NATOA Joins Other Local Government Associations in Letter to the Congressional Leadership on Rights-of-Way in the National Broadband Plan
Yesterday, NATOA joined
with the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National League of Cities, the National
Association of Counties, the Government Finance Officers Association, the
International City/County Management Association, and the International
Municipal Lawyers Association in sending a letter to Speaker of the House Nancy
Pelosi (D-CA), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), House Minority Leader
John Boehner (R-OH), and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
The letter urged Congressional advocacy in favor of continued local management
of rights-of-way and warned against potential FCC actions in the National
Broadband Plan or the pending Level 3 proceeding that could jeopardize
local management of rights-of-way and local budgets. The letter also
highlighted Congress’s clear intent, when drafting the applicable law, to
prevent FCC interference with local management of rights-of-way.
The National Broadband
Plan is due to Congress on March 17th, but the FCC is expected to publically
release the Plan one day earlier at its Open Meeting on March 16th.
We have been asked to request our members send a copy of this letter to their individual Representatives and Senators. If you need assistance contacting your elected officials, please contact Matt Johnson at NATOA. The letter can be found here.