Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB154 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	87R3101 CXP-D
2	2	By: Perry S.B. No. 154
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the creation of the broadband office within the Public
8	8	Utility Commission of Texas and the establishment of a broadband
9	9	service investment grant program.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Subtitle A, Title 2, Utilities Code, is amended
12	12	by adding Chapter 18 to read as follows:
13	13	CHAPTER 18. BROADBAND OFFICE
14	14	Sec. 18.0101. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
15	15	(1) "Account" means the broadband investment account.
16	16	(2) "Broadband service" means Internet service with
17	17	the capability of providing:
18	18	(A) a download speed of 25 megabits per second or
19	19	faster; and
20	20	(B) an upload speed of three megabits per second
21	21	or faster.
22	22	(3) "Grant program" means the program established by
23	23	the broadband office under Section 18.0105.
24	24	(4) "Rural community" means a municipality with a
25	25	population of less than 50,000 or a county with a population of less
26	26	than 200,000.
27	27	(5) "Unserved area" means a census block that is not
28	28	served by wireline or fixed wireless broadband service, according
29	29	to publicly available maps and data sets.
30	30	Sec. 18.0102. APPLICABILITY. This chapter applies only to
31	31	broadband service provided by a private sector provider.
32	32	Sec. 18.0103. OFFICE. (a) The broadband office is an
33	33	office within the commission.
34	34	(b) The commission may employ additional employees
35	35	necessary for the discharge of the duties of the broadband office.
36	36	Sec. 18.0104. POWERS AND DUTIES. (a) The broadband office
37	37	shall:
38	38	(1) facilitate and coordinate the efforts of state
39	39	agencies, hospitals, schools, and local units of government,
40	40	including regional planning commissions, in connection with
41	41	broadband service projects;
42	42	(2) develop proposals for broadband service
43	43	investment and deployment strategies for unserved areas in rural
44	44	communities and other areas of this state;
45	45	(3) promote and coordinate public sector and private
46	46	sector broadband service solutions in support of statewide
47	47	broadband service development goals;
48	48	(4) assist and promote local and regional broadband
49	49	service planning;
50	50	(5) pursue and obtain federal sources of broadband
51	51	service funding;
52	52	(6) develop a framework to measure broadband service
53	53	access in this state and designate unserved areas of this state;
54	54	(7) develop statewide goals for broadband service
55	55	deployment in unserved areas in rural communities and other
56	56	unserved areas designated under Subdivision (6);
57	57	(8) manage and award funds allocated to the broadband
58	58	office for broadband service projects; and
59	59	(9) serve as an information clearinghouse in relation
60	60	to federal programs providing assistance to local entities with
61	61	respect to broadband service.
62	62	(b) This chapter does not:
63	63	(1) grant the commission authority to regulate
64	64	broadband services or broadband service providers or, except as
65	65	required of a grant applicant or recipient under Section 18.0105,
66	66	to require broadband service providers to submit information to the
67	67	commission; or
68	68	(2) require or authorize the commission to require a
69	69	broadband service provider or telecommunications provider to
70	70	participate in any broadband service planning, activities, or
71	71	initiatives conducted by the broadband office or the commission.
72	72	Sec. 18.0105. BROADBAND GRANT PROGRAM. (a) The broadband
73	73	office shall establish a grant program to provide grants to
74	74	applicants for the expansion of access to broadband service in
75	75	areas that are unserved in relation to broadband services. The
76	76	broadband office may provide a grant under this section only for a
77	77	project to provide broadband service in an unserved area.
78	78	(b) The broadband office shall establish and publish
79	79	eligibility criteria for grant recipients. The criteria must
80	80	require that a grant applicant may be only:
81	81	(1) an organization operated for profit or not for
82	82	profit, including a cooperative;
83	83	(2) a telecommunications provider; or
84	84	(3) a facilities-based broadband service provider,
85	85	including a wireless provider.
