Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Senate voted unanimously in a virtual floor setting to advance H360 - An Act Relating to Accelerated Community Broadband Deployment, valued at $150 million. This has been a long-standing priority across multiple administrations and legislatures and now state leaders believe Vermont will have the resources necessary to connect every address to high-speed internet. Governor Scott said at his regular press conference today that the state probably needs upwards of double that amount to reach its goals.
He said he's looking forward to what the overall plan would be in regards to getting the state fully covered.
Scott said the state has received about $1 billion in discretionary spending from the American Rescue Plan Act. He wants it to go to big infrastructure projects like broadband, wastewater and climate change projects, as well as housing. He said, as he frequently has, that the ARPA money is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and should not be directed for programmatic spending.
The house version of the bill contained $150 million for broadband and the Senate approved $100 million plus another $50 million more, presumably in a bill next year. The governor proposed $250 million and said again today that he wonders if even that is enough. Scott's mantra has been to spend this big, one-time money on big, one-time infrastructure projects.
"I don't want to wake up three or four years from now and look back and ask ourselves, 'Where did all the money go? And we didn't accomplish what we hoped'.'" Scott said.
"We want all Vermont communities to thrive in the modern economy," said Senate President Pro Tem Becca Balint. "The pandemic has highlighted the absolute necessity of high-speed internet access. We have seen too many students struggle with remote learning and too many seniors that can't access tele-health. We can't fix that instantly, but this bill demonstrates our firm commitment to expand access to high-speed internet for all. This is a very exciting opportunity.”
“The Legislature has known for years that access to high speed broadband was essential for our economic, educational, and medical future,” said Sen. Ann Cummings, Chair of the Senate Finance Committee. “Unfortunately, until now we haven’t had the resources to address the problem. The ARPA funding has provided us with the necessary financial resources to make significant progress in providing every Vermonter access to high speed, reliable, affordable internet.”
The Senate's bill creates a three-member board charged with deploying grants and building up expertise in engineering, finance, and business development to assist the communications union districts (CUDs) that towns have developed across the state.
"This bill provides a Vermont, community-based solution to our high-speed internet challenges. Empowering communities with the resources and expertise they need helps ensure this vital service will get to every student, employee, senior, and family in our state,” said Senator Ruth Hardy.
The Senate's version of the bill opens the door to coordination between electric cooperatives and CUDs by creating a property tax exemption to co-ops that string fiber under a lease agreement with CUDs. CUDs are considered municipalities under Vermont law and are exempt from the property tax like a water district is.
"We want to take advantage of low interest loans our co-ops can access, and put that money to use building broadband," explained Sen. Chris Pearson. “Leveraging all funds, including significant Federal dollars, gives us the chance to bring fiber down every last dirt road in the state. We are setting up a process to get this done for the benefit of families and businesses for decades to come.”
Source: MONTPELIER, VT - Vermont Senate President Pro Tem 5.11.2021