1 SB124
2 216375-4
3 By Senator Scofield
4 RFD: Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development
5 First Read: 01-FEB-22
Page 0 1 SB124
2
3
4 ENGROSSED
5
6
7 A BILL
8 TO BE ENTITLED
9 AN ACT
10
11 Relating to the Alabama Broadband Accessibility Act;
12 to amend Sections 41-23-211, 41-23-212, 41-23-213, and
13 41-23-214, Code of Alabama 1975; to increase the minimum
14 threshold speeds for broadband service grants; to include
15 references to the Alabama broadband mapping program and
16 state-wide connectivity plan; to revise criteria and
17 eligibility for the awarding of grants; to revise the window
18 for grant applications; to revise the grant application
19 procedures; and to allow for a project extension in certain
20 circumstances.
21 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
22 Section 1. Sections 41-23-211, 41-23-212, 41-23-213,
23 and 41-23-214, Code of Alabama 1975, are amended to read as
24 follows:
25 "§41-23-211.
26 "The Legislature finds that the availability of
27 high-speed broadband services, with the preference of speeds
Page 1 1 of 25 100 megabits per second of download speed and three 100
2 megabits per second of upload speed or greater, in unserved
3 rural Alabama is important for economic development,
4 education, health care, and emergency services in Alabama, and
5 that grants and other incentives set forth in this article
6 will further those objectives by encouraging new investment in
7 broadband infrastructure.
8 "§41-23-212.
9 "For the purposes of this article, the following
10 words have the following meanings:
11 "(1) ADECA. The Alabama Department of Economic and
12 Community Affairs.
13 "(2) END USER. A residential, business,
14 institutional, or government entity that uses broadband
15 services for its own purposes and does not resell such
16 broadband services to other entities. An Internet service
17 provider (ISP) and mobile wireless service provider are not an
18 end user for the purposes of Sections 41-23-212, 41-23-213,
19 and 41-23-214.
20 "(3) MIDDLE MILE PROJECT. A broadband infrastructure
21 project that does not provide broadband service to end users
22 or to end-user devices.
23 "(4) MINIMUM SERVICE THRESHOLD. A connection to the
24 Internet that provides capacity for transmission at an average
25 speed per customer of at least 25 megabits (25 Mbps) 100
26 megabits (100 Mbps) per second downstream and at least three
27 20 megabits (3 20 Mbps) per second upstream.
Page 2 1 "(5) RURAL AREA. Any area within this state not
2 included within the boundaries of any incorporated city or
3 town having a population in excess of 25,000 inhabitants,
4 according to the last federal census.
5 "(6) UNSERVED AREA. Any rural area in which there is
6 not at least one provider of terrestrial broadband service
7 that is either: (1) offering a connection to the Internet
8 meeting the minimum service threshold; or (2) is required,
9 under the terms of the Federal Universal Service Fund or other
10 federal or state grant, another state or federal grant to
11 provide a connection to the Internet at speeds meeting the
12 minimum service threshold by March 28, 2023 within the same or
13 similar timeframe of projects of similar complexity or scale
14 awarded during each grant cycle.
15 "§41-23-213.
16 "(a) The Director of ADECA may establish and
17 administer the broadband accessibility grant program for the
18 purpose of promoting the deployment and adoption of broadband
19 Internet access services to unserved areas. By June 26, 2018,
20 the The director shall adopt rules and policies to administer
21 the program and begin to accept applications for grants, and
22 shall adopt such rules as may be necessary to meet the future
23 needs of the grant program.
24 "(b) The program shall be administered pursuant to
25 policies developed by ADECA in compliance with this article.
26 The policies shall provide for the awarding of grants to
27 non-governmental entities that are cooperatives, corporations,
Page 3 1 limited liability companies, partnerships, or other private
2 business entities, or units of government that provide
3 broadband services. An entity is not eligible for a grant
4 under this article unless the entity has submitted, within the
5 one-year period preceding the awarding of the grant, the
6 entity's broadband service availability information to
7 Alabama's broadband mapping program. Nothing in this article
8 shall expand the authority under state law of any entity to
9 provide broadband service.
