S-3196

   Amend House File 867, as amended, passed, and reprinted by the House, as follows:
   1.  Page 19, after line 22 by inserting: 
<DIVISION ___
BROADBAND

   Sec. ___.  Section 8B.1, Code 2021, is amended by adding the following new subsections:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  2A.  “Commission” means the empower rural Iowa broadband grant fund commission created pursuant to section 8B.10A.
   NEW SUBSECTION.  5A.  “Fiberoptic infrastructure” means the physical infrastructure used for the transmission of data using pulses of infrared light. “Fiberoptic infrastructure” includes fiberoptic cable and the pipe, vault, or duct used to enclose fiberoptic cable.
   Sec. ___.  Section 8B.4, subsection 16, Code 2021, is amended by striking the subsection.
   Sec. ___.  Section 8B.9, subsection 5, Code 2021, is amended to read as follows:
   5.  An annual report regarding the status of broadband expansion and coordination, the empower rural Iowa broadband grant program established under section 8B.11, and the adequacy of the speed set in the definition of targeted service area in section 8B.1.
   Sec. ___.  NEW SECTION.  8B.10A  Empower rural Iowa broadband grant fund —— commission established.
   1.  There is created an empower rural Iowa broadband grant fund commission for the purpose of administering the broadband grant program pursuant to section 8B.11.
   a.  The commission shall consist of seven voting members appointed by the governor, subject to confirmation by the senate. The voting members of the commission shall serve four-year staggered terms. The voting membership of the commission shall be subject to the provisions of sections 69.16 and 69.16A, relating to political affiliation and gender balance.
   b.  The commission shall also consist of four nonvoting, ex officio members, including representatives from the office, the utilities board within the utilities division of the department of commerce, the Iowa telecommunications and technology commission, and the state department of transportation.
   c.  The representative of the utilities board shall serve as chairperson of the commission.
   2.  A person shall not serve as a voting member of the commission if the person has an interest in a contract or job of work related to the office, or is engaged in a service to be performed in connection with the office. Any voting member of the commission who accepts employment with or acquires any stock, bonds, or other interest in any company or corporation doing business with the office shall be disqualified from being appointed to or remaining a voting member of the commission.
   3.  Any vacancy in the voting membership of the commission shall be filled in the same manner as regular appointments are made for the unexpired portion of the regular term. In the event the governor fails to make an appointment to fill a vacancy or fails to submit an appointment to the senate for confirmation as required by section 2.32, the senate may make the appointment prior to adjournment of the general assembly.
   4.  Each voting member of the commission shall be compensated at an annual rate of ten thousand dollars. Voting members of the commission shall be allowed their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. All expenses and salaries shall be paid from the empower rural Iowa broadband grant fund created in section 8B.11, and the commission shall be subject to the budget requirements of chapter 8.
   5.  The commission shall meet at the call of the chairperson or when any four voting members of the commission file a written request with the chairperson for a meeting. Written notice of the time and place of each meeting shall be given to each member of the commission. A majority of the commission members shall constitute a quorum.
   6.  Any voting member of the commission may be removed for any of the causes and in the manner provided in chapter 66 and such removal shall not be in lieu of any other punishment that may be prescribed by the laws of this state.
   7.  The office, the utilities board, the Iowa telecommunications and technology commission, and the state department of transportation shall provide staff services to the commission.
   8.  The commission shall prepare a comprehensive strategic plan of specific goals, objectives, policies, performance measures, and benchmarks for the expansion of fiberoptic infrastructure in the state. The commission shall update the strategic plan on an annual basis. Beginning December 31, 2021, and continuing on July 1 of each year until the final strategic plan is submitted on July 1, 2025, the commission shall submit the strategic plan to the governor and to the members of the general assembly.
   9.  By July 1, annually, the commission shall provide a report regarding the empower rural Iowa broadband grant program established under section 8B.11 to the governor and the members of the general assembly.
   Sec. ___.  Section 8B.11, Code 2021, as amended by 2021 Iowa Acts, House file 848, section 3, is amended to read as follows:
   8B.11  Empower rural Iowa —— broadband grants —— fund.
