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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: June 26, 2007 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. ~-'~-~ <br />SUBJECT: Resolution in Opposition of House Bill 1587 -The focal Government Fair <br />Competition Act <br />DEPARTMENT: BOCC PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br />ATTACHMENT(S): , <br />Resolution <br />Statements Regarding House Bill 1587 <br />INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Donna Baker, Clerk to the <br />Orange County Board of Commissioners <br />(919) 245-2130 <br />PURPOSE: To consider a resolution opposing House Bill 1587 -The Local Government Fair <br />Competition Act. <br />BACKGROUND: House Bill 1587, "The Local Government Fair Competition Act," has been <br />entered into the 2007 of the General Assembly of North Carolina, and has passed from the <br />House Public Utilities Committee to the House Finance Committee for consideration. The <br />purpose of House Bill 1587 is to greatly hinder local governments from providing needed <br />communications services, in particular advanced high-speed broadband services, where such <br />services are now non-existent. <br />Currently,. private companies, despite having received favorable regulatory and tax treatment to <br />enable broadband investment, have chosen not to make the investment necessary to provide <br />such top quality services but rather to offer lesser quality, slow, non-state-of-the-art <br />infrastructure technologies and to make even such lesser quality service available to less than <br />all residents. <br />The re-combining of telecommunications companies (such as AT&T and the "baby Bells") <br />continues to result in planned layoffs. The inability to meet the demands of new and re-locating <br />businesses for true high-speed broadband results in such businesses locating elsewhere. <br />Furthermore the fact that there are telecommunications designers and equipment manufacturers <br />and suppliers located in North Carolina who will be negatively impacted if local government is <br />not allowed to provide needed communications services means that North Carolina will stand <br />to lose more jobs by not investing. in top-quality broadband infrastructure than it will lose due <br />to government provision of such services. <br />FINANCIAL IMPACT: None <br />RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board approve the attached <br />resolution opposing House Bill 1587 -The Local Government Fair Competition Act and <br />authorize the Chair to sign on behalf of the Board of Commissioners. <br />