Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2838 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R9734 CS/RDS-D
2	2	By: Ashby H.B. No. 2838
3	3
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5	5
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to increasing access to and reducing taxation of Internet
10	10	services.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Section 403.553(o), Government Code, is amended
13	13	to read as follows:
14	14	(o) Not later than November 1 of each year [the 60th day
15	15	after the date the pole replacement fund receives money for the pole
16	16	replacement program], the comptroller shall [maintain and] publish
17	17	on the comptroller's Internet website:
18	18	(1) statistics on the number of applications received,
19	19	processed, and rejected by the program in the preceding state
20	20	fiscal year;
21	21	(2) statistics on the size, number, and status of
22	22	reimbursements awarded by the program in the preceding state fiscal
23	23	year, including the retail broadband service providers and pole
24	24	owners receiving reimbursements; and
25	25	(3) the estimated amount of money available for grants
26	26	from the program as of the last day of the preceding state fiscal
27	27	year [remaining in the pole replacement fund].
28	28	SECTION 2. Section 490I.0101(a), Government Code, is
29	29	amended to read as follows:
30	30	(a) For purposes of this chapter, subject to Subsection (b),
31	31	"broadband service" means Internet service with the capability of
32	32	providing a:
33	33	(1) speed of not less than 100 [25] megabits per second
34	34	for a download;
35	35	(2) speed of not less than 20 [three] megabits per
36	36	second for an upload; and
37	37	(3) network round-trip latency of less than or equal
38	38	to 100 milliseconds based on the 95th percentile of speed
39	39	measurements.
40	40	SECTION 3. Sections 490I.0105(a), (c), (f), and (q),
41	41	Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
42	42	(a) The broadband development office shall create, update
43	43	annually, and publish on the comptroller's Internet website a map
44	44	classifying each broadband serviceable location in this state as:
45	45	(1) an unserved location if the location:
46	46	(A) does not have access to reliable broadband
47	47	service capable of providing [the] speeds matching standards
48	48	adopted by the Federal Communications Commission if required by the
49	49	comptroller under Section 490I.0101(b), or if the comptroller has
50	50	not exercised the comptroller's authority under that subsection,
51	51	speeds described by Section 490I.0101(a); or
52	52	(B) is a public school or community anchor
53	53	institution and does not have access to reliable broadband service
54	54	capable of providing symmetrical upload and download speeds of at
55	55	least one gigabit per second with a network round-trip latency of
56	56	less than or equal to 100 milliseconds based on the 95th percentile
57	57	of speed measurements;
58	58	(2) an underserved location if the location is not an
59	59	unserved location but does not have access to reliable broadband
60	60	service with the capability of providing:
61	61	(A) a speed of not less than 250 [100] megabits
62	62	per second for a download;
63	63	(B) a speed of not less than 20 megabits per
64	64	second for an upload; and
65	65	(C) a network round-trip latency of less than or
66	66	equal to 100 milliseconds based on the 95th percentile of speed
67	67	measurements; or
68	68	(3) a served location if the location is neither an
69	69	unserved nor an underserved location.
70	70	(c) The [After creation of the initial map described in
71	71	Subsection (a), the] office may evaluate the usefulness of the
72	72	standards for unserved and underserved locations outlined in
73	73	Subsection (a) and, if appropriate, make a recommendation to the
74	74	legislature to revise the standards.
75	75	(f) The [Except as provided by Subsection (g), the] office
76	76	shall use the best available data, including information available
77	77	from the Federal Communications Commission, to create or update the
78	78	map.
79	79	(q) The office is not required to create, update, or publish
80	80	a map under this section if the office adopts a map produced by the
81	81	Federal Communications Commission [produces a map] that[:
82	82	[(1)] enables the office to identify unserved,
83	83	underserved, and served locations [eligible and ineligible areas,]
84	84	as described by Subsection (a)[; and
85	85	[(2) meets the requirements of Subsection (d)].
86	86	SECTION 4. Sections 490I.0106(a), (a-1), (a-2), (a-3), (b),
87	87	(d), and (f), Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
88	88	(a) The broadband development office shall establish a
89	89	program to award grants, low-interest loans, and other financial
90	90	incentives [to applicants] for the purpose of expanding access to
91	91	and adoption of broadband service.
