Alabama 2022 Regular Session

Alabama House Bill HB298 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1 HB298
2	2	2 216375-3
3	3	3 By Representative Shedd
4	4	4 RFD: Urban and Rural Development
5	5	5 First Read: 08-FEB-22
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7	7	Page 0 1 216375-3:n:02/03/2022:KBB/bm LSA2022-77R2
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13	13	7
14	14	8 SYNOPSIS: Under existing law, the Alabama Department
15	15	9 of Economic and Community Affairs administers a
16	16	10 broadband accessibility grant program to award
17	17	11 grants to non-governmental entities that provide
18	18	12 broadband services.
19	19	13 This bill would increase the minimum service
20	20	14 threshold for high-speed broadband services from 25
21	21	15 to 20 megabits per second of download speed and
22	22	16 from three to 100 megabits per second of upload
23	23	17 speed.
24	24	18 This bill would allow governmental entities
25	25	19 to participate in the grant program and would
26	26	20 require an entity to have contributed its statewide
27	27	21 broadband service availability information to the
28	28	22 Alabama broadband mapping program over the past
29	29	23 year to qualify for a grant.
30	30	24 This bill would also require any federal or
31	31	25 other funds expended by ADECA's grant program to be
32	32	26 distributed according to the statewide connectivity
33	33	27 plan.
34	34	Page 1 1 Under existing law, grants awarded by ADECA
35	35	2 for unserved areas may not exceed the lesser of 35
36	36	3 percent of the project costs or $1,500,000.
37	37	4 This bill would increase the amount
38	38	5 authorized to be awarded by providing that grants
39	39	6 awarded in unserved areas may not exceed the lesser
40	40	7 of 80 percent of the project costs or $5,000,000.
41	41	8 This bill would provide additional criteria
42	42	9 for the preference of awarding of grants to
43	43	10 organizations incorporated, headquartered, or with
44	44	11 a principal place of business in Alabama and to
45	45	12 projects that include services that offer certain
46	46	13 programs.
47	47	14 This bill would revise the window for
48	48	15 applying for a grant and would provide exceptions
49	49	16 to this timeframe.
50	50	17 This bill would remove the requirement for
51	51	18 ADECA to publish grant applications online and
52	52	19 allow persons to object to the eligibility of the
53	53	20 project.
54	54	21 This bill would also provide for a one-year
55	55	22 extension of the requirement that a funded project
56	56	23 be completed within two years in certain
57	57	24 circumstances.
58	58	25
59	59	26 A BILL
60	60	27 TO BE ENTITLED
61	61	Page 2 1 AN ACT
62	62	2
63	63	3 Relating to the Alabama Broadband Accessibility Act;
64	64	4 to amend Sections 41-23-211, 41-23-212, 41-23-213, and
65	65	5 41-23-214, Code of Alabama 1975; to increase the minimum
66	66	6 threshold speeds for broadband service grants; to include
67	67	7 references to the Alabama broadband mapping program and
68	68	8 state-wide connectivity plan; to revise criteria and
69	69	9 eligibility for the awarding of grants; to revise the window
70	70	10 for grant applications; to revise the grant application
71	71	11 procedures; and to allow for a project extension in certain
72	72	12 circumstances.
73	73	13 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
74	74	14 Section 1. Sections 41-23-211, 41-23-212, 41-23-213,
75	75	15 and 41-23-214, Code of Alabama 1975, are amended to read as
76	76	16 follows:
77	77	17 "§41-23-211.
78	78	18 "The Legislature finds that the availability of
79	79	19 high-speed broadband services, with the preference of speeds
80	80	20 of 25 100 megabits per second of download speed and three 100
81	81	21 megabits per second of upload speed or greater, in unserved
82	82	22 rural Alabama is important for economic development,
83	83	23 education, health care, and emergency services in Alabama, and
84	84	24 that grants and other incentives set forth in this article
85	85	25 will further those objectives by encouraging new investment in
86	86	26 broadband infrastructure.
87	87	27 "§41-23-212.
