HGEIC/HB 262/a
Page 1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
AN ACT
RELATING TO BROADBAND; AMENDING SECTIONS OF THE CONNECT NEW
MEXICO ACT; TRANSFERRING IMPLEMENTATION OF THE GRANT PROGRAM
FROM THE CONNECT NEW MEXICO COUNCIL TO THE OFFICE OF
BROADBAND ACCESS AND EXPANSION; MAKING TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS;
PROVIDING DEFINITIONS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. Section 63-9K-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2021,
Chapter 120, Section 2) is amended to read:
"63-9K-2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Connect New
Mexico Act:
A. "2020 broadband plan" means the State of New
Mexico Broadband Strategic Plan and Rural Broadband
Assessment published by the department of information
technology in June 2020;
B. "broadband infrastructure" means any facilities
and equipment used to provide internet service, excluding
telecommunications equipment owned, controlled or operated by
a public or private end-user;
C. "broadband office" means the office of
broadband access and expansion;
D. "council" means the connect New Mexico council;
E. "department" means the department of
information technology; HGEIC/HB 262/a
Page 2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
F. "digital equity" means information technology
needed for civic and cultural participation, employment,
education, business and economic development, lifelong
learning and access to essential services generally available
to residents regardless of their racial grouping,
socioeconomic status or cultural identity;
G. "digital inclusion" means access to and the
ability to use information technologies;
H. "end-user" means an individual, business,
institution or governmental entity that subscribes to an
internet service and does not resell that service to other
individuals or entities;
I. "federal assistance funding" means federal
grant and loan programs that provide full or matching funding
for the development or maintenance of broadband
infrastructure, training in the use or administration of
internet-based services or the purchase of computers or other
devices that access the internet;
J. "internet" means a global set of computing and
electronic devices interconnected through networking
infrastructures to provide data and information sharing and
communication facilities;
K. "local government" means the government of a
municipality, county or political subdivision of the state or
an entity operating pursuant to a joint powers agreement HGEIC/HB 262/a
Page 3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
pursuant to the Planning District Act or the Regional
Planning Act;
L. "public educational institution" means a public
school that receives state funding for its operations, a
school district, a public post-secondary educational
institution or a state agency that provides administrative
services, funding or technical support to public schools,
school districts and public post-secondary educational
institutions;
M. "quality of service" means the standards for
broadband service established by the broadband office that
meet or exceed the baseline standards established by the
federal communications commission;
N. "statewide broadband plan" means a plan
developed by the broadband office that may be an updated
revision of the 2020 broadband plan; provided that, upon
Senate Bill 93 of the first session of the fifty-fifth
legislature becoming law, "statewide broadband plan" means
the statewide broadband plan developed pursuant to that law;
O. "tribal government" means the government of a
federally or state-recognized Indian nation, pueblo or tribe;
P. "underserved" means an area or property that
does not have access to internet service offering speeds
greater than one hundred megabits downstream and twenty
megabits upstream; and HGEIC/HB 262/a
Page 4
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Q. "unserved" means an area or property that
either does not have access to internet service at all or
only has access to internet service offering speeds below
twenty-five megabits per second downstream or three megabits
per second upstream."
SECTION 2. Section 63-9K-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2021,
Chapter 120, Section 3) is amended to read:
"63-9K-3. COUNCIL CREATED--POWERS.--
A. The "connect New Mexico council" is created and
administratively attached to the department.
B. The council is composed of the following
fifteen members:
(1) the secretary of transportation or the
secretary's designee;
(2) the secretary of economic development or
the secretary's designee;
(3) the secretary of cultural affairs or the
secretary's designee;
(4) the secretary of information technology
or the secretary's designee;
(5) the executive director of the New Mexico
mortgage finance authority or the executive director's
designee;
(6) the secretary of higher education or the
secretary's designee; HGEIC/HB 262/a
Page 5
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
(7) the director of the public school
facilities authority or the director's designee;
(8) five members of the public who have
experience with broadband access and connectivity challenges
for either private business or public institutions, appointed
as follows:
(a) one member appointed by the speaker
of the house of representatives;
(b) one member appointed by the
minority floor leader of the house of representatives;
(c) one member appointed by the
president pro tempore of the senate;
(d) one member appointed by the
minority floor leader of the senate; and
(e) one member appointed by the
governor; and
(9) three members appointed by the secretary
of Indian affairs: one representative of the Navajo Nation,
one representative of Apache tribal governments and one
representative of Indian pueblo tribal governments, who are
experienced with broadband access and connectivity issues.
C. The chair of the council shall be elected by a
quorum of the council members. The council shall meet
monthly or at the call of the chair. A majority of members
constitutes a quorum for the transaction of business. The HGEIC/HB 262/a
Page 6
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
affirmative vote of at least a majority of a quorum present
shall be necessary for an action to be taken by the council.
D. Each member of the council appointed pursuant
to Paragraph (8) or (9) of Subsection B of this section shall
be appointed to a four-year term; provided that to provide
for staggered terms:
(1) two of the members initially appointed
pursuant to Paragraph (8) of Subsection B of this section
shall be appointed for a term of two years by lot; and
(2) one member initially appointed pursuant
to Paragraph (9) of Subsection B of this section shall be
initially appointed for a term of two years by lot.
E. Public members of the council shall be
reimbursed for attending meetings of the council as provided
for nonsalaried public officers in the Per Diem and Mileage
Act and shall receive no other compensation, perquisite or
allowance.
F. Public members of the council are appointed
public officials of the state while carrying out their duties
and activities under the Connect New Mexico Act.
G. Council members shall be governed by the
Governmental Conduct Act.
