States Make the Right Moves

California, Washington and Indiana recently enacted legislation to help facilitate community broadband networks: 

• In Sept 2018, Gov Jerry Brown (D-CA) approved AB 1999, which eliminated state restrictions on publicly owned options for rural internet access, clearing the way for rural California communities to develop, fund and operate broadband networks.
• In spring 2018, Gov Jay Inslee (D-WA) signed HB 2664, affecting port districts, which are used to boost regional economic development. Before Gov Inslee signed HB 2664, state law allowed ports to develop and use fiber optic infrastructure for their own purposes within and beyond their geographic borders. If they wanted to serve other entities, they were limited to providing wholesale services within their borders. HB 2664 removed the geographic restriction for wholesale services, allowing ports to work with private-sector partners to bring better connectivity to surrounding regions.
• In 2017, Indiana state lawmakers eased the way for electric cooperatives interested in bringing better connectivity to rural areas. Gov Eric Holcomb (R-IN) signed SB 478, known as the Facilitating Internet Broadband Rural Expansion (FIBRE) Act. The new law facilitates fiber optic deployment by reducing the need to obtain separate easements for fiber lines if cooperatives already possess easements for electric lines.

[Lisa Gonzalez is a senior researcher at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance]