— Democratic lawmakers filed a bill Friday to try to protect net neutrality in North Carolina, but it could run up against efforts in the Republican-penned budget to expand broadband in rural areas.

House Bill 1016 would require the state to contract only with broadband providers that adhere to net neutrality guidelines. The state’s information technology agency would be responsible for certifying that providers meet the standard. Municipalities and counties would be allowed to institute the same rule if they choose.

Rep. Grier Martin, D-Wake, said the bill was inspired by a similar proposal in New York state. He said the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit group that advocates for internet freedom, is behind a campaign for the measure in statehouses around the country.

Earlier this year, the Federal Communications Commission decided to drop rules banning internet providers from charging different rates for different types of data, such as video, or speeding up connections to websites that pay more while slowing access to others.

Co-sponsor Rep. Joe John, D-Wake, said net neutrality treated ISPs like phone companies – as common carriers, which are banned from discriminating against some customers to the advantage of others.

"Phone service providers are not permitted to interfere with calls seeking to order from one pizza company, by bad connection or dropped calls, because another pizza company is paying them or because the provider does not approve of the political views of a company’s owner," John explained.

An array of consumer and business advocacy groups have protested the dropping of the rule.

"It was reassuring to see that this did not go unnoticed in America, and there was an outpouring of support to preserve the rules. And lo and behold, the U.S. Senate actually has passed a bill that would reinstate net neutrality principles nationwide. Unfortunately, the bill seems destined to die a slow quiet death in the U.S. House of Representatives," Martin said. "So, as is so often the case, when the federal government fails to step up to protect the citizens of North Carolina, it falls on us in the General Assembly to step up and protect our citizens."

The state can’t require net neutrality outright, and it can’t regulate what providers offer to private citizens or business. But it can, Martin said, "encourage”"providers to stick to net neutrality guidelines by making that a condition of state service contracts.

"It does ensure that the taxpayers’ dollars do not go to corporations that fail to protect the internet rights of those taxpayers," he said.

The bill makes exceptions in situations where only one provider offers service. But it does not make an exception if two carriers are available to the state but neither meets the requirement.

Martin said it would also apply to ISPs seeking to partner with the state for broadband expansion under a new grant in the budget due out next week.

The new grant program, GREAT, was announced Thursday by House and Senate leaders. It sets aside $10 million for public-private partnerships to help providers cover the additional cost of service expansion into unserved rural areas.