Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2423 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1		86R25162 JXC-D
2	2		By: Anderson, King of Uvalde, Nevárez, Price, H.B. No. 2423
3	3		Cyrier
	4	+	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2423:
	5	+	By: Phelan C.S.H.B. No. 2423
4	6
5	7
6	8		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
7	9		AN ACT
8	10		relating to the creation of the broadband office within the Public
9	11		Utility Commission of Texas and the establishment of a broadband
10	12		service investment grant program.
11	13		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	14		SECTION 1. Subtitle A, Title 2, Utilities Code, is amended
13	15		by adding Chapter 18 to read as follows:
14	16		CHAPTER 18. BROADBAND OFFICE
15	17		Sec. 18.0101. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
16	18		(1) "Account" means the broadband investment account.
17	19		(2) "Broadband service" means Internet service with
18	20		the capability of providing:
19	21		(A) a download speed of 25 megabits per second or
20	22		faster; and
21	23		(B) an upload speed of three megabits per second
22	24		or faster.
23	25		(3) "Grant program" means the program established by
24	26		the broadband office under Section 18.0105.
25	27		(4) "Rural community" means a municipality with a
26	28		population of less than 50,000 or a county with a population of less
27	29		than 200,000.
28	30		(5) "Unserved area" means a census block that is not
29	31		served by wireline or fixed wireless broadband service, according
30	32		to publicly available maps and data sets.
31	33		Sec. 18.0102. APPLICABILITY. This chapter applies only to
32	34		broadband service provided by a private sector provider.
33	35		Sec. 18.0103. OFFICE. (a) The broadband office is an
34	36		office within the commission.
35	37		(b) The commission may employ additional employees
36	38		necessary for the discharge of the duties of the broadband office.
37	39		Sec. 18.0104. POWERS AND DUTIES. (a) The broadband office
38	40		shall:
39	41		(1) facilitate and coordinate the efforts of state
40	42		agencies, hospitals, schools, and local units of government,
41	43		including regional planning commissions, in connection with
42	44		broadband service projects;
43	45		(2) develop proposals for broadband service
44	46		investment and deployment strategies for unserved areas in rural
45	47		communities and other areas of this state;
46	48		(3) promote and coordinate public sector and private
47	49		sector broadband service solutions in support of statewide
48	50		broadband service development goals;
49	51		(4) assist and promote local and regional broadband
50	52		service planning;
51	53		(5) pursue and obtain federal sources of broadband
52	54		service funding;
53	55		(6) develop a framework to measure broadband service
54	56		access in this state and designate unserved areas of this state;
55	57		(7) develop statewide goals for broadband service
56	58		deployment in unserved areas in rural communities and other
57	59		unserved areas designated under Subdivision (6);
58	60		(8) manage and award funds allocated to the broadband
59	61		office for broadband service projects; and
60	62		(9) serve as an information clearinghouse in relation
61	63		to federal programs providing assistance to local entities with
62	64		respect to broadband service.
63	65		(b) This chapter does not:
64	66		(1) grant the commission authority to regulate
65	67		broadband services or broadband service providers or, except as
66	68		required of a grant applicant or recipient under Section 18.0105,
67	69		to require broadband service providers to submit information to the
68	70		commission; or
69	71		(2) require or authorize the commission to require a
70	72		broadband service provider or telecommunications provider to
71	73		participate in any broadband service planning, activities, or
72	74		initiatives conducted by the broadband office or the commission.
73	75		Sec. 18.0105. BROADBAND GRANT PROGRAM. (a) The broadband
74	76		office shall establish a grant program to provide grants to
75	77		applicants for the expansion of access to broadband service in
76	78		areas that are unserved in relation to broadband services. The
77	79		broadband office may provide a grant under this section only for a
78	80		project to provide broadband service in an unserved area.
79	81		(b) The broadband office shall establish and publish
80	82		eligibility criteria for grant recipients. The criteria must
81	83		require that a grant applicant may be only:
82	84		(1) an organization operated for profit or not for
83	85		profit, including a cooperative;
84	86		(2) a telecommunications provider; or
85	87		(3) a facilities-based broadband service provider,
86	88		including a wireless provider.
