As originally proposed, a bill by Sen. Jennifer Veiga, D-Denver, would have hindered the ability of small towns to build high-capacity communications networks – even if private companies were not willing to serve such markets.
Senate Bill 152 has now passed the legislature and is headed for Gov. Bill Owens’ desk. We’re happy to report that Veiga and other sponsors have modified their bill so that it now exempts small, underserved communities. They’ve also eliminated language that would have forbidden local residents from voting to increase taxes or fees to underwrite telecommunications services. Now, the bill merely requires larger communities to hold elections before raising taxes or issuing bonds for such services.
That wouldn’t have much impact, since existing requirements of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights require elections for either tax increases or issuing general obligation bonds. SB 152 merely adds the requirement of an election if a city decides to finance a communications network by issuing revenue bonds, which don’t require an election under TABOR. And even that requirement is waived for small underserved communities if local telecommunications providers refuse to at least begin planning such service within 60 days of being asked to do so by municipal officials.
So, at this point, SB 152 wouldn’t do much harm. Of course, even its sponsor admits that in its present form it wouldn’t do much good, either. So, we’d recommend that Owens veto the measure, if only because it now strikes us as a classic SWAP – a Solution Without a Problem. But nobody should lose a lot of sleep if the governor signs it.
The Colorado Muncipal League, which still officially opposes SB 152, deserves credit for working constructively with Veiga and lobbyists for Qwest Communications and the Colorado Cable Television Association to resolve the problems that plagued the original version of the bill. The good-faith dialogue at least made SB 152 a bill that rural Colorado can live with – even if it’s still something we’d rather live without.
