| 1 | 1 | | MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE 2025 Regular Session To: Energy By: Senator(s) Carter Senate Bill 2366 AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 77-19-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO EXPAND THE DEFINITIONS OF "APPLICANT" AND "ELIGIBLE PROJECT" FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS ACT; TO AMEND SECTION 77-19-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO ALLOW THE OFFICE OF BROADBAND EXPANSION AND ACCESSIBILITY OF MISSISSIPPI (BEAM) TO MAKE DETERMINATIONS AND WARDS TO ELIGIBLE PROJECTS; TO AMEND SECTION 77-19-7, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE BEAM TO RECEIVE AND EXPEND FEDERAL BROADBAND GRANT FUNDS FOR CERTAIN AUTHORIZED PURPOSES; TO CLARIFY PROVISIONS REGARDING THE DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF BEAM; TO CLARIFY PROVISIONS CONCERNING USE OF GRANT FUNDS; TO ALLOW BEAM OFFICERS OR EMPLOYEES TO RECEIVE CERTAIN BENEFITS UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES; TO CLARIFY USES OF BEAM FUNDS; TO AMEND SECTION 77-19-9, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CLARIFY CONSIDERATIONS TO BE USED BY BEAM IN MAKING DETERMINATIONS AND AWARDS; TO AMEND SECTION 77-19-11, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM; TO AMEND SECTION 77-19-13, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CLARIFY LANGUAGE; TO AMEND SECTION 77-19-15, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO ALLOW FOR A COMMENT PERIOD AFTER PRELIMINARY DETERMINATIONS; TO CREATE GUIDELINES FOR PRELIMINARY DETERMINATIONS; TO REQUIRE PUBLICATION OF FINAL DETERMINATIONS WITH CERTAIN QUALIFICATIONS; TO ESTABLISH CONFIDENTIALITY; TO AMEND SECTION 77-19-17, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE BEAM TO NOTIFY THE GOVERNOR BEFORE DISTRIBUTION OF ANY GRANT MONIES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: SECTION 1. Section 77-19-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows: 77-19-3. As used in this chapter: (a) "Applicant" means: (i) For infrastructure deployment, an eligible broadband service provider that has authorization to do business in this state and has demonstrated that it has the technical, financial and managerial resources and experience to provide broadband services in the state to retail end users * * *.; (ii) For nondeployment projects, a government entity, including, but not limited to, a state agency, county, municipality or an affiliated organization (economic development corporation, regional planning and development council, etc.) to the extent authorized by its enabling statute; or (iii) An entity meeting the requirements of a grant recipient or subrecipient as defined by the federal grant program's statutes, rules, regulations and guidance for the grant for which application is made. (b) "Broadband service" means a mass-market retail service by wire, cable, fiber, or radio provided to customers in the State of Mississippi that provides the capability to transmit data to, and receive data from, all or substantially all internet endpoints, at speeds of at least one hundred (100) megabits per second downstream and twenty (20) megabits per second upstream, and including, but not limited to, any capabilities that are incidental to and enable the operation of communications service, but excluding dial-up internet access service. (c) "Office" means the Office of Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi (BEAM) within the Department of Finance and Administration created in Section 77-19-5. (d) "Deployed" means, with respect to availability of broadband service at a location, when the person or entity has access regardless of whether a person or entity subscribes to the broadband service at the location. (e) "Eligible broadband service provider" means any company, firm, corporation, limited liability company, partnership or association (i) that has been providing broadband service to at least one hundred (100) residences and businesses in Mississippi for at least three (3) consecutive years; (ii) is an electric power association's broadband affiliate operating pursuant to Section 77-17-1 et seq.; or (iii) that has demonstrated financial, technical, and operational capability in building and operating a broadband network. (f) "Eligible project" means a discrete and specific project * * * located in an unserved or underserved area of the state seeking as defined by the applicable federal grant program, including all statutes, rules, regulations or guidance relevant to that grant program, which is designed to provide broadband * * * services service, devices or equipment, or digital skills training to * * * residences Mississippi residents, businesses, and community anchor institutions * * * not currently * * * available for without broadband service or the devices, equipment or skills needed to access such service, in accordance with the applicable federal grant program's guidelines. (g) "Shapefile" means a digital storage format containing geospatial or location-based data and attribute information regarding the availability of broadband internet access service, and that can be viewed, edited, and mapped in geographic information system software. SECTION 2. Section 77-19-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows: 77-19-5. There is created an Office of Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi (BEAM) within the Department of Finance and Administration for the purpose of making determinations and awards from applications for eligible projects * * * to provide broadband service in unserved or underserved areas using the Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi (BEAM) Fund created pursuant to Section 77-19-7. The Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration shall hire a Director of BEAM to administer the office. SECTION 3. Section 77-19-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows: 77-19-7. (1) The Office of Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi (BEAM) shall serve as the state broadband office to * * * review applications and make determinations and awards for eligible projects * * * to provide broadband access in unserved or underserved areas using the BEAM Fund created pursuant to this chapter and is further authorized to receive and expend federal broadband grant funds for any uses authorized by the federal grant programs. (2) It shall be the duty and responsibility of BEAM to: (a) Coordinate all broadband expansion and accessibility efforts on behalf of the state to ensure an effective and efficient use of broadband grant funds; (b) Develop the plan and application for federal grant programs and for sub-grantees to receive funds from said federal grants; (c) Develop rules and procedures, if necessary and in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act, to * * * implement a competitive statewide broadband grant program award broadband grants for eligible projects as provided by the federal grant programs from