By Ron Thaniel
June 19, 2006

Denver Mayor John W. Hickenlooper, Chair of the Transportation and Communications Committee, joined with committee members June 3 to approve resolutions that preserve local government franchising oversight, protect the right of cities to offer broadband access to their residents, declare strong support for Amtrak, strengthen transportation security and urge Congress to increase investment in public transportation to combat increasing fuel costs.

Under the leadership of Conference of Mayors Vice President Dearborn Mayor Michael A. Guido and Hickenlooper, the committee was joined by Johanna Shelton, Minority Counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, and James Assey, Minority Senior Counsel for Communications of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. They provided the mayors with a very timely and detailed update of the fast moving House and Senate video franchising bills.

Gerry Lederer, of Counsel to the Washington (DC) Law Firm of Miller & Van Eaton, provided the mayors with a comprehensive review of state-by'state efforts to preempt local video franchising.

Speaking on the numerous threats, Hickenlooper told the mayors and numerous city representatives that, “The Conference has mounted an aggressive House and Senate campaign that endorses promoting competition from new video providers, while maintaining the local franchising authority so important to cities around the country.”

Building on this, Guido said “The Conference does not support federal or state-level efforts that would undermine local franchising enforcement and compliance authority, threaten local budgets, limit the benefits of broadband-video competition to a few well-to-do neighborhoods, weaken provisions that ensure that video providers meet each community’s needs and interests, and undermine the ability of local governments to protect their residents.”

Responding to the threats outlined, more than 100 mayors endorsed a letter urging Congress to reject nationalizing video franchising.

In particular, the urges opposition to measures that would strip local governments of their authority to franchise the use of their rights-of-way for broadband-video services and gives that authority to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in Washington (DC).

The FCC has never had the authority to regulate local public rights-of-way and has no expertise concerning local streets, sidewalks, public safety or traffic patterns. To review the letter, go to the Conference of Mayors website at usmayors.org.

The Transportation and Communications Committee considered and adopted the following resolutions, which were adopted by the Conference of Mayors full body. The resolutions included the following:

Resolution #63: America’s Mayors — Partners in Promoting Broadband-Video Deployment and Competition.

Resolution #64: To Encourage Congress to Bridge the Broadband Divide.

Resolution #65: Local Government Support in Providing Broadband Internet Access Services to Citizens.

Resolution #66: Transportation Investment — Rebuilding Intercity Passenger Rail.

Resolution #67: Enhanced Transportation Security: Public Transportation.

Resolution #68: In Support of a National Initiative to Increase Federal Investment in Public Mass Transit Systems and Technologies to Provide for More Affordable, Energy-Efficient, and Safe Travel Choices.

Resolution #69: In Support of Identifying Viable and Stable Funding Mechanisms for Future Roadway and Transit Infrastructure Investment.

Resolution #70: Reducing Travel Demand by Providing Alternatives.

Resolution #71: In Opposition to Proposed Cuts to the Airport Improvement Program (AIP).

Resolution #72: Urging Sufficient Funding for the Transportation Security Administration’s Passenger Screener Workforce and Allocation of Screeners to Reduce Passenger Wait Times at Busy Commercial Service Airports.

Resolution #73: Urging Increased Funding for the Transportation Security Administration’s Baggage and Cargo Screening Explosive Detection System Program.

Resolution #74: Urging Sufficient Funding for The Customs and Border Protection Workforce to Alleviate Chronic Delays in Processing Arriving International Passengers.

Resolution #75: Increasing Federal Role in the Assessment, Development and Financing of Critical National Infrastructure.