86	86	(c) A grant application must include:
87	87	(1) a description of the type of broadband service
88	88	infrastructure to be deployed;
89	89	(2) a description of the proposed project territory
90	90	and the number of homes, farms, schools, public facilities,
91	91	hospitals, and businesses that would be served by the project;
92	92	(3) evidence that the proposed project territory
93	93	includes only unserved areas;
94	94	(4) evidence that the applicant provided the notice
95	95	required by Subsection (d);
96	96	(5) the total cost of the proposed project and an
97	97	estimated time frame for completion; and
98	98	(6) any sources of money that would supplement the
99	99	grant for that project, such as a federal grant.
100	100	(d) Before submitting a grant application, an entity must
101	101	provide notice of the entity's intent to submit an application to:
102	102	(1) all political subdivisions and hospitals that
103	103	provide services in or adjacent to the proposed project territory;
104	104	and
105	105	(2) any broadband service providers that provide
106	106	broadband service adjacent to the proposed project territory.
107	107	(e) The broadband office may not:
108	108	(1) deny an application solely because the deployment
109	109	project has additional sources of funding or other grants that can
110	110	be used for the project;
111	111	(2) favor a particular technology in awarding grants;
112	112	or
113	113	(3) except as otherwise provided by this section,
114	114	evaluate applications based on information about the applicant that
115	115	is not included in the application.
116	116	(f) The broadband office shall:
117	117	(1) divide the state into at least five regions;
118	118	(2) award grants as equitably across regions as
119	119	possible; and
120	120	(3) prioritize applications for projects for unserved
121	121	areas in counties with a population of less than 10,000 when
122	122	practical.
123	123	(g) The broadband office shall award grants on a competitive
124	124	basis and only after considering the following:
125	125	(1) the relative need for broadband service
126	126	infrastructure and existing Internet service speeds in the proposed
127	127	project territory;
128	128	(2) the percentage of the homes, farms, schools,
129	129	public facilities, hospitals, and businesses in the proposed
130	130	project territory that will be provided access to broadband service
131	131	by the project;
132	132	(3) the geographic diversity of the proposed projects
133	133	of all applicants under consideration;
134	134	(4) the potential economic effects of granting an
135	135	application for the territory of a proposed project;
136	136	(5) the applicant's total proposed budget for the
137	137	proposed project, including the amount or percentage of matching
138	138	money, if any;
139	139	(6) local support for the proposed project, including
140	140	any documentation or evidence that the applicant has coordinated
141	141	with the local community to be served or notified the local
142	142	community to be served of the applicant's proposed project;
143	143	(7) the ability of the proposed broadband service
144	144	provider to maintain broadband service quality while increasing
145	145	parameters relating to the size of the provider's network, such as
146	146	the number of users, the number of network nodes, the number of
147	147	services provided, or the network's geographic spread;
148	148	(8) whether the proposed project will delay the
149	149	provision of broadband service to any neighboring areas; and
150	150	(9) any other factors the broadband office determines
151	151	are relevant to the proposed project.
152	152	(h) The broadband office is not required to approve any
153	153	grant applications.
154	154	(i) The broadband office shall:
155	155	(1) post on the commission's Internet website
156	156	information about the application process and the receipt of
157	157	funding and shall update that information as necessary; and
158	158	(2) make each application available on the
159	159	commission's Internet website for a period of at least 30 days
160	160	before the office makes a decision on the application.
161	161	(j) During the 30-day posting period described by
162	162	Subsection (i) for an application, the broadband office shall
163	163	accept from any interested party a written protest of the
164	164	application relating to whether the applicant or project is
165	165	eligible for a grant or should not receive a grant based on the
166	166	criteria prescribed by the office. The broadband office:
167	167	(1) shall provide a copy of the protest to the
168	168	applicant;
169	169	(2) may request additional information from the
170	170	applicant relating to the protest;
171	171	(3) shall, if the office intends to deny any part of
172	172	the application based on a protest regarding the proposed project
173	173	territory or budget:
174	174	(A) notify the applicant; and
175	175	(B) allow the applicant not more than seven days
176	176	to amend the territory or budget in response to the protest; and
177	177	(4) shall, if the office intends to grant the
178	178	application, issue a written notice of that intent to the protestor
179	179	not later than the 15th day before the date the office grants the
180	180	application.