which funds are received; (d) Coordinate all information provided by broadband service providers, including all broadband mapping efforts for the state * * *. All information provided by a broadband service provider pursuant to this chapter shall be presumed to be confidential, proprietary, and subject to exemption from disclosure under state and federal law and shall not be subject to disclosure except in the form of a map where information that could be used to determine provider‑specific information about the network of the broadband service providers is not disclosed. Such provider‑specific information shall not be released to any person without written permission of the submitting broadband service provider. In no instance shall a broadband service provider be required to provide any data beyond that which it is required to provide to the Federal Communications Commission pursuant to 47 USC Section 641 et seq.; (e) Apply for and receive federal grants or funds, including, but not limited to, Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund established by Section 604 of the Social Security Act, as added by Section 9901 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, and the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program established by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, and all other federal broadband grant programs and any state support grant programs, and to administer and oversee the use of grant funds awarded to subgrantees to ensure continued compliance with relevant federal requirements; and (f) Grant final determinations of awards for eligible projects * * * to provide broadband access in unserved or underserved areas, as provided in subsection (1) of this section, no later than sixty (60) days after publishing a preliminary determination of an award on BEAM's website pursuant to this chapter, * * * or thirty (30) days after April 30, 2024, whichever is later, unless BEAM determines that a proposed project includes an area where broadband services currently are deployed, or where construction of a network to deploy broadband service is underway by a provider other than the applicant, or where construction is scheduled to be completed within one (1) year after the date of application except for any preliminary determination for which BEAM receives comments or objections pursuant to Section 77-19-15. (3) To effectuate the purposes of this chapter, any department, division, board, bureau, committee, institution or agency of the state, or any political subdivision thereof, shall, at the request of the Director of BEAM, provide the assistance, information and data needed to enable BEAM to carry out its duties. (4) An officer or employee of BEAM shall not accept or receive any gratuity, gift, gift in-kind, money, emolument, or any other pecuniary benefit, either directly or indirectly, from any broadband service provider, vendor, contractor, subcontractor, nonprofit organization or association that does business with or contracts with BEAM, or any designee, employee, agent, officer, or representative of such broadband service provider, vendor, contractor, subcontractor, nonprofit organization or association unless said broadband service provider, vendor, contractor, subcontractor, nonprofit organization or association (or its designee, employee, agent, officer or representative) is providing such benefits to other persons at the time and place such as when sponsoring a conference, reception or event in which food, beverages and incidental marketing materials are made available to all attendees generally. Moreover, this subsection shall not prohibit BEAM officers and employees from accepting food or beverages provided in conjunction with a working meeting with a broadband service provider, vendor, contractor, subcontractor, nonprofit organization or association (or its designee, employee, agent, officer or representative). For purposes of this section, the term "emolument" includes salary, donations, contributions, loans, stock tips, vacations and trips. (5) There is created within the State Treasury the "Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi (BEAM) Fund" for the purposes of the expansion and accessibility of broadband in service unserved and underserved areas. These purposes include the deployment of broadband infrastructure as well as the provision of devices, equipment and digital skills training to allow Mississippi residents and businesses to access broadband service once it is deployed in their area. The fund shall consist of all monies designated, accepted or appropriated by the State of Mississippi for broadband * * * deployment expansion and accessibility; all monies received from the federal government awarded to or allocated by the state for broadband * * * deployment expansion and accessibility; and donations, gifts and monies received from any other source, including transfers from other funds or accounts. Disbursements from the fund shall be made by the Department of Finance and Administration upon appropriation by the Legislature in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and in compliance with the federal statutes, rules, regulations and guidance regarding the use of monies from the relevant grant program. All unexpended and unencumbered monies in the fund at the end of the fiscal year shall remain in the fund. Monies in the fund shall be invested by the State Treasurer in the same manner as monies in the State General Fund and interest earned on the investment of these monies shall be credited to the fund. SECTION 4. Section 77-19-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows: 77-19-9. In making determinations and awards, the Office of Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi (BEAM) shall consider the following: (a) Funds for the grant programs shall only be used by applicants for eligible broadband expansion and accessibility projects * * * that exclusively extend broadband service into unserved or underserved areas in this state as defined herein and in accordance with applicable federal laws, rules, regulations and guidance; * * * and (b) * * * Funds from federal broadband grant programs shall be spent in accordance with federal laws, rules, regulations and guidance, and Federal laws, rules, regulations and guidance shall supersede in any instance where this chapter conflicts * * *. or limits the award or use of the funds received from the federal grant program; and (c) BEAM is authorized to award grants and oversee the expenditure of grant funds to the fullest extent allowed by said federal laws, rules, regulations and guidance. SECTION 5. Section 77-19-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows: 77-19-11. The criteria for determining the awarding of funds for broadband deployment shall include the following: (a) The applicant's experience and financial wherewithal to deploy, operate and manage the proposed project and broadband service offerings, including evidence of