"This is a go-to-war bill to me," Whatley says of Opelika’s broadband expansion

State Sen. Tom Whatley is prepared to “go to war” over his bill to allow Opelika to expand its internet service.

http://www.oanow.com/news/local/this-is-a-go-to-war-bill-to-me-whatley/article_5ca17e5d-e61e-57d9-97e0-fb406b5beafd.html

The Auburn Republican has filed three bills in the Alabama Legislature that would allow Opelika Power Services (OPS), which is owned by the city, to operate its telecommunications service outside of Opelika’s city limits.

“This is a go-to-war bill to me,” Whatley said.

Whatley said he’s essentially focused on the one bill that limits OPS to Lee County. The other two bills would have allowed OPS to operate in the other counties that border Lee County.

“A lot of people are against that bill,” Whatley said. “AT&T has hired 26 lobbyists to work against me on that bill. It really aggravates me because I have boiled one bill down to where it only allows Opelika to go into Lee County. It cuts out the other counties.”

State Rep. Joe Lovvorn, R-Auburn, has filed a similar bill in the Alabama House of Representatives.

“I've figured if they've hired that many people to work against it, it dui must be a great bill,” Lovvorn said at a town hall event Thursday in Smiths Station.

Lovvorn said he doesn’t believe in big government, but citizens in Lee County are not being served.

“If it doesn't make sense for a large corporation to go there arrest , that's OK that's their choice,” he said. “But they don't have the right to tell, in my opinion with my bill, the city of Opelika they can't serve them either.”

National attention

On top of lobbyists in Montgomery, the proposal has drawn attention from a national group, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance.

The group, which says it’s a non-profit, mugshot non-partisan, has spoken out against municipal broadband along with other issues, such as ending congressional earmarks, postal reform, reducing government spending and having the U.S. withdraw from the Outer Space Treaty, violence which prohibits private actors from mining or settling mug shot celestial bodies like the Moon.

David Williams, president of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, said municipal broadband hasn’t been able to compete with private industry and taxpayers end up with the bill for it.

“It's costing taxpayer’s tens of millions of dollars — billions when you add them all up — but they're not learning from their mistakes,” Williams said. “This isn't a core government function and let the private sector do it.”

In Opelika’s case, Williams said, the city hasn’t used any taxpayer money but OPS customers are the citizens of Opelika.

“If a private sector company fails, who cares,” he said. “It's their money, but if Opelika fails, then these electricity rate payers are on the hook for it.”

Opelika Mayor Gary Fuller said he expects OPS to break even on the domestic project in the next year.

“It's a really tough education process because people go, 'Well a gig service is really cool. I want that,’” Williams said. “But at what cost? As they drive down the road and hit the potholes they realize that government should be filling potholes and fixing the roads rather than in the cable television business or broadband business for that matter.”