News
State senators in Washington are considering a bill that would ban private, for-profit entities from participating in a state broadband grant and loan program.
By: Brad Randall, Broadband Communities
State senators in Washington are considering proposed legislation that would ban private for-profit entities from being awarded money in Washington’s Broadband Service Expansion Grant and Loan Program.
The news, reported on by Carleen Johnson of The Center Square, would narrow the list of applicants like local governments, tribal entities, nonprofit organizations, and cooperatives.
Stakeholders participated in a public hearing on Wednesday.
The hearing discussed the legislation’s potential impacts on broadband grants, according to The Center Square.
Participating in the hearing were names like Forbes Mercy.
Mercy, the president of an ISP based in Yakima named Washington Broadband, Inc., argued passionately against the bill, The Center Square’s report stated.
The proposed bill, known as SB 5671, was first referred to the Washington Senate Committee on Environment, Energy and Technology earlier this month, according to the state legislature’s website.
Lobbyist questions rationale behind the bill
A summary of the bill, published online, states it would formally strike “limited liability corporations and incorporated businesses or partnerships as eligible entities for the Broadband Service Expansion Grant and Loan Program.”
It would take effect 90 days after passage, if eventually enacted into law.
Marie Sullivan, a public affairs specialist, also spoke at the hearing and said private providers may sometimes have the most feasible solutions in certain scenarios.
Sullivan also said the question of eligibility is secondary because most money has already been awarded by Washington’s Public Works Board.
“If the legislature’s goal is to connect all Washingtonians that don’t have broadband services, they may want those private providers in the mix if no public solution is affordable, or feasible when state broadband dollars become available,” Sullivan said.
Click here to see a full video of the Wednesday hearing.
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