Signed by Governor Tom Wolf

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to amend and pass a bill that authorizes rural electric cooperatives to use existing infrastructure for high-speed internet services, effective 60 days after enactment.

Highlights:

• Authorizes electric cooperative corporations to provide broadband services or to construct, operate, and maintain broadband facilities through an existing easement owned, held, or used by the electric cooperative corporation (Sec 1)

• Specifies that the attachment of broadband facilities will not (Sec 1):

• Constitute a change to the physical use of the easement;

• Interfere with any vested rights of a property owner; or

• Place an additional burden on the property or owner.

• Authorizes affiliate broadband service suppliers access to attach broadband facilities to a cooperative’s easements if written permission is granted from the supplier (Sec 1).

• Requires electric cooperative corporations that elect to provide retail broadband services to permit other suppliers of that service nondiscriminatory access to attach electric infrastructure (Sec 1).

• Prohibits electric cooperatives from requiring a person to purchase broadband services from an affiliate as a condition to receive electricity (Sec 1).

• Prohibits a cooperative from disconnecting or threatening to disconnect electric services due to a customer’s failure to pay for broadband services (Sec 1).

• Requires electric cooperative corporations to ensure that rates charged for the provision of electric service do not include any affiliate’s broadband service costs (Sec 1).

• Prohibits an electric cooperative from using revenues to subsidize the provision of retail broadband services to the public by an affiliate (Sec 1).

Full Bill Text