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Senate advances narrow telecom limits on municipal networks after extended debate
Summary
Senate Bill 66, which would limit municipal wholesale telecommunications projects (known as Utopia) by requiring bond repayment from project revenues, barring cross-subsidies from tax dollars, and prohibiting municipal preference of specific providers, advanced to third reading after prolonged floor debate about fiscal risk and local control.
Senator Hickman presented Senate Bill 66 as a targeted measure to clarify municipal authority and protect taxpayers when cities pursue wholesale telecommunications projects similar to the Utopia plan. "SB 66 simply requires three things," he told the Senate: that bonds issued for telecommunications facilities be repaid solely from project revenues, that municipalities not cross-subsidize services with tax dollars, and…
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