87	89		(c) A grant application must include:
88	90		(1) a description of the type of broadband service
89	91		infrastructure to be deployed;
90	92		(2) a description of the proposed project territory
91	93		and the number of homes, farms, schools, public facilities,
92	94		hospitals, and businesses that would be served by the project;
93	95		(3) evidence that the proposed project territory
94	96		includes only unserved areas;
95	97		(4) evidence that the applicant provided the notice
96	98		required by Subsection (d);
97	99		(5) the total cost of the proposed project and an
98	100		estimated time frame for completion; and
99	101		(6) any sources of money that would supplement the
100	102		grant for that project, such as a federal grant.
101	103		(d) Before submitting a grant application, an entity must
102	104		provide notice of the entity's intent to submit an application to:
103	105		(1) all political subdivisions and hospitals that
104	106		provide services in or adjacent to the proposed project territory;
105	107		and
106	108		(2) any broadband service providers that provide
107	109		broadband service adjacent to the proposed project territory.
108	110		(e) The broadband office may not:
109	111		(1) deny an application solely because the deployment
110	112		project has additional sources of funding or other grants that can
111	113		be used for the project;
112	114		(2) favor a particular technology in awarding grants;
113	115		or
114	116		(3) except as otherwise provided by this section,
115	117		evaluate applications based on information about the applicant that
116	118		is not included in the application.
117	119		(f) The broadband office shall:
118	120		(1) divide the state into at least five regions;
119	121		(2) award grants as equitably across regions as
120	122		possible; and
121	123		(3) prioritize applications for projects for unserved
122	124		areas in counties with a population of less than 10,000 when
123	125		practical.
124	126		(g) The broadband office shall award grants on a competitive
125	127		basis and only after considering the following:
126	128		(1) the relative need for broadband service
127	129		infrastructure and existing Internet service speeds in the proposed
128	130		project territory;
129	131		(2) the percentage of the homes, farms, schools,
130	132		public facilities, hospitals, and businesses in the proposed
131	133		project territory that will be provided access to broadband service
132	134		by the project;
133	135		(3) the geographic diversity of the proposed projects
134	136		of all applicants under consideration;
135	137		(4) the potential economic effects of granting an
136	138		application for the territory of a proposed project;
137	139		(5) the applicant's total proposed budget for the
138	140		proposed project, including the amount or percentage of matching
139	141		money, if any;
140	142		(6) local support for the proposed project, including
141	143		any documentation or evidence that the applicant has coordinated
142	144		with the local community to be served or notified the local
143	145		community to be served of the applicant's proposed project;
144	146		(7) the ability of the proposed broadband service
145	147		provider to maintain broadband service quality while increasing
146	148		parameters relating to the size of the provider's network, such as
147	149		the number of users, the number of network nodes, the number of
148	150		services provided, or the network's geographic spread;
149	151		(8) whether the proposed project will delay the
150	152		provision of broadband service to any neighboring areas; and
151	153		(9) any other factors the broadband office determines
152	154		are relevant to the proposed project.
153	155		(h) The broadband office is not required to approve any
154	156		grant applications.
155	157		(i) The broadband office shall:
156	158		(1) post on the commission's Internet website
157	159		information about the application process and the receipt of
158	160		funding and shall update that information as necessary; and
159	161		(2) make each application available on the
160	162		commission's Internet website for a period of at least 30 days
161	163		before the office makes a decision on the application.
162	164		(j) During the 30-day posting period described by
163	165		Subsection (i) for an application, the broadband office shall
164	166		accept from any interested party a written protest of the
165	167		application relating to whether the applicant or project is
166	168		eligible for a grant or should not receive a grant based on the
167	169		criteria prescribed by the office. The broadband office:
168	170		(1) shall provide a copy of the protest to the
169	171		applicant;
170	172		(2) may request additional information from the
171	173		applicant relating to the protest;
172	174		(3) shall, if the office intends to deny any part of
173	175		the application based on a protest regarding the proposed project
174	176		territory or budget:
175	177		(A) notify the applicant; and
176	178		(B) allow the applicant not more than seven days
177	179		to amend the territory or budget in response to the protest; and
178	180		(4) shall, if the office intends to grant the
179	181		application, issue a written notice of that intent to the protestor
180	182		not later than the 15th day before the date the office grants the
181	183		application.
