[Mail_treas] URGENT: Action needed on broadband amendment

Tue Jun 15 15:55:10 EDT 2021

Good afternoon,
MVECA urgently needs your help.  Amendment SC4546-1 (also known as the "broadband amendment") was added to the Senate's version of the state operating budget.  This amendment prohibits public and private entities from working together to improve broadband accessibility and affordability and makes it illegal to operate a government-owned network of any kind in locations in which Spectrum or ATT offers service speeds of greater than 10Mbps.
What this means to you:

1.       MVECA would effectively shut down its entire network and walk away from a decade of fiber infrastructure development that has driven our growth and kept your costs static.

2.       The Ohio Education Computer Network would cease to exist, forcing all schools to purchase services from private carriers.

3.       Datacenter services at MVECA would no longer be accessible from a secure, private network and would be accessed from the internet.

4.       MVECA would have no choice but to increase fees in order to sustain its operations without network revenue (assuming we could continue to exist at all).

5.       Intergovernmental agreements for the provision of broadband services across multiple jurisdictions to address regional broadband access needs would be prohibited and abandoned.

6.       Local governments would no longer be able to create the infrastructure needed to increase broadband competition in their jurisdictions, causing increases in cost for all Ohioans.
We cannot stress how important it is that your legislators hear from you on this matter.
Attached is a summary of the broadband amendment that I would encourage you to read.  Also attached is a draft letter you can utilize to communicate with your legislators.  Below is a full list of legislators that need to hear from you, including members of the conference committee that will be working TODAY on the budget bill.
Please let me know if you have any questions.  Please forward this message to anyone that might value MVECA services.
Thank you very much for your support.
Thor

Conference Committee Member Name

Office Phone

Email Contact Link

Mailing Address

Erica Crawley

614-466-8010

https://ohiohouse.gov/members/erica-c-crawley/contact

77 South High Street, 10th Floor, Columbus, OH 43215

Phil Plummer

614-644-8051

https://ohiohouse.gov/members/phil-plummer/contact

77 South High Street, 13th Floor, Columbus, OH 43215

Scott Oelslager

614-752-2438

https://ohiohouse.gov/members/scott-oelslager/contact

77 South High Street, 13th Floor, Columbus, OH 43215

Matt Dolan

614-466-8056

https://www.ohiosenate.gov/senators/dolan/contact

Senate Building, 1 Capitol Square, 1st Floor, Columbus, OH 43215

Theresa Gavarone

614-466-8060

https://www.ohiosenate.gov/senators/gavarone/contact

Senate Building, 1 Capitol Square, 1st Floor, Columbus, OH 43215

Vernon Sykes

614-466-7041

https://www.ohiosenate.gov/senators/sykes/contact

Senate Building, 1 Capitol Square, 1st Floor, Columbus, OH 43215

House District

Representative Name

Office Phone

Email Contact Link

Mailing Address

79

J. Kyle Koehler

614-466-2038

https://ohiohouse.gov/members/j-kyle-koehler/contact

77 South High Street, 13th Floor, Columbus, OH 43215

91

Shane Wilkin

614-466-3506

https://ohiohouse.gov/members/shane-wilkin/contact

77 South High Street, 13th Floor, Columbus, OH 43215

92

Mark Johnson

614-644-7928

https://ohiohouse.gov/members/mark-johnson/contact

77 South High Street, 11th Floor, Columbus, OH 43215

73

Brian Lampton

614-644-6020

https://ohiohouse.gov/members/brian-e-lampton/contact

77 South High Street, 13th Floor, Columbus, OH 43215

74

Bill Dean

614-466-1470

https://ohiohouse.gov/members/bill-dean/contact

77 South High Street, 12th Floor, Columbus, OH 43215

91

Shane Wilkin

614-466-3506

https://ohiohouse.gov/members/shane-wilkin/contact

77 South High Street, 13th Floor, Columbus, OH 43215

41

Andrea White

614-644-6008

https://ohiohouse.gov/members/andrea-white/contact

77 South High Street, 11th Floor, Columbus, OH 43215

40

Phil Plummer

614-644-8051

https://ohiohouse.gov/members/phil-plummer/contact

77 South High Street, 13th Floor, Columbus, OH 43215

42

Tom Young

614-466-6504

https://ohiohouse.gov/members/tom-young/contact

77 South High Street, 11th Floor, Columbus, OH 43215

Senate District

Senator Name

Office Phone

Email Contact Link

Mailing Address

10

Bob D. Hackett

614-466-3780

https://www.ohiosenate.gov/senators/hackett/contact

Senate Building, 1 Capitol Square, 1st Floor, Columbus, OH 43215

17

Bob Peterson

614-466-8156

https://www.ohiosenate.gov/senators/peterson/contact

Senate Building, 1 Capitol Square, 1st Floor, Columbus, OH 43215

5

Stephen A. Huffman

614-466-6247

https://www.ohiosenate.gov/senators/huffman-s/contact

Senate Building, 1 Capitol Square, 1st Floor, Columbus, OH 43216

6

Niraj Antani

614-466-4538

https://www.ohiosenate.gov/senators/antani/contact

Senate Building, 1 Capitol Square, 1st Floor, Columbus, OH 43217

Thor Sage
Executive Director
Miami Valley Educational Computer Association
937-767-1468  x3101
[http://www.mveca.org/images/logo.gif]<http://www.mveca.org/>       [i] <https://www.linkedin.com/company/mveca/> [t] <https://twitter.com/mvecarcog> [f] <https://www.facebook.com/MVECA-707401659416692/>
Not-for-profit Technology Services for Education and Local Governments

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