Regular Session 2019-2020 House Bill 2348 P.N. 3454

PRINTER'S NO. 3454

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

No.

2348

Session of

2020

INTRODUCED BY CAUSER, DUNBAR, BENNINGHOFF, CONKLIN, SCHLEGEL

CULVER, ECKER, GLEIM, JAMES, MILLARD, MURT, OBERLANDER,

OWLETT, PICKETT, PYLE, RAPP, ROEBUCK, RYAN, SNYDER, STRUZZI,

WHEELAND AND ZIMMERMAN, MARCH 13, 2020

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON CONSUMER AFFAIRS, MARCH 13, 2020

AN ACT

Amending Title 64 (Public Authorities and Quasi-Public

Corporations) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in

Commonwealth Financing Authority, providing for Unserved

High-Speed Broadband Funding Program; establishing the

Unserved High-Speed Broadband Funding Program Account; making

an appropriation; and making a related repeal.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1. Title 64 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated

Statutes is amended by adding a section to read:

§ 1559. Unserved High-Speed Broadband Funding Program.

(a) Establishment.--There is a program established to be

known as the Unserved High-Speed Broadband Funding Program. The

program shall provide financial assistance in the form of grants

for projects located within this Commonwealth that support the

delivery of high-speed broadband service to unserved areas.

(b) Eligible applicants.--The following entities may apply

for grants under the program:

(1) A nongovernmental entity with the technical,

managerial and financial expertise to design, build and

operate a high-speed broadband service infrastructure within

this Commonwealth.

(2) A rural electric cooperative or local development

district established under the act of December 7, 1994

(P.L.845, No.120), known as the Local Development District

Act, located within this Commonwealth.

(1) A nongovernmental entity must use the entity's

private capital to finance a minimum of 25% of a project.

(2) State or local government grants, loans or subsidies

received by a nongovernmental entity to finance a project

shall not be counted toward the capital investment

requirement under paragraph (1).

(3) In addition to any grant award under the program, a

nongovernmental entity may use money from a Federal, State or

local government grant or loan program to finance a project

if the nongovernmental entity satisfies the capital

investment requirement under paragraph (1).

(d) Ineligible projects.--Projects proposed to be managed or

operated by a Federal, State or local government entity are

ineligible to receive grant funding under the program.

(e) Applications for grants.--The following apply:

(1) The authority shall establish an annual application

period during which applications for grant funding under the

program may be submitted. The annual application period shall

be no fewer than 90 days and no longer than 150 days.

(2) An application shall be submitted to the authority

on a form prescribed by the board. An application shall

include the following information:

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(i) Evidence demonstrating the applicant's

experience and ability in building, operating and

managing a high-speed broadband service infrastructure

that serves households and businesses.

(ii) A description of the project area, including a

list of census blocks covered by the proposed deployment.

If a census block included in an application is

partially served by a provider of high-speed broadband

service, the application must clearly describe the

portions of the census block that are already served and

the portions which constitute an unserved area.

(iii) A certification that none of the grant money

provided by the program for the project will be used to

extend or deploy a high-speed broadband service

infrastructure to areas with access to high-speed

broadband service at the time of grant application

submission.

(iv) A description of the high-speed broadband

service infrastructure that is proposed to be deployed,

including facilities, equipment and network capabilities

and minimum speed thresholds.

(v) The number of households and businesses that

would have new or improved access to high-speed broadband

service as a result of the grant award.

(vi) The total cost of the project and the proposed

completion date of the project.

(vii) The amount of private capital pledged to

finance the project and a certification that no portion

of the private capital pledged is derived from any

Federal, State or local government grant or loan program.

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(viii) Evidence demonstrating the economic and

commercial feasibility of the project.

(ix) Evidence that the project does not result in

overbuild.

(x) A list of all government authorizations, permits

and other required approvals to deploy a high-speed

broadband service infrastructure and a timetable for the

applicant's acquisition of the approvals.

(xi) Any other information required by the

authority.

(f) Criteria.--The following apply:

(1) The board shall give preference to projects that

have already been awarded Federal money or have Federal money

allocated for projects within this Commonwealth, including

money allocated from the Federal Communication Commission's

Connect America Fund or the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund or

money from the Federal Appalachian Regional Commission.

(2) The board shall give preference to projects that

will serve areas with no Internet access as opposed to areas

with slower Internet access.

(3) Specific criteria to be considered when weighing or

scoring an application are as follows:

(i) The size and scope of the unserved area to be

deployed.

(ii) The experience, technical ability and financial

capability of the applicant to successfully deploy a

high-speed broadband service infrastructure and provide

high-speed broadband service.