92	92	(a-1) The office may award grants, low-interest loans, and
93	93	other financial incentives [to applicants] for eligible broadband
94	94	infrastructure projects designed to provide qualifying broadband
95	95	service to unserved and underserved locations. For the purposes of
96	96	this subsection, an eligible broadband infrastructure project
97	97	includes a project in which not less than 80 percent of the
98	98	broadband serviceable locations to be served by the project are
99	99	unserved and underserved locations.
100	100	(a-2) The office may award grants, low-interest loans, and
101	101	other financial incentives [to applicants] for middle-mile
102	102	broadband infrastructure projects.
103	103	(a-3) The office may award grants, low-interest loans, and
104	104	other financial incentives [to applicants] for projects not
105	105	involving the deployment of broadband infrastructure that expand
106	106	the accessibility, affordability, or adoption of broadband
107	107	service, including education, training, community outreach, remote
108	108	learning or telehealth facilities, equipment purchases, or any
109	109	other use permitted by the applicable funding source.
110	110	(b) The office shall establish eligibility and award
111	111	criteria for making awards under this chapter for each applicable
112	112	notice of funds availability. The comptroller by rule may
113	113	prescribe the manner in which the office shall provide notice [to
114	114	applicants] of the applicable criteria. In establishing
115	115	eligibility and award criteria, the office shall:
116	116	(1) take into consideration grants and other financial
117	117	incentives awarded by the federal government for the deployment of
118	118	broadband service;
119	119	(2) prioritize the applications [of applicants] that
120	120	will expand access to and adoption of broadband service in
121	121	designated areas in which the highest percentage of broadband
122	122	serviceable locations are unserved or underserved locations;
123	123	(3) prioritize the applications [of applicants] that
124	124	will expand access to broadband service in public and private
125	125	primary and secondary schools and institutions of higher education;
126	126	(4) give preference to an applicant that provided the
127	127	information requested by the office under Section [490I.0105 or]
128	128	490I.01061; and
129	129	(5) take into consideration whether an applicant has
130	130	forfeited federal funding for defaulting on a project to deploy
131	131	qualifying broadband service.
132	132	(d) The office may not:
133	133	(1) except as provided by Section 490I.01062, favor a
134	134	particular broadband technology in awarding grants, loans, or other
135	135	financial incentives;
136	136	(2) award a grant, loan, or other financial incentive
137	137	to a noncommercial provider of broadband service for a broadband
138	138	serviceable location if an eligible commercial provider of
139	139	broadband service has submitted an application for the same
140	140	location;
141	141	(3) take into consideration distributions from the
142	142	state universal service fund established under Section 56.021,
143	143	Utilities Code, when deciding to award grants, loans, or other
144	144	financial incentives; or
145	145	(4) except as provided by Section 490I.01061, award a
146	146	grant, loan, or other financial incentive for deployment of
147	147	last-mile broadband service for a location that is subject to an
148	148	existing [a] federal commitment to deploy qualifying broadband
149	149	service on the date the application is submitted or during the
150	150	application process.
151	151	(f) During the 30-day posting period described by
152	152	Subsection (e) for an application, the office shall accept from any
153	153	interested party, other than a broadband service provider that does
154	154	not report information requested by the office under Section
155	155	[490I.0105 or] 490I.01061, a written protest of an [the]
156	156	application submitted for a grant, loan, or other financial
157	157	incentive under Subsection (a-1) relating to whether the
158	158	broadband-serviceable locations contained in the application are
159	159	eligible to receive funding [applicant or project is eligible for
160	160	an award or should not receive an award based on the criteria
161	161	prescribed by the office].
162	162	SECTION 5. Sections 151.00394(b) and (c), Tax Code, are
163	163	amended to read as follows:
164	164	(b) "Internet access service" does not include [and the
165	165	exemption under Section 151.325 does not apply to] any [other]
166	166	taxable service listed in Section 151.0101(a), unless the taxable
167	167	service is provided in conjunction with and is merely incidental to
168	168	the provision of Internet access service.
169	169	(c) [On and after October 1, 1999,] "Internet access
170	170	service" is not included in the definitions of "data processing
171	171	service" and "information service."
