AT&T, Charter, CenturyLink and Verizon all currently have contracts with the state.The action could face legal challenges from providers.Bills are also being worked up in New York and Rhode Island using government contracts to regulate the practice of internet service providers.The move is the latest effort by state lawmakers to push back against the Federal Communication Commission's decision on December 15 to repeal net neutrality rules in a 3-2 vote.The FCC says states cannot create net neutrality laws.Bullock told NYT the executive order was the fastest way to bring back net neutrality rules and to head off any decisions by internet service providers to begin throttling or charging websites more to reach customers.The FCC argued net neutrality was preventing websites from investing trillions of dollars in network services. 'To every governor and every legislator in every statehouse across the country, and to every small business and every Fortune 500 company that wants a free and open internet when they buy services: I will personally email this to you,' Bullock continued. “This is a simple step states can take to preserve and protect net neutrality,” Bullock stated. "If you want to do business in Montana," the Democratic Governor told the New York Times on Monday, when he signed the executive order, "there are standards on net neutrality you will have to follow. Montana state, county and local governments have about $50 million worth of contracts with ISPs, including national companies like Verizon, AT&T, Charter and CenturyLink, per the Gazette. Bullock said he was the first governor in the nation to implement such action in the wake of the FCC’s decision to repeal net neutrality rules and called on other other governors to join him.
Montana Governor Steve Bullock signs an executive order that bars any Internet service provider with state contracts from blocking or charging more for faster delivery of websites to any customer in the state. Montana is the first state to respond this way to the FCC's December 14, 2017, net neutrality ruling.