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Brian is integrally involved in Greenlight, the highly-recommended municipal fiber to the home broadband service in Wilson, North Carolina
Because of our Internet disruption late this morning and into this afternoon, and the time considerations in the ongoing fight against anti-consumer nonsense from the likes of Senator Hoyle, I am going to re-post an article from Brian Bowman, who is one of the hardest fighters we have for the municipal broadband option in North Carolina. He has an excellent round-up of the latest events. We’ll launch another Call to Action shortly once we coordinate our response to this latest attempt to throw North Carolina residents under the bus.
Paper: Muni Broadband Bill Quietly Tucked Into Another Bill
by: Brian Bowman, Save North Carolina Broadband
Okay, I know there’s a lot to keep up with in this ongoing battle, but there’s a new development you need to know about. According to the Greensboro News and Record’s Mark Binker, the municipal broadband moratorium from Senate bill 1209 has been moved to another bill, House bill 1840; apparently to get around a committee that the sponsor, Sen. David Hoyle (D-Gaston), considered unfriendly.
Here’s today’s story, courtesy of the News and Record:
For those watching the municipal broadband moratorium bill (background from me here and from the N+O here) you have another bill to keep track of.
The Senate Rules Committee attached the broadband study and moratorium as constructed in S 1209 and dumped it into H 1840, which has to do with extending E-NC authority.
Sen. David Hoyle (D-NC)
I asked Sen. David Hoyle, chairman of the Rules Committee, why he was sending over a bill that has already passed the Senate.
“I’m sending it over with something the House likes,” Hoyle said. “I can’t get a committee hearing on the broadband.”
Rep. Bill Faison, the House committee chairman holding onto the bill, attended Senate Rules to watch the proceedings but did not comment to the committee.
This is the legislative version of trading paint. If the House fails to concur on H 1840, the measure will be sent to a conference committee. At that point, if no senator signs off on a conference report, the bill goes nowhere. So Hoyle can say, give me a hearing on the muni broadband bill or I lock up you E-NC bill.
“All I’m asking for is a hearing, an up or down vote,” he said. “It’s not fair for someone just to hold my bill and not hear it.”
That collective coffee spit you just heard was Senate Republicans thinking to themselves about all the bills they can’t get heard in their own chamber.