88	88	Page 3 1 "For the purposes of this article, the following
89	89	2 words have the following meanings:
90	90	3 "(1) ADECA. The Alabama Department of Economic and
91	91	4 Community Affairs.
92	92	5 "(2) END USER. A residential, business,
93	93	6 institutional, or government entity that uses broadband
94	94	7 services for its own purposes and does not resell such
95	95	8 broadband services to other entities. An Internet service
96	96	9 provider (ISP) and mobile wireless service provider are not an
97	97	10 end user for the purposes of Sections 41-23-212, 41-23-213,
98	98	11 and 41-23-214.
99	99	12 "(3) MIDDLE MILE PROJECT. A broadband infrastructure
100	100	13 project that does not provide broadband service to end users
101	101	14 or to end-user devices.
102	102	15 "(4) MINIMUM SERVICE THRESHOLD. A connection to the
103	103	16 Internet that provides capacity for transmission at an average
104	104	17 speed per customer of at least 25 megabits (25 Mbps) 100
105	105	18 megabits (100 Mbps) per second downstream and at least three
106	106	19 100 megabits (3 20 Mbps) per second upstream.
107	107	20 "(5) RURAL AREA. Any area within this state not
108	108	21 included within the boundaries of any incorporated city or
109	109	22 town having a population in excess of 25,000 inhabitants,
110	110	23 according to the last federal census.
111	111	24 "(6) UNSERVED AREA. Any rural area in which there is
112	112	25 not at least one provider of terrestrial broadband service
113	113	26 that is either: (1) offering a connection to the Internet
114	114	27 meeting the minimum service threshold; or (2) is required,
115	115	Page 4 1 under the terms of the Federal Universal Service Fund or other
116	116	2 federal or state grant, another state or federal grant to
117	117	3 provide a connection to the Internet at speeds meeting the
118	118	4 minimum service threshold by March 28, 2023 within the same or
119	119	5 similar timeframe of projects of similar complexity or scale
120	120	6 awarded during each grant cycle.
121	121	7 "§41-23-213.
122	122	8 "(a) The Director of ADECA may establish and
123	123	9 administer the broadband accessibility grant program for the
124	124	10 purpose of promoting the deployment and adoption of broadband
125	125	11 Internet access services to unserved areas. By June 26, 2018,
126	126	12 the The director shall adopt rules and policies to administer
127	127	13 the program and begin to accept applications for grants, and
128	128	14 shall adopt such rules as may be necessary to meet the future
129	129	15 needs of the grant program.
130	130	16 "(b) The program shall be administered pursuant to
131	131	17 policies developed by ADECA in compliance with this article.
132	132	18 The policies shall provide for the awarding of grants to
133	133	19 non-governmental entities that are cooperatives, corporations,
134	134	20 limited liability companies, partnerships, or other private
135	135	21 business entities, or units of government that provide
136	136	22 broadband services. An entity is not eligible for a grant
137	137	23 under this article unless the entity has submitted, within the
138	138	24 one-year period preceding the awarding of the grant, the
139	139	25 entity's broadband service availability information to
140	140	26 Alabama's broadband mapping program. Nothing in this article
141	141	Page 5 1 shall expand the authority under state law of any entity to
142	142	2 provide broadband service.
143	143	3 "(c) There is hereby created the Alabama Broadband
144	144	4 Accessibility Fund in the State Treasury. The fund is subject
145	145	5 to appropriations by the Legislature and gifts, grants, and
146	146	6 other donations received by ADECA for the broadband
147	147	7 accessibility grant program or fund. All state and federal
148	148	8 grant monies deposited in the fund shall be expended by ADECA
149	149	9 in accordance with the statewide connectivity plan and any
150	150	10 legal requirements applicable to those grant monies, including
151	151	11 their program eligibility, deployment, and reporting
152	152	12 requirements. ADECA may not spend appropriations for the
153	153	13 program for purposes other than those listed in this section.