   1.  The office commission shall administer a broadband grant program designed to reduce or eliminate unserved and underserved areas in the state, leveraging federal funds and public and private partnerships where possible, by awarding grants to communications service providers that reduce or eliminate targeted service areas by installing broadband infrastructure that facilitates broadband service in accordance with the following:
   a.  The broadband infrastructure facilitates broadband service that provides a minimum download speed of one hundred megabits per second and a minimum upload speed of one hundred megabits per second in a targeted service area within which no communications service provider offers or facilitates broadband service that provides download and upload speeds less than or equal to the tier 1 download and upload speeds specified in the definition of targeted service area in section 8B.1.
   b.  The broadband infrastructure facilitates broadband service that provides a minimum download speed of one hundred megabits per second and a minimum upload speed of one hundred megabits per second in a targeted service area within which no communications service provider offers or facilitates broadband service that provides any of the following:
   (1)  Download speeds less than or equal to the tier 2 download speed specified in the definition of targeted service area in section 8B.1.
   (2)  Download speeds less than or equal to the tier 3 download speed specified in the definition of targeted service area in section 8B.1.
   2.  a.  An empower rural Iowa broadband grant fund is established in the state treasury under the authority of the office commission. The fund shall consist of moneys available to and obtained or accepted by the office commission. Moneys in the fund are appropriated to the office commission to be used for the grant program, including for broadband mapping and the administration and operation of the grant program, and for the fiberoptic network conduit installation program established in section 8B.25, and for credit enhancement as specified in section 16.201, subsection 5.
   b.  The office commission shall use moneys in the fund to provide grants to communications service providers pursuant to this section, and to lead and coordinate the fiberoptic network conduit installation program pursuant to section 8B.25, and for credit enhancement as specified in section 16.201, subsection 5. The office may use not more than two and one-half percent of the moneys in the fund at the beginning of the fiscal year to pay the costs and expenses associated with the administration and operation of the grant program and the fiberoptic network conduit installation program. The office commission shall use moneys in the fund to leverage available federal moneys if possible.
   c.  Notwithstanding section 8.33, moneys in the fund that remain unencumbered or unobligated at the close of the fiscal year shall not revert but shall remain available for expenditure for the purposes designated until three years following the last day of the fiscal year in which the funds were originally appropriated.
   d.  Notwithstanding paragraph “c” or any provision to the contrary, moneys in the fund that have been awarded but not paid to a communications service provider shall not revert but shall remain available to the office commission for purposes of administering the award in a manner consistent with the terms and conditions of any corresponding contract or grant agreement governing the administration of the award.
   3.  Communications service providers may apply to the office commission for a grant pursuant to this section for the installation of broadband infrastructure that facilitates broadband service in targeted service areas. The office commission shall make available a public internet site identifying all publicly available information contained in the applications and any results of performance testing conducted after the project is completed. The office commission shall devote one full-time equivalent position to evaluate applications submitted under this section and provide technical assistance to communications service providers in completing applications for federal funds, or any other funds from any public or private sources, related to improving broadband infrastructure.
   4.  a.  The office commission shall award grants on a competitive basis for the installation of broadband infrastructure that facilitates broadband service as provided in subsection 3 in targeted service areas after considering the following:
   (1)  The relative need for broadband infrastructure in the area and the existing broadband service speeds, including whether the project serves a rural area or areas.
   (2)  The applicant’s total proposed budget for the project, including all of the following:
   (a)  The amount or percentage of local or federal matching funds, if any, and any funding obligations shared between public and private entities.
   (b)  The percentage of funding provided directly from the applicant, including whether the applicant requested from the office commission an amount less than the maximum amount the office commission could award pursuant to subsection 5 and, if so, the percentage of the project cost that the applicant is requesting.
   (c)  The total amount of the applicant’s investments in the five years before the submission of the application in fiberoptic infrastructure and broadband infrastructure that meet all of the following criteria:
   (i)  Serves targeted service areas that are adjacent to the area.
   (ii)  Provides a minimum download speed of one hundred megabits per second and a minimum upload speed of one hundred megabits per second.
   (iii)  Directly benefits or provides broadband service to the area.
   (3)  The relative download and upload speeds of proposed projects for all applicants.
   (4)  The specific product attributes resulting from the proposed project, including technologies that provide higher qualities of service, such as service levels, latency, and other service attributes as determined by the office commission.
