Governor’s broadband plan may face familiar opposition

CEDAR RAPIDS - It has a new name and broad support from the health care, education, public safety, economic development, agriculture and telecommunications industries, but Gov. Terry Branstad's broadband initiative may face the same hurdles that scuttled it last year.

'Everyone who has rolled out legislature priorities has broadband in there somewhere,” said Kevin Condon, who lobbies for the Iowa Communications Alliance. The 130 companies and cooperatives it represents are supporting the governor's overall effort.

House Commerce Committee Chairman Peter Cownie, R-West Des Moines, called Branstad's Connect Every Acre broadband initiative a 'top priority.”

'I think all four caucuses (House and Senate Democrats and Republicans) want something,” he said.

Broadband is a high-speed transmission link from a home, business or school to the Internet and other digital resources. It replaces a traditional 'dial-up” or narrow band telephone connection since it is always on and allows users to access multiple services at the same time. Users can surf the web - listen to music, check email, visit social media sites - while watching TV and making phone calls.

There's no significant opposition to that concept. However, Branstad's attempt in 2014 - Connect Every Iowan - was shot down 51-44 in the Iowa House by nine Republicans who thought it was too generous in its income tax and property tax breaks to entice telecommunications companies to build out their broadband systems to unserved and underserved areas. Also, 42 Democrats voted against it because they doubted it would benefit the most underserved areas.

Cownie called incentives 'a way of life” and necessary to get telecommunications companies to expand into rural Iowa as well as underserved urban areas.

'It's a quality-of-life issue,” he said.

It's a necessary tool for economic development everywhere in Iowa, according to Ric Lumbard, executive director of the Iowa Communications Network.

'It doesn't matter which industry you go to,” he said. 'If it's government, it allows us to do it better, faster, cheaper. If it's public safety, it allows us as taxpayers to be protected in a stronger way. In health care, it allows them to care for patients in an entirely different way.

'The hidden story of broadband is economic development, not just for the private sector, not just for the government, but for all the sectors that impact us in Iowa.”

That's one reason why Cownie is hearing from companies such as DuPont Pioneer, John Deere and the financial services industry.

DuPont Pioneer, known to Iowans as a seed corn company, calls broadband connectivity is critical to helping Iowa growers remain competitive in a global ag market.

'It enables growers to access innovative data tools and analytics that drive productivity and efficiency on every acre, while getting real-time market information to fuel business decisions,” according to Jane Slusark, a DuPont Pioneer spokeswoman.

Access to those innovative tools is why John Deere has backed the plan. If broadband is connected to acre, Deere's farm machinery can access global positioning systems that help farmers apply the right fertilizers, herbicides and seeds, for example.

A major stumbling block in 2014 was language to fast-track cell tower siting procedures could again be a stumbling block for local governments. The proposed changes 'scared small towns that don't have legal staff to evaluate applications,” he said.

The siting legislation was of more importance to some providers than others, Condon said. The Iowa Communications Alliance didn't feel a need for it and thought it was a distraction from the overall effort.

There also was concern about a potential loss of revenue, according to Iowa Association of County Supervisors lobbyist Bill Heckroth of the Iowa Association of County Supervisors.

The changes 'would reduce the property taxes for CenturyLink by $6.87 million, costing local governments $5.72 million,” he told lawmakers.

Cownie's goal is to simplify the proposal and separate the wireless and cell tower siting issues.

Whether the governor will separate those issues remains to be seen. Branstad and his staff are aware of local government concerns as they draft the Connect Every Acre proposal, according to Branstad spokesman Jimmy Centers. They believe it will get support from both Democratic and Republican legislative leaders.

'The governor believes we can get legislation that will not only Connect Every Acre but also schools and schoolchildren, and Main Street businesses to global market,” Centers said.