal district court early last month to block the meeting on the grounds the commission was illegally stacked with industry members. But the counties group, claiming victory in its battle with Congress, said Tuesday it would now withdraw the lawsuit, a spokesman said. Congress mandated the commission, which is to be chaired by Virginia Governor James Gilmore, in the Internet Tax Freedom Act of 1998. The law bars new state and local taxes on the Internet for three years while the panel studies the contentious issue. The statute authorized Congress to appoint 16 of the 19 panel members -- eight from cyberindustry and consumer groups and eight from states and localities. But counties and mayors charged that Capitol Hill leaders packed the panel with nine communication industry representatives and only seven state and local government groups. Lott, a Republican from Mississippi, praised the outgoing Barksdale for helping to bring the Internet to American homes and businesses. "I initially chose Jim Barksdale for his expertise in starting up a new industrial marketplace, his understanding of cybertechnology and his knowledge of the telecommunication spectrum," Lott said. "He and I agree, though, that the issues surrounding the Internet are too important to let the commission's business be delayed." Lott welcomed Jones' "knowledge and perspective" to the commission. "Each layer of local government is now represented," he said. Lott noted that Oregon is a non-sales tax state, which means that all state approaches to income and sales tax revenue are now represented on the panel.