   (5)  The percentage of the homes, farms, schools, and businesses in the targeted service area that will be provided access to broadband service.
   (6)  The proportion of proposed projects that will result in the installation of broadband infrastructure in a targeted service area within which the only broadband service available provides the tier 1 download and upload speeds specified in the definition of targeted service area in section 8B.1.
   (7)  The applicant’s ability to complete the proposed project in a timely manner and within the applicant’s total proposed budget.
   (8)  The applicant’s market gap and demand studies, independently reviewed business viability modeling, regional planning, and other cost-effective methods and operations the applicant will use to provide broadband service in the area.
   (9)  The rates the applicant will charge to customers of its broadband service in the area.
   (10)  Whether the applicant will give preference to purchasing Iowa products and purchases from Iowa-based businesses in conjunction with the installation of broadband infrastructure for the proposed project.
   (7)  (11)  Other factors the office commission deems relevant.
   b.  In considering the factors listed in paragraph “a” for awarding grants pursuant to this section, the office commission shall afford the greatest weight to the factors described in paragraph “a”, subparagraphs (1) through (3), and subparagraph subparagraphs (6) and (10).
   5.   The total amount of the grants the office commission awards from the empower rural Iowa broadband grant fund pursuant to this section shall not exceed any of the following amounts:
   a.  Seventy-five percent of a communications service provider’s project costs for projects that will result in the installation of broadband infrastructure in a targeted service area within which no communications service provider offers or facilitates broadband service that provides download and upload speeds less than or equal to the tier 1 download and upload speeds specified in the definition of targeted service area in section 8B.1.
   b.  Fifty percent of a communications service provider’s project costs for projects that will result in the installation of broadband infrastructure in a targeted service area within which no communications service provider offers or facilitates broadband service that provides download and upload speeds less than or equal to the tier 2 download and upload speeds specified in the definition of targeted service area in section 8B.1.
   c.  Thirty-five percent of a communications service provider’s project costs for projects that will result in the installation of broadband infrastructure in a targeted service area within which no communications service provider offers or facilitates broadband service that provides download speeds less than or equal to the tier 3 download speed specified in the definition of targeted service area in section 8B.1.
   6.  Notwithstanding subsections 3 and 5, communications service providers may apply to the office commission for a grant pursuant to this section for the installation of broadband infrastructure that facilitates broadband service providing a minimum download speed of one hundred megabits per second and a minimum upload speed of twenty megabits per second in targeted service areas pursuant to this subsection. The office commission shall make available a public internet site identifying all publicly available information contained in the applications and any results of performance testing conducted after the project is completed.
   a.  The office commission shall award grants under this subsection on a competitive basis after considering the factors provided in subsection 4 and affording weight to the factors pursuant to subsection 4, paragraph “b”. 
   b.  The total amount of the grants the office commission shall award pursuant to this subsection shall not exceed fifty percent of a communications service provider’s project costs for projects that will result in the installation of broadband infrastructure in a targeted service area within which no communications service provider offers or facilitates broadband service that provides download and upload speeds less than or equal to the tier 1 download and upload speeds specified in the definition of targeted service area in section 8B.1.
   7.  Notwithstanding subsections 5 and 6, at least twenty percent of the total amount of the grants the office commission awards from the empower rural Iowa broadband grant fund pursuant to this section shall be allocated to projects that will result in the installation of broadband infrastructure in difficult to serve targeted service areas within which no communications service provider offers or facilitates broadband service that provides download and upload speeds less than or equal to the tier 1 download and upload speeds specified in the definition of targeted service area in section 8B.1. For purposes of this subsection, a targeted service area is difficult to serve if the soil conditions, topography, or other local conditions make the installation of broadband infrastructure in the targeted service area more time-consuming or labor-intensive compared to other areas of the state.
   8.  The office commission shall provide public notice regarding the application process and receipt of funding.
   9.  The terms of a grant awarded under this section shall contain, at a minimum, a provision that requires the repayment of the grant by a communications service provider if the communications service provider does not meet any of the requirements of the grant award or if the broadband infrastructure installed by the communications service provider does not facilitate broadband service as provided in subsection 3. The repayment of moneys awarded pursuant to this subsection shall be considered a tax payment due and payable to the department of revenue by any taxpayer who has received such moneys, and the failure to make such a repayment shall be treated by the department of revenue in the same manner as a failure to pay the tax shown due or required to be shown due with the filing of a return or deposit form.