the applicant's successful operations of broadband services to retail end users; (b) The readiness to build, operate and maintain the project; (c) Projects that will deploy broadband service to the most unserved or underserved areas; (d) The scalability of the proposed project network to support the deployment of higher broadband speeds over time; (e) The likelihood that the unserved or underserved area will not be served with broadband service without such state or federal grant funding; (f) The applicant's ability to demonstrate the community's support for the project and a collaborated plan to leverage broadband services for community needs and economic development, such as rural development, education, tourism, new investment, or business attraction or retention; (g) A preference for those applications seeking to deploy and provide broadband services to areas in which there is currently no fixed terrestrial internet access service available; (h) No discrimination or preference to applications on the basis of the type of technology proposed by any applicant to be used to provide broadband services so long as the technology proposed meets the federal guidelines; (i) The size and scope of the unserved or underserved area to be deployed; and (j) The broadband service speed thresholds proposed in the application and the scalability of the broadband service network infrastructure proposed to be deployed to provide broadband service to households and businesses. SECTION 6. Section 77-19-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows: 77-19-13. In accordance with federal laws, rules, regulations and guidance, the Office of Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi (BEAM) shall establish and publish on its website its criteria for * * * competitively scoring applications awarding subgrants and/or contracts for eligible projects. SECTION 7. Section 77-19-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows: 77-19-15. (1) An applicant for funding for broadband deployment projects under this chapter shall provide the following information at a minimum on the application: (a) The location of * * * the project by use of a shapefile all BSLs in the project area, in a format as required by BEAM; (b) The type and amount of broadband infrastructure to be deployed for the project, including the amount the applicant intends to invest in the project from private funds; (c) Evidence regarding the unserved or underserved nature of the community in which the project is to be located; (d) The number of households that will have access to broadband service as a result of the project, or whose internet access service will be upgraded to broadband service as a result of the project; (e) The significant community anchor institutions that will benefit from the proposed project; (f) Evidence of community support for the project * * * with a narrative on and the impact that the investment will have on community and economic development efforts in the area; (g) The total cost of the project and a detailed budget and schedule for the project, including the submission of a business plan that provides for the use of funds provided under this chapter. Funds shall not be used to support the operational expenses of the network or to subsidize any other service provided by the applicant except as may be allowed under applicable federal laws, rules, regulations or guidance; and (h) The * * * broadband service provider applicant's experience and financial capabilities. (2) After scoring and considering all applications, the * * * Office Department of Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi (BEAM) shall make its preliminary determinations and publish the determinations on its website. * * * Within thirty (30) days after the preliminary determinations have been made, BEAM shall publish on its website the applications. (3) For ten (10) days from the date the preliminary determinations are published on BEAM's website, BEAM shall accept comments or objections concerning each preliminary determination and investigate each of them as appropriate. BEAM shall consider all comments and objections received and the investigative findings in determining whether an applicant is eligible for a final determination and award. (4) The following applies only to preliminary determinations for broadband deployment projects: (a) For broadband deployment grants, BEAM shall publish on its website, along with its preliminary determinations as to such grants, the proposed geographic broadband service area * * * illustrated by a shapefile, and the proposed broadband service speeds for each broadband deployment application that receives a preliminary determination. * * * (3) Within thirty (30) days from the date the preliminary determinations are published on BEAM's website, BEAM shall accept comments or objections concerning each application and investigate each of them as appropriate. BEAM shall consider all comments and objections received and the investigative findings in determining whether an applicant is eligible for a final determination and award. ( * * *4b) BEAM shall not make a final determination and award for broadband deployment to an applicant if verifiable information is made available that shows the proposed project includes an area where broadband services currently are deployed by a provider other than the applicant, or where construction of a network to deploy broadband service is underway by a provider other than the applicant, and the construction is scheduled to be completed within one (1) year after the date of the application. (5) * * * An applicant's or challenging party's trade secrets, financial information and proprietary information submitted under this chapter as part of an application or challenge are exempt from disclosure under the Mississippi Public Records Act, Section 25‑61‑1 et seq. At the conclusion of any investigation required by comments or objections filed as to BEAM's preliminary determination, or within sixty (60) days of publishing the preliminary determinations if no such comments or objections are received, BEAM will publish its final determinations on its website. Any legal challenge to these final determinations must be brought in the Chancery Court of Hinds County within thirty (30) days of the publication of the final determinations, and any person or entity pursuing such legal challenge must have previously submitted a comment or objection to the preliminary determination preceding the final determination or responded to such comment or objection. (6) All information provided by an applicant or challenging party pursuant to this chapter shall be presumed to be confidential, proprietary and shall be exempt from disclosure under state and federal law, including the Mississippi Public Records Act, except in the form of a map where information that could be used to determine provider-specific information about the network of the broadband service providers is not disclosed. Beyond