The Senate approved a telecommunications bill Wednesday that puts pressure on the Shumlin administration to move the E-911 board into the Department of Public Safety.
If the secretary of the Agency of Administration decides not to pull the E-911 board into the department by July 1, the Senate bill directs Justin Johnson to move $300,000 from the E-911 budget to the general fund and eliminate a job on the board.
The legislation also shifts money from the proposed Division of Telecommunications and Connectivity to broadband buildout efforts. The Senate version of the bill will be considered in a conference committee with the House.
Rep. Sam Young, D-Glover, opposes the Senate plan. He says money from the universal service fund, which comes from a 2 percent tax on cellphone and landline bills, should be used for broadband buildout wherever possible. He objects to the idea of transferring the $300,000 to the general fund for staff positions at the division, which would be part of the Public Service Department.
“We, as the Northeast Kingdom members, also have some concerns about saving their public safety answering points,” Young said. “I think we can leave things be and not destroy things in the last minutes of the session like we did last year with the [Vermont Telecommunications Authority].”
Rep. Steve Carr, D-Brandon, said the House Government Operations Committee will review the E-911 proposal, but members believe keeping the E-911 board in place is the best option.
“We think that works better than [the Department of] Public Safety, at least,” he said.
Senate Finance Chair Tim Ashe, D/P-Chittenden, and others, requested an informal meeting on the bill before going to conference.
Communications Union Districts
The Senate also added language to create “communications union districts,” a new legal distinction that ECFiber sought to help attract larger investments.
Under the language, two or more towns in Vermont could vote to come together to create a district to build out broadband infrastructure. Taxpayers would not be liable for debt incurred by the districts.
When the House approved the telecommunications bill March 31, its main purpose was to clarify how the Vermont Telecommunications Authority would sunset.
The House bill provided guidelines for how the Department of Public Service would take over and rent out VTA’s assets, distribute grants to other utilities for broadband buildout and move toward a structure to regulate Internet services.
Irv Thomae, chairman of the governing board of ECFiber, said Wednesday he does not have any issues with the technical changes lawmakers have made to “communications union districts.”
The House appointed Reps. Sam Young, D-Glover, Steve Carr, D-Brandon, and Mike Marcotte, R-Newport, to the committee of conference. The Senate members will be named Thursday.
GOVERNANCE TIMELINE
1993: Act 197 creates the Enhanced 911 Emergency Response System. The board functions as a quasi-independent body and can enter into contracts with E-911 providers with the approval of the governor.
2007: Act 79 creates Vermont Telecommunications Authority to focus on getting broadband and mobile telecommunications to unserved and underserved areas of the state.
2014: Act 190 created the Connectivity Fund for broadband buildout. The law mothballed the Vermont Telecommunications Authority while creating a six-person Division of Connectivity within the Agency of Administration. The law also directed the Shumlin administration to produce a report for the Legislature.
2014: Secretary of Administration Jeb Spaulding recommends that the Legislature move the quasi-independent E-911 Board into the Department of Public Safety. Spaulding says the move would save between $210,000 and $350,000 per year in “personal service” savings.
2015: Instead of creating a six-person division in the Agency of Administration, H.117 would direct the Department of Public Service to oversee broadband buildout using three new positions in an expanded Division of Telecommunications and Connectivity.