182	184		(k) A single grant:
183	185		(1) may not exceed $250,000; and
184	186		(2) may fund not more than 30 percent of the total cost
185	187		of the proposed project.
186	188		(l) The broadband office may require an applicant to
187	189		consolidate multiple projects in a single census block into one
188	190		grant application.
189	191		(m) The broadband office may provide a grant in conditional
190	192		installments to ensure that a grant recipient complies with any
191	193		grant program requirements.
192	194		(n) The commission by rule shall adopt minimum service
193	195		standards for broadband service provided by a grant recipient in
194	196		the project territory. The commission shall consider standards used
195	197		by the Federal Communications Commission for recipients of money
196	198		from the Connect America Fund. The standards must require that
197	199		during the three-year period following the completion of a project,
198	200		the grant recipient:
199	201		(1) must provide broadband service in the project
200	202		territory at rates reasonably comparable to rates for comparable
201	203		services in urban areas; and
202	204		(2) may not establish a cap on data usage in the
203	205		project territory.
204	206		(o) Before awarding a grant under this section, the
205	207		broadband office shall enter into a written agreement with the
206	208		entity to be awarded the grant money specifying that:
207	209		(1) if the commission finds that the grant recipient
208	210		has not complied with minimum service standards adopted under
209	211		Subsection (n) or any other applicable rules or standards of the
210	212		commission adopted under this section:
211	213		(A) the recipient shall repay the grant or a
212	214		prorated portion of the grant to the state at an agreed rate and on
213	215		agreed terms; and
214	216		(B) the broadband office will not distribute to
215	217		the recipient any grant money that remains to be distributed to the
216	218		recipient; and
217	219		(2) if, as of a date provided in the agreement, the
218	220		grant recipient has not used grant money awarded under this section
219	221		for the purposes for which the grant was intended, the recipient
220	222		shall repay that amount to the state at an agreed rate and on agreed
221	223		terms.
222	224		(p) A grant recipient shall:
223	225		(1) notify the broadband office when the project is
224	226		complete; and
225	227		(2) provide annual reports to the broadband office
226	228		during the three-year period following the completion of the
227	229		project on the recipient's compliance with the requirements of this
228	230		section.
229	231		(q) The broadband office may request information from a
230	232		grant recipient to verify the completion of a project and shall make
231	233		reports submitted under Subsection (p) publicly available.
232	234		(r) The broadband office shall provide a report to the
233	235		legislature not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year
234	236		that includes:
235	237		(1) the amount of money granted under this section
236	238		during the reporting period;
237	239		(2) any amount of money approved under this section
238	240		during the reporting period but not yet disbursed;
239	241		(3) for each grant awarded during the reporting
240	242		period, the name of the grantee and the location and a description
241	243		of the project;
242	244		(4) a progress report on ongoing projects; and
243	245		(5) a report on all projects completed during the
244	246		reporting period.
245	247		Sec. 18.0106. BROADBAND INVESTMENT ACCOUNT. (a) The
246	248		broadband investment account is an account in the general revenue
247	249		fund.
248	250		(b) The account consists of:
249	251		(1) appropriations of money to the account by the
250	252		legislature;
251	253		(2) gifts, grants, including federal grants, and other
252	254		donations received under Section 18.0107; and
253	255		(3) interest earned on the investment of money in the
254	256		account.
255	257		(c) Money in the account may be appropriated only to the
256	258		broadband office for purposes of the grant program.
257	259		(d) The account is exempt from the application of Section
258	260		404.071, Government Code.
259	261		Sec. 18.0107. GIFTS, GRANTS, AND DONATIONS. The broadband
260	262		office may accept gifts, grants, and donations from any source that
261	263		are made for the purposes of the grant program. The broadband
262	264		office shall deposit to the credit of the account money received
263	265		under this section.
264	266		Sec. 18.0108. RULEMAKING. The commission by rule shall
265	267		implement and administer the grant program.
266	268		SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.