the aforementioned map, other information submitted by an applicant or challenging party shall not be released to any person without written permission of the submitting applicant or challenger. Provided, however, BEAM may disclose to an applicant certain information submitted by a challenger to a preliminary determination issued in favor of said applicant where BEAM determines that the applicant needs such information to respond to the challenge presented. Nothing in this subsection should be construed to exempt governmental entities from any transparency or sunshine laws applicable to said entities. ( * * *67) Any contractor deploying broadband infrastructure for a project that has been awarded grant monies by BEAM is encouraged to use Mississippi employment to the fullest extent possible. SECTION 8. Section 77-19-17, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows: 77-19-17. (1) Before the distribution of any grant monies from the BEAM Fund, BEAM shall notify the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Legislative Budget Office of the planned distribution. (2) BEAM may employ the services of such persons as the Director of BEAM considers necessary for the purposes of consultation or investigation and fix the salaries of or contract for the services of such legal, professional, technical and operational personnel and consultants, subject to applicable provisions of the State Personnel Board. Additional legal assistance may be retained in accordance with this subsection (2) only with the approval of the Attorney General. (3) BEAM shall provide to the Legislature an annual detailed report on the status and details of all projects considered and approved under this chapter no later than December 15 of each year. SECTION 9. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage. |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | 2025 Regular Session |
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| 6 | 6 | | |
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| 7 | 7 | | To: Energy |
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| 8 | 8 | | |
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| 9 | 9 | | By: Senator(s) Carter |
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| 10 | 10 | | |
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| 11 | 11 | | # Senate Bill 2366 |
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| 12 | 12 | | |
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| 13 | 13 | | AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 77-19-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO EXPAND THE DEFINITIONS OF "APPLICANT" AND "ELIGIBLE PROJECT" FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS ACT; TO AMEND SECTION 77-19-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO ALLOW THE OFFICE OF BROADBAND EXPANSION AND ACCESSIBILITY OF MISSISSIPPI (BEAM) TO MAKE DETERMINATIONS AND WARDS TO ELIGIBLE PROJECTS; TO AMEND SECTION 77-19-7, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE BEAM TO RECEIVE AND EXPEND FEDERAL BROADBAND GRANT FUNDS FOR CERTAIN AUTHORIZED PURPOSES; TO CLARIFY PROVISIONS REGARDING THE DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF BEAM; TO CLARIFY PROVISIONS CONCERNING USE OF GRANT FUNDS; TO ALLOW BEAM OFFICERS OR EMPLOYEES TO RECEIVE CERTAIN BENEFITS UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES; TO CLARIFY USES OF BEAM FUNDS; TO AMEND SECTION 77-19-9, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CLARIFY CONSIDERATIONS TO BE USED BY BEAM IN MAKING DETERMINATIONS AND AWARDS; TO AMEND SECTION 77-19-11, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM; TO AMEND SECTION 77-19-13, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CLARIFY LANGUAGE; TO AMEND SECTION 77-19-15, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO ALLOW FOR A COMMENT PERIOD AFTER PRELIMINARY DETERMINATIONS; TO CREATE GUIDELINES FOR PRELIMINARY DETERMINATIONS; TO REQUIRE PUBLICATION OF FINAL DETERMINATIONS WITH CERTAIN QUALIFICATIONS; TO ESTABLISH CONFIDENTIALITY; TO AMEND SECTION 77-19-17, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE BEAM TO NOTIFY THE GOVERNOR BEFORE DISTRIBUTION OF ANY GRANT MONIES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. |
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| 14 | 14 | | |
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| 15 | 15 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: |
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| 16 | 16 | | |
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| 17 | 17 | | SECTION 1. Section 77-19-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows: |
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| 18 | 18 | | |
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| 19 | 19 | | 77-19-3. As used in this chapter: |
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| 20 | 20 | | |
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| 21 | 21 | | (a) "Applicant" means: |
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| 22 | 22 | | |
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| 23 | 23 | | (i) For infrastructure deployment, an eligible broadband service provider that has authorization to do business in this state and has demonstrated that it has the technical, financial and managerial resources and experience to provide broadband services in the state to retail end users * * *.; |
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| 24 | 24 | | |
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| 25 | 25 | | (ii) For nondeployment projects, a government entity, including, but not limited to, a state agency, county, municipality or an affiliated organization (economic development corporation, regional planning and development council, etc.) to the extent authorized by its enabling statute; or |
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| 26 | 26 | | |
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| 27 | 27 | | (iii) An entity meeting the requirements of a grant recipient or subrecipient as defined by the federal grant program's statutes, rules, regulations and guidance for the grant for which application is made. |
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| 28 | 28 | | |
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| 29 | 29 | | (b) "Broadband service" means a mass-market retail service by wire, cable, fiber, or radio provided to customers in the State of Mississippi that provides the capability to transmit data to, and receive data from, all or substantially all internet endpoints, at speeds of at least one hundred (100) megabits per second downstream and twenty (20) megabits per second upstream, and including, but not limited to, any capabilities that are incidental to and enable the operation of communications service, but excluding dial-up internet access service. |
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| 30 | 30 | | |
