CS/HB 1543 2022
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to broadband infrastructure; amending 2
s. 288.9961, F.S.; revising the duties of the Florida 3
Office of Broadband to include administering certain 4
reimbursements; creating s. 288.9964, F.S.; 5
authorizing certain persons to apply to the office for 6
reimbursement of certain pole replacement costs, 7
subject to the availability of funds; defining the 8
term "pole replacement costs"; providing conditions 9
under which pole replacement costs are eligible for 10
reimbursement; providing application requirements; 11
requiring the office to annually publish certain 12
information on its website and provide certain 13
information to the Governor and Legislature; requiring 14
the Department of Economic Opportunity to adopt rules; 15
providing an effective date. 16
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 18
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Section 1. Paragraph (g) is added to subsection (4) of 20
section 288.9961, Florida Statutes, to read: 21
288.9961 Promotion of broadband adoption; Florida Office 22
of Broadband.— 23
(4) FLORIDA OFFICE OF BROADBAND. —The Florida Office of 24
Broadband is created within the Division of Community 25
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
Development in the department for the purpose of developing, 26
marketing, and promot ing broadband Internet services in this 27
state. The office, in the performance of its duties, shall do 28
all of the following: 29
(g) Administer reimbursements under s. 288.9964. 30
Section 2. Section 288.9964, Florida Statutes, is created 31
to read: 32
288.9964 Reimbursement of certain pole replacement costs. —33
(1) Any person eligible to apply for a grant award under 34
s. 288.9962 may apply to the Florida Office of Broadband for 35
reimbursement of pole replacement costs as specified in this 36
section, subject to the a vailability of funds. If funds 37
disbursed or awarded to the state by the federal government are 38
used to provide reimbursement under this section, such use must 39
comply with any requirements or conditions for use of the 40
federal funds. 41
(2) For purposes of th is section, the term "pole 42
replacement costs" means the actual costs incurred by an 43
eligible applicant: 44
(a) To remove and dispose of one or more existing poles 45
that are owned by an electric utility as defined in s. 46
366.02(2), a communications services pr ovider as defined in s. 47
366.02(5), a cable television operator, or a local exchange 48
carrier and that are used in whole or in part to distribute 49
electricity or provide wireline communications service; 50
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
(b) To purchase and install one or more replacement po les; 51
and 52
(c) To transfer to such replacement pole or poles any 53
facilities previously attached to the pole or poles that were 54
removed and replaced. 55
(3) Pole replacement costs are eligible for reimbursement 56
under this section if: 57
(a) The costs are actu ally incurred by an eligible 58
applicant to install or deploy infrastructure to support the 59
provision of broadband Internet service to customers in an 60
unserved area; 61
(b) Federal or state funds have not been awarded to a 62
broadband Internet service provider to install or deploy 63
infrastructure to support the provision of broadband Internet 64
service to customers in the same area; and 65
(c) The applicant has not applied for any other federal or 66
state funds to install or deploy infrastructure to support the 67
provision of broadband Internet service to customers in the same 68
area. 69
(4) Applications for reimbursement of pole replacement 70
costs under this section shall provide information sufficient to 71
establish the actual amount of the costs incurred and eligible 72
for reimbursement and such other information as required by the 73
office and shall be submitted in a form specified by the office. 74
(5) By January 1, 2023, and each year thereafter, the 75
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
office shall publish on its website and provide to the Governor, 76
the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of 77
Representatives a list of all reimbursement applications 78
received during the previous fiscal year and for each 79
application: 80
(a) The reimbursement amounts requested; 81
(b) The reimbursement amounts awarded, if any; and 82
(c) To the extent available, the number of end -use 83
locations, by customer class, to which broadband Internet 84
service has been made available through pole replacements 85
supported by reimbursements under this section. 86
(6) The department shall adopt rules to implement this 87
section. Such rules may specify maximum annual reimbursement 88
amounts per applicant and maximum reimbursement amounts per 89
eligible pole replacement. 90
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 91