{"id":44,"date":"2013-03-09T09:49:58","date_gmt":"2013-03-09T14:49:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2013\/03\/scorecard-on-internet-and-energy-at-the-bird-supper.html"},"modified":"2013-04-29T11:00:04","modified_gmt":"2013-04-29T15:00:04","slug":"scorecard-on-internet-and-energy-at-the-bird-supper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2013\/03\/scorecard-on-internet-and-energy-at-the-bird-supper.html","title":{"rendered":"Scorecard on Internet and Energy at the Bird Supper"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\r\n<a title=\"Gretchen Quarterman, Dexter Sharper, Bill Slaughter, and others at the Bird Supper in Atlanta\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/98706376@N00\/8541133763\/sizes\/z\/\">\r\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float:right;border:none;\" class=\"at-xid-6a0120a58214e4970b017d41a5a9df970c\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/6a0120a58214e4970b017d41a5a9df970c-pi.jpg\"  alt=\"Gretchen Quarterman, Dexter Sharper, Bill Slaughter, and others at the Bird Supper in Atlanta\"  \/><\/a>\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nOn the 27th of February I posted\r\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2013\/02\/internet-and-energy-at-the-bird-supper.html\">\r\nInternet and Energy at the Bird Supper<\/a>\r\nand Gretchen and I went to the Bird Supper in Atlanta and discussed\r\nthose four bills with legislators.\r\nOur local elected officials were lobbying on the same side of many of\r\nthe same bills.\r\nIt&#8217;s past crossover day now, when bills are supposed to be\r\napproved by one house of the Georgia legislature in order to be\r\ntaken up by the other.\r\nHow did that come out?\r\nWe all beat the mighty telcos and cablecos on two bills!\r\nBut Georgia Power is even mightier, and won on two bills.\r\nPlus one legislator&#8217;s name is connected with 3 out of 4 of those bills.\r\nAnd our local delegation cancelled itself out on the one vote\r\nthat actually went to the floor.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<h2><a name=\"communications\"><\/a>Internet Access: help stop two telecommunications bills<\/h2>\r\n<p>\r\nThe local Industrial Authority, Chamber of Commerce, Valdosta City Council,\r\nand Lowndes County Commission have recently realized that\r\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2013\/02\/broadband-on-the-table-vlcia-2013-02-19.html\">fast Internet access<\/a> is essential to attract businesses,\r\nfor their employees to work at home, for applicants to apply for jobs,\r\nfor students to submit assignments, and for general quality of life.\r\nAnd there&#8217;s good news from the legislature!\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n<!--more-->\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>\r\n<a name=\"HB282\"><\/a><a href=\"\/blog\/2013\/02\/national-attention-on-ga-hb-282-against-muni-broadband-needs-ga-leg-to-vote-it-down.html\">\r\nHB 282 against muni broadband<\/a>\r\n<br \/>\r\nThis bill would prohibit local governments from providing Internet access\r\nif any local census block has 1.5Mbps access, thus taking away\r\nan option that local governments could use at least in bargaining\r\nwith the telcos and the cablecos.\r\n<p>\r\nThe\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.gmanet.com\/LegislativeSession\/BillDetail.aspx?ID=bf24b747-9474-e211-be9c-0050568c48e1\">\r\nGeorgia Municipal Association (GMA)<\/a> and the\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ciclt.net\/sn\/leg\/l_detail2.aspx?ClientCode=accg&#038;L_ID=530056&#038;L_State=ga&#038;L_Session=2013-2014\">\r\nAssociation of County\r\nCommissioners of Georgia (ACCG)<\/a> were both against this one.\r\nWe all won!\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.legis.ga.gov\/Legislation\/en-US\/vote.aspx?VoteID=9881\">\r\nHB 282 was voted down in the House 7 March 2013<\/a>.\r\nLocal legislative delegation votes:\r\n<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\nY :BLACK, 174TH\r\n<br \/>\r\nN :CARTER, 175TH\r\n<br \/>\r\nY :SHAW, 176TH\r\n<br \/>\r\nN :SHARPER, 177TH\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p>\r\nSo Ellis Black and Jason Shaw voted for AT&amp;T, Verizon, Sprint, and Comcast\r\nagainst our local governments and the people.\r\nAmy Carter and Dexter Sharper voted for us.\r\nOur local delegations&#8217; votes canceled each other out on HB 282.\r\nBut we won anyway.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nNow, will our local governments actually do something about\r\nmaking fast and affordable local Internet access available?