154	154	14 Any monies appropriated to ADECA for broadband grants that are
155	155	15 unspent at the end of a fiscal year shall be carried over for
156	156	16 use by the program in the next fiscal year. ADECA shall
157	157	17 develop rules ensuring that expenses incurred to administer
158	158	18 the program must not exceed the lesser of seven percent of the
159	159	19 total amount appropriated for the program in any fiscal year
160	160	20 or seven hundred fifty thousand dollars ($750,000). Moneys
161	161	21 Monies in the fund shall be invested by the State Treasurer
162	162	22 for the sole benefit of the fund.
163	163	23 "(d)(1) Individual grants awarded by ADECA under
164	164	24 this section may only be awarded for projects in unserved
165	165	25 areas, and may not exceed the lesser of:
166	166	26 "a. Thirty-five Eighty percent of the project costs.
167	167	Page 6 1 "b. One Five million five hundred thousand dollars
168	168	2 ($1,500,000) ($5,000,000) for projects that will be capable of
169	169	3 transmitting broadband signals at or above the minimum service
170	170	4 threshold 100 megabits per second of download speed and 100
171	171	5 megabits per second of upload speed.
172	172	6 "(2) Grants may be given to any qualified entity
173	173	7 pursuant to subsection (b) that meets the service criteria for
174	174	8 expenditures after March 28, 2018.
175	175	9 "(3) ADECA shall ensure that not less than 40
176	176	10 percent of funds appropriated for grants be utilized in
177	177	11 unincorporated areas of the state.
178	178	12 "(4) Subject to the limitations in this subsection,
179	179	13 grants shall be awarded pursuant to the service criteria
180	180	14 developed by ADECA, with priority given to projects that meet
181	181	15 any of the following:
182	182	16 "a. Seek to leverage grant funds through private
183	183	17 investment and extension of existing infrastructure.
184	184	18 "b. Serve locations with demonstrated community
185	185	19 support, including, but not limited to, documented support
186	186	20 from local government.
187	187	21 "c. Demonstrate the operator's technical and
188	188	22 managerial capabilities to complete the project within two
189	189	23 years of the grant the required timeframe.
190	190	24 "d. Demonstrate the applicants' necessary financial
191	191	25 resources.
192	192	26 "e. Are most cost effective and technically
193	193	27 efficient in that they propose to serve the highest number of
194	194	Page 7 1 unserved homes, businesses, and community anchor points for
195	195	2 the least grant fund cost and best level of service,
196	196	3 emphasizing projects including the highest broadband speeds.
197	197	4 "f. Provide material broadband enhancement to
198	198	5 hospitals, clinics, and other medical facilities located in
199	199	6 rural areas.
200	200	7 "g. Support local libraries in this state for the
201	201	8 purpose of assisting the libraries in offering digital
202	202	9 literacy training pursuant to state library and archive
203	203	10 guidelines.
204	204	11 "h. Provide support for the deployment of
205	205	12 infrastructure to be owned and operated exclusively by
206	206	13 organizations incorporated, headquartered, or with a principal
207	207	14 place of business in Alabama.
208	208	15 "i. Commit to improving the adoption rate of
209	209	16 broadband services by offering programs to households that
210	210	17 meet guidelines established by ADECA or the funding source,
211	211	18 including, but not limited to, special service rates,
212	212	19 Internet-enabled devices that meet the needs of the user, and
213	213	20 digital skills training.
214	214	21 "(5) For the purposes of awarding grants, ADECA
215	215	22 shall take into consideration the average pole attachment
216	216	23 rates that a grant applicant charges to an unaffiliated
217	217	24 entity, provided that this subdivision shall not apply to a
218	218	25 utility as defined under Section 37-4-1(7)a.
219	219	26 "(6) In order to promote the deployment of grant
220	220	27 funds in an inclusive manner that is consistent with the
221	221	Page 8 1 racial, gender, geographic, urban, rural, and economic
222	222	2 diversity of the state, ADECA may give additional
223	223	3 consideration to an applicant that provides documentation that
224	224	4 it has been certified by the ADECA Office of Minority Business
225	225	5 Enterprise or otherwise as a Disadvantaged Business
226	226	6 Enterprise. For projects funded under Sections 41-23-212,
227	227	7 41-23-213, and 41-23-214 this article, ADECA shall encourage
228	228	8 grant applicants to use vendors and subcontractors that have
229	229	9 been certified by the Office of Minority Business Enterprise
230	230	10 or that are Disadvantaged Business Enterprises. ADECA shall
231	231	11 include in its report to the Alabama Rural Broadband Oversight
232	232	12 Committee a list of entities certified by the Office of
233	233	13 Minority Business Enterprise and Disadvantaged Business
234	234	14 Enterprises that have been awarded grants since the prior
235	235	15 report.
