Pot Decriminalization, Google Fiber Pole Proposal Clear Crucial Council Hurdles

NASHVILLE, TN — Google and supporters of the decriminalization of marijuana scored big wins at Tuesday night's Metro Council meeting.

The so-called "One Touch Make Ready" legislation — a bill that Google says will ease and quicken the roll out of its fiber network in the Music City — and the bill which would drastically reduce the penalty for possession of small amounts of marijuana were both met with lengthy debate and ultimately both passed overwhelmingly on second reading.

With the council's computer system down, the votes were taken in the old-fashioned way: the Google bill vote was taken by roll call and passed 32-7, while the marijuana bill was advanced on a simple voice vote.

While the Metro Charter requires a bill to pass on three separate readings, it is the second reading of the bill that is typically where a proposal lives or dies. Nearly every bill passes first reading, after which the bill is sent to committee, and it is a rare occasion that enough votes shift between a second and third reading to kill a proposal at that late stage.

Under One Touch Make Ready, a new utility pole user would be able to contract a third-party to move the lines of other users to make room. Under existing rules, each user of the pole — for example, the Nashville Electric Service, AT&T or Comcast — must move their own lines, a procedure which Google says is unnecessary and has delayed the much-ballyhooed roll-out of its Fiber service. AT&T has all-but-guaranteed it will sue Nashville if One Touch Make Ready becomes law, because it threatens the hours of its union workers and because, it argues, the FCC and not Metro government has regulatory authority over its poles.

The marijuana bill is not nearly so complicated: if the bill becomes law, police officers will have the discretion to issue a civil citation, carrying a $50 fine or 10 hours of community service, for possession of a half-ounce or less of marijuana.

In other council action, a proposal by the mayor's office to spend $1 million on protective ballistic vests for Metro Nashville Police officers was approved unanimously.