Several tech bills see movement, but no final action

As the 2013 legislative session neared its Nov. 20 close, the MMA submitted testimony on two technology-related bills, and the House passed a major information technology bond bill.

The House unanimously passed a five-year bond bill on Nov. 19 that would authorize $869 million for capital investments in information technology. The legislation would also provide $38 million in matching grants for communities who currently don’t have broadband Internet access in their public schools.

The legislation would dedicate $50 million to construction of “the last mile” to extend broadband to communities, residents and businesses lacking high-speed Internet. This includes $10 million, sought by Rep. Stephen Kulik, to assist communities that were not originally eligible for funding because they had partial access to the Internet.

The Senate, however, did not act on the bill before the session ended, so final action on the bill is not expected until next year.

As more rural communities gain access to the Internet, municipal officials have expressed concerns regarding another bill (H. 2930) that would remove much of the authority the Department of Telecommunications and Cable has over telecommunications companies.

The MMA submitted testimony on Nov. 8 opposing the bill, pointing out that the various state offices and agencies that oversee consumer protection in the Commonwealth have not yet provided either written or oral testimony on the bill.

Under the legislation, the MMA wrote, the Department of Telecommunications and Cable “would no longer be able to enforce consumer protections for telephone service if the telephone service provider in a municipality could certify that there is a second telephone service provider in that city or town.”

The DTC received complaints in 2009 from municipal officials in western Massachusetts regarding their phone service (DTC Docket 09/1). The complaints included “repeated service outages, poor signal quality, delays in repairing or restoring service and generally in responding to troubles, and deficiencies in network maintenance and replacement of aged facilities.”

The MMA also testified in opposition to a bill (S. 1908) that would allow mobile broadband service providers to place or upgrade equipment on or in existing structures without local government review. The MMA’s analysis concludes that the bill would undermine local control of land use and zoning, and would have a negative impact on the character of communities across the state.

“S. 1908 would impose an unprecedented shift away from local control of land use and would subvert local authority in this critically important area,” the MMA testified.

The MMA argued that the bill represents an unacceptable industry-led effort to marginalize the concerns of citizens and municipalities.