236	236	16 "(e) For each fiscal year in which grant funds are
237	237	17 available, ADECA shall accept applications within a
238	238	18 60-to-90-day grant window that it shall establish. However,
239	239	19 when necessary to meet the requirements of other funding
240	240	20 sources, a grant window of 30 days may be established by
241	241	21 ADECA. ADECA shall review each application for eligibility as
242	242	22 determined by the state map. Any applicant submitting a
243	243	23 project that includes served areas as documented by the state
244	244	24 map shall be given an opportunity to revise the application to
245	245	25 eliminate ineligible portions or rescind the application.
246	246	26 Applications for eligible projects will shall be evaluated
247	247	27 according to a scoring system developed by ADECA that
248	248	Page 9 1 incorporates the priorities listed in this section, with grant
249	249	2 awards published within 90 days after expiration of the filing
250	250	3 window as soon as possible, but no more than 60 days after
251	251	4 expiration of the filing window. Grant applications shall be
252	252	5 published by ADECA on the Internet at the end of the filing
253	253	6 window, and existing service providers shall have 30 business
254	254	7 days from the date of publication to file objections to the
255	255	8 eligibility of a proposed project. ADECA shall address any
256	256	9 objections within 30 days of submission and shall make any
257	257	10 appropriate changes to grant awards based on a finding of
258	258	11 ineligibility resulting from such protest. Subject to such
259	259	12 protest procedure, grants Grants issued by ADECA shall be
260	260	13 conditioned upon compliance with the terms of the grant but
261	261	14 shall not otherwise be revocable. Providers' grants shall be
262	262	15 paid within 30 days upon ADECA receiving written certification
263	263	16 of the completion of the project and evidence of compliance
264	264	17 with the terms of the grant as prescribed by ADECA.
265	265	18 "(f) Grants shall be conditioned on project
266	266	19 completion within two years of awarding of the grant.
267	267	20 Applicants who demonstrate project complexity may request more
268	268	21 than two years to complete the project. Recipients who
269	269	22 demonstrate that the project is progressing may request an
270	270	23 extension for up to one year for project delays beyond the
271	271	24 recipient's control. If a recipient fails to complete a
272	272	25 project within the two-year deadline, or within the extended
273	273	26 deadline due to reasons other than delay caused by a
274	274	Page 10 1 government entity, ADECA may revoke the grant in its entirety
275	275	2 and rededicate the funds to a new recipient.
276	276	3 "(g) ADECA shall condition the release of any grant
277	277	4 funds awarded under this chapter on both of all of the
278	278	5 following:
279	279	6 "(1) The progressive completion, as measured on not
280	280	7 more than a quarterly basis, of the approved project. Grants
281	281	8 for projects not showing progress may be rescinded.
282	282	9 "(2) Operational testing, when possible, to confirm
283	283	10 the level of service proposed in the grant application. Such
284	284	11 regulations shall not exceed in degree or differ in kind from
285	285	12 testing and reporting requirements imposed on the grant
286	286	13 recipient by the Federal Communications Commission, as
287	287	14 adjusted for the service specifications in the ADECA grant
288	288	15 agreement.
289	289	16 "(3) Continued participation in Alabama's broadband
290	290	17 mapping program throughout the entire project period.
