I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 6142 
To amend the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to establish a last acre 
program, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 1, 2023 
Mr. FINSTAD (for himself and Ms. CARAVEO) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to 
the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently 
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi-
sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to establish 
a last acre program, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Linking Access to Spur 
Technology for Agriculture Connectivity in Rural Environ-
ments Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘LAST ACRE Act of 2023’’. 
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SEC. 2. LAST ACRE PROGRAM. 
(a) AMENDMENT.—Title VI of the Rural Electrifica-
tion Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 950bb et seq.) is amended by 
adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 607. LAST ACRE PROGRAM. 
‘‘(a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are— 
‘‘(1) 
to 
advance 
precision 
agriculture 
connectivity nationwide; and 
‘‘(2) to augment last mile broadband deploy-
ment for agricultural producers by expanding high- 
speed internet access across the last acre. 
‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) BROADBAND
INTERNET
ACCESS
SERV-
ICE.—The term ‘broadband internet access service’ 
has the meaning given the term in section 8.1(b) of 
title 47, Code of Federal Regulations (or any suc-
cessor regulation). 
‘‘(2) BROADBAND MAPS.—The term ‘broadband 
maps’ means any map created under— 
‘‘(A) section 802(c)(1) of the Communica-
tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 642(c)(1)); or 
‘‘(B) section 60105 of the Infrastructure 
Investment and Jobs Act (47 U.S.C. 1704). 
‘‘(3) COMMISSION.—The term ‘Commission’ 
means the Federal Communications Commission. 
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‘‘(4) CONFIGURATION
MANAGEMENT
PLAN.— 
The term ‘configuration management plan’, with re-
spect to a covered provider, means a comprehensive 
description of the roles, responsibilities, policies, and 
procedures intended to improve the integrity of the 
systems and networks of the covered provider. 
‘‘(5) COVERED PRODUCER.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘covered 
producer’ means a person or entity that is di-
rectly engaged in the production of agricultural 
products, including crops or livestock, on eligi-
ble land that is unserved or underserved, such 
that a majority of the gross income of the per-
son or entity is derived from those products. 
‘‘(B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘covered pro-
ducer’ includes agricultural research centers of 
the Agricultural Research Service. 
‘‘(6) COVERED PROVIDER.—The term ‘covered 
provider’ means— 
‘‘(A) with respect to the provision of quali-
fied connectivity to eligible land, a provider of 
broadband internet access service; or 
‘‘(B) with respect to the provision of wire-
less solutions using or extending the range of 
network connectivity, a provider of wireless 
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equipment or communications services, in asso-
ciation with an entity described in subpara-
graph (A). 
‘‘(7) ELIGIBLE LAND.—The term ‘eligible land’ 
means cropland, grassland, rangeland, pastureland, 
farm sites, and other agricultural land used for the 
active production of agricultural commodities or live-
stock. 
‘‘(8) FARM SITE.—The term ‘farm site’ means 
a portion of land contiguous to land actively devoted 
to agricultural production and that includes im-
provements that are agricultural or horticultural in 
nature. 
‘‘(9) LIMITED RESOURCE FARMER OR RANCH-
ER.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graphs (B) and (C), the term ‘limited resource 
farmer or rancher’ means a covered producer— 
‘‘(i) with direct or indirect gross farm 
sales in each of the previous 2 years of not 
more than $100,000, as adjusted for 
changes in inflation since 2002 using the 
Prices Paid by Farmer Index compiled by 
the National Agricultural Statistics Serv-
ice; and 
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‘‘(ii) that has a total household in-
come that is— 
‘‘(I) at or below the national pov-
erty level for a family of 4; or 
‘‘(II) less than 50 percent of the 
county median household income in 
each of the previous 2 years. 
‘‘(B) DOCUMENTATION.—For purposes of 
determining if a covered producer is a limited 
resource farmer or rancher, the Secretary may 
require the submission of sufficient documenta-
tion to verify the status of the covered pro-
ducer. 
