Bills discussed in this legislative session include:
SB 45
Broadband Infrastructure
SB 43
Utility Easements for Broadband
I write this Thursday, February 15, the last day of the second session of the 56th Legislature in Santa Fe. It has been a hectic yet rewarding few weeks as we have worked through several bills that could have negatively affected our member cooperatives.
Two of those bills are SB 45, Broadband Infrastructure; and SB 43, Utility Easements for Broadband. New Mexico is prioritizing the implementation of broadband across the state in our unserved and underserved areas. In 2021, the state created the Office of Broadband Access and Expansion.
OBAE is seeking approximately $675 million from a federal grant to assist in this endeavor. While this is a start toward acquiring the money needed to connect all New Mexicans to broadband—areas primarily in rural New Mexico—it is far from the total needed for completing a project of this magnitude. To get ready for broadband deployment, we must prepare our current infrastructure in rural New Mexico, most of which is owned by our cooperative members.
In many cases, this means poles must be replaced, fiber must be installed and new pole attachment agreements need to be executed. We have worked in collaboration with OBAE, rural telecommunications companies and other utilities for several months on the planning stages.
We are grateful for these relationships. We are working diligently to ensure our electric cooperative members have input and can help guide the prioritization process and beyond. We also must protect our membership and ensure our members do not directly or indirectly subsidize any costs associated with the upgrades needed for the deployment of broadband across the state.
There were many discussions during this session with our legislators and other interested parties about the two aforementioned bills. One bill originally would have specified what the cooperatives could charge for pole attachments. The second bill could give a public utility the right to use or share any utility easement that exists on a parcel of land for purposes of communications infrastructure, even if the existing easement does not provide for that specific type of use.
These bills were written in such a way that cooperatives could not support them, due to concerns about the potential impacts on you, the members. As advocates for your cooperatives and you, we all worked to ensure our voices were heard.
While these two bills did not pass, we recognize we need to proactively be part of the solution for deploying broadband across New Mexico. We will continue to work with our broadband partners and legislators to identify the most effective deployment paths to connect all New Mexicans. We will also continue our advocacy work to ensure legislation and regulation do not impede your rights or your pockets.
I want to personally thank our senators and representatives who, through their persistence and perseverance, make a difference every day in our legislature for the people of New Mexico. Thanks to all our cooperative leaders and employees, more than 800 strong in this great state, who live to serve our communities and keep the lights on.