(iii) The extent to which Federal, State or local

government funding support is necessary to deploy a high-

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speed broadband service infrastructure in an economically

feasible manner in a project area.

(iv) The proportion of the private capital provided

by the applicant to finance a project.

(v) The high-speed broadband service speed

thresholds proposed in the application and the

scalability of the high-speed broadband service

infrastructure proposed to be deployed to provide high-

speed broadband service to households and businesses.

(vi) An affidavit that no project grant awards will

be used to overbuild an area that is already served with

high-speed broadband service.

(g) Requirements.--The following apply:

(1) The requirements for the administration of the

program shall be as follows:

(i) An application for a grant under this section

must be received by a deadline, which shall be

established by the authority.

(ii) The authority shall execute a grant agreement

between the board and a grant recipient before the

payment of a grant award.

(iii) A grant recipient shall maintain full and

accurate records for the project.

(iv) A grant recipient shall submit to the authority

copies of all canceled checks or other records verifying

expenditures of grant money.

(v) A grant recipient shall submit to the authority

a final report of the project, including any information

as required by the board.

(2) The authority may establish additional requirements

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for the program as the authority deems necessary to

administer the program.

(h) Restrictions and limitations.--The following apply:

(1) A grant recipient may not commence work on a project

before receiving authority approval of the grant under

subsection (e). Commencement of work prior to receiving

authority approval will result in a project application being

ineligible for funding consideration.

(2) A grant recipient may not make a substantial change

to an approved project without first obtaining authority

consent in writing.

(3) Any unused portion of a grant award shall be

returned to the authority.

(4) Grant money may only be used for new projects

approved by the board.

(5) Grant money may not be used for any of the

following:

(i) Paying fees for securing financing.

(ii) Paying interest on borrowed money.

(iii) Refinancing existing debt.

(iv) Paying for lobbying services.

(v) Paying fines.

(vi) Application preparation fees.

(6) The authority may establish additional restrictions

and limitations as the authority deems necessary to

administer the program.

(i) Account.--The following apply:

(1) The authority shall establish the Unserved High-

Speed Broadband Funding Program Account.

(2) The purpose of the account is to award grants under

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this section.

(3) The following are the sources of the account:

(i) Appropriations, including Federal money.

(ii) Return on the money in the account.

(4) Money in the account is continuously appropriated to

the account. This appropriation shall not lapse at the end of

a fiscal year.

(j) Guidelines.--Within 180 days of the effective date of

this section, the board shall adopt guidelines to implement this

section. The guidelines shall include provisions for submission,

review and approval of applications, award of grants and

administration of projects funded under the program, including a

provision for reasonable oversight and reporting to ensure that

project grant awards are used as intended.

(k) Appropriation.--The sum of $5,000,000 is hereby

appropriated from the General Fund for the 2020-2021 fiscal year

for transfer to the authority for use for the program.

(l) Definitions.--The following words and phrases when used

in this section shall have the meanings given to them in this

subsection unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Account." The Unserved High-Speed Broadband Funding Program

Account established under subsection (i).

"High-speed broadband service." The greater of the

following:

(1) Wireless, wireline or fixed wireless technology

having the capacity to transmit data from or to the Internet

at minimum speeds of at least 25 megabits per second

downstream and three megabits per second upstream.

(2) Minimum speeds adopted by the Federal Communications

Commission.

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"High-speed broadband service infrastructure." The signal

transmission facilities and associated network equipment

proposed to be deployed in a project area used for the provision

of high-speed broadband service.

"Overbuild." The deployment of high-speed broadband service

infrastructure in an area where high-speed broadband service

infrastructure has been deployed and high-speed broadband

services are offered to the public at the time of submitting a

grant application for the program. The term shall not include

the incidental overlap of wireless coverage where applicable.

"Program." The Unserved High-Speed Broadband Funding Program

established under subsection (a).

"Project." The proposed deployment of high-speed broadband

service infrastructure in an unserved area of this Commonwealth

as set forth in an application for grant funding authorized

under this section.

"Unserved area." A project area without access to high-speed

broadband service.

Section 2. The Department of Revenue may not award a tax

credit under Article XVIII-E of the act of March 4, 1971 (P.L.6,

No.2), known as the Tax Reform Code of 1971, after June 30,

2020. Repeals are as follows:

(1) The General Assembly declares that the repeal under

paragraph (2) is necessary to effectuate the addition of 64

Pa.C.S. § 1559.

(2) Sections 1804-E and 1805-E of the act of March 4,

1971 (P.L.6, No.2), known as the Tax Reform Code of 1971, are

repealed.

Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020, or

immediately, whichever is later.

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