The Michigan Senate this week approved legislation to aid with the rollout of broadband internet in rural areas. State Senator Aric Nesbitt tells WSJM News his bill gives a personal property tax exemption to providers on equipment they install in areas identified as underserved.
“This is what they tell me is the number one impediment that’s stopping them from further expansion, this outdated personal property tax,” Nesbitt said.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer vetoed similar legislation this month, saying it didn’t allow for fast enough broadband to be justified. Nesbitt says his bill raises the minimum download speed from 25 megabits per second to 100 megabits to appease the governor. He still doesn’t feel her veto of the previous legislation was reasonable.
“Too many people from some of the more urban areas with access to fiber or higher speeds, I don’t think quite understand how important it is that people can go from 3 megs to 25 megs, or 5 megs to 30 megs.”
Nesbitt says with the newly increased download speed, the governor will hopefully sign the bill. The bill she vetoed originated in the state House. This new bill out of the Senate now goes to the House.