\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<li>\r\n<a name=\"HB176\"><\/a><a href=\"\/blog\/2013\/02\/alec-again-ga-hb-176-for-higher-cell-towers-with-less-local-government-oversight.html\">\r\nHB 176 for higher cell towers with less local government oversight<\/a>\r\n<br \/>\r\nThis really bad bill would let cell telephone companies build towers\r\nwherever they want to at any height, taking away local government\r\npower to regulate that.\r\n<p>\r\nThe rationale the telcos had spread that was being repeated by legislators\r\nwas that some local governments charged tens of thousands of dollars\r\nto apply to build a cell tower, then sat on the application for years\r\nand never approved it.\r\nNobody had a single example of this ever happening in any specific location.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\nI hear (unconfirmed) our Chamber of Commerce backed down on its opposition.\r\nThe\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.gmanet.com\/LegislativeSession\/BillDetail.aspx?ID=be9d78b2-756c-e211-be9c-0050568c48e1\">\r\nGMA<\/a> and\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ciclt.net\/sn\/leg\/l_detail2.aspx?ClientCode=accg&#038;L_ID=524250&#038;L_State=ga&#038;L_Session=2013-2014&#038;L_Prior=2011-2012\">\r\nACCG<\/a> were both against this one.\r\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2013\/02\/alec-again-ga-hb-176-for-higher-cell-towers-with-less-local-government-oversight.html\">\r\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float:right;border:none;\" class=\"at-xid-6a0120a58214e4970b017d41a5a9e6970c\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/6a0120a58214e4970b017d41a5a9e6970c-pi.jpg\"    \/><\/a>\r\nAnd we all won!\r\n<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.legis.ga.gov\/Legislation\/en-US\/display\/20132014\/HB\/176\">\r\n02\/28\/2013 Withdrawn from the General Calendar and recommitted to Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications<\/a>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p>\r\nThe mighty telcos didn&#8217;t even have enough votes to risk bringing HB 176 to a vote.\r\nSorry,\r\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2013\/02\/alec-again-ga-hb-176-for-higher-cell-towers-with-less-local-government-oversight.html\">\r\nDon &#8220;ALEC&#8221; Parsons<\/a>: you lost two this year (HB 176 and HB 282),\r\neven though\r\nyou got lots of money from the telcos and cablecos\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/votesmart.org\/candidate\/campaign-finance\/7943\/don-parsons#.UTtDYxx8c9c\">\r\n(according to Project Vote Smart)<\/a>:\r\n<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<h2>Top Sectors<\/h2>\r\nCommunications &amp; Electronics \t$12,075.00\r\n<h2>Top Industries<\/h2>\r\nTelecom Services &amp; Equipment \t$12,075.00\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2><a name=\"energy\"><\/a>Energy: help pass two energy bills<\/h2>\r\nSolar power can be a <a href=\"\/blog\/2013\/01\/rural-aids-poverty-the-cause-solar-power-part-of-the-solution.html\">\r\ndistributed source of jobs in south Georgia.<\/a>\r\nAntique laws and a subsidized nuclear boondoggle are hobbling solar power.\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>\r\n<a name=\"SB51\"><\/a><a href=\"\/blog\/2013\/01\/ga-sb-51-the-the-georgia-cogeneration-and-distributed-generation-act.html\">\r\nGA SB 51, The Georgia Cogeneration and Distributed Generation Act<\/a>\r\n<br \/>\r\nSenator Buddy Carter has introduced a Senate bill for the current session\r\nof the legislature, SB 51, &#8220;The Georgia Cogeneration and Distributed\r\nGeneration Act of 2001&#8221;. It attempts to fix\r\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2012\/12\/financing-solar-energy-georgias-special-problem.html\">\r\nGeorgia&#8217;s special solar\r\nfinancing problem<\/a>, the antique 1973 Territorial Electric Service Act,\r\nwhich says you can only sell power you generate to your one and only\r\npre-determined electric utility, at whatever rate that utility sets.\r\n<p>\r\nAnd Georgia Power won again, as it has for years:\r\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2013\/02\/want-to-finance-solar-call-ga-sen-jack-murphy-today-about-sb-51.html\">\r\nCommittee on Regulated Industries and Utilities Chairman Jack Murphy<\/a>\r\nwouldn&#8217;t bring it to a vote to get it to the full Senate.\r\nEven the\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.gmanet.com\/LegislativeSession\/BillDetail.aspx?ID=1a796aee-8461-e211-be9c-0050568c48e1\">Georgia Municipal Association fell for opposing this one<\/a>,\r\nclaiming that it would require municipalities that generate their\r\nown power to buy power at a rate set by somebody else from people\r\nor companies that do their own generation.