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| 31 | 31 | | (c) "Office" means the Office of Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi (BEAM) within the Department of Finance and Administration created in Section 77-19-5. |
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| 32 | 32 | | |
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| 33 | 33 | | (d) "Deployed" means, with respect to availability of broadband service at a location, when the person or entity has access regardless of whether a person or entity subscribes to the broadband service at the location. |
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| 34 | 34 | | |
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| 35 | 35 | | (e) "Eligible broadband service provider" means any company, firm, corporation, limited liability company, partnership or association (i) that has been providing broadband service to at least one hundred (100) residences and businesses in Mississippi for at least three (3) consecutive years; (ii) is an electric power association's broadband affiliate operating pursuant to Section 77-17-1 et seq.; or (iii) that has demonstrated financial, technical, and operational capability in building and operating a broadband network. |
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| 36 | 36 | | |
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| 37 | 37 | | (f) "Eligible project" means a discrete and specific project * * * located in an unserved or underserved area of the state seeking as defined by the applicable federal grant program, including all statutes, rules, regulations or guidance relevant to that grant program, which is designed to provide broadband * * * services service, devices or equipment, or digital skills training to * * * residences Mississippi residents, businesses, and community anchor institutions * * * not currently * * * available for without broadband service or the devices, equipment or skills needed to access such service, in accordance with the applicable federal grant program's guidelines. |
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| 38 | 38 | | |
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| 39 | 39 | | (g) "Shapefile" means a digital storage format containing geospatial or location-based data and attribute information regarding the availability of broadband internet access service, and that can be viewed, edited, and mapped in geographic information system software. |
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| 40 | 40 | | |
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| 41 | 41 | | SECTION 2. Section 77-19-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows: |
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| 42 | 42 | | |
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| 43 | 43 | | 77-19-5. There is created an Office of Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi (BEAM) within the Department of Finance and Administration for the purpose of making determinations and awards from applications for eligible projects * * * to provide broadband service in unserved or underserved areas using the Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi (BEAM) Fund created pursuant to Section 77-19-7. The Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration shall hire a Director of BEAM to administer the office. |
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| 44 | 44 | | |
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| 45 | 45 | | SECTION 3. Section 77-19-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows: |
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| 46 | 46 | | |
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| 47 | 47 | | 77-19-7. (1) The Office of Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi (BEAM) shall serve as the state broadband office to * * * review applications and make determinations and awards for eligible projects * * * to provide broadband access in unserved or underserved areas using the BEAM Fund created pursuant to this chapter and is further authorized to receive and expend federal broadband grant funds for any uses authorized by the federal grant programs. |
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| 48 | 48 | | |
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| 49 | 49 | | (2) It shall be the duty and responsibility of BEAM to: |
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| 50 | 50 | | |
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| 51 | 51 | | (a) Coordinate all broadband expansion and accessibility efforts on behalf of the state to ensure an effective and efficient use of broadband grant funds; |
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| 52 | 52 | | |
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| 53 | 53 | | (b) Develop the plan and application for federal grant programs and for sub-grantees to receive funds from said federal grants; |
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| 54 | 54 | | |
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| 55 | 55 | | (c) Develop rules and procedures, if necessary and in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act, to * * * implement a competitive statewide broadband grant program award broadband grants for eligible projects as provided by the federal grant programs from which funds are received; |
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| 56 | 56 | | |
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| 57 | 57 | | (d) Coordinate all information provided by broadband service providers, including all broadband mapping efforts for the state * * *. All information provided by a broadband service provider pursuant to this chapter shall be presumed to be confidential, proprietary, and subject to exemption from disclosure under state and federal law and shall not be subject to disclosure except in the form of a map where information that could be used to determine provider‑specific information about the network of the broadband service providers is not disclosed. Such provider‑specific information shall not be released to any person without written permission of the submitting broadband service provider. In no instance shall a broadband service provider be required to provide any data beyond that which it is required to provide to the Federal Communications Commission pursuant to 47 USC Section 641 et seq.; |
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| 58 | 58 | | |
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| 59 | 59 | | (e) Apply for and receive federal grants or funds, including, but not limited to, Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund established by Section 604 of the Social Security Act, as added by Section 9901 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, and the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program established by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, and all other federal broadband grant programs and any state support grant programs, and to administer and oversee the use of grant funds awarded to subgrantees to ensure continued compliance with relevant federal requirements; and |
