Broadband legislation advances through Senate and House Committees, with the Senate bill passing a full floor vote on Tuesday
The Virginia Senate has advanced SB 1029, sponsored by Sen. Bill Stanley, passing with overwhelming, bipartisan support. Legislators of all political affiliations, backgrounds and geographic regions are echoing Cooperatives’ commitment to ensuring every Virginian — particularly in rural and remote Virginia — has access to broadband.
In response to legislators’ strong statement on the need to remove unnecessary roadblocks to connect the remaining 200,000 Virginians to the internet, VMDABC Chair Casey Logan issued the following statement:
“Today has been an encouraging end to a big month for broadband in Virginia. This legislation will be vital in ensuring that Cooperatives are able to reach every Virginian with broadband. I speak on behalf of my brothers and sisters at the Cooperatives when I applaud legislators for swiftly passing this legislation and greeting it with immense support.
“We’ve still got work to do to pass this legislation and close the digital divide, but legislators sent an irrefutable message across our Commonwealth that a commitment to bringing broadband to every Virginian who wants it is bipartisan and it is strong. Together with legislators’ support, we’ll close the digital divide, leaving no one behind and no community without broadband.”
