ISPs Warn Minn. Governor: Budget Bill Could Ruin BEAD Plans

A Minnesota lawmaker and a labor group pushed back Monday against the telecom industry's opposition to advancing a proposal on broadband workforce safety. The state's Senate planned to weigh the measure as part of a labor omnibus (HF-5242), but senators hadn’t voted by our deadline. The Minnesota Cable Association (MCA), Minnesota Telecom Alliance (MTA) and the Wireless ISP Association (WISPA) warned Gov. Tim Walz (D) that the proposal would discourage carriers from seeking federal broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) and other high-speed internet grants.

"Legislative negotiations are underway and we are hopeful a resolution that ensures the state is able to receive the federal BEAD funding will be reached soon,” emailed a spokesperson for Minnesota’s Office of Broadband Development.

The Senate also was expected to vote Monday on comprehensive privacy rules as part of a commerce budget bill (see 2404050057). That measure (SF-4942) also includes a proposal combating copper-wire theft by requiring licenses for buying or selling scrap-metal copper (see 2404090070).

Walz should reject the broadband worker language in the labor omnibus, urged MCA, MTA and WISPA in a Friday letter. The proposal is based on a stand-alone bill by Senate Labor Committee Chair Jen McEwen (D) that was opposed by the same three groups (see 2403200062). The proposal would establish worker certification requirements and set aside a portion of BEAD funding for companies that agree to workforce “best practices,” including paying prevailing wages and offering skills training annually.

Minnesota’s $652 million BEAD allocation could “go unused” if the proposed policy is enacted, the telecom groups said. The plan “would dramatically increase the cost of BEAD projects, and impose onerous, unjustified new regulations unfairly targeted at the broadband sector,” the three telecom groups wrote. “Minnesota is going to need every penny” to reach remaining unserved areas but the proposed “language will essentially make it impossible for any [ISP] in the state to participate in the BEAD” or future state grant programs.

McEwen shot back at the telecom industry in a statement Monday. “I have no intention of passing a bill that will harm Minnesota’s ability to deliver broadband to every resident of the state,” the Senate Labor Committee chair said. “I reject any suggestion that we cannot improve worker safety and expect broadband installers to take steps to not strike electrical and gas lines while meeting our broadband goals.”

McEwen “consulted extensively with industry experts, workers, and stakeholders” while crafting the bill, she said. The Labor Committee “heard testimony on workplace injuries on broadband installation sites as well as the growing number of utility line strikes associated with broadband installation, in part due to under-trained workers causing damage to underground public utilities,” she added. The labor proposal “would address both of these problems by ensuring that broadband installation workers have the training they need to keep themselves and their coworkers safe; and reduce interruptions to public utilities and the associated public safety and environmental risks,” she said.

The Laborers International Union of North America supports the “balanced” plan, said Kevin Pranis, LIUNA Minnesota and North Dakota marketing director. “The bills include reasonable provisions which maximize federal investments, providing much-needed safeguards to protect workers and the public.” North Star Policy Action research shows the telecom industry is responsible for most accidental line strikes while drilling, a LIUNA spokesperson said.

“We’re not going to say line strikes don’t happen,” WISPA State Advocacy Manager Steve Schwerbel said in an interview. But LIUNA’s research “doesn’t paint a full picture” since some entities that might strike lines aren’t required to report it and because it was based on a “random survey” of sites involving one carrier, he said. Instead, the telecom groups have proposed amending the budget bill to require a study committee to dig deeper into the issue, he said. MTA President Brent Christensen told us he expects Sen. Gene Dornink (R) to offer at least one amendment. Dornink didn’t comment by our deadline.

The union-backed proposal could add to workforce challenges for the broadband industry -- and be especially onerous for smaller ISPs, Schwerbel argued. Minnesota’s proposed licensing program would add costs and require unneeded education that will take time away from work on projects without necessarily increasing safety or network resiliency, said the WISPA official: Time is of the essence given BEAD’s strict deadlines. The telecom groups shared their letter to Walz with Minnesota House and Senate leaders, said Schwerbel. “Nobody wants to have” the governor “four years from now holding the bag” when there are questions about why the state still lacks universal broadband, he said. Walz didn’t comment.