House Bill 1471

(As Sent to Governor)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 77-19-7, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROHIBIT ANY OFFICER OR EMPLOYEE OF THE OFFICE OF BROADBAND EXPANSION AND ACCESSIBILITY OF MISSISSIPPI FROM ACCEPTING OR RECEIVING, EITHER DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, ANY GRATUITY, GIFT, GIFT IN-KIND, MONEY, EMOLUMENT, OR ANY OTHER PECUNIARY BENEFIT FROM ANY BROADBAND SERVICE PROVIDER, VENDOR, CONTRACTOR, OR SUBCONTRACTOR THAT DOES BUSINESS WITH OR CONTRACTS WITH THE OFFICE; TO PROVIDE CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS FOR FINAL DETERMINATIONS OF AWARDS FOR PROJECTS TO PROVIDE BROADBAND ACCESS IN UNSERVED OR UNDERSERVED AREAS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 77-19-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

77-19-7. (1) The Office of Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi (BEAM) shall serve as the state broadband office to review applications and make determinations and awards for projects to provide broadband access in unserved or underserved areas using the BEAM Fund created pursuant to this chapter.

(2) It shall be the duty and responsibility of BEAM to:

(a) Coordinate all broadband expansion and accessibility efforts on behalf of the state to ensure an effective and efficient use of broadband grant funds;

(b) Develop the plan and application for federal grant programs and for sub-grantees to receive funds from said federal grants;

(c) Develop rules and procedures, if necessary and in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act, to implement a competitive statewide broadband grant program;

(d) Coordinate all information provided by broadband service providers, including all broadband mapping efforts for the state. All information provided by a broadband service provider pursuant to this chapter shall be presumed to be confidential, proprietary, and subject to exemption from disclosure under state and federal law and shall not be subject to disclosure except in the form of a map where information that could be used to determine provider-specific information about the network of the broadband service providers is not disclosed. Such provider-specific information shall not be released to any person without written permission of the submitting broadband service provider. In no instance shall a broadband service provider be required to provide any data beyond that which it is required to provide to the Federal Communications Commission pursuant to 47 USC Section 641 et seq.; * * *~~and~~

(e) Apply for and receive federal grants or funds, including, but not limited to, Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund established by Section 604 of the Social Security Act, as added by Section 9901 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, and the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program established by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, and all other federal broadband grant programs and any state support grant programs * * *.;and

(f) Grant final determinations of awards for projects to provide broadband access in unserved or underserved areas, as provided in subsection (1) of this section, no later than sixty (60) days after publishing a preliminary determination of an award on BEAM's website pursuant to this chapter, or thirty (30) days after this law goes into effect, whichever is later, unless BEAM determines that a proposed project includes an area where broadband services currently are deployed, or where construction of a network to deploy broadband service is underway by a provider other than the applicant, or where construction is scheduled to be completed within one (1) year after the date of application.

(3) To effectuate the purposes of this chapter, any department, division, board, bureau, committee, institution or agency of the state, or any political subdivision thereof, shall, at the request of the Director of BEAM, provide the assistance, information and data needed to enable BEAM to carry out its duties.

(4) An officer or employee of BEAM shall not accept or receive any gratuity, gift, gift in-kind, money, emolument, or any other pecuniary benefit, either directly or indirectly, from any broadband service provider, vendor, contractor, subcontractor, nonprofit organization or association that does business with or contracts with BEAM, or any designee, employee, agent, officer, or representative of such broadband service provider, vendor, contractor, subcontractor, nonprofit organization or association. For purposes of this section, the term "emolument" includes salary, donations, contributions, loans, stock tips, vacations and trips.

( * * *45) There is created within the State Treasury the "Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi (BEAM) Fund" for the purposes of the expansion and accessibility of broadband in unserved and underserved areas. The fund shall consist of all monies designated, accepted or appropriated by the State of Mississippi for broadband deployment; all monies received from the federal government awarded to or allocated by the state for broadband deployment; and donations, gifts and monies received from any other source, including transfers from other funds or accounts. Disbursements from the fund shall be made by the Department of Finance and Administration upon appropriation by the Legislature in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. All unexpended and unencumbered monies in the fund at the end of the fiscal year shall remain in the fund. Monies in the fund shall be invested by the State Treasurer in the same manner as monies in the State General Fund and interest earned on the investment of these monies shall be credited to the fund.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.