\r\nI can&#8217;t seem to find that clause in the bill,\r\nand\r\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2013\/01\/ga-sb-51-the-the-georgia-cogeneration-and-distributed-generation-act.html\">\r\nthis is one I did read quite closely<\/a>.\r\nLet&#8217;s try again next year, maybe starting in the House this time,\r\nand first trying to convince GMA and ACCG.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<li>\r\n<a name=\"HB267\"><\/a><a href=\"\/blog\/2013\/02\/hb-267-financing-costs-construction-of-nuclear-generating-plant.html\">\r\nHB 267 Financing costs; construction of nuclear generating plant<\/a>\r\n<br \/>\r\nStop Georgia Power from charging customers for cost overruns for Plant Vogtle,\r\nalready 15 months behind schedule and a billion dollars overbudget for power\r\nthat nobody has received, yet Georgia Power has already billed customers about\r\n$1.7 billion.\r\nBipartisan cosponsors are Jeff Chapman (R\u2014Brunswick) District 167 and\r\nKarla Drenner (D\u2014Avondale Estates) District 85.\r\nThis boondoggle on the Savannah River is what Georgia Power and Southern Company\r\nare doing instead of deploying solar inland and wind off the coast.\r\n<p>\r\nAnd Georgia Power won again: HB 267 never got out of committee.\r\nThat would be the\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.house.ga.gov\/committees\/en-US\/Committee.aspx?Committee=128&amp;Session=23\">\r\nHouse Energy, Utilities &amp; Telecommunications Committee<\/a>\r\nchaired by\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.house.ga.gov\/representatives\/en-US\/Member.aspx?Member=184&amp;Session=23\">Don Parsons<\/a> of ALEC.\r\nAnd in his <a href=\"http:\/\/votesmart.org\/candidate\/campaign-finance\/7943\/don-parsons#.UTtDYxx8c9c\">\r\ncampaign finances<\/a>:\r\n<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<h2>Top Sectors<\/h2>\r\nEnergy &amp; Natural Resources \t$13,625.00\r\n<h2>Top Industries<\/h2>\r\nElectric Utilities \t$3,250.00\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p>\r\nEvidently Georgia Power&#8217;s political clout isn&#8217;t measured solely\r\nin dollars, since that $3,250 from Electric Utilities is less than the\r\n$12,075 from Telecom Services &amp; Equipment.\r\nOr maybe the $18,725 from Lawyers &amp; Lobbyists came largely from electric\r\nutility lawyers and lobbyists, which seems to be how it works\r\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2012\/07\/4-of-5-incumbent-ga-psc-commissioners-accept-massive-utility-campaign-contributions.html\">\r\nin Georgia PSC elections<\/a>.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p>\r\nMaybe we could use some real campaign finance reform in Georgia.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\n-jsq\r\n<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On the 27th of February I posted Internet and Energy at the Bird Supper and Gretchen and I went to the Bird Supper in Atlanta and discussed those four bills with legislators. Our local elected officials were lobbying on the same side of many of the same bills. It&#8217;s past crossover day now, when bills [&hellip;]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[97,140,14,15,8,18,2,20,88,104,21,22,23,24,53,54,178,332,36],"tags":[8736,8744,333,8704,8705,8701,8708,8699,8702,8710,12,7,8734,8737,8711,8712,8713,8714,8725,6,8726,8749,8765,8716],"class_list":["post-44","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-activism","category-alec","category-economy","category-education","category-georgia","category-georgia-power","category-government","category-law","category-lowndes-county-commission","category-nuclear","category-planning","category-politics","category-renewable-energy","category-solar","category-sustainability","category-valdosta-city-council","category-vlcia","category-vlcoc","category-wind","tag-activism","tag-alec","tag-bird-supper","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-georgia","tag-georgia-power","tag-government","tag-lake","tag-law","tag-lowndes-area-knowledge-exchange","tag-lowndes-county","tag-lowndes-county-commission","tag-nuclear","tag-planning","tag-politics","tag-renewable-energy","tag-solar","tag-sustainability","tag-valdosta","tag-valdosta-city-council","tag-vlcia","tag-vlcoc","tag-wind"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p585fK-I","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3231,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44\/revisions\/3231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}