Without any official action, HB60 died in the same fashion as SB190 and was sent back to rules to rot out the rest of the session without so much as a committee hearing. Between these two bills, municipal broadband advocates in Utah have racked up some big wins when we’re used… Continue reading
Once HB60 hit the wires, I was quick to file a GRAMA request to find out what kind of communication Rep. Curt Webb had been receiving on the bill. Most of it is angry emails from Utah residents, many of whom were not accepting Rep. Webb’s cut-and-paste boilerplate reply about… Continue reading
I’m beginning to think that Rep. Curt Webb is trying to win a “most indecisive legislator” award or something. I’ve gotten word (from three sources) that HB60 has been pulled from the House Government Operations Committee hearing yet again. There’s no indication yet on when it will now be heard,… Continue reading
Despite looking like it’s dead, HB60 is coming back for a committee hearing on Friday at 8AM. This is the best chance to kill the bill for good, so it’s very important that as many opponents as possible come to the hearing and voice their opposition. The bill is currently… Continue reading
I went to check the status of HB60 this morning and noticed the status has changed to “House Comm – Not Considered”. This means that the committee responsible for hearing the bill has declined to do so. Without a committee hearing, the bill has little chance of passing at all…. Continue reading
Rep. Curt Webb has held HB60 again to make some additional modifications. It will be heard again either Wednesday or Friday. I’ll post more as it becomes available, though notice of the agenda change wasn’t made until minutes before the committee meeting. CenturyLink is definitely watching this one as their… Continue reading
I just got notified that the House Government Operations Committee has added HB60 to its agenda on Monday February 10 at 2PM. The meeting will be held in Room 20 in the House Building and this is the first agenda item. If you can be there to speak as a… Continue reading
Only a few years ago, it seemed like any kind of anti-municipal broadband legislation was a slam dunk in state legislatures around the country. North Carolina’s outright ban and Utah’s continued imposition of restrictions with no purpose promoted a kind of defeatism that once the incumbents found a willing sponsor,… Continue reading
In a completely ill-considered move, Rep Curt Webb is running a bill, HB60, which would restrict any municipal fiber network (but, curiously, not cable, DSL, wireless, or any other technology) from building anything outside the boundaries of member cities. This is aimed squarely at UTOPIA only, and it is meant… Continue reading