181	181	(k) A single grant:
182	182	(1) may not exceed $250,000; and
183	183	(2) may fund not more than 30 percent of the total cost
184	184	of the proposed project.
185	185	(l) The broadband office may require an applicant to
186	186	consolidate multiple projects in a single census block into one
187	187	grant application.
188	188	(m) The broadband office may provide a grant in conditional
189	189	installments to ensure that a grant recipient complies with any
190	190	grant program requirements.
191	191	(n) The commission by rule shall adopt minimum service
192	192	standards for broadband service provided by a grant recipient in
193	193	the project territory. The commission shall consider standards used
194	194	by the Federal Communications Commission for recipients of money
195	195	from the Connect America Fund. The standards must require that
196	196	during the three-year period following the completion of a project,
197	197	the grant recipient:
198	198	(1) must provide broadband service in the project
199	199	territory at rates reasonably comparable to rates for comparable
200	200	services in urban areas; and
201	201	(2) may not establish a cap on data usage in the
202	202	project territory.
203	203	(o) Before awarding a grant under this section, the
204	204	broadband office shall enter into a written agreement with the
205	205	entity to be awarded the grant money specifying that:
206	206	(1) if the commission finds that the grant recipient
207	207	has not complied with minimum service standards adopted under
208	208	Subsection (n) or any other applicable rules or standards of the
209	209	commission adopted under this section:
210	210	(A) the recipient shall repay the grant or a
211	211	prorated portion of the grant to the state at an agreed rate and on
212	212	agreed terms; and
213	213	(B) the broadband office will not distribute to
214	214	the recipient any grant money that remains to be distributed to the
215	215	recipient; and
216	216	(2) if, as of a date provided in the agreement, the
217	217	grant recipient has not used grant money awarded under this section
218	218	for the purposes for which the grant was intended, the recipient
219	219	shall repay that amount to the state at an agreed rate and on agreed
220	220	terms.
221	221	(p) A grant recipient shall:
222	222	(1) notify the broadband office when the project is
223	223	complete; and
224	224	(2) provide annual reports to the broadband office
225	225	during the three-year period following the completion of the
226	226	project on the recipient's compliance with the requirements of this
227	227	section.
228	228	(q) The broadband office may request information from a
229	229	grant recipient to verify the completion of a project and shall make
230	230	reports submitted under Subsection (p) publicly available.
231	231	(r) The broadband office shall provide a report to the
232	232	legislature not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year
233	233	that includes:
234	234	(1) the amount of money granted under this section
235	235	during the reporting period;
236	236	(2) any amount of money approved under this section
237	237	during the reporting period but not yet disbursed;
238	238	(3) for each grant awarded during the reporting
239	239	period, the name of the grantee and the location and a description
240	240	of the project;
241	241	(4) a progress report on ongoing projects; and
242	242	(5) a report on all projects completed during the
243	243	reporting period.
244	244	Sec. 18.0106. BROADBAND INVESTMENT ACCOUNT. (a) The
245	245	broadband investment account is an account in the general revenue
246	246	fund.
247	247	(b) The account consists of:
248	248	(1) appropriations of money to the account by the
249	249	legislature;
250	250	(2) gifts, grants, including federal grants, and other
251	251	donations received under Section 18.0107; and
252	252	(3) interest earned on the investment of money in the
253	253	account.
254	254	(c) Money in the account may be appropriated only to the
255	255	broadband office for purposes of the grant program.
256	256	(d) The account is exempt from the application of Section
257	257	404.071, Government Code.
258	258	Sec. 18.0107. GIFTS, GRANTS, AND DONATIONS. The broadband
259	259	office may accept gifts, grants, and donations from any source that
260	260	are made for the purposes of the grant program. The broadband
261	261	office shall deposit to the credit of the account money received
262	262	under this section.
263	263	Sec. 18.0108. RULEMAKING. The commission by rule shall
264	264	implement and administer the grant program.
265	265	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.