HB1029_H_(Cmte_Sub)_Amend

SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the Mississippi Broadband Accessibility Act.

SECTION 2. The Legislature finds that the availability of high-speed broadband Internet access services in the unserved areas in the State of Mississippi is important for economic development, education, health care and emergency services in the state, and that the grants and other incentives set forth in this act will further those objectives by encouraging new investment in broadband infrastructure. Therefore, to expand and upgrade broadband Internet across the state and to ensure the State of Mississippi maximizes the substantial amount of federal dollars available to the states, the Legislature establishes the Mississippi Broadband Commission. It will be the responsibility of the commission to secure and administer federal grants, promulgate rules and regulations for such grants, and determine the most efficient use of federal and state dollars to maximize the distribution of broadband throughout the State of Mississippi.

SECTION 3. For the purposes of this act, the following words shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

(a) "Broadband Internet access service" means a mass-market retail service by wire or radio provided to customers in the State of Mississippi that provides the capability to transmit data to, and receive data from, all or substantially all Internet endpoints, including, but not limited to, any capabilities that are incidental to and enable the operation of the communications service, but excluding dial-up Internet access service.

(b) "Commission" means the Mississippi Broadband Commission created in Section 4 of this act.

SECTION 4. (1) There is created the Mississippi Broadband Commission. The commission shall be charged with coordinating all broadband expansion efforts on behalf of the state as well as administering all federal broadband expansion programs. The commission shall be funded through state appropriations and use any available federal funds for the administration of broadband grants and planning. The commission shall be composed of seven (7) members with three (3) members appointed by the Governor and four (4) members appointed by the Lieutenant Governor; however, two (2) of the members appointed by the Lieutenant Governor shall be upon recommendation of the Speaker of the House. The Governor shall appoint one (1) member who is a resident from each of the three (3) Supreme Court districts. The Lieutenant Governor shall make one (1) appointment who is a resident from each of the four (4) congressional districts, and the Speaker of the House's recommendations shall be from the Second Congressional District and Third Congressional District with the Lieutenant Governor's other two (2) appointees being residents of the First Congressional District and Fourth Congressional District.

(2) Of the initial appointees, the members' terms shall be staggered as follows: one (1) term appointed by the Governor to expire on December 31, 2023; one (1) term appointed by the Governor to expire on December 31, 2024; one (1) term to be appointed by the Governor to expire on December 31, 2025; one (1) term to be appointed by the Lieutenant Governor to expire on December 31, 2024; one (1) term to be appointed by the Lieutenant Governor upon the recommendation of the Speaker of the House to expire on December 31, 2024; one (1) term to be appointed by the Lieutenant Governor to expire on December 31, 2025; and one (1) term to be appointed by the Lieutenant Governor upon the recommendation of the Speaker of the House to expire on December 31, 2025. After the expiration of the initial terms, members of the board shall serve terms of five (5) years. No member shall serve more than two (2) consecutive terms. Members may be removed by the appointing public official for neglect of duty, misfeasance or nonfeasance in office. Upon the initial appointment of a majority of the commissioners, the Lieutenant Governor shall call the first meeting of the commission within thirty (30) calendar days, at which time the commission shall elect a chairman. Four (4) members of the commission shall constitute a quorum. The commission shall meet at such times as the chairman shall determine, and shall also meet upon call of three (3) or more of the commissioners. The commission shall annually elect a chairman from among its members. The commission shall keep accurate and complete records of all its meetings.

(3) Commissioners shall be entitled to per diem compensation pursuant to Section 25-3-69 paid by the commission and shall be reimbursed by the commission for necessary travel and other reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties. No commissioner shall be considered a public officer.

(4) The Department of Finance and Administration shall provide the commission with conference and office space for operations, initial staffing support and other ancillary costs needed by the commission. Such costs shall be funded through appropriations by the Legislature.

(5) The executive director of the commission shall be appointed by the commission and must hold at least a bachelor's degree and shall have a minimum of five (5) years' managerial experience with a thorough knowledge of the telecommunications/utility industry. The executive director shall possess experience in reviewing and administering grant and/or financial applications for the purpose of public projects. The salary of the executive director shall be set by the State Personnel Board and shall be comparable to salaries of those holding similar positions in other state and federal agencies and commensurate with the duties and responsibilities imposed on this official position which affects the broad interests of the State of Mississippi.

(6) The executive director shall have general charge of the operations, necessary staffing and administration of the office. It shall be the duty and responsibility of the executive director to supervise and manage the personnel and formulate written policies and procedures for the effective and efficient operation thereof. In addition, the executive director may:

(a) Enter into contracts for services of, but not limited to, legal, accounting and engineering; and

(b) Enter into agreements with other state agencies to coordinate and share services, to conduct joint projects, and to receive support and information.

(7) It shall be the duty and responsibility of the commission and through the executive director to:

(a) Receive, administer and oversee all federal and any applicable state grant programs with regard to broadband deployment in and for the State of Mississippi, including, but not limited to, Coronavirus Capitol 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;

(b) Administer and oversee all federal and any applicable state grant programs in accordance with the guidelines, guidance, rules, regulations and/or other criteria, as may be amended from time to time, by the appropriate federal or state agency responsible for said grant program;

(c) If necessary and in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act develop rules and procedures for federal and any applicable state grant programs and for sub-grantees to receive funds from said grants;

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

(e) To develop rules and procedures, in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act, to implement a competitive statewide broadband grant program;

(f) Coordinate all information provided by broadband Internet access service providers. All information provided by a broadband Internet access service provider pursuant to this chapter shall be presumed to be confidential, proprietary, and subject to exemption from disclosure under state 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 Internet access services provider is not disclosed. Such provider-specific information shall not be released to any person without express permission of the submitting broadband Internet access service provider. In no instance shall a broadband Internet access 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.

SECTION 5. (1) There is created as a special fund in the State Treasury the Mississippi Broadband Accessibility Fund. The fund shall consist of any monies appropriated to the fund by the Legislature for broadband deployment, monies received from the federal government awarded to or allocated by the state for broadband deployment, and any other monies received from any other source, including transfers from other funds or accounts. 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 those monies shall be credited to the fund. The fund shall be audited annually by the State Auditor.

(2) The commission shall 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 August 1, 2022, the commission shall adopt rules and procedures 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. An award of funds must be issued by a competitive grant process. The grant process shall be technology neutral and shall result in awards to applicants that are eligible broadband Internet access service providers proposing projects based on objective and efficient measures and procedures.

SECTION 6. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2022, and shall stand repealed from and after June 30, 2022.