A state fund that subsidizes rural network service is bleeding money. Now the state is drastically cutting the amount of money that it typically pays out to these service providers.
AFTER 65 years in Henley, family-run bakery Lawlors produced its last loaves on Saturday. John Lawlor & Son Ltd was started in Hampstead, London, in 1948 be.
Internet and phone services in rural Texas threatened as state slashes subsidies for providers
Texas Tribune
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Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune
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Some rural Texans are facing the threat of losing phone and internet service after the state recently slashed subsidies that help providers offer service in sparsely populated areas.
More than a million Texas households are in rural areas where network phone service is more expensive to provide, with fewer customers and longer distances between them. Broadband internet service is not subsidized but is often provided on those same lines. Normally, the state reimburses telecommunication companies for providing service in these areas through the Texas Universal Service Fund. But for the past five years, the fund has been bleeding money.
January 25, 2021, 1:02 PM)
More than a million Texas households are in rural areas where network phone service is more expensive to provide, with fewer customers and longer distances between them.
Some rural Texans are facing the threat of losing phone and internet service after the state recently slashed subsidies that help providers offer service in sparsely populated areas.
More than a million Texas households are in rural areas where network phone service is more expensive to provide, with fewer customers and longer distances between them. Broadband internet service is not subsidized but is often provided on those same lines. Normally, the state reimburses telecommunication companies for providing service in these areas through the Texas Universal Service Fund. But for the past five years, the fund has been bleeding money.
Commentary: Avoid future shock with fee for electric, hybrid vehicles
Gian-Claudia Sciara and Andrew Waxman, For the Express-News
Jan. 22, 2021
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Texas House Bill 427 will help to recoup infrastructure costs from hybrid and electric vehicle drivers who currently pay little or no gas taxes.Patrick T. Fallon /Bloomberg
Texas House Bill 427 proposes a constructive adjustment to state transportation funding. Lawmakers would be remiss not to make it.
The bill would establish an annual fee, in addition to registration, for electric ($200) and hybrid ($100) vehicles. The fee boosts state transportation revenues somewhat in the near term, but the long-term significance is far greater given the seismic changes underway in how we get around.