Former state Sen. David Hoyle on N.C’s muni broadband legislation:
Hoyle, D-Gaston, supported similar legislation before he left the Senate in 2010. He said he was concerned about cities running up large debts in the same way several North Carolina municipalities that own their electricity utilities had amassed debt by owning nuclear power plants.
“If [the cities] didn’t pay it back, the state probably would have to,” Hoyle said of the debt. The intent was to create a level playing field. “What I didn’t want to see happen was, they’d borrow all this money and then five or 10 years from now ask for a bailout,” Hoyle said.
If cities weren’t required to pay taxes, they’d have an unfair advantage over private providers, Hoyle said. “They need to pay the same taxes,” Hoyle said. “Right’s right, and wrong’s wrong.”
Apparently the federal government doesn’t see it that way, considering the FCC might ‘revisit’ state laws restricting muni broadband funding mechanisms.
