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Nicole Grohoski represents Maine Senate District 7 and sits on the Legislature’s Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee. She co-chairs the Legislature’s Broadband Caucus. Rick Bennett represents Senate District 18 and sits on the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee and the Government Oversight Committee. He co-chairs the Legislature’s Broadband Caucus. Melanie Sachs represents Maine House District 102 and is the House chair of the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee.
On Monday, Jan. 15, the Maine State Chamber of Commerce published what we believe to be a deeply flawed press release in the Bangor Daily News titled “Maine voters overwhelmingly oppose new taxes and fees on streaming services.” The article incorrectly states that the Legislature is considering a bill that will raise both for Mainers.
The bill the article is referring to is LD 1967, “An Act to Support Municipal Franchise Agreements.” To be clear, the bill does not propose new taxes, new fees or new charges to subscribers. LD 1967 is a bipartisan bill that passed in the House with an 88-50 vote and in the Senate with a 21-12 vote.
This legislation would preserve local control for Maine towns to use their revenue from federally required contracts, also known as franchise agreements, as they see fit. It also would make sure that cable companies that have committed to bringing broadband to homes actually do so. This is why the Maine Municipal Association, the Maine Broadband Coalition, the Maine Connectivity Authority and the Maine Attorney General’s Office all testified in strong support of the bill, in collaboration with the Public Utilities Commission.
A franchise agreement or contract outlines the terms of service between a town and any entity that would like to sell their entertainment products over infrastructure located in the public right of way, like poles and wires. This agreement is required by federal law. LD 1967 clearly states that if – and only if – operators are providing video services via a municipal right of way, which are owned and maintained by the town, then communities can assess a fee for the right to use those poles and wires,
This right to assess a fee was established by the federal government 40 years ago as part of the Cable Communication Policy Act of 1984. In keeping with Maine’s strong tradition of local control, towns can opt to charge these fees or not. Towns can then use that money to reduce property taxes, pay for public safety services, support their local community television or help fund any other priority. We want property taxes to be reduced, not raised. Voting against this bill may actually result in higher taxes in some communities.
LD 1967 also supports Maine’s efforts to increase reliable, high-speed internet to every corner of the state. As the Maine Broadband Coalition noted in an email to legislative leaders, “It clarifies the obligations of cable providers in current law to provide internet service to Mainers in the towns where they’ve negotiated to provide service. … Every time a cable provider falls short of this obligation, it increases the burden on our limited federal funding to subsidize internet infrastructure to those homes and businesses. And we know disputes are happening due to different interpretations of cable providers’ obligations. If they don’t do their part, we’ll end up picking up the bill.”
Additionally, LD 1967 has significant consumer protections, including explicit terms that prohibit a cable company from shifting the cost of their own video equipment upgrades, which is the cost of doing business, onto cable subscribers. It also establishes stronger enforcement of franchise and state law compliance.
There is no fiscal note (i.e. price tag) on this legislation, because there is no cost to Maine people. Instead, this bill will protect Maine towns from having to engage in costly litigation with cable companies just to get them to follow the terms of their signed franchise agreement. Paying for litigation when these companies may decide not to comply with the law could actually increase property taxes. We heard this time and again from towns all over Maine.
We must side with Maine communities and consumers – not the cable companies that are lobbying against this bill — and ensure LD 1967 becomes law.