10 "(c) There is hereby created the Alabama Broadband
11 Accessibility Fund in the State Treasury. The fund is subject
12 to appropriations by the Legislature and gifts, grants, and
13 other donations received by ADECA for the broadband
14 accessibility grant program or fund. All state and federal
15 grant monies deposited in the fund shall be expended by ADECA
16 in accordance with the statewide connectivity plan and any
17 legal requirements applicable to those grant monies, including
18 their program eligibility, deployment, and reporting
19 requirements. ADECA may not spend appropriations for the
20 program for purposes other than those listed in this section.
21 Any monies appropriated to ADECA for broadband grants that are
22 unspent at the end of a fiscal year shall be carried over for
23 use by the program in the next fiscal year. ADECA shall
24 develop rules ensuring that expenses incurred to administer
25 the program must not exceed the lesser of seven percent of the
26 total amount appropriated for the program in any fiscal year
27 or seven hundred fifty thousand dollars ($750,000). Moneys
Page 4 1 Monies in the fund shall be invested by the State Treasurer
2 for the sole benefit of the fund.
3 "(d)(1) Individual grants awarded by ADECA under
4 this section may only be awarded for projects in unserved
5 areas, and may not exceed the lesser of:
6 "a. Thirty-five Eighty percent of the project costs.
7 "b. One Five million five hundred thousand dollars
8 ($1,500,000) ($5,000,000) for projects that will be capable of
9 transmitting broadband signals at or above the minimum service
10 threshold 100 megabits per second of download speed and 100
11 megabits per second of upload speed.
12 "(2) Grants may be given to any qualified entity
13 pursuant to subsection (b) that meets the service criteria for
14 expenditures after March 28, 2018.
15 "(3) ADECA shall ensure that not less than 40
16 percent of funds appropriated for grants be utilized in
17 unincorporated areas of the state.
18 "(4) Subject to the limitations in this subsection,
19 grants shall be awarded pursuant to the service criteria
20 developed by ADECA, with priority given to projects that meet
21 any of the following:
22 "a. Seek to leverage grant funds through private
23 investment and extension of existing infrastructure.
24 "b. Serve locations with demonstrated community
25 support, including, but not limited to, documented support
26 from local government.
Page 5 1 "c. Demonstrate the operator's technical and
2 managerial capabilities to complete the project within two
3 years of the grant the required timeframe.
4 "d. Demonstrate the applicants' necessary financial
5 resources.
6 "e. Are most cost effective and technically
7 efficient in that they propose to serve the highest number of
8 unserved homes, businesses, and community anchor points for
9 the least grant fund cost and best level of service,
10 emphasizing projects including the highest broadband speeds.
11 "f. Provide material broadband enhancement to
12 hospitals, clinics, and other medical facilities located in
13 rural areas.
14 "g. Support local libraries in this state for the
15 purpose of assisting the libraries in offering digital
16 literacy training pursuant to state library and archive
17 guidelines.
18 "h. Provide support for the deployment of
19 infrastructure to be owned and operated exclusively by
20 Internet service providers serving subscribers in Alabama for
21 at least three years or organizations incorporated,
22 headquartered, or with a principal place of business in
23 Alabama.
24 "i. Commit to improving the adoption rate of
25 broadband services by offering programs to households that
26 meet guidelines established by ADECA or the funding source,
27 including, but not limited to, special service rates,
Page 6 1 Internet-enabled devices that meet the needs of the user, and
2 digital skills training.
3 "(5) For the purposes of awarding grants, ADECA
4 shall take into consideration the average pole attachment
5 rates that a grant applicant charges to an unaffiliated
6 entity, provided that this subdivision shall not apply to a
7 utility as defined under Section 37-4-1(7)a.
