CA Governor vetoes small cell bill, siding with communities over corporations

California Governor Jerry Brown vetoed a small cell citing bill, siding with municipalities and their communities over corporate interests. Senate Bill 649 would have set a cap on the rates local governments may charge companies that place equipment on public property. Industry pushed to keep costs down. The bill also would have limited the ability of localities to set local regulations.

“I believe that the interest which localities have in managing rights of way requires a more balanced solution than the one achieved in this bill,” Governor Brown wrote. “I am returning Senate Bill 646 without my signature.”

Senate Bill 649 in CA is part of a larger nationwide push by wireless companies to install their next-generation wireless technology, as cheaply as possible, even at the cost of municipalities’ rights to set their own fees and regulations. Governor Brown’s veto, supported by many of the state’s major municipalities, is a major setback in that push.

Links:

Wireless Carriers’ ‘Small Cell’ Push Hits California Roadblock (Wall Street Journal, Oct. 17, 2017)

Gov. Brown letter vetoing Senate Bill 649 (Office of Governor Brown, Oct. 15, 2015)