Arkansas Senate Passes Muni Broadband Bill
Arkansas senators voted 34-0 Tuesday to lift state restrictions on municipal broadband. It goes next to the House. The GOP-sponsored SB-150 got its first House hearing Wednesday in the Insurance and Commerce Committee. “After reasonable notice to the public, a…
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government entity may, on its own or in partnership with a private entity, apply for funding under a program for grants or loans to be used for the construction, acquisition, or leasing of facilities, land, or buildings used to deploy broadband service in unserved areas … and if the funding is awarded, then provide, directly or indirectly, voice, data, broadband, video, or wireless telecommunications services to the public in the unserved areas,” reads the bill. It would declare lack of rural broadband a state emergency. Cities may deploy broadband under current law if they have a municipal electric utility, but SB-150 would allow any local government to move forward, blogged the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Journalist panelists at NARUC in Washington Tuesday also discussed the bill and other muni broadband legislation elsewhere.