Utah lawmakers will consider a bill that would make it impossible for the financially troubled UTOPIA fiber-optic network to use money from the future sale of bonds to fund its day-to-day operations.
SB 172 would prohibit cities and counties from selling bonds after May 14 to build projects and then use any of that money to operate them more than one year after the debt was issued.
It also would prevent money from the bonds to be used to pay off interest more than five years after the bonds are issued. UTOPIA, a consortium of 11 cities from Brigham City to Payson that are building the high-speed Internet network, has been doing just that.
The bill’s provisions would not affect the bond money UTOPIA is using at present. Salt Lake Tribune