H. The council shall be staffed by the
department."
SECTION 3. Section 63-9K-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2021, HGEIC/HB 262/a
Page 7
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Chapter 120, Section 4) is amended to read:
"63-9K-4. COUNCIL--DUTIES.--The council shall:
A. advise and make recommendations to the
broadband office regarding the coordination of broadband
programs and broadband projects in accordance with the
statewide broadband plan;
B. advise the broadband office concerning the
development of a grant program and make recommendations for
grant awards from the connect New Mexico fund; and
C. adopt rules regarding the administration of
grants from the connect New Mexico fund. The rules shall
include the application procedure, the required
qualifications for projects and the purposes for which the
grants may be used."
SECTION 4. Section 63-9K-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2021,
Chapter 120, Section 5) is amended to read:
"63-9K-5. BROADBAND KNOWLEDGE AND DIGITAL EQUITY
ANALYSIS AND PLAN--REPORT--INCLUSION IN STATEWIDE BROADBAND
PLAN.--
A. The council shall consult local and tribal
governments, public educational institutions and state
agencies to develop a digital equity analysis and plan to
address:
(1) the challenges to digital inclusion that
are posed by the lack of affordable quality service, HGEIC/HB 262/a
Page 8
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
broadband-enabled devices or the knowledge of how to use the
devices effectively in different age, cultural or geographic
populations across the state;
(2) the federal and private sector programs
that could be applied to by state agencies or local or tribal
governments to address the challenges identified in Paragraph
(1) of this subsection; and
(3) existing state programs or state
programs that could be established that address or could
leverage federal and private sector programs to address the
challenges identified in Paragraph (1) of this subsection.
B. On or before August 1, 2023, the council shall
report on the digital equity analysis and plan to the
broadband office and appropriate interim legislative
committees.
C. On or before January 1, 2024, the broadband
office shall incorporate the digital equity analysis and plan
and its recommendations into the statewide broadband plan.
D. The broadband office shall cooperate with and
provide relevant broadband-related information it collects or
develops with the council."
SECTION 5. Section 63-9K-6 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2021,
Chapter 120, Section 6) is amended to read:
"63-9K-6. CONNECT NEW MEXICO FUND CREATED.--
A. The "connect New Mexico fund" is created in the HGEIC/HB 262/a
Page 9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
state treasury. The fund consists of appropriations, gifts,
grants and donations. Money in the fund is subject to
appropriation by the legislature to the council for the
purpose of administering the broadband grant program.
Disbursements from the fund shall be made upon warrants drawn
by the secretary of finance and administration pursuant to
vouchers signed by the chair of the council. Any unexpended
or unencumbered balance in the fund remaining at the end of
any fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund.
B. The broadband office shall implement a grant
program to develop and expand broadband infrastructure and
services and support digital inclusion; provided that the
broadband office shall each year seek to award grants for
proposals submitted by the following entities throughout the
state:
(1) local governments;
(2) state agencies;
(3) public educational institutions;
(4) tribal governments;
(5) entities created by a joint powers
agreement pursuant to the Joint Powers Agreements Act; and
(6) private entities for broadband
infrastructure to provide service primarily for residential
purposes.
C. When approving grants from the connect New HGEIC/HB 262/a
Page 10
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Mexico fund, the broadband office shall give consideration
to:
(1) the extent to which the project connects
unserved and underserved populations of New Mexico, with
priority given to projects that will connect unserved
populations;
(2) the extent to which the project meets or
exceeds the baseline standards established by the federal
communications commission;
(3) the extent to which the project
leverages existing infrastructure;
(4) the extent to which the project
complements or coordinates with the statewide broadband plan;
(5) the extent to which the project
leverages regional collaboration;
(6) the degree to which the project fosters
digital inclusion;
(7) the extent to which the project
stimulates in-state economic development, including the
creation of jobs and apprenticeships;
(8) the extent to which the project
leverages in-kind or financial support from local agencies or
entities, federal assistance funding or federal Coronavirus
Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, federal Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2021 or federal American Rescue Plan Act HGEIC/HB 262/a
Page 11
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
of 2021 funding; and
(9) for a grant award to a private entity,
the extent to which the grantee contributes matching funds or
in-kind support for the project, the number of existing
residences to which internet services would be made available
as a percentage of the total number of existing locations to
which internet services would be made available by the
project and the extent to which the project fosters digital
equity."
SECTION 6. Section 63-9K-7 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2021,
Chapter 120, Section 7) is amended to read:
"63-9K-7. DATA COLLECTION--ANNUAL REPORT.--
A. By October 1 of each year, the broadband
office, in coordination with the council, shall provide to
the appropriate legislative interim committees a report on
the access to and quality of service of broadband across the
state. Information shall be provided on a county-by-county
basis.
B. The report shall contain the following
information:
(1) progress achieved toward digital equity
and digital inclusion as identified in the digital equity
analysis and plan;
(2) progress achieved on implementation of
the statewide broadband plan; HGEIC/HB 262/a
Page 12
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
(3) identified obstacles to an integrated
system of permits, licenses and rules for broadband
infrastructure across the state, including an expedited
review process for rights of way use applications;
(4) recommended statutory, regulatory or
policy changes and budget recommendations for the development
and expansion of broadband infrastructure and digital equity
and digital inclusion; and
(5) information on the broadband grant
program, including:
(a) a list of grant recipients;
(b) the amount and date of each grant;
(c) a description of each project
funded; and
(d) a description of how each project
contributes to the statewide broadband plan and demonstrates
increased access and quality of service for the unserved and
underserved populations of New Mexico."