8 "(6) In order to promote the deployment of grant
9 funds in an inclusive manner that is consistent with the
10 racial, gender, geographic, urban, rural, and economic
11 diversity of the state, ADECA may give additional
12 consideration to an applicant that provides documentation that
13 it has been certified by the ADECA Office of Minority Business
14 Enterprise or otherwise as a Disadvantaged Business
15 Enterprise. For projects funded under Sections 41-23-212,
16 41-23-213, and 41-23-214 this article, ADECA shall encourage
17 grant applicants to use vendors and subcontractors that have
18 been certified by the Office of Minority Business Enterprise
19 or that are Disadvantaged Business Enterprises. ADECA shall
20 include in its report to the Alabama Rural Broadband Oversight
21 Committee a list of entities certified by the Office of
22 Minority Business Enterprise and Disadvantaged Business
23 Enterprises that have been awarded grants since the prior
24 report.
25 "(e) For each fiscal year in which grant funds are
26 available, ADECA shall accept applications within a
27 60-to-90-day grant window that it shall establish. However,
Page 7 1 when necessary to meet the requirements of other funding
2 sources, a grant window of 30 days may be established by
3 ADECA. ADECA shall review each application for eligibility as
4 determined by the state map. Any applicant submitting a
5 project that includes served areas as documented by the state
6 map shall be given an opportunity to revise the application to
7 eliminate ineligible portions or rescind the application.
8 Applications for eligible projects will shall be evaluated
9 according to a scoring system developed by ADECA that
10 incorporates the priorities listed in this section, with grant
11 awards published within 90 days after expiration of the filing
12 window as soon as possible, but no more than 60 days after
13 expiration of the filing window. Grant applications shall be
14 published by ADECA on the Internet at the end of the filing
15 window, and existing service providers shall have 30 business
16 days from the date of publication to file objections to the
17 eligibility of a proposed project. ADECA shall address any
18 objections within 30 days of submission and shall make any
19 appropriate changes to grant awards based on a finding of
20 ineligibility resulting from such protest. Subject to such
21 protest procedure, grants Grants issued by ADECA shall be
22 conditioned upon compliance with the terms of the grant but
23 shall not otherwise be revocable. Providers' grants shall be
24 paid within 30 days upon ADECA receiving written certification
25 of the completion of the project and evidence of compliance
26 with the terms of the grant as prescribed by ADECA.
Page 8 1 "(f) Grants shall be conditioned on project
2 completion within two years of awarding of the grant.
3 Applicants who demonstrate project complexity may request more
4 than two years to complete the project. Recipients who
5 demonstrate that the project is progressing may request an
6 extension for up to one year for project delays beyond the
7 recipient's control. If a recipient fails to complete a
8 project within the two-year deadline, or within the extended
9 deadline due to reasons other than delay caused by a
10 government entity, ADECA may revoke the grant in its entirety
11 and rededicate the funds to a new recipient.
12 "(g) ADECA shall condition the release of any grant
13 funds awarded under this chapter on both of all of the
14 following:
15 "(1) The progressive completion, as measured on not
16 more than a quarterly basis, of the approved project. Grants
17 for projects not showing progress may be rescinded.
18 "(2) Operational testing, when possible, to confirm
19 the level of service proposed in the grant application. Such
20 regulations shall not exceed in degree or differ in kind from
21 testing and reporting requirements imposed on the grant
22 recipient by the Federal Communications Commission, as
23 adjusted for the service specifications in the ADECA grant
24 agreement.
25 "(3) Continued participation in Alabama's broadband
26 mapping program throughout the entire project period.