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| 60 | 60 | | |
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| 61 | 61 | | (f) Grant final determinations of awards for eligible projects * * * to provide broadband access in unserved or underserved areas, as provided in subsection (1) of this section, no later than sixty (60) days after publishing a preliminary determination of an award on BEAM's website pursuant to this chapter, * * * or thirty (30) days after April 30, 2024, whichever is later, unless BEAM determines that a proposed project includes an area where broadband services currently are deployed, or where construction of a network to deploy broadband service is underway by a provider other than the applicant, or where construction is scheduled to be completed within one (1) year after the date of application except for any preliminary determination for which BEAM receives comments or objections pursuant to Section 77-19-15. |
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| 62 | 62 | | |
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| 63 | 63 | | (3) To effectuate the purposes of this chapter, any department, division, board, bureau, committee, institution or agency of the state, or any political subdivision thereof, shall, at the request of the Director of BEAM, provide the assistance, information and data needed to enable BEAM to carry out its duties. |
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| 64 | 64 | | |
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| 65 | 65 | | (4) An officer or employee of BEAM shall not accept or receive any gratuity, gift, gift in-kind, money, emolument, or any other pecuniary benefit, either directly or indirectly, from any broadband service provider, vendor, contractor, subcontractor, nonprofit organization or association that does business with or contracts with BEAM, or any designee, employee, agent, officer, or representative of such broadband service provider, vendor, contractor, subcontractor, nonprofit organization or association unless said broadband service provider, vendor, contractor, subcontractor, nonprofit organization or association (or its designee, employee, agent, officer or representative) is providing such benefits to other persons at the time and place such as when sponsoring a conference, reception or event in which food, beverages and incidental marketing materials are made available to all attendees generally. Moreover, this subsection shall not prohibit BEAM officers and employees from accepting food or beverages provided in conjunction with a working meeting with a broadband service provider, vendor, contractor, subcontractor, nonprofit organization or association (or its designee, employee, agent, officer or representative). For purposes of this section, the term "emolument" includes salary, donations, contributions, loans, stock tips, vacations and trips. |
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| 66 | 66 | | |
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| 67 | 67 | | (5) There is created within the State Treasury the "Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi (BEAM) Fund" for the purposes of the expansion and accessibility of broadband in service unserved and underserved areas. These purposes include the deployment of broadband infrastructure as well as the provision of devices, equipment and digital skills training to allow Mississippi residents and businesses to access broadband service once it is deployed in their area. The fund shall consist of all monies designated, accepted or appropriated by the State of Mississippi for broadband * * * deployment expansion and accessibility; all monies received from the federal government awarded to or allocated by the state for broadband * * * deployment expansion and accessibility; and donations, gifts and monies received from any other source, including transfers from other funds or accounts. Disbursements from the fund shall be made by the Department of Finance and Administration upon appropriation by the Legislature in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and in compliance with the federal statutes, rules, regulations and guidance regarding the use of monies from the relevant grant program. All unexpended and unencumbered monies in the fund at the end of the fiscal year shall remain in the fund. Monies in the fund shall be invested by the State Treasurer in the same manner as monies in the State General Fund and interest earned on the investment of these monies shall be credited to the fund. |
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| 68 | 68 | | |
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| 69 | 69 | | SECTION 4. Section 77-19-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows: |
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| 70 | 70 | | |
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| 71 | 71 | | 77-19-9. In making determinations and awards, the Office of Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi (BEAM) shall consider the following: |
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| 72 | 72 | | |
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| 73 | 73 | | (a) Funds for the grant programs shall only be used by applicants for eligible broadband expansion and accessibility projects * * * that exclusively extend broadband service into unserved or underserved areas in this state as defined herein and in accordance with applicable federal laws, rules, regulations and guidance; * * * and |
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| 74 | 74 | | |
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| 75 | 75 | | (b) * * * Funds from federal broadband grant programs shall be spent in accordance with federal laws, rules, regulations and guidance, and Federal laws, rules, regulations and guidance shall supersede in any instance where this chapter conflicts * * *. or limits the award or use of the funds received from the federal grant program; and |
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| 76 | 76 | | |
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| 77 | 77 | | (c) BEAM is authorized to award grants and oversee the expenditure of grant funds to the fullest extent allowed by said federal laws, rules, regulations and guidance. |
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| 78 | 78 | | |
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| 79 | 79 | | SECTION 5. Section 77-19-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows: |
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| 80 | 80 | | |
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| 81 | 81 | | 77-19-11. The criteria for determining the awarding of funds for broadband deployment shall include the following: |
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| 82 | 82 | | |
