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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 06-26-2007-4ffORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: June 26, 2007 Action Agenda Item No. ~-'~-~ SUBJECT: Resolution in Opposition of House Bill 1587 -The focal Government Fair Competition Act DEPARTMENT: BOCC PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No ATTACHMENT(S): , Resolution Statements Regarding House Bill 1587 INFORMATION CONTACT: Donna Baker, Clerk to the Orange County Board of Commissioners (919) 245-2130 PURPOSE: To consider a resolution opposing House Bill 1587 -The Local Government Fair Competition Act. BACKGROUND: House Bill 1587, "The Local Government Fair Competition Act," has been entered into the 2007 of the General Assembly of North Carolina, and has passed from the House Public Utilities Committee to the House Finance Committee for consideration. The purpose of House Bill 1587 is to greatly hinder local governments from providing needed communications services, in particular advanced high-speed broadband services, where such services are now non-existent. Currently,. private companies, despite having received favorable regulatory and tax treatment to enable broadband investment, have chosen not to make the investment necessary to provide such top quality services but rather to offer lesser quality, slow, non-state-of-the-art infrastructure technologies and to make even such lesser quality service available to less than all residents. The re-combining of telecommunications companies (such as AT&T and the "baby Bells") continues to result in planned layoffs. The inability to meet the demands of new and re-locating businesses for true high-speed broadband results in such businesses locating elsewhere. Furthermore the fact that there are telecommunications designers and equipment manufacturers and suppliers located in North Carolina who will be negatively impacted if local government is not allowed to provide needed communications services means that North Carolina will stand to lose more jobs by not investing. in top-quality broadband infrastructure than it will lose due to government provision of such services. FINANCIAL IMPACT: None RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board approve the attached resolution opposing House Bill 1587 -The Local Government Fair Competition Act and authorize the Chair to sign on behalf of the Board of Commissioners. ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS RESOLUTION AGAINST HOUSE BILL 1587 "THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT FAIR COMPETITION ACT" WHEREAS, House Bill 1587, "The Local Government Fair Competition Act," has been entered into the 2007 of the General Assembly of North Carolina, and has passed from the House Public Utilities Committee to the House Finance Committee for consideration; and WHEREAS, the purpose of the deceptively titled House Bill 1587 is to greatly hinder local governments in providing needed communications services, in particular advanced high-speed broadband services, where such services are non-existent; and WHEREAS, private companies, despite having received favorable regulatory and tax treatment to enable broadband investment, have chosen to avoid the financial commitment necessary to provide such top quality services, offering lesser quality, slow, non-state-of-the-art infrastructure technologies that are even not available to all residents; and WHEREAS, while private companies declare top quality service is cost prohibitive in our country and spare no expense in legislative lobbying campaigns against private-public partnerships, the United States is rapidly losing ground to other nations in per capita broadband deployment, access to high-capacity networks, cost per unit of bandwidth, and growth of new broadband users; and WHEREAS, U.S. broadband capability has fallen behind the United Kingdom, Korea, France, Japan and Canada to name a few, and Japan has internet access that is at least 500 times faster than what is considered high-speed in the United States; and WHEREAS, because broadband Internet is a new public utility necessary to compete in the global economy of the 21St century, the deployment of true high-speed broadband systems in all our communities is of vital importance to future economic development, educational outreach, and community growth in North Carolina necessary to replace lost textile, tobacco, furniture and manufacturing jobs; and WHEREAS, the General Assembly has already established the 1) rules for Public Enterprise (NCGS § 160A Article 16), 2) regulations through the Budget and Fiscal Control Act (NCGS §159 Article, and 3) oversight by the Local .Government Commission (NCGS §Article 2) by which a local government must abide in order to undertake providing an enterprise service to its .community; and 3 WHEREAS, House Bill 1587 is counter to the Local Development Act of 1925 as established in NCGS §158 that allows local governments to aid and encourage economic development in communities throughout North Carolina; and WHEREAS, North Carolina law has long permitted local governments to engage in public enterprises and there is no justification for treating communications enterprises any differently from other public enterprises; and WHEREAS, historically it was government that funded much of the current corporate telecommunications infrastructure in the United States and government paid for and developed the Internet; and WHEREAS, the re-combining of telecommunications companies (such as AT&T and the "baby Bells") continues to result in planned