Assemblyman Mark Walczyk and Sen. Patty Ritchie are leading a coalition of upstate lawmakers, calling on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to roll back a fee that they say is slowing the expansion of broadband to underserved parts of Northern New York.

The 2019-2020 state budget contained language that enacted a right-of-way tax, or a “use and occupancy fee." This tax is applied when fiber optic lines, being run by telecom companies, are building out projects along a state-owned roadway, according to a press release from Assemblyman Walczyk’s office.

As a result, portions of the North County, including the Town of Louisville, are unable to complete a broadband expansion project, he said.

The town received grant funds to help offset the costs associated with running two miles of fiber optic along State Route 37, providing broadband to those who cannot access it, while creating a climate for future expansion. As a result of this tax, the town, and most importantly the residents this project would have served, are left in the lurch, due to another fee from Albany, the assemblyman said.

The Town of Louisville isn't the only community across Northern New York that is facing this dilemma. Numerous municipalities have encountered this tax, effectively halting the expansion of broadband, a release from the representatives claims. Additionally, this fee also taxes the existing broadband network overseen by the Development Authority of the North Country (DANC), to the tune of $1.6 million, a quarter of the revenue generated by said network. DANC runs a substantial fiber optic network across the North Country serving numerous individuals, the elected officials said.

“It’s frustrating, and frankly heartbreaking, to see a community struggle for years to get access to broadband, finally rally resources to make it a reality, and then have it dashed by incoherent, unsustainable, and discriminatory policies that are in stark opposition to the stated broadband goals of New York. This regressive and unnecessary fee is just another example of a fundamental disregard for the issues facing rural New Yorkers,” said Kevin Lynch, COO of Slic Network Solutions.

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