Page 9 1 "(h) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
2 section, eligible projects shall include any of the following:
3 "(1) Projects to serve unserved areas in which the
4 grant applicant is either or both: a. an existing or future
5 service provider which has or will receive support through
6 federal universal service funding programs designed
7 specifically to encourage broadband deployment in an area
8 without broadband access; or b. an existing or future service
9 provider entity that currently provides services which has or
10 will receive other forms of federal or state financial support
11 or assistance, such as a grant or loan from the United States
12 Department of Agriculture; provided, however, that any award
13 of state funds under this section, when combined with other
14 forms of state or federal support or assistance dedicated to
15 the project, other than interest-bearing loans, may not exceed
16 60 90 percent of the total project costs. Nothing in this
17 section shall prohibit a grant applicant who has not
18 previously received any federal or state funds, grants, or
19 loans for broadband deployment from applying for and receiving
20 grant funds under this section.
21 "(2) Middle mile projects, where the applicant
22 demonstrates that the project will connect other service
23 providers eligible for grants under this section with
24 broadband infrastructure further upstream in order to enable
25 the providers to offer broadband service to end users;
26 provided that eligible projects under this subdivision may
27 include projects in an unserved area or a rural area that does
Page 10 1 not meet the definition of an unserved area but otherwise
2 meets the requirements of this section, for which the grant
3 applicant demonstrates, by specific evidence, the need for
4 greater broadband speeds, access, capacity, resiliency, or
5 service which is not being offered by an existing service
6 provider.
7 "(3) Projects to provide broadband service to a
8 specific hospital, health care facility, public school, public
9 safety, or economic development site in a rural area that does
10 not meet the definition of an unserved area but otherwise
11 meets the requirements of this section, for which the grant
12 applicant demonstrates, by specific evidence, the need for
13 greater broadband speeds, access, capacity, resiliency, or
14 service which is not being offered by an existing service
15 provider.
16 "(4) Grants issued under subdivisions (2) and (3)
17 shall not exceed 40 percent of the total funds appropriated
18 for grants on an annual basis.
19 "(i) Nothing in this section shall affect the
20 approval and continued funding of grants awarded prior to May
21 30, 2019.
22 "§41-23-214.
23 "(a) There is created the Alabama Rural Broadband
24 Oversight Committee. The oversight committee shall consist of
25 the Chair of the House Ways and Means Education Committee or
26 his or her designee, the Chair of the Senate Finance and
27 Taxation Education Committee or his or her designee, two
Page 11 1 members appointed by the Speaker of the House of
2 Representatives, two members appointed by the President Pro
3 Tempore of the Senate, and the Director of ADECA or his or her
4 designee. The oversight committee shall meet at least
5 annually, provide general oversight of the implementation of
6 the article, and recommend further statutory changes to
7 promote rural broadband development.
8 "(b) The oversight committee shall reflect the
9 racial, gender, geographic, urban/rural, and economic
10 diversity of the state.
11 "(c) For any year in which grants are distributed
12 under the program, ADECA shall produce a report on the status
13 of grants under the program to the oversight committee,
14 including progress toward increased access to and adoption of
15 broadband services. The report shall be provided at the
16 oversight committee's first meeting of the year and be
17 published on ADECA's website. ADECA shall provide a copy of
18 the report to the Governor, the Alabama Senate President Pro
19 Tempore, the Alabama Senate Minority Leader, the Speaker of
20 the Alabama House of Representatives, and the Alabama House of
21 Representatives Minority Leader. By March 28, 2019, ADECA
22 shall produce a report on the availability of broadband within
23 the state."
24 Section 2. This act shall become effective
25 immediately following its passage and approval by the
26 Governor, or its otherwise becoming law.
Page 12 1
2
3 Senate
Read for the first time and referred to the Senate4
5 committee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic
Development.......................................6 0.1-FEB-22
7
Read for the second time and placed on the calen-8
dar 1 amendment..................................9 0.9-FEB-22
10
Read for the third time and passed as amended ....11 1.0-FEB-22
Yeas 2512
13 Nays 0
14
15
16 Patrick Harris,
17 Secretary.
18
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