Virginia House May Vote Soon on Controversial Muni Broadband Bill

Floor debate will likely occur Monday with a vote Tuesday, said Virginia Cable Telecommunications Association President Ray LaMura in an interview Friday. A House Commerce and Labor spokesman confirmed that’s likely because the bill is scheduled for second reading Monday and if approved would move to third reading and a vote Tuesday. The bill would then need approval from the Senate and Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), who threatened to veto the original version of the bill. Byron didn’t comment.

The one-page bill approved Thursday requires local broadband authorities to maintain and make publicly available records showing their compliance with pricing rules requiring that rates cover network costs. By existing statute, local governments must charge a price that is sufficient to cover costs, LaMura said. “What this bill does is ensures that taxpayers have the ability to look at the local government who has created these [broadband] authorities and make sure their costs are covered.” That will stop governments from charging a price below cost, resulting in a loss that taxpayers will have to bear, he said.

One of the bill’s critics said it’s not fair to require local governments -- unlike private ISPs -- to reveal proprietary information about providing broadband. “Publicly owned networks should have some basic protections to keep proprietary data secret as is done in the private sector and to ensure that rivals cannot game the public information requests to harm publicly owned networks and partnerships,” emailed CBN's Mitchell. LaMura countered that local governments have a bigger obligation to be transparent because they’re using public funds. “The difference is they’re using taxpayer dollars,” he said. “We’re using private capital.”

The revised bill is less damaging than the original draft, Mitchell said. “It is a small step backward rather than a giant leap backward.” But LaMura said he sees it as “a good starting point,” saying some of the original proposals condemned by community broadband advocates could get a second look this summer when the state Broadband Advisory Council reconvenes. Byron chairs the group -- of which LaMura is a member – and the state legislator “has committed to continuing this discussion throughout the summer,” he said.

Critics accused the Byron-chaired council of conflict of interest because its membership includes LaMura and other top industry lobbyists. The broadband council’s members “include lobbyists and private sector executives looking to protect their organization or their client's bottom line,” Roanoke City Council Member Raphael Ferris emailed. “It's the classic case of the fox guarding the henhouse.”

Such attacks on the council are "inflammatory," LaMura said. “The Broadband Advisory Council only provides recommendations. It is not a legislative body. It does not institute any policy.” Local government has a seat, as do multiple state government officials, he said. ALaMura dismissed speculation that industry pushed Byron to write the legislation. “This is Delegate Byron’s initiative,” he said. Byron has chaired the council since its first meeting in 2010, and “this has been a compilation of her efforts,” he said. “She did ask industry for our thoughts, as she does with many other pieces of legislation. That’s what legislators do.”