   9.  10.  The office commission may adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A interpreting this chapter or necessary for administering this chapter, including but not limited to rules relating to the broadband grant program process, management, and measurements as deemed necessary by the office commission.
   10.  11.  The office commission shall adopt rules establishing procedures to allow aggrieved applicants an opportunity to challenge the office’s commission’s award of grants under this section.
   Sec. ___.  Section 8B.25, subsections 2 and 3, Code 2021, are amended to read as follows:
   2.  The office commission shall lead and coordinate a program to provide for the installation of fiberoptic network conduit where such conduit does not exist. The chief information officer commission shall consult and coordinate with applicable agencies and entities as determined appropriate to ensure that the opportunity is provided to lay or install fiberoptic network conduit wherever a state-funded construction project involves trenching, boring, a bridge, a roadway, or opening of the ground, or alongside any state-owned infrastructure.
   3.  Contingent upon the provision of funding for such purposes by the general assembly, the office commission may contract with a nongovernmental third party to manage, lease, install, or otherwise provide fiberoptic network conduit access for projects described in this section. This section does not require coordination with or approval from the office commission pursuant to this program or installation of fiberoptic conduit as required by this section for construction projects not using public funding.
   Sec. ___.  NEW SECTION.  16.300  Broadband infrastructure and fiberoptic infrastructure.
   1.  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:
   a.  “Broadband” means the same as defined in section 8B.1.
   b.  “Broadband infrastructure” means the same as defined in section 8B.1.
   c.  “Commission” means the same as defined in section 8B.1.
   d.  “Communications service provider” means the same as defined in section 8B.1.
   e.  “Fiberoptic infrastructure” means the same as defined in section 8B.1.
   2.  The authority may issue a maximum of two hundred fifty million dollars of its bonds and notes annually and loan the proceeds of the bonds and notes to a communications service provider that has received a grant from the empower rural Iowa broadband grant fund pursuant to section 8B.11 for the purpose of financing the installation of broadband infrastructure or fiberoptic infrastructure.
   3.  The authority may enter into a loan agreement with a communications service provider for the purpose of financing the installation of broadband infrastructure or fiberoptic infrastructure and shall provide for payment of the loan and security for the loan as the authority deems advisable. The loan may be secured by any of the following:
   a.  The communications service provider’s revenue that is generated by the provision of broadband service.
   b.  The fiberoptic infrastructure installed by the communications service provider.
   4.  In the resolution authorizing the issuance of the bonds or notes pursuant to this section, the authority may provide that the related principal and interest are limited obligations payable solely out of the revenues derived from the debt obligation, collateral, or other security furnished by or on behalf of the communications service provider, and the principal or interest does not constitute an indebtedness of the authority or a charge against the authority’s general credit or general fund.
   5.  The commission shall provide credit enhancement to the authority’s annual issuance of bonds or notes pursuant to subsection 2 through any of the following methods:
   a.  Establishing an escrow account and transferring fifty millions dollars from the empower rural Iowa broadband grant fund into the escrow account.
   b.  Pledging payment of fifty million dollars of the bonds or notes for the first ten years of their issuance from the empower rural Iowa broadband grant fund.
   6.  The authority shall establish an escrow account and transfer ten percent of the amount loaned to a communications service provider pursuant to a loan agreement to the escrow account to be held in reserve for debt service for five years after the date of the loan agreement.
   7.  A communications service provider that has entered into a loan agreement pursuant to this section shall impose, collect, and increase, if necessary, user charges, taxes, or other dedicated revenue sources in order to maintain annual net revenues at a level equal to at least one hundred ten percent of the amount necessary to pay debt service on all obligations during the next fiscal year.
   8.  The powers granted the authority under this section are in addition to the authority’s other powers under this chapter. All other provisions of this chapter, except section 16.28, subsection 4, apply to bonds or notes issued pursuant to, and powers granted to the authority under this section, except to the extent the provisions are inconsistent with this section.
   9.  The authority shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A to administer and interpret this section.>
   2.  By renumbering as necessary.

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ZACH WAHLS