291	291	18 "(h) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
292	292	19 section, eligible projects shall include any of the following:
293	293	20 "(1) Projects to serve unserved areas in which the
294	294	21 grant applicant is either or both: a. an existing or future
295	295	22 service provider which has or will receive support through
296	296	23 federal universal service funding programs designed
297	297	24 specifically to encourage broadband deployment in an area
298	298	25 without broadband access; or b. an existing or future service
299	299	26 provider entity that currently provides services which has or
300	300	27 will receive other forms of federal or state financial support
301	301	Page 11 1 or assistance, such as a grant or loan from the United States
302	302	2 Department of Agriculture; provided, however, that any award
303	303	3 of state funds under this section, when combined with other
304	304	4 forms of state or federal support or assistance dedicated to
305	305	5 the project, other than interest-bearing loans, may not exceed
306	306	6 60 90 percent of the total project costs. Nothing in this
307	307	7 section shall prohibit a grant applicant who has not
308	308	8 previously received any federal or state funds, grants, or
309	309	9 loans for broadband deployment from applying for and receiving
310	310	10 grant funds under this section.
311	311	11 "(2) Middle mile projects, where the applicant
312	312	12 demonstrates that the project will connect other service
313	313	13 providers eligible for grants under this section with
314	314	14 broadband infrastructure further upstream in order to enable
315	315	15 the providers to offer broadband service to end users;
316	316	16 provided that eligible projects under this subdivision may
317	317	17 include projects in an unserved area or a rural area that does
318	318	18 not meet the definition of an unserved area but otherwise
319	319	19 meets the requirements of this section, for which the grant
320	320	20 applicant demonstrates, by specific evidence, the need for
321	321	21 greater broadband speeds, access, capacity, resiliency, or
322	322	22 service which is not being offered by an existing service
323	323	23 provider.
324	324	24 "(3) Projects to provide broadband service to a
325	325	25 specific hospital, health care facility, public school, public
326	326	26 safety, or economic development site in a rural area that does
327	327	27 not meet the definition of an unserved area but otherwise
328	328	Page 12 1 meets the requirements of this section, for which the grant
329	329	2 applicant demonstrates, by specific evidence, the need for
330	330	3 greater broadband speeds, access, capacity, resiliency, or
331	331	4 service which is not being offered by an existing service
332	332	5 provider.
333	333	6 "(4) Grants issued under subdivisions (2) and (3)
334	334	7 shall not exceed 40 percent of the total funds appropriated
335	335	8 for grants on an annual basis.
336	336	9 "(i) Nothing in this section shall affect the
337	337	10 approval and continued funding of grants awarded prior to May
338	338	11 30, 2019.
339	339	12 "§41-23-214.
340	340	13 "(a) There is created the Alabama Rural Broadband
341	341	14 Oversight Committee. The oversight committee shall consist of
342	342	15 the Chair of the House Ways and Means Education Committee or
343	343	16 his or her designee, the Chair of the Senate Finance and
344	344	17 Taxation Education Committee or his or her designee, two
345	345	18 members appointed by the Speaker of the House of
346	346	19 Representatives, two members appointed by the President Pro
347	347	20 Tempore of the Senate, and the Director of ADECA or his or her
348	348	21 designee. The oversight committee shall meet at least
349	349	22 annually, provide general oversight of the implementation of
350	350	23 the article, and recommend further statutory changes to
351	351	24 promote rural broadband development.
352	352	25 "(b) The oversight committee shall reflect the
353	353	26 racial, gender, geographic, urban/rural, and economic
354	354	27 diversity of the state.
355	355	Page 13 1 "(c) For any year in which grants are distributed
356	356	2 under the program, ADECA shall produce a report on the status
357	357	3 of grants under the program to the oversight committee,
358	358	4 including progress toward increased access to and adoption of
359	359	5 broadband services. The report shall be provided at the
360	360	6 oversight committee's first meeting of the year and be
361	361	7 published on ADECA's website. ADECA shall provide a copy of
362	362	8 the report to the Governor, the Alabama Senate President Pro
363	363	9 Tempore, the Alabama Senate Minority Leader, the Speaker of
364	364	10 the Alabama House of Representatives, and the Alabama House of
365	365	11 Representatives Minority Leader. By March 28, 2019, ADECA
366	366	12 shall produce a report on the availability of broadband within
367	367	13 the state."
368	368	14 Section 2. This act shall become effective
369	369	15 immediately following its passage and approval by the
370	370	16 Governor, or its otherwise becoming law.
371	371	Page 14