ACT #2019— L331—

SB9O

202262—2

By Senators Scofield, Marsh, Ward, Reed, Allen, Livingston,

Jones, Whatley, Price, Holley, Waggoner, Williams, Sessions,

Chesteen, Beasley, Albritton, Chambliss, Smitherman and

Singleton

RFD: Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development

First Read: 19—MAR—l9

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ENROLLED, An Act,

To amend sections 41—23-212, 41—23-213 and

41—23-214, Code of Alabama 1975, to change the definition of

an “unserved area", increase the percentage of project costs

that may be funded through the Act, and to broaden the

permitted use of other federal and state support, including

loans and grants, in projects receiving grants under the Act.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:

Section 1. Sections 41—23—212, 41-23-213 and

41—23-214, Code of Alabama 1975, are amended to read as

follows:

"§41—23—212.

For the purposes of this article, the following

words have the following meanings:

"(1) ADECA. The Alabama Department of Economic and

Community Affairs.

"(2) END USER. A residential, business,

institutional, or government entity that uses broadband

services for its own purposes and does not resell such

broadband services to other entities. An internet service

provider (ISP) and mobile wireless service provider are not an

end user for the purposes of this act.

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"(3) MIDDLE MILE PROJECT. A broadband infrastructure

project that does not provide broadband service to end users

or to end-user devices.

"+2? 44L MINIMUM SERVICE THRESHOLD. A connection to

the Internet that provides capacity for transmission at an

average speed per customer of at least l6 2; megabits (i0 2;

Mbps) per second downstream and at least one three megabits (I

2 Mbps) per second upstream.

"+3+ 15L RURAL AREA. Any area within this state not

included within the boundaries of any incorporated city or

town having a population in excess of 25,000 inhabitants,

according to the last federal census.

"+4+ igl UNSERVED AREA. Any rural area in which

there is not at least one provider of terrestrial broadband

service that is either: (1) offering a connection to the

Internet meeting the minimum service threshold; or (2) is

required, under the terms of the Federal Universal Service

Fund or other federal or state grant, to provide a connection

to the Internet at speeds meeting the minimum service

threshold by March 28, 2023.

"§41—23—213.

"(a) The Director of ADECA may establish and

administer the broadband accessibility grant program for the

purpose of promoting the deployment and adoption of broadband

Internet access services to unserved areas. By June 26, 2018,

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the director shall adopt rules and policies to administer the

program and begin to accept applications for grants, and shall

adopt such rules as may be necessary to meet the future needs

of the grant program.

"(b) The program shall be administered pursuant to

policies developed by ADECA in compliance with this article.

The policies shall provide for the awarding of grants to

non—governmental entities that are cooperatives, corporations,

limited liability companies, partnerships, or other private

business entities that provide broadband services. Nothing in

this article shall expand the authority under state law of any

entity to provide broadband service.

"(c) There is hereby created the Alabama Broadband

Accessibility Fund in the State Treasury. The fund is subject

to appropriations by the Legislature and gifts, grants, and

other donations received by ADECA for the broadband

accessibility grant program or fund. ADECA may not spend

appropriations for the program for purposes other than those

listed in this section. Any monies appropriated to ADECA for

broadband grants that are unspent at the end of a fiscal year

shall be carried over for use by the program in the next

fiscal year. ADECA shall develop rules ensuring that expenses

incurred to administer the program must not exceed the lesser

of seventhree percent +3%TL13L of the total amount

appropriated for the program in any fiscal year or seven

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hundred fifty thousand dollars ($750,000L. Moneys in the fund

shall be invested by the State Treasurer for the sole benefit

of the fund.

"(d)(1) Individual grants awarded by ADECA under

this section may only be awarded for projects in unserved

areas, and may not exceed the lesser of:

"a. Twenty Thirty—five percent lgéfil of the project

cost TL_Q£

"b. One million five hundred thousand dollars

($1,500,000) for projects that will be capable of transmitting

broadband signals at or above the minimum service threshold.

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"(2) Grants may be given to any qualified entity

pursuant to subsection (b) that meets the service criteria for

expenditures after March 28, 2018.

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"(3) ADECA shall ensure that not less than 40

percent of funds appropriated for grants be utilized in

unincorporated areas of the state.

"(4) Subject to the limitations in this subsection,

grants shall be awarded pursuant to the service criteria

developed by ADECA, with priority given to projects that meet

any of the following:

"a. Seek to leverage grant funds through private

investment and extension of existing infrastructure.

"b. Serve locations with demonstrated community

support, including, but not limited to, documented support

from local government.

"c. Demonstrate the operator’s technical and

managerial capabilities to complete the project within two

years of the grant.

"d. Demonstrate the applicants‘ necessary financial

resources.

"e. Are most cost effective and technically

efficient in that they propose to serve the highest number of

unserved homes, businesses and community anchor points for the

least cost and best level of service, emphasizing projects

including the highest broadband speeds.

"f. Provide material broadband enhancement to

hospitals located in rural areas as defined in Section

22-21—28.

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"g. Support local libraries in this state for the

purpose of assisting the libraries in offering digital

literacy training pursuant to state library and archive

guidelines.

"(5) For the purposes of awarding grants, ADECA

shall take into consideration the average pole attachment

rates that a grant applicant charges to an unaffiliated

entity, provided that this subdivision (5) shall not apply to

a utility as defined under Section 37—4-1 (7)a.

"(6) In order to promote the deployment of grant

funds in an inclusive manner that is consistent with the

racial, gender, geographic, urban, rural, and economic

diversity of the state, ADECA may give additional

consideration to an applicant that provides documentation that

it has been certified by the ADECA Office of Minority Business

Enterprise or otherwise as a Disadvantaged Business

Enterprise. For projects funded under this act, ADECA shall

encourage grant applicants to use vendors and subcontractors

that have been certified by the Office of Minority Business

Enterprise or that are Disadvantaged Business Enterprises.

ADECA shall include in its report to the Alabama Rural

Broadband Oversight Committee a list of entities certified by

the Office of Minority Business Enterprise and Disadvantaged

Business Enterprises that have been awarded grants since the

prior report.

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grant funds are available, ADECA shall accept applications

within a ififi-day 90-day grant window after—the*annuai

commencement-date that it shall establish. Applications for

eligible projects will be evaluated according to a scoring

system developed by ADECA that incorporates the priorities

listed in this section, with grant awards published within 90

days after expiration of the filing window. Grant applications

shall be published by ADECA on the Internet at the end of the

filing window, and existing service providers shall have 30

business days from the date of publication to file objections

to the eligibility of a proposed project. ADECA shall address

any objections within 30 days of submission and shall make any

appropriate changes to grant awards based on a finding of

ineligibility resulting from such protest. Subject to such

protest procedure, grants issued by ADECA shall be conditioned

upon compliance with the terms of the grant but shall not

otherwise be revocable. Providers' grants shall be paid within

30 days upon ADECA receiving written certification of the

completion of the project and evidence of compliance with the

terms of the grant as prescribed by ADECA.

"(f) Grants shall be conditioned on project

completion within two years of awarding of the grant. If a

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8390

recipient fails to complete a project within the two-year

deadline due to reasons other than delay caused by a

government entity, ADECA may revoke the grant in its entirety

and rededicate the funds to a new recipient.

"(g) ADECA shall condition the release of any grant

funds awarded under this chapter on:

"(1) the progressive completion, as measured on not

more than a quarterly basis, of the approved project; and

"(2) operational testing, when possible, to confirm

the level of service proposed in the grant application. Such

regulations shall not exceed in degree or differ in kind from

testing and reporting requirements imposed on the grant

recipient by the Federal Communications Commission, as

adjusted for the service specifications in the ADECA grant

agreement.

"+g+ 121 Notwithstanding any other provision of this

section, eligible projects shall include projects any of the

following:

"(1) Projects to serve unserved areas in which the

grant applicant is either or both: (i) an existing or future

service provider which has or will receive support through

federal universal service funding programs designed

specifically to encourage broadband deployment in an area

without broadband access; or (ii) an existing or future

service provider which has or will receive other forms of

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federal or state financial support or assistance, such as a

grant or loan from the United States Department of

Agriculture; provided, however, that any award of state funds

under this act, when combined with other forms of state or

federal support or assistance dedicated to the project, other

than interest—bearing loans, may not exceed sixty percent

(60%) of the total project costs. Nothing in this section

shall prohibit a grant applicant who has not previously

received any federal or state funds, grants, or loans for

broadband deployment from applying for and receiving grant

funds under this act. that have received fund: thiuugh utth

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uf tutal project costs.

"(2) Middle Mile Projects, where the applicant

demonstrates that the project will connect other service

providers eligible for grants under this section with

broadband infrastructure further upstream in order to enable

such providers to offer broadband service to end users;

provided that eligible projects under this subdivision may

include projects in (i) an unserved area or (ii) a rural area

that does not meet the definition of an unserved area but

otherwise meets the requirements of this section, for which

the grant applicant demonstrates, by specific evidence, the

need for greater broadband speeds, capacity, or service which

is not being offered by an existing service provider.

"(3) Projects to provide broadband service to a

specific hospital, public school, public safety, or economic

development site in a rural area that does not meet the

definition of an unserved area but otherwise meets the

requirements of this section, for which the grant applicant

demonstrates, by specific evidence, the need for greater

broadband speeds, capacity, or service which is not being

offered by an existing service provider.

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"(4) Grants issued under subdivisions (2) and (3)

shall not exceed forty percent (40%) of the total funds

appropriated for grants on an annual basis.

"§41-23-214.

"(a) There is created the Alabama Rural Broadband

Oversight Committee. The oversight committee shall consist of

the Chair of the House Ways and Means Education Committee or

his or her designee, the Chair of the Senate Finance and

Taxation Education Committee or his or her designee, two

members appointed by the Speaker of the House of

Representatives, two members appointed by the President Pro

Tempore of the Senate, and the Director of ADECA or his or her

designee. The oversight committee shall meet at least

annually, provide general oversight of the implementation of

the article, and recommend further statutory changes to

promote rural broadband development.

"(b) The committee shall reflect the racial, gender,

geographic, urban/rural, and economic diversity of the state.

"(c) For any year in which grants are distributed

under the program, ADECA shall produce a quarterty report on

the status of grants under the program to the Oversight

Committee, including progress toward increased access to and

adoption of broadband services. The report shall be provided

at the oversight committee's first meeting of the year and

else be published on ADECA's website. ADECA shall provide a

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copy of the report to the Governor, the Alabama Senate

President Pro Tempore, the Alabama Senate Minority Leader, the

Speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives, and the

Alabama House of Representatives Minority Leader. By March 28,

2019, ADECA shall produce a report on the availability of

broadband within the state."

Section 2. Nothing in this act shall affect the

approval and continued funding of grants awarded prior to the

effective date of this act.

Section 3. If any provision of this act or its

application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the

invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of

this act which can be given effect without the invalid

provision or application, and to this end, the provisions of

this act are severable.

Section 4. This act shall become effective

immediately following the passage and approval of this act by

the Governor, or its otherwise becoming law.

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'

President and Presiding Officer of the Senate

77?“ W.

Speaker of the House of Representatives

SB90

Senate OB-MAY—19

I hereby certify that the within Act originated in and passed

the Senate, as amended.

Senate 30—MAY—l9

I hereby certify that the within Act originated in and passed

the Senate, as amended by Conference Committee Report.

Patrick Harris,

Secretary.

House of Representatives

Passed: 28—MAY-19, as amended

House of Representatives

Passed: 30—MAY-2019, as amended by Conference Committee

Report.

me,am

By: Senator Scofield TIME [1:00 a: HI...

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