The update today is short but sweet, not much posted on the Legislative web site yet, but…
The House version of the broadband bill was voted out of the Government Operations Reform, Technology and Elections Committee yesterday and is now heading for scheduling on the floor. We should see action on the floor of each chamber next week or more likely the week after.
Just ran across a quick summary of the bill in Lexology, a legal newsletter. http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=416e6bc5-5149-4743-b156-5bbea7fd0cf2 They did a great job outlining the change the bill could bring to rural MN:
Legislators and rural advocates correctly argue that gaining access to state-of-the-art telecommunications services is critical to the survival of rural communities and businesses in a global economy. Young people who feel isolated by the absence of technology used while traveling or at college, are less likely to return home to establish a business or career. Entrepreneurs are less likely to invest in their business in a rural setting if they are not able to access telecommunications services essential to growth by efficiently accessing suppliers and customers from around the world. Finally, a lack of access to high-speed broadband will impede efforts to establish tele-medicine services for rural communities that may lack a hospital or even a doctor.
By: Ann Treacy on March 13, 2010
at 7:30 pm