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• ​LD 1973: An Act To Enact The Maine Consumer Privacy Act

  • What the bill says:​

    • "This bill enacts the Maine Consumer Privacy Act to entitle consumers to certain rights concerning the use of personal data."

  • Our position:

    • Ought Not To Pass: "Unfortunately, LD 1973 does not meet the high standards for privacy that Mainers and this committee want to see. The bill was written to repeal the strong privacy protections of the 2019 ISP privacy law, and would otherwise codify Big Tech's current practices, requiring very little change or accountability. LD 1973 is largely copy-pasted from bills that Charter, Facebook, and other tech companies are trying to pass in the states, as the FTC and Congress have failed to take any action that protect the users they exploit."​

  • Testimony:

    • Myles Smith, Executive Director, Maine Broadband Coalition

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• LD 422: An Act to Eliminate the Requirement That Municipalities Provide Public Notice in Newspapers

  • What the bill says:​

    • "[A] municipality required by this Title to place a notice in a newspaper may meet this requirement by placing the notice on its publicly accessible website, as long as the notice on the website contains all information required to be published in a newspaper."

  • Our position:

    • Ought Not To Pass: "Until such time that everyone in the State has adequate broadband connectivity, and municipalities and counties are able to maintain adequate websites, and everyone knows how to navigate and engage with the internet, removing the requirement to print municipal public notices in newspapers is taking away the right to know for tens of thousands of Maine citizens."​

  • Testimony:

    • Myles Smith, Executive Director, Maine Broadband Coalition

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• LD 1336: An Act to Increase Transparency in Municipal Ballot Referenda Expenditures

  • What the bill says:​

    • ​"This bill requires organizations that qualify as ballot question committees and spend more than $5,000 to influence a municipal referendum campaign in a town or city with a population of less than 15,000 to comply with the same campaign reporting laws that currently govern their actions in larger municipalities."

  • Our position:

    • Ought To Pass: "At MBC, an element of our “all tools available” approach includes open and equal access to information. We believe that the presence of dark money is antithetical to the type of informed decision-making in which all stakeholders deserve to participate when it comes to investing in the broadband future of their communities."

  • Testimony

    • Joe Oliva, Outreach Associate, Maine Broadband Coalition​

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• LD 1456: An Act to Facilitate  the Expansion of Broadband

  • What the bill says:​

    • ​"This bill requires the Public Utilities Commission to adopt rules establishing a process by which joint use rates are required to be reduced or capped and attachment time frames are regulated by the commission to encourage community broadband systems.

  • Our position:

    • Ought To Pass: "[W]e offer support to LD 1456 due to its intention of streamlining the pole attachment process. We believe that, in the face of a challenge as monumental as connecting every Mainer to high-speed, affordable broadband, all options should be on the table. One of the biggest obstacles facing municipal and non-incumbent providers in implementing broadband projects – often community-led projects and as the result of substantial volunteer effort – is the pole attachment process."

  • Testimony

    • Joe Oliva, Outreach Associate, Maine Broadband Coalition​

  • NOTE: LD 1456 has a sponsor proposed amendment: "This amendment strikes and replaces the bill with a resolve that directs the Public Utilities Commission to study current pole attachment laws and rules and the effect of those laws and rules on municipal broadband expansion, instead of studying methods of promoting municipal broadband expansion through a limited-period reduction in utility pole attachment rates for broadband providers that agree to deliver new high-speed Internet service at affordable rates."

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• LD 1791: An Act to Make the ConnectMaine Authority Responsible for Attachments to and Joint Use of Utility Poles and to Establish Procedures for Broadband Service Infrastructure Crossing Railroad Tracks.

  • What the bill says:​

    • ​​This bill directs that the ConnectMaine Authority be responsible for the management and administration of attachments to and joint use of utility poles. The bill also establishes a procedure by which broadband service providers that need to cross a railroad track with broadband infrastructure may apply to a railroad company, provides for responsibility of costs in the crossing by the broadband service provider and provides for payment of a license fee and reimbursement of expenses to the railroad company. The bill also establishes procedures for either the railroad company or the broadband service provider to petition the Public Utilities Commission if the railroad company and broadband service provider cannot agree on the terms of the crossing of the railroad track.

  • Our position:

    • Partial Support: "The bill makes three major positions. We oppose one, and support the other two. First, we oppose the provision that would make MCA the regulator of pole attachments, at least in the short term. [A]fter consulting with our coalition partners, we support the bill’s provisions to regulate make-ready costs and railroad crossings." 

  • Testimony

    • Myles Smith, Executive Director, Maine Broadband Coalition​

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• LD 1223: An Act to Clarify Cost Allocations and Insurance in the Joint Use of Public Utility Equipment (Amended)

  • What the bill says:​

    • ​​This bill clarifies that an owner of a utility pole is responsible for costs associated with accommodating an attachment to the pole except for costs associated with municipal attachments, costs of a modification of an attachment to comply with safety, engineering or construction codes or standards or the cost of insurance of the attaching entity. This bill also clarifies that a pole owner may require an attaching entity or a contractor of the attaching entity to carry insurance but the pole owner or attaching entity may not dictate the terms, type or level of the insurance of another attaching entity or contractor.

  • Our position:

    • Ought To Pass: "Our support for this bill is predicated on the understanding that towns will not be the installers or operators of broadband equipment. That work is done by the towns’ contracted internet service providers, or ISP subcontractors, each with their own licenses and insurances." 

  • Testimony

    • Myles Smith, Executive Director, Maine Broadband Coalition​

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• LD 1504: An Act to Exempt Broadband Equipment from the Sales and Use Tax

  • What the bill says:​

    • ​​This bill exempts from the sales and use tax sales of machinery and equipment used to provide broadband communications service to a broadband communications service provider.

  • Our position:

    • Ought Not To Pass: "We agree that broadband internet is an essential service that is deserving of public funding. But our Coalition, which includes several internet service providers that would benefit from the exemptions, opposes the bill as written, for two reasons: First, the bill does not direct the savings enjoyed by corporations to the expansion of internet availability, improved quality, or reduced prices for Maine’s internet users. Second, the bill provides tax breaks to outdated and/or irrelevant technologies that do not meet the state’s own definition of broadband.​"

  • Testimony

    • Myles Smith, Executive Director, Maine Broadband Coalition​