HB 60 Banning UTOPIA construction outside member cities NOT Considered in House Committee

The House Operations Committee held and then did NOT consider HB 60.
The members of the committee are:

Jack R. Draxler (R), Chair    Ken Ivory (R), Vice Chair    Rebecca Chavez-Houck (D)   Janice M. Fisher (D)   Keith Grover  (R)

John G. Mathis (R)    Michael E. Noel (R)   Lee B. Perry (R)   Kraig Powell (R)

HB 60 INTERLOCAL ENTITY SERVICE PROHIBITION

HB60 would ban UTOPIA construction outside member cities

Curt Webb’s HB 60 “ prohibits an interlocal entity that provides telecommunication service through a fiber optic network from constructing infrastructure or providing  telecommunication service in locations outside the boundaries of its members.” 

This bill is still in House Committee and has not been considered.  2/14/2014.

"Lawmakers have struggled with the concept of UTOPIA from the start, unable to determine how much is too much when it comes to allowing the organization to bond in order to pay for expanding infrastructure. To that end, Representative Curt Webb (Republican – Logan) is proposing HB 60 – Interlocal Entity Service Prohibition.

The bill would physically cut off the expansion of UTOPIA by prohibiting the construction of infrastructure outside of member cities. So, for example, if demand for infrastructure increased between member-cities West Valley and Murray, construction could not take place because non-member Taylorsville and Unincorporated Salt Lake County lie between them—despite the fact that a mile separates the two city borders. By not allowing infrastructure growth in non-member cities, HB 60 all but guarantees the death of the project. This concept runs counter to how any network runs. In general, a business would provide service between two points and, along the way, expand service in the areas between.

To contact Representative Webb,  call 435-753-2467."

this blog first entry on HB 60