‘‘(C) EXCLUSION.—For purposes of this 
paragraph, the term ‘covered producer’ does not 
include the agricultural research centers de-
scribed in paragraph (5)(B). 
‘‘(10) PRECISION
AGRICULTURE.—The term 
‘precision agriculture’ means managing, tracking, or 
reducing crop or livestock production inputs, includ-
ing seed, feed, fertilizer, chemicals, water, and time, 
at a heightened level of spatial and temporal granu-
larity to improve efficiencies, reduce waste, and 
maintain or improve environmental quality. 
‘‘(11) QUALIFYING CONNECTIVITY.— 
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‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualifying 
connectivity’ means the service offered by a cov-
ered provider as a result of assistance under 
subsection (c) that— 
‘‘(i) is capable of a speed of not less 
than— 
‘‘(I) a 100–Mbps downstream 
transmission capacity; and 
‘‘(II) a 20–Mbps upstream trans-
mission capacity; and 
‘‘(ii) carries out not less than 1 of the 
activities described in subparagraph (B). 
‘‘(B) ACTIVITIES DESCRIBED.—The activi-
ties referred to in subparagraph (A)(ii) are— 
‘‘(i) providing broadband internet ac-
cess service by any technology to struc-
tures and devices on eligible land, includ-
ing tractors, combines, irrigation systems, 
drones, under-soil sensors, livestock facili-
ties, and farm offices; 
‘‘(ii) providing multipoint wireless net-
work connectivity that facilitates data 
transmission between structures and de-
vices on eligible land, including structures 
and devices described in clause (i); and 
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‘‘(iii) supporting— 
‘‘(I) the construction of wireless 
infrastructure, including poles, towers, 
base stations, or other structures, re-
gardless of whether the structure has 
an existing antenna facility, that is 
used or will be used for the provision 
of wireless service; or 
‘‘(II) the retrofitting of existing 
towers or vertical structures, such as 
water towers, grain elevators, or cen-
ter pivots, to accommodate wireless 
infrastructure. 
‘‘(12) REMOTE AREA.—The term ‘remote area’ 
means the frontier and remote ZIP Code areas pub-
lished by the Economic Research Service. 
‘‘(13) UNDERSERVED.—The term ‘underserved’ 
means, with respect to eligible land, that the eligible 
land lacks access to broadband internet access serv-
ice that is capable of a speed of not less than— 
‘‘(A) a 100–Mbps downstream trans-
mission capacity; and 
‘‘(B) a 20–Mbps upstream transmission 
capacity. 
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‘‘(14) UNSERVED.—The term ‘unserved’ means, 
with respect to eligible land, eligible land that lacks 
access to broadband internet access service that is 
capable of a speed of not less than— 
‘‘(A) a 25–Mbps downstream transmission 
capacity; and 
‘‘(B) a 3–Mbps upstream transmission ca-
pacity. 
‘‘(c) ESTABLISHMENT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary 
shall establish a program, to be known as the ‘Last 
Acre Program’, to make grants and loans to covered 
providers on a competitive basis to provide quali-
fying connectivity to unserved and underserved eligi-
ble land. 
‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—Of the amounts made avail-
able under subsection (k) for a fiscal year for assist-
ance under paragraph (1), the Secretary may award 
not more than 10 percent to agricultural research 
centers described in subsection (b)(5)(B). 
‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.— 
‘‘(1) CYBERSECURITY.—The Secretary may 
allow a covered provider to use a portion of the as-
sistance provided to the covered provider under sub-
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section (c), as necessary, to address the cybersecu-
rity requirements under subsection (g). 
‘‘(2) PROHIBITION.—The Secretary shall not 
award any assistance under subsection (c) for 
broadband internet access service— 
‘‘(A) to an inhabitable residence that is 
identified as serviceable or as to be served due 
to an enforceable commitment to deploy on the 
broadband maps; or 
‘‘(B) on a commercial basis to surrounding 
areas outside the eligible land. 
‘‘(3) FEDERAL SHARE.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
subparagraph (B), the Federal share of a 
project carried out using assistance under sub-
section (c) shall be not more than 80 percent of 
the total cost of the project. 
