AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage vetoed legislation Friday that would improve cellphone reception in Aroostook County by allowing the construction of a new cellphone tower.
Rep. Roland “Danny” Martin brought forward the bill, which would amend a state deed to allow the Sinclair Sanitary District to lease land to a telecommunications company. As the deed is currently written, the land cannot be leased to a private company, even if the public benefits.
“This legislation earned unanimous support from the Maine House and Senate,” said Martin, D-Sinclair. “A new cellphone tower is critical to our area, not only for economic development but also public safety. Emergency service providers are not able to do their jobs properly when we they don’t have good cellphone coverage. I am incredibly disappointed that the governor does not see the value in bringing better coverage to rural Maine.”
The legislation, co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of Aroostook County lawmakers, would have authorized the Sinclair Sanitary District to lease a portion of the land to Bay Communications II, LLC, to build a commercial cell tower.
The original bill was folded into legislation brought forward by the Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee.
