Fla. Senate Panel Clears Pole Replacement Bills
A Florida Senate panel unanimously cleared two bills to set up a $500 million program to reimburse broadband ISPs for pole removal and replacement costs in unserved areas. The Florida Senate Commerce Committee supported two linked bills (SB-1800, SB-1802) backed…
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by Charter Communications, at a livestreamed hearing Monday. The legislation would direct the state broadband office to administer the program, which would be funded with $100 million from the U.S. Treasury’s Capital Projects Fund and $400 million in state appropriations for FY 2022-2023. Some Democratic committee members said they want Florida to do more to address broadband adoption gaps. Earlier at the hearing, the committee voted 10-0 for SB-1564 to tweak a 2021 state robocall law. The panel amended the bill to mostly align it with HB-1095 in the House, which cleared a subcommittee last week (see 2201200041).