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| 83 | 83 | | (a) The applicant's experience and financial wherewithal to deploy, operate and manage the proposed project and broadband service offerings, including evidence of the applicant's successful operations of broadband services to retail end users; |
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| 84 | 84 | | |
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| 85 | 85 | | (b) The readiness to build, operate and maintain the project; |
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| 86 | 86 | | |
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| 87 | 87 | | (c) Projects that will deploy broadband service to the most unserved or underserved areas; |
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| 88 | 88 | | |
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| 89 | 89 | | (d) The scalability of the proposed project network to support the deployment of higher broadband speeds over time; |
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| 90 | 90 | | |
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| 91 | 91 | | (e) The likelihood that the unserved or underserved area will not be served with broadband service without such state or federal grant funding; |
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| 92 | 92 | | |
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| 93 | 93 | | (f) The applicant's ability to demonstrate the community's support for the project and a collaborated plan to leverage broadband services for community needs and economic development, such as rural development, education, tourism, new investment, or business attraction or retention; |
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| 94 | 94 | | |
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| 95 | 95 | | (g) A preference for those applications seeking to deploy and provide broadband services to areas in which there is currently no fixed terrestrial internet access service available; |
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| 96 | 96 | | |
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| 97 | 97 | | (h) No discrimination or preference to applications on the basis of the type of technology proposed by any applicant to be used to provide broadband services so long as the technology proposed meets the federal guidelines; |
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| 98 | 98 | | |
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| 99 | 99 | | (i) The size and scope of the unserved or underserved area to be deployed; and |
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| 100 | 100 | | |
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| 101 | 101 | | (j) The broadband service speed thresholds proposed in the application and the scalability of the broadband service network infrastructure proposed to be deployed to provide broadband service to households and businesses. |
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| 102 | 102 | | |
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| 103 | 103 | | SECTION 6. Section 77-19-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows: |
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| 104 | 104 | | |
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| 105 | 105 | | 77-19-13. In accordance with federal laws, rules, regulations and guidance, the Office of Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi (BEAM) shall establish and publish on its website its criteria for * * * competitively scoring applications awarding subgrants and/or contracts for eligible projects. |
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| 106 | 106 | | |
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| 107 | 107 | | SECTION 7. Section 77-19-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows: |
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| 108 | 108 | | |
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| 109 | 109 | | 77-19-15. (1) An applicant for funding for broadband deployment projects under this chapter shall provide the following information at a minimum on the application: |
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| 110 | 110 | | |
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| 111 | 111 | | (a) The location of * * * the project by use of a shapefile all BSLs in the project area, in a format as required by BEAM; |
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| 112 | 112 | | |
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| 113 | 113 | | (b) The type and amount of broadband infrastructure to be deployed for the project, including the amount the applicant intends to invest in the project from private funds; |
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| 114 | 114 | | |
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| 115 | 115 | | (c) Evidence regarding the unserved or underserved nature of the community in which the project is to be located; |
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| 116 | 116 | | |
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| 117 | 117 | | (d) The number of households that will have access to broadband service as a result of the project, or whose internet access service will be upgraded to broadband service as a result of the project; |
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| 118 | 118 | | |
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| 119 | 119 | | (e) The significant community anchor institutions that will benefit from the proposed project; |
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| 120 | 120 | | |
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| 121 | 121 | | (f) Evidence of community support for the project * * * with a narrative on and the impact that the investment will have on community and economic development efforts in the area; |
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| 122 | 122 | | |
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| 123 | 123 | | (g) The total cost of the project and a detailed budget and schedule for the project, including the submission of a business plan that provides for the use of funds provided under this chapter. Funds shall not be used to support the operational expenses of the network or to subsidize any other service provided by the applicant except as may be allowed under applicable federal laws, rules, regulations or guidance; and |
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| 124 | 124 | | |
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| 125 | 125 | | (h) The * * * broadband service provider applicant's experience and financial capabilities. |
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| 126 | 126 | | |
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| 127 | 127 | | (2) After scoring and considering all applications, the * * * Office Department of Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi (BEAM) shall make its preliminary determinations and publish the determinations on its website. * * * Within thirty (30) days after the preliminary determinations have been made, BEAM shall publish on its website the applications. |
