ID H0490

Cities may establish, create, develop, acquire, finance, construct, equip, lease, own, maintain, and operate a communications network and provide communications service within corporate limits.

City-owned communications providers must establish a separate enterprise fund for communications service and cannot subsidize it with funds from other city services (electric, gas, water, sewer, garbage) or use unallocated city resources to promote their service.

Cities cannot require residents or businesses to use city communications services, cannot use zoning or land-use regulations to block private providers, and must grant private communications providers nondiscriminatory access to city-owned rights-of-way, poles, or conduits on the same terms given to the city's own service.

Cities must price communications services at or above cost and annually remit to the general fund an amount equivalent to all local taxes or fees a private provider would pay; compliance must be verified by independent audit.

Cities cannot fund communications network construction through local improvement districts, cannot use eminent domain to acquire other providers' facilities, and cannot utilize the Idaho regional optical network to provide city-owned communications service.