Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Broadband topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Senate votes 19-13 on report tied to ConnectME fee and agency consolidation
Summary
Lawmakers debated whether to continue a fee that funds ConnectME given the Maine Connectivity Authority's work and uncertain federal grant flows. Supporters said eliminating the fee would save Mainers money; opponents warned it could jeopardize federal grants. The chamber accepted the committee report 19-13 (first reading).
The Senate took up debate over a measure tied to a fee that funds ConnectME and whether responsibilities should move to the Maine Connectivity Authority. Senators argued over affordability for ratepayers versus maintaining ongoing federal grants and continuity of broadband deployment.
Senator Harrington urged eliminating ‘‘an unnecessary fee’’ that he said was taking about $2,000,000 annually from Mainers and that the Maine Connectivity Authority could finish the work. He argued moving to the alternate report would let the state stop taking the fee once the authority completed the connections.
Senator Lawrence countered that the fee was originally designed to expand affordable internet to rural and elderly Mainers and warned that removing it would abandon those populations. Senator Grohowski cautioned that changing or defunding the agency now could risk active federal grants and said recent federal funding expectations had shifted from $272 million to a possible $48 million, creating uncertainty.
After debate the Senate voted 19 in favor and 13 opposed to accept the majority report as amended; the measure was advanced to the next legislative day for second reading.
