HLS 24RS-798 ORIGINAL
2024 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 700
BY REPRESENTATIVE DESHOTEL
UTILITIES: Provides relative to broadband
1 AN ACT
2To amend and reenact R.S. 51:2370.32 and to enact R.S. 51:2370.33(E), Subpart C of Part
3 VI-C of Chapter 39 of Title 51 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes 1950, to be
4 comprised of R.S. 51:2370.41, and Subpart D of Part VI-C of Chapter 39 of Title 51
5 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes 1950, to be comprised of R.S. 51:2370.51, relative
6 to broadband; to provide for reimbursement for grantees; to provide for failure to
7 preform protocols; to provide for the "Granting Unserved Municipalities Broadband
8 Opportunities 3.0" program; to provide for the "Granting Unserved Municipalities
9 Broadband Opportunities 4.0" program; and to provide for related matters.
10Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
11 Section 1. R.S. 51:2370.32 is hereby amended and reenacted and R.S. 2370.33(E)
12is hereby enacted to read as follows:
13 §2370.32. Reimbursement for grantees
14 Reimbursements of eligible costs shall be made by percentage of total project
15 costs expended: ten percent, thirty-five percent, sixty percent, eighty-five percent,
16 and the final fifteen percent payment shall not be paid without an approved
17 completion report. Invoice for final payment shall be submitted within ninety days
18 of a completion date. All invoices are subject to audit for three years from the
19 completion date. GUMBO 2.0 awards will be made on a fixed-award subgrant basis,
20 following all requirements of NTIA's modifications to the Uniform Guidance as
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HB NO. 700
1 provided by final rule, with an initial ten percent disbursement made upon final grant
2 issuance. The next ten percent of the subgrant award shall be provided based on
3 provider certification and the office's verification that ten percent of the eligible
4 locations have been reached. The remaining disbursements shall be given at the
5 thresholds of completion of thirty-five percent, sixty percent, eighty-five percent, and
6 the final one hundred percent provided only after verification of one hundred percent
7 deployment to eligible locations, all within the mandatory forty-eight months
8 maximum deployment timeline or another shorter timeline certified by the applicant.
9 The office will only disburse funds for completed deployments that comply with the
10 terms included in the successful application and will withhold funds for failure to do
11 so.
12 * * *
13 §2370.33. Failure to perform
14 * * *
15 E. Any GUMBO 2.0 subgrantee also subject to deployment obligations
16 elsewhere in this state, including from programs such as the Rural Digital
17 Opportunity Fund, the Enhanced Alternative Connect America Model, the Rural
18 Development Broadband ReConnect Program, or any other similar program included
19 in the BEAD de-duplication process, shall make an enforceable commitment as part
20 of its GUMBO 2.0 subgrant agreement not to default or otherwise fail to fulfill any
21 such deployment obligation in this state. The penalty for breach of this commitment
22 shall be, as reimbursement for funding that could have been awarded but for other
23 federal program funding, payment to the state in the amount equal to the total
24 investment cost of all defaulted locations, as measured by the Eligible Entity tool
25 provided to the state by NTIA.
26 Section 2. Subpart C of Part VI-C of Chapter 39 of Title 51 of the Louisiana Revised
27Statutes 1950, comprised of R.S. 51:2370.41, is hereby enacted to read as follows:
28 SUBPART C. GRANTING UNSERVED MUNICIPALITIES BROADBAND
29 OPPORTUNITIES 3.0
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HB NO. 700
1 § 2370.41. GUMBO 3.0
2 In the event there is remaining GUMBO 2.0 funds after the obligation of
3 infrastructure funds, the office shall run a grant program (non-deployment) that will
4 allow state agencies, non-profits, for-profits, academic institutions, planning
5 commissions, and more to avail of these funds to help address challenges in
6 economic development, workforce development, healthcare, cybersecurity,
7 agriculture, and other sectors and industries of importance to the state of Louisiana,
8 as determined by approval of Volume 2 of Initial Proposal from the office and the
9 Infrastructure and Jobs Act (IIJA), the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment
10 (BEAD) Program, and the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), with an
11 obligation deadline of these funds to be completed no later then December 12, 2024.
12 This program will be designated as "Granting Unserved Municipalities Broadband
13 Opportunities 3.0" and the office will receive the authority to create appropriate rules
14 and scoring criteria.
