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 But, language in the Broadband Reform and Investment to Drive
Growth in the Economy (BRIDGE) Act, the wide-ranging federal legislation that
seeks to funnel tens of billions in taxpayer money for broadband growth in the
U.S., would put the clamp on states trying to set their own broadband policies
that limit government involvement and taxpayer funding of networks (GONs).
“This act would be terrible for Michigan,” Jarret Skorup,
director of marketing and communications at the Mackinac Center for Public
Policy, told the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA).
As TPA previously reported, officials in Traverse City moved forward with plans
to build their own network even though the city has a host of broadband options.
Now, the Mackinac Center reports the network is behind schedule, over budget,
and woefully lacking in customers – proving why the law was necessary.
Although state lawmakers crafted legislation to prevent municipalities like
Traverse City from taking advantage of loopholes in existing law, Congress seeks
to supersede their efforts.
“The BRIDGE Act would totally override these state laws,” Skorup said. “The
state passed these laws to direct that money in the most efficient ways.”
Critics of the BRIDGE Act argue it tramples states’ rights, voiding laws that
prohibit GONs and hamstrings the ability of state legislators to set their own
broadband policy.
The bill also includes a “mother, may I” provision that would prioritize
projects that get “a letter of endorsement … from the local government for each
community.” Detractors argue the concept of requiring local regulators to offer
a thumbs-up would have the effect of promoting GONs, which are a stated part of
President Joe Biden’s agenda.
TPA has reported extensively on the failure of GONs across the U.S., dedicating
a website to the issue called Broadband Boondoggles and releasing a report last
year titled “GON with the Wind: The Failed Promise of Government Owned Networks
Across the Country.” The examinations have found that municipal networks rarely
live up to the promises of advocates, and often squander millions in taxpayer
money.
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LUS Fiber in Lafayette, Louisiana, was one of the
GONs studied by TPA in the 2020 report. That system not only
reportedly is deeply in debt, but it also lacks transparency. LUS
declined to provide records in response to a Freedom of Information
Act request, shielded by state laws.
Eric Peterson, director of policy at the Pelican
Institute in New Orleans, told TPA that LUS is a prime example of
why laws limiting GONs are needed.
“Seeing the feds potentially open the flood gates on this is
concerning,” he said.
Randolph May, president of The Free State Foundation, noted recently
that the federal government is attempting with the BRIDGE Act to
preempt the laws of approximately 20 states that prohibit or limit
GONs.
“States have adopted these laws in order to protect state taxpayers
from having to subsidize the often financially unsuccessful muni
networks and to prevent them from disadvantaging private sector
competitors by virtue of the exercise of their control over
rights-of-ways, permitting processes, and fees charged,” May said.
It's not just the center-right that frets over the GON-promoting
portion of the BRIDGE Act. Lindsay Lewis, executive director of the
center-left Progressive Policy Institute, recently penned an op-ed
in USA Today that argued the far left’s obsession with GONs is a
part of misguided broadband policy that also includes the concept of
“future proofing” internet by requiring 100/100 Mbps symmetrical
speeds for networks constructed using BRIDGE Act funds.
“Some activists want to get local municipal governments into the
business of building and operating complex broadband facilities –
even in places that already have high-speed networks,” Lewis wrote.
“The remaining true believers of this idea love to point to rare
examples where government-owned networks are popular – Chattanooga
is a favored poster child – but tend to ignore the much larger set
of failed efforts that have drowned local taxpayers in a sea of debt
and produced sub-par networks.”
Johnny Kampis is a senior fellow and investigative reporter for the
Taxpayers Protection Alliance.
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