Maryland, Other States Better Watch Out for Small-Cells Bills in 2018: NATOA Webinar
A state small-cells bill may soon be introduced in Maryland, said Best Best local government attorney Christy Lopez during a NATOA webinar Monday. “There’s a draft out there,” and other states may have similar draft bills to pre-empt local jurisdiction,…
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she said. Local officials around the country should make sure to “keep an ear to the ground” and “make a real effort to take a position” on small-cells bills as they arise, she said. Small-cells bills have passed in 15 states, though the California governor vetoed that state’s bill, the Illinois governor hasn’t signed yet, and three courts have overturned an Ohio law (see 1712070056). Three other bills are pending before legislatures in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Maryland and Pennsylvania local governments are acting to prevent pre-emption (see 1710240053). Local governments could learn from California, said Lopez: “It could be a model for other states to follow.” Cities and local associations mobilized and early on approached Gov. Jerry Brown (D) in addition to state legislators, she said. “You also very much want to target your governor,” and getting unions on board also helps, Lopez advised. Some good talking points for localities include state-mandated local programs and universal service, said Tripp May, partner at Telecom Law Firm. “One of the biggest problems with California’s bill was that it was incredibly difficult to figure out what the fee was going to be, and it was almost mathematically impossible for the local governments to recover their actual costs,” May said. “The state was going to have to pick up the tab, and they just didn’t have the money for it.” California local governments successfully argued that carriers were making no firm commitment to deploying in rural areas, May added. Litigation against the Ohio small-cells law was successful, but the approach in Ohio isn’t widely applicable to other states, said May. Courts rejected the Ohio law because it contained too many unrelated issues, violating the state’s single-subject rule, he said. It’s worth watching pending lawsuits against the Texas small-cells law because the challenges address more substantive issues that would apply in other states, May said.