15 Section 3. Subpart D of Part VI-C of Chapter 39 of Title 51 of the Louisiana Revised
16Statutes 1950, comprised of R.S. 51:2370.51, is hereby enacted to read as follows:
17 SUBPART D. GRANTING UNSERVED MUNICIPALITIES BROADBAND
18 OPPORTUNITIES 4.0
19 § 2370.51. GUMBO 4.0
20 The office shall have the authority to develop the rules, scoring criteria, and
21 eligibility in the execution of the State's First Digital Opportunity Plan, pending
22 approval from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration,
23 a Sub-Agency of the United States Department of Commerce. This program will be
24 designated as "Granting Unserved Municipalities Broadband Opportunities 4.0".
25 Section 4. The funds for GUMBO 2.0 outlined in Subsection E of R.S. 51:2370.33
26as enacted by Section 1 of this Act are to be obligated by December12, 2024 and spent by
27December 31, 2028.
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HB NO. 700
1 Section 5. The funds for GUMBO 3.0 outlined in R.S. 51:2370.41 as enacted by
2Section 2 of this Act are to be obligated by December 12, 2024 and to be spent by December
331, 2028.
4 Section 6. The funds for GUMBO 4.0 outlined in R.S. 51:2370.51 as enacted by
5Section 3 of this Act are to be spent by March.1, 2029.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HB 700 Original 2024 Regular Session Deshotel
Abstract: Provides relative to broadband.
Present law provides that reimbursements of eligible costs shall be made by percentage of
total project costs expended: 10%, 35%, 60%,85%, and the final 15%payment shall not be
paid without an approved completion report. Invoice for final payment shall be submitted
within 90 days of a completion date. All invoices are subject to audit for three years from
the completion date.
Proposed law deletes present law and adds that GUMBO 2.0 awards will be made on a
fixed-award subgrant basis, following all requirements of NTIA's modifications to the
Uniform Guidance as provided by final rule, with an initial 10% disbursement made upon
final grant issuance. The next 10% of the subgrant award shall be provided based on
provider certification and the office's verification that ten percent of the eligible locations
have been reached. The remaining disbursements shall be given at the thresholds of
completion of 35%, 60%, 85%, and the final 100% provided only after verification of 100%
deployment to eligible locations, all within the mandatory 48 months maximum deployment
timeline or another shorter timeline certified by the applicant.
Proposed law provides that the office of broadband will only disburse funds for completed
deployments that comply with the terms included in the successful application and will
withhold funds for failure to do so.
Present law provides for if a grant recipient fails to preform.
Proposed law adds that any GUMBO 2.0 subgrantee also subject to deployment obligations
elsewhere in this state, including from programs such as the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund,
the Enhanced Alternative Connect America Model, the Rural Development Broadband
ReConnect Program, or any other similar program included in the BEAD de-duplication
process, must make an enforceable commitment as part of its GUMBO 2.0 subgrant
agreement not to default or otherwise fail to fulfill any such deployment obligation in this
state.
Proposed law provides that the penalty for breach of this commitment shall be, as
reimbursement for funding that could have been awarded but for other federal program
funding, payment to the state in the amount equal to the total investment cost of all defaulted
locations, as measured by the Eligible Entity tool provided to the state by NTIA.
Proposed law provides that in the event there is remaining GUMBO 2.0 funds after the
obligation of infrastructure funds, the office shall run a grant program (non-deployment) that
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CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions. HLS 24RS-798 ORIGINAL
HB NO. 700
will allow state agencies, non-profits, for-profits, academic institutions, planning
commissions, and more to avail of these funds to help address challenges in economic
development, workforce development, healthcare, cybersecurity, agriculture, and other
sectors and industries of importance to the state of Louisiana, as determined by approval of
Volume 2 of Initial Proposal from the office and the IIJA, the BEAD Program, and the
NOFO, with an obligation deadline of these funds to be completed no later then December
12, 2024. This program will be designated as "Granting Unserved Municipalities Broadband
Opportunities 3.0" and the office will receive the authority to create appropriate rules and
scoring criteria.
Proposed law provides that the office shall have the authority to develop the rules, scoring
criteria, and eligibility in the execution of the State's First Digital Opportunity Plan, pending
approval from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, a
Sub-Agency of the United States Department of Commerce. This program will be designated
as"Granting Unserved Municipalities Broadband Opportunities 4.0".
The funds for GUMBO 2.0 outlined in Subsection E of Section 2370.33 of this Act are to
be obligated by December12, 2024 and spent by December 31, 2028.
The funds for GUMBO 3.0 outlined in Section 2370.41 of this Act are to be obligated by
December 12, 2024 and to be spent by December 31, 2028.
The funds for GUMBO 4.0 outlined in Section 2370.51 of this Act are to be spent by
March.1, 2029.
(Amends R.S. 51:2370.32; Adds R.S. 51:2370.33(E), 2370.41, and 2370.51)
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