AUGUSTA – Almost a year ago, Gov. Paul LePage and legislative leaders kicked off a new pro-jobs/pro-growth campaign called “Maine is Open for Business.”

And if “actions speak louder than words,” the historic, bipartisan telecommunications regulatory reforms approved this past legislative session sent a loud and clear message to Maine’s taxpayers and small businesses — our elected leaders mean what they say and say what they mean.

On June 9, Gov. LePage signed L.D. 1466, a landmark regulatory reform law reversing the Maine Public Utilities Commission’s October 2010 decision imposing new regulations on the digital phone voice over Internet protocol service provided by Maine’s largest cable companies. The law specifically provides that the Public Utilities Commission may not regulate VoIP without authorization from the Legislature.

The new law also grants important regulatory relief to Maine’s telephone companies and directs the PUC to conduct a study and make recommendations on policies that would create a more competitive telecommunications marketplace. This new law is the result of a thoughtful and deliberative legislative process, aided in great part by the insightful guidance of the chairman of the PUC as well as input from stakeholders of every stripe.

Our governor and legislative leaders understand that one of the more difficult obstacles facing business is unnecessary state regulation, especially in sectors where the federal government already has imposed regulation.

We applaud the governor and the Legislature for unanimously approving this important reform in a bipartisan fashion, sending the message that Maine is not just open for business, but we’re also open to innovation and investment in the rapidly expanding range of telecommunications services.

Now Maine joins 18 other forward-looking states and Washington, D.C., by prohibiting state regulation of digital phones and choosing to stay with rigorous federal regulation that protects consumers and the public health and safety.

But our lawmakers did not stop there. They made important changes to telephone service regulation — taking the time to thoughtfully and carefully review the existing scheme and eliminating significant regulatory burdens for Maine’s telephone companies.

In approving L.D. 1466, it is clear the governor and lawmakers understand that Maine’s major cable and telephone companies benefit the state most when they are freed from unnecessary regulation and allowed to invest and innovate.

Indeed, Maine’s major cable and telephone companies have been doing just that. Maine’s telecommunications companies employ thousands of Mainers, invest tens of millions annually in infrastructure, contribute hundreds of millions in economic activity across the state each year, and pay tens of millions in state and local taxes yearly.

And Maine’s major cable companies do far more than provide cable video.

They contribute in excess of 60 percent of the state’s wired high-speed lines. Annually, they donate cable and broadband services worth nearly $2 million to 1,850 schools, libraries, nonprofits, government facilities and community groups.

The bill mandated that the Public Utilities Commission submit a study and a legislative plan to further reform telecommunications regulation in Maine before Dec. 31.

In the bill, lawmakers urged the commission to make certain that the resulting “regulatory burdens” are “the minimum necessary to protect the public welfare.” We applaud the Legislature and the governor for voicing this sentiment.

The PUC not only delivered the study early, it also delivered on the promises made by the governor and the Legislature in this watershed legislation. The study protects innovative VoIP technology from burdensome and duplicative state regulation and proposes sweeping regulatory relief for traditional phone companies — while strongly protecting Maine’s consumers.

It also makes a key recommendation to eliminate the onerous “broadband sustainability fee,” which hinders the deployment of the important Maine Three-Ring Binder broadband expansion project.

The commission’s plan reflects the vision of the Maine Legislature approved by the governor; it advances the state’s goal of increasing competition; and adopting it will help Maine’s consumers and Maine’s companies. Sometimes, we just get it right — congratulations to all, because this is one of those times.

Dana Connors is president of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce.