Bill Text: TX HB4375 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to the expansion of broadband services to certain areas.

Sponsorship: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-03-29 - Referred to State Affairs [HB4375 Detail]

Download: Texas-2021-HB4375-Introduced.html

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87R14160 BRG-D
By: Rodriguez H.B. No. 4375

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the expansion of broadband services to certain areas.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 490H.002(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) The council is composed of one nonvoting member
appointed by the broadband development office and the following
[17] voting members:
(1) two representatives of separate Internet service
provider industry associations, including at least one
representative of an association that primarily represents small
providers, as defined by Section 56.032, Utilities Code, appointed
by the governor;
(2) one representative of the health information
technology industry, appointed by the governor;
(3) two representatives of unaffiliated nonprofit
organizations that advocate for elderly persons statewide,
appointed by the governor;
(4) two representatives of unaffiliated nonprofit
organizations that have a demonstrated history of working with the
legislature and the public to identify solutions for expanding
broadband to rural, unserved areas of this state, appointed by the
governor;
(5) one representative of an agricultural advocacy
organization in this state, appointed by the governor;
(6) one representative of a hospital advocacy
organization in this state, appointed by the governor;
(7) one representative of a medical advocacy
organization in this state, appointed by the governor;
(8) one county official who serves in an elected
office of a county with a population of less than 35,000, appointed
by the governor;
(9) one municipal official who serves in an elected
office of a municipality with a population of less than 20,000
located in a county with a population of less than 60,000, appointed
by the governor;
(10) one representative of an institution of higher
education that has its main campus in a county with a population of
less than 60,000, appointed by the governor;
(11) one representative of a school district with a
territory that includes only counties with a population of less
than 60,000, appointed by the governor;
(12) one representative from a library association,
appointed by the governor;
(13) one member of the house of representatives,
appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives; [and]
(14) one state senator, appointed by the lieutenant
governor;
(15) one representative from an electric cooperative
providing broadband, appointed by the governor; and
(16) one representative of a nonprofit organization
that has a demonstrated history of facilitating broadband adoption
by offering digital literacy training or providing access to
broadband technology, appointed by the governor.
SECTION 2. Section 490H.006(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) The council shall:
(1) research the progress of:
(A) broadband development in unserved areas;
(B) deployment of broadband statewide; and
(C) purchase of broadband by residential and
commercial customers;
(2) identify barriers to residential and commercial
broadband deployment in unserved areas;
(3) study:
(A) technology-neutral solutions to overcome
barriers identified under Subdivision (2); and
(B) industry and technology trends in broadband;
and
(4) analyze how statewide access to broadband would
benefit:
(A) economic development;
(B) the delivery of educational opportunities in
higher education and public education;
(C) state and local law enforcement;
(D) state emergency preparedness; and
(E) the delivery of health care services,
including telemedicine and telehealth.
SECTION 3. Subtitle F, Title 4, Government Code, is amended
by adding Chapter 490I to read as follows:
CHAPTER 490I. BROADBAND DEVELOPMENT OFFICE
Sec. 490I.0101. THRESHOLD SPEED FOR BROADBAND SERVICE. (a)
For purposes of this chapter, subject to Subsection (b), "broadband
service" means Internet service with the capability of providing:
(1) a download speed of 25 megabits per second or
faster; and
(2) an upload speed of three megabits per second or
faster.
(b) If the Federal Communications Commission adopts upload
or download threshold speeds for advanced telecommunications
capability under 47 U.S.C. Section 1302 that are different than
those specified by Subsection (a), the governor by rule may require
Internet service to be capable of providing download or upload
speeds that match or exceed that federal threshold in order to
qualify under this chapter as "broadband service."
(c) Not later than the 60th day after the date the governor
adjusts the minimum download or upload speeds required for Internet
service to qualify as "broadband service," the broadband
development office shall publish on the governor's Internet website
the adjusted minimum download and upload speeds.
Sec. 490I.0102. OFFICE. (a) The broadband development
office is an office within the governor's office.
(b) The governor may employ additional employees necessary
for the discharge of the duties of the broadband development
office.
(c) The broadband development office:
(1) is under the direction and control of the
governor;
(2) shall promote the policies enumerated in this
chapter; and
(3) may perform any action authorized by state or
federal law.
Sec. 490I.0103. POWERS AND DUTIES. (a) The broadband
development office shall:
(1) serve as a resource for information regarding
broadband service in this state;
(2) engage in outreach to communities regarding the
expansion and adoption of broadband service and the programs
administered by the office; and
(3) serve as an information clearinghouse in relation
to federal programs providing assistance to local entities with
respect to broadband service.
(b) The office has the powers necessary to carry out the
duties of the office under this chapter, including the power to
enter into contracts and other necessary instruments.
(c) This chapter does not grant the governor authority to
regulate broadband services or broadband service providers or,
except as required of an applicant or recipient under Section
490I.0106, to require broadband service providers to submit
information to the governor.
Sec. 490I.0104. PARTICIPATION IN PROCEEDINGS OF THE FEDERAL
COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION. (a) The broadband development office
may monitor, participate in, and provide input in proceedings of
the Federal Communications Commission related to the geographic
availability and deployment of broadband service in this state to
ensure that:
(1) the information available to the Federal
Communications Commission reflects the current status of
geographic availability and deployment of broadband service in this
state; and
(2) this state is best positioned to benefit from
broadband service deployment programs administered by federal
agencies.
(b) The office may participate in a process established by
the Federal Communications Commission allowing governmental
entities to challenge the accuracy of the commission's information
regarding the geographic availability and deployment of broadband
service.
(c) The office shall establish procedures and a data
collection process in accordance with rules established by the
Federal Communications Commission for the Digital Opportunity Data
Collection that will enable the office to participate in the
process described by Subsection (b).
Sec. 490I.0105. BROADBAND DEVELOPMENT MAP. (a) The
broadband development office shall create, update annually, and
publish on the governor's Internet website a map classifying each
designated area in this state as:
(1) an eligible area, if fewer than 80 percent of the
addresses in the designated area have access to broadband service;
or
(2) an ineligible area, if 80 percent or more of the
addresses in the designated area have access to broadband service.
(b) The governor by rule may determine the scope of a
designated area under Subsection (a).
(c) The map required by Subsection (a) must display:
(1) the number of broadband service providers that
serve each designated area;
(2) for each eligible area, an indication of whether
the area has access to Internet service that is not broadband
service, regardless of the technology used to provide the service;
and
(3) each public school in this state and an indication
of whether the public school has access to broadband service.
(d) The office must create, update, and publish the map in a
manner consistent with the most current mapping methodology adopted
by the Federal Communications Commission.
(e) Except as provided by Subsection (c), the office shall
use information available from the Federal Communications
Commission to create or update the map.
(f) If information from the Federal Communications
Commission is not available or not sufficient for the office to
create or update the map, the office may request the necessary
information from a political subdivision or broadband service
provider, and the subdivision or provider may report the
information to the office. The office may not require a subdivision
or provider to report information in a format different from the
format required by the most current mapping methodology adopted by
the Federal Communications Commission.
(g) Information a broadband service provider reports to the
office under Subsection (f) and information provided by the Federal
Communications Commission, if not publicly available, is
confidential and not subject to disclosure under Chapter 552.
(h) The office may contract with a private consultant or
other appropriate person who is not associated or affiliated with a
commercial broadband provider, including a local governmental
entity, to provide technical or administrative assistance to the
office for the purpose of creating or updating the map.
(i) The office may release information reported under
Subsection (f) to a contractor providing services under Subsection
(h). The contractor shall:
(1) keep the information confidential; and
(2) return the information to the office on the
earliest of the following dates:
(A) the date the contract expires;
(B) the date the contract is terminated; or
(C) the date the mapping project for which the
contractor is providing services is complete.
(j) A person who contracts under Subsection (h) may not
provide services for a broadband provider in this state before the
second anniversary of the last day the person was under the
contract.
(k) The office shall establish criteria for determining
whether a designated area should be reclassified as an eligible
area or an ineligible area. The criteria must include an evaluation
of Internet speed test data and information on end user addresses.
(l) A broadband service provider or political subdivision
may petition the office to reclassify a designated area on the map
as an eligible area or ineligible area. The office shall provide
notice of the petition to each broadband service provider that
provides broadband service to the designated area and post notice
of the petition on the governor's Internet website.
(m) Not later than the 45th day after the date that a
broadband provider receives notice under Subsection (l), the
provider shall provide information to the office showing whether
the designated area should or should not be reclassified.
(n) Not later than the 75th day after the date that a
broadband provider receives notice under Subsection (l), the office
shall determine whether to reclassify the designated area on the
map and update the map as necessary. A determination made by the
office under this subsection is not a contested case for purposes of
Chapter 2001.
(o) The office is not required to create, update, or publish
a map under this section if the Federal Communications Commission
produces a map that:
(1) enables the office to identify eligible and
ineligible areas, as described by Subsection (a); and
(2) meets the requirements of Subsection (c).
Sec. 490I.0106. BROADBAND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM. (a) The
broadband development office shall establish a program to award
grants, low-interest loans, and other financial incentives to
applicants for the purpose of expanding access to and adoption of
broadband service in designated areas determined to be eligible
areas by the office under Section 490I.0105.
(b) The office shall establish and publish criteria for
making awards under Subsection (a). The office shall take into
consideration grants and other financial incentives received by an
applicant for the deployment of broadband service in a designated
area.
(c) The office may not:
(1) favor a particular broadband technology in
awarding grants, loans, or other financial incentives; or
(2) award grants, loans, or other financial incentives
to a broadband provider that does not report information requested
by the office under Section 490I.0105.
(d) The office shall:
(1) post on the governor's Internet website
information about the application process and the receipt of awards
and shall update that information as necessary; and
(2) make each application available on the governor's
Internet website for a period of at least 30 days before the office
makes a decision on the application.
(e) During the 30-day posting period described by
Subsection (d) for an application, the office shall accept from any
interested party a written protest of the application relating to
whether the applicant or project is eligible for an award or should
not receive an award based on the criteria prescribed by the office.
(f) The office shall establish and publish criteria for
award recipients. The criteria must include requirements that:
(1) grants, loans, and other financial incentives
awarded through the program be used only for capital expenses,
purchase or lease of property, and other expenses, including
backhaul and transport, that will facilitate the provision or
adoption of broadband service; and
(2) an award recipient, when using grants, loans, and
other financial incentives awarded through the program, prioritize
eligible areas in which the lowest percentage of addresses have
access to broadband service.
(g) An award granted under this section does not affect the
eligibility of a telecommunications provider to receive support
from the state universal service fund under Section 56.021,
Utilities Code.
Sec. 490I.0107. STATE BROADBAND PLAN. (a) The broadband
development office shall prepare, update, and publish on the
governor's Internet website a state broadband plan that establishes
long-term goals for greater access to and adoption of broadband
service in this state.
(b) In developing the state broadband plan, the office
shall:
(1) to the extent possible, collaborate with state
agencies, political subdivisions, broadband industry stakeholders
and representatives, and community organizations that focus on
broadband services;
(2) consider the policy recommendations of the
governor's broadband development council;
(3) favor policies that are technology-neutral and
protect all members of the public; and
(4) explore state and regional approaches to broadband
development.
Sec. 490I.0108. BROADBAND DEVELOPMENT ACCOUNT. (a) The
broadband development account is an account in the general revenue
fund.
(b) The account consists of:
(1) appropriations of money to the account by the
legislature;
(2) gifts, donations, and grants, including federal
grants; and
(3) interest earned on the investment of the money in
the account.
(c) The comptroller shall deposit to the credit of the
account federal money received by the state for the purpose of
broadband development, to the extent permitted by federal law.
(d) Money in the account may be appropriated only to the
broadband development office for purposes of:
(1) creating or updating the map described by Section
490I.0105;
(2) administering the broadband development program
under Section 490I.0106;
(3) creating or updating the state broadband plan
under Section 490I.0107; or
(4) engaging in outreach to communities regarding the
expansion and adoption of broadband service and the programs
administered by the office.
(e) The account is exempt from the application of Sections
403.095, 403.0956, and 404.071.
Sec. 490I.0109. RULEMAKING. The governor may adopt rules
as necessary to implement this chapter.
SECTION 4. (a) The broadband development office
established by Section 490I.0102, Government Code, as added by this
Act, shall publish the map required by Section 490I.0105,
Government Code, as added by this Act, on the governor's Internet
website not later than September 1, 2022.
(b) Not later than January 1, 2022, the office shall publish
on the governor's Internet website:
(1) a map created by the Federal Communications
Commission that displays the number of broadband service providers
that serve each census block; or
(2) a link to a map described by Subdivision (1) of
this subsection.
(c) For the purpose of administering the broadband
development program established by Section 490I.0106, Government
Code, as added by this Act, the office shall use a map described by
Subsection (b) of this section to determine whether an area is
eligible until the office publishes the map required by Section
490I.0105, Government Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 5. The broadband development office established by
Section 490I.0102, Government Code, as added by this Act, shall
prepare the initial state broadband plan required by Section
490I.0107, Government Code, as added by this Act, not later than
September 1, 2022.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.