172	172	SECTION 6. Section 151.0101(a), Tax Code, is amended to
173	173	read as follows:
174	174	(a) "Taxable services" means:
175	175	(1) amusement services;
176	176	(2) cable television services;
177	177	(3) personal services;
178	178	(4) motor vehicle parking and storage services;
179	179	(5) the repair, remodeling, maintenance, and
180	180	restoration of tangible personal property, except:
181	181	(A) aircraft;
182	182	(B) a ship, boat, or other vessel, other than:
183	183	(i) a taxable boat or motor as defined by
184	184	Section 160.001;
185	185	(ii) a sports fishing boat; or
186	186	(iii) any other vessel used for pleasure;
187	187	(C) the repair, maintenance, and restoration of a
188	188	motor vehicle; and
189	189	(D) the repair, maintenance, creation, and
190	190	restoration of a computer program, including its development and
191	191	modification, not sold by the person performing the repair,
192	192	maintenance, creation, or restoration service;
193	193	(6) telecommunications services;
194	194	(7) credit reporting services;
195	195	(8) debt collection services;
196	196	(9) insurance services;
197	197	(10) information services;
198	198	(11) real property services;
199	199	(12) data processing services;
200	200	(13) real property repair and remodeling;
201	201	(14) security services;
202	202	(15) telephone answering services; and
203	203	(16) [Internet access service; and
204	204	[(17)] a sale by a transmission and distribution
205	205	utility, as defined in Section 31.002, Utilities Code, of
206	206	transmission or delivery of service directly to an electricity
207	207	end-use customer whose consumption of electricity is subject to
208	208	taxation under this chapter.
209	209	SECTION 7. Section 171.10132, Tax Code, is amended by
210	210	amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as
211	211	follows:
212	212	(a) In this section, "qualifying broadband grant" means a
213	213	grant for broadband deployment in this state received by a taxable
214	214	entity:
215	215	(1) under the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment
216	216	Program established under 47 U.S.C. Section 1702;
217	217	(2) under the State Digital Equity Capacity Grant
218	218	Program established under 47 U.S.C. Section 1723;
219	219	(3) under the Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program
220	220	established under 47 U.S.C. Section 1724;
221	221	(4) under the provisions of 47 U.S.C. Section 1741
222	222	providing for middle mile grants;
223	223	(5) under the broadband loan and grant pilot program
224	224	authorized under Section 779, Title VII, Div. A, Consolidated
225	225	Appropriations Act, 2018 (Pub. L. No. 115-141, 132 Stat. 399), from
226	226	funds made available for that program under the heading "Distance
227	227	Learning, Telemedicine, and Broadband Program," "Rural Utilities
228	228	Service," "Rural Development Programs" in Title I, Infrastructure
229	229	Investments and Jobs Appropriations Act (Title I, Div. J, Pub. L.
230	230	No. 117-58, 135 Stat. 1351);
231	231	(6) under Section 905, Division N, Consolidated
232	232	Appropriations Act, 2021 (Pub. L. No. 116-260, 134 Stat. 2136);
233	233	[or]
234	234	(7) from a state, territory, tribal government, or
235	235	unit of local government to the extent the grant was:
236	236	(A) funded by amounts provided under 42 U.S.C.
237	237	Section 802, 803, or 804; and
238	238	(B) provided for the stated purposes of making
239	239	investments in broadband infrastructure; or
240	240	(8) from the comptroller under Subchapter S, Chapter
241	241	403, Government Code, or Chapter 490I of that code.
242	242	(a-1) For purposes of Subsection (a)(8), a reimbursement
243	243	award received by a taxable entity under Subchapter S, Chapter 403,
244	244	Government Code, is considered a grant for broadband development in
245	245	this state.
246	246	SECTION 8. The following provisions are repealed:
247	247	(1) Chapter 490H, Government Code;
248	248	(2) Sections 490I.0105(g), (h), (i), (j), (k), (l),
249	249	(n), (o), and (p), Government Code; and
250	250	(3) Section 151.325, Tax Code.
251	251	SECTION 9. The changes in law made by this Act do not affect
252	252	tax liability accruing before the effective date of this Act. That
253	253	liability continues in effect as if this Act had not been enacted,
254	254	and the former law is continued in effect for the collection of
255	255	taxes due and for civil and criminal enforcement of the liability
256	256	for those taxes.
257	257	SECTION 10. Section 171.10132, Tax Code, as amended by this
258	258	Act, applies only to a report originally due on or after January 1,
259	259	2026.
260	260	SECTION 11. This Act takes effect July 1, 2025, if it
261	261	receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
262	262	house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
263	263	If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for effect on that
264	264	date, this Act takes effect September 1, 2025.