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| 128 | 128 | | |
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| 129 | 129 | | (3) For ten (10) days from the date the preliminary determinations are published on BEAM's website, BEAM shall accept comments or objections concerning each preliminary determination and investigate each of them as appropriate. BEAM shall consider all comments and objections received and the investigative findings in determining whether an applicant is eligible for a final determination and award. |
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| 130 | 130 | | |
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| 131 | 131 | | (4) The following applies only to preliminary determinations for broadband deployment projects: |
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| 132 | 132 | | |
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| 133 | 133 | | (a) For broadband deployment grants, BEAM shall publish on its website, along with its preliminary determinations as to such grants, the proposed geographic broadband service area * * * illustrated by a shapefile, and the proposed broadband service speeds for each broadband deployment application that receives a preliminary determination. |
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| 134 | 134 | | |
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| 135 | 135 | | * * * (3) Within thirty (30) days from the date the preliminary determinations are published on BEAM's website, BEAM shall accept comments or objections concerning each application and investigate each of them as appropriate. BEAM shall consider all comments and objections received and the investigative findings in determining whether an applicant is eligible for a final determination and award. |
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| 136 | 136 | | |
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| 137 | 137 | | ( * * *4b) BEAM shall not make a final determination and award for broadband deployment to an applicant if verifiable information is made available that shows the proposed project includes an area where broadband services currently are deployed by a provider other than the applicant, or where construction of a network to deploy broadband service is underway by a provider other than the applicant, and the construction is scheduled to be completed within one (1) year after the date of the application. |
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| 138 | 138 | | |
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| 139 | 139 | | (5) * * * An applicant's or challenging party's trade secrets, financial information and proprietary information submitted under this chapter as part of an application or challenge are exempt from disclosure under the Mississippi Public Records Act, Section 25‑61‑1 et seq. At the conclusion of any investigation required by comments or objections filed as to BEAM's preliminary determination, or within sixty (60) days of publishing the preliminary determinations if no such comments or objections are received, BEAM will publish its final determinations on its website. Any legal challenge to these final determinations must be brought in the Chancery Court of Hinds County within thirty (30) days of the publication of the final determinations, and any person or entity pursuing such legal challenge must have previously submitted a comment or objection to the preliminary determination preceding the final determination or responded to such comment or objection. |
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| 140 | 140 | | |
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| 141 | 141 | | (6) All information provided by an applicant or challenging party pursuant to this chapter shall be presumed to be confidential, proprietary and shall be exempt from disclosure under state and federal law, including the Mississippi Public Records Act, except in the form of a map where information that could be used to determine provider-specific information about the network of the broadband service providers is not disclosed. Beyond the aforementioned map, other information submitted by an applicant or challenging party shall not be released to any person without written permission of the submitting applicant or challenger. Provided, however, BEAM may disclose to an applicant certain information submitted by a challenger to a preliminary determination issued in favor of said applicant where BEAM determines that the applicant needs such information to respond to the challenge presented. Nothing in this subsection should be construed to exempt governmental entities from any transparency or sunshine laws applicable to said entities. |
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| 142 | 142 | | |
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| 143 | 143 | | ( * * *67) Any contractor deploying broadband infrastructure for a project that has been awarded grant monies by BEAM is encouraged to use Mississippi employment to the fullest extent possible. |
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| 144 | 144 | | |
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| 145 | 145 | | SECTION 8. Section 77-19-17, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows: |
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| 146 | 146 | | |
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| 147 | 147 | | 77-19-17. (1) Before the distribution of any grant monies from the BEAM Fund, BEAM shall notify the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Legislative Budget Office of the planned distribution. |
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| 148 | 148 | | |
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| 149 | 149 | | (2) BEAM may employ the services of such persons as the Director of BEAM considers necessary for the purposes of consultation or investigation and fix the salaries of or contract for the services of such legal, professional, technical and operational personnel and consultants, subject to applicable provisions of the State Personnel Board. Additional legal assistance may be retained in accordance with this subsection (2) only with the approval of the Attorney General. |
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| 150 | 150 | | |
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| 151 | 151 | | (3) BEAM shall provide to the Legislature an annual detailed report on the status and details of all projects considered and approved under this chapter no later than December 15 of each year. |
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| 152 | 152 | | |
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| 153 | 153 | | SECTION 9. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage. |
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