layoffs and the inability to meet the demands of new and re-locating businesses for true high-speed broadband; and WHEREAS, there are telecommunications designers and equipment manufacturers and suppliers located in North Carolina who will be negatively impacted if local government is not allowed to provide needed communications services, meaning that North Carolina will lose more jobs by not investing in top-quality broadband infrastructure than it will lose due to government provision of such services; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS opposes the passage of House Bill 1587 and urges all members of the North Carolina General Assembly to vote "NO" in Committee and if necessary on the floor of the General Assembly. This the 26th day of June 2007. Moses Carey, Jr., Chair Board of County Commissioners ~sr June 18, 2007 The Honorable Joe Hackney Speaker North Carolina House of Representatives 2207 State Legislative Building Raleigh, NC 27601-1096 Dear Speaker Hackney: On behalf of Google Inc., I write to urge you to oppose HB 1 S 87, the Local Government Fair Competition Act. Google is proud to be bringing jobs and investment to North Carolina, and, as Representative Starnes can attest, we have a large stake in the success and prosperity of North Carolina. HB 1587 threatens to undermine that prosperity. We support strong, fair and open competition to ensure users can enjoy the widest range of choice and opportunities to access content online. The United States is rapidly losing ground to other nations in per capita broadband deployment, access to high-capacity networks, cost per unit of bandwidth, and growth of new broadband user. States can ill afford to enact measures like HB 1587, which impair the ability of the public sector to work hand-in-hand with the private sector to reverse these trends. That is especially true of North Carolina, which, accordin to the FCC's latest statistics, ranks 41St among the states in broadband adoption and 47~' in growth of broadband subscriptions since 2002. Google is a strong supporter of public-private partnerships far economic development, educational opportunity, digital inclusion, and quality of life in North Carolina. HB1587 threatens to undermine the establishment of such partnerships, particularly in rural and high-cost urban areas of North Carolina, which the state's incumbent providers are serving either poorly or not at all. Google believes that North Carolina should be lowering barriers to public broadband initiatives rather than establishing riew ones, so that more high tech companies, like Google, can spread across this beautiful state. Please preserve and advance North Carolina's place in a global economy by opposing HB1587. Sincerely, John Burchett State Policy Counsel J :rte" ._..,= Cc: Governor Michael Easley Secretary of Commerce Fain Rep. Paul Luebke (Senior Chair, Finance Committee) Rep. Pryor Gibson (Chair, Finance Committee} Rep. William Wainwright (Chair, Finance Committee} Rep. Jennifer Weiss (Chair, Finance Committee) Rep. Dewey L. Hill (Vice Chair, Finance Committee) Rep. Hugh Holliman (Vice Chair, Finance Committee) Rep. Julia Howard (Vice Chair, Finance Committee) Rep. Daniel McComas (Vice Chair, Finance Committee) Rep Larry Womble (Vice Chair, Finance Committee) Rep. Edgar Starnes (Finance Committee) ~P STATEMENT OF PETER PITSCH DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS POLICY INTEL CORPORATION Submitted to SPEAKER JOE HACKNEY AND MEMBERS OF THE NORTH CAROLINA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Concerning HB 1587, The Local Government Fair Competition Act June 18, 2007 Intel is the world's largest semiconductor manufacturer and a leading technology company. We have a longstanding interest in promoting public policies that foster broadband deployment and facilities-based competition. We respectfully submit these comments on HB 1587, for your consideration. Many municipalities across the US are considering ways to promote broadband networks in their communities. Legitimate concerns have been raised about the merits of such public-sector efforts, but Intel believes state laws prohibiting or erecting barriers to these efforts are a mistake. Some promising cooperative efforts between municipalities and multiple private sector partners already exist or are underway. Presumptively, municipalities should follow common sense guidelines designed to promote competitive neutrality that is reasonable for their particular circumstances. Because circumstances vary, however, statewide blanket prescriptions are unwise. Some municipalities may find private sector partners able to provide all of their services. Others may find private partners able to provide some, but not all, of the services they require. Still others -because of their small size or remote location -may not find any private sector partners willing or able to provide their services. The key is that municipalities use open, transparent and neutral processes to determine the reasonable level of private sector involvement, and apply their ordinances and rules without discrimination in favor of themselves or affiliated providers. In summary, Intel supports allowing municipalities to pursue network solutions that are arrived at through open, transparent processes and are reasonably competitively neutral. We believe that framework encourages public- private partnerships that advance the goal of making affordable and high quality broadband available to all Americans. Respectfully submitted, /s/ Peter K. Pitsch Peter K. Pitsch Director, Communications Policy Intel Corporation