On February 18, Legislative Director Kevin Kinnally testified before the Ways and Means Committee to support HB 969 – Property Tax – Valuation of Operating Property of Rural Broadband Service Providers with amendments.
This bill grants rural broadband service providers a permanent tax carveout, giving them a lasting advantage over other industries while shifting significant costs onto counties.
Counties have led efforts to expand broadband, committing funding, infrastructure, and strategic support to bridge the digital divide. These investments have accelerated deployment, subsidized access, and reduced provider costs. However, broadband networks mature into profitable enterprises, with providers building customer bases, stabilizing revenues, and expanding operations. HB 969 treats broadband as a perpetual fiscal burden rather than a growing industry, locking in permanent tax advantages without requiring long-term community investment.
While some counties may want to offer targeted relief to support broadband expansion, that decision should remain a local choice, not a mandated tax break. As such, MACo offered amendments to authorize counties to expressly negotiate Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreements with broadband providers. PILOT agreements provide a flexible, locally driven tool that allows counties to balance economic development incentives with fiscal responsibility while ensuring broadband companies contribute to the communities they serve.
The bill’s sponsor and advocates agreed to accept MACo’s amendments.
Absent the amendment, this bill imposes a significant unfunded mandate on counties, leaving no mechanism to recover lost revenue and forcing difficult trade-offs in funding essential services.
HB 969’s cross-file, SB 774, was heard on February 26 in the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee. Karrington Anderson testified in support of this bill with amendments.
SB 774 was heard in the opposite chamber, the Ways and Means Committee, on March 25. As amended, MACo submitted written testimony in support of this bill.
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