Bill would halt further bonding for UTOPIA operations Debt •
Sponsor says he wants to prevent network from financing
operations by borrowing.  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.   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.  "Basically, I don't want government financing
its operations through borrowing money," said sponsor Sen. John
Valentine, R-Orem. "That's what they do in California. We don't
want to do that in Utah."  The bill, introduced earlier this
week, was assigned to the Senate Government Operations and
Political Subdivisions Committee.  UTOP