Important Notice II

Two bills wending their way through the General Assembly (HB 1303  SB 1134) could free the states' municipal electric utilities with fiber optic broadband and high speed internet to expand their services to benefit the surrounding communities and counties. If passed, cities like Morristown and Chattanooga could serve an additional 700,000+ Tennessee homes and businesses, and together close to 3 million in all.

Those opposed are the legacy carriers, AT&T and Comcast among them, who have refused for decades to do -- namely provide internet to rural communities so students have access to the world; create environments that attract new businesses and help existing businesses grow and prosper; make faster and cheaper tele-medicine available to people everywhere (especially in remote communities), and more.

If you've ever wondered why any elected official would vote against the best interest of his or her constituents, consider who's donating to their campaign coffers -- and how much. In the Senate, they are:

Senator	Dist	Party	Donors ($)		Electric
			AT&T	Comcast	Co-Ops	Totals
SOUTHERLAND, STEVE*	1	R	8050	4000	5000	17050
Overby, J Douglas (Doug)	2	R	5100	6000	2300	13400
CROWE, RUSTY	3	R	3600			3600
RAMSEY, RONALD	4	R	14150		8400	22550
MCNALLY, RANDY	5	R	8300	9000		17300
MASSEY, BECKY DUNCAN	6	R	1000			1000
BRIGGS, RICHARD M	7	R	1000			1000
NICELEY, FRANK S	8	R	3750	500	1700	5950
BELL, MIKE	9	R	3700	2500	4150	10350
GARDENHIRE, TODD*	10	R	1000	143		1143
WATSON, BO*	11	R	4500	1500	6500	12500
YAGER, KEN*	12	R	6300	4000	4000	14300
KETRON, BILL	13	R	7550	4500	3500	15550
TRACY, JIM* ( 2nd Vice Chair)	14	R	6000	4000	6750	16750
BAILEY, PAUL E	15	R	1000		1000	2000
BOWLING, JANICE	16	R	0	0	1000	1000
BEAVERS, MAE	17	R	10100	1000	4500	15600
HAILE, FERRELL	18	R	1500		1000	2500
HARPER, THELMA M	19	D	7250			7250
DICKERSON, STEVEN REID	20	R	1000			1000
YARBRO, JEFFREY PAUL (JEFF)	21	D	1000			1000
GREEN, MARK E* (1st Vice Chair)	22	R	1000			1000
JOHNSON, JACK* (Chair)	23	R	14000	5250	12500	31750
STEVENS, JOHN	24	R	1000			1000
ROBERTS, KERRY E	25	R	1000			1000
GRESHAM, DOLORES*	26	R	9350	1500	3000	13850
JACKSON, EDWARD S	27	R	1000			1000
HENSLEY, JOSEPH (JOEY)	28	R	2050		800	2850
HARRIS, LEE	29	D	1000			1000
KYLE, SARA	30	D	1000			1000
KELSEY, BRIAN K	31	R	7000	5250		12250
NORRIS, MARK	32	R	7450		5500	12950
TATE, REGINALD*	33	D	4600	7750	3000	15350
* Committee Members			146300	56893	74600	277793
Totals (AT&T, Comcast)				203193

To be clear, and fair, you'll have to contact your Senator to ask how he or she is voting on this bill. The members whose names are asterisked are members of the Senate Committee that review the bill before deciding whether or not to put it through for a vote on the floor. If the bill fails in committee, the rest of the Senate will not have an opportunity to vote on it.

A recent post in the News Sentinel noted donations from AT&T to the PACs of Governor Haslam ($10,000) and Lt. Governor Ramsey ($10,000), and a contribution of $7,500 to Speaker of the House Beth Harwell's re-election campaign. This, after the Governor came out against this bill, saying it's unfair to AT&T and Comcast. You be the judge.