Dear Bird Supper attendees,

Two things could greatly help south Georgia: better Internet access and solar power. You could help stop two telecommunications bills and help pass two energy bills for jobs and education in south Georgia.

Internet Access: help stop two telecommunications bills

The local Industrial Authority, Chamber of Commerce, Valdosta City Council, and Lowndes County Commission have recently realized that fast Internet access is essential to attract businesses, for their employees to work at home, for applicants to apply for jobs, for students to submit assignments, and for general quality of life.

• HB 282 against muni broadband
  This bill would prohibit local governments from providing Internet access if any local census block has 1.5Mbps access. Localities may or may not want to do it themselves, but they shouldn't be prohibited from using this option now that it is obvious to everyone that the commercial incumbents are not doing the job. Legislators please vote this bill down.
• HB 176 for higher cell towers with less local government oversight
  This really bad bill would let cell telephone companies build towers wherever they want to at any height, taking away local government power to regulate that. It could even let private companies exercise eminent domain. Legislators please vote this bill down.

Energy: help pass two energy bills

• GA SB 51, The Georgia Cogeneration and Distributed Generation Act
  Senator Buddy Carter has introduced a Senate bill for the current session of the legislature, SB 51, "The Georgia Cogeneration and Distributed Generation Act of 2001". It attempts to fix Georgia's special solar financing problem, the antique 1973 Territorial Electric Service Act, which says you can only sell power you generate to your one and only pre-determined electric utility, at whatever rate that utility sets.
• HB 267 Financing costs; construction of nuclear generating plant
  Stop Georgia Power from charging customers for cost overruns for Plant Vogtle, already 15 months behind schedule and a billion dollars overbudget for power that nobody has received, yet Georgia Power has already billed customers about $1.7 billion. Bipartisan cosponsors are Jeff Chapman (R—Brunswick) District 167 and Karla Drenner (D—Avondale Estates) District 85. This boondoggle on the Savannah River is what Georgia Power and Southern Company are doing instead of deploying solar inland and wind off the coast.

-jsq