‘‘(B) LIMITED
RESOURCE
FARMERS
OR 
RANCHERS.—The Secretary may increase the 
Federal share of the costs described in subpara-
graph (A) to 90 percent if the covered producer 
of the applicable eligible land is a limited re-
source farmer or rancher. 
‘‘(e) BID APPLICATIONS.— 
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‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—To apply for assistance 
under subsection (c), a covered provider shall submit 
to the Secretary an application in such manner and 
containing such information as the Secretary may 
require, including— 
‘‘(A) the measures by which the covered 
producer has engaged with the covered provider 
to 
identify 
the 
appropriate 
qualifying 
connectivity plan to serve the eligible land of 
the covered producer; 
‘‘(B) a description of how the assistance 
provided under subsection (c) would be used to 
establish 
qualifying 
connectivity 
on 
the 
unserved or underserved eligible land of a cov-
ered producer, including the entire acreage in 
need of qualifying connectivity; 
‘‘(C) the amount of the Federal share for 
the project and the amount of the non-Federal 
share for the project; 
‘‘(D) whether the covered provider is capa-
ble of carrying out the specific funded activities 
in compliance with all Federal, State, and local 
laws; 
‘‘(E) whether the covered provider has the 
financial and managerial capacity to meet the 
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specific commitments contained in the applica-
tion, including buildout obligations; 
‘‘(F) whether the covered provider has the 
technical and operational capability to construct 
and operate broadband networks; 
‘‘(G) whether the eligible land of the cov-
ered producer— 
‘‘(i) is unserved or underserved; and 
‘‘(ii) is not subject to an enforceable 
commitment to deploy broadband by the 
applicant or another covered provider, as 
determined according to the broadband 
maps; and 
‘‘(H) any additional information that the 
Secretary determines necessary to ensure the 
effective function of the program under this 
section. 
‘‘(2) 
REGISTRATION
OF
COVERED
PRO-
VIDERS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than the 
date on which the Secretary establishes the pro-
gram under this section pursuant to subsection 
(c), the Secretary shall create an online portal 
within which covered providers may register vol-
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untarily with the Secretary for purposes of the 
program under this section. 
‘‘(B) REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS.—To 
register with the Secretary under subparagraph 
(A), the Secretary shall require a covered pro-
vider to submit the minimum amount of infor-
mation necessary for the covered provider to 
demonstrate to the Secretary that the covered 
provider— 
‘‘(i) is capable of carrying out activi-
ties for which assistance is provided under 
subsection (c) in compliance with all appli-
cable Federal, State, and local laws; 
‘‘(ii) has the financial and managerial 
capacity to meet commitments necessary to 
carry out the projects for which assistance 
is received under subsection (c); and 
‘‘(iii) has the technical and oper-
ational capability— 
‘‘(I) to construct and operate 
broadband networks; and 
‘‘(II) to meet the requirement de-
scribed in paragraph (1) of subsection 
(g) and provide the cybersecurity cer-
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tification required under paragraph 
(2) of that subsection. 
‘‘(C) PROHIBITIONS.—In registering cov-
ered providers under subparagraph (A), the 
Secretary shall not— 
‘‘(i) require a covered provider to pro-
vide any proprietary business information 
for purposes of registering under that sub-
paragraph; or 
‘‘(ii) require a covered provider to 
participate in the program under this sec-
tion. 
‘‘(D) PUBLIC
AVAILABILITY.—The Sec-
retary may make a list of covered providers reg-
istered under subparagraph (A) publicly avail-
able. 
‘‘(3) BIDDING.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—After the Secretary 
receives a complete initial bid application under 
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall allow covered 
providers registered under paragraph (2)(A) 
that operate contiguous to, near, or partially on 
the eligible land that is the subject of the initial 
bid application to submit competing bid applica-
tions for the proposed service area. 
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‘‘(B) NOTIFICATION
TO
COVERED
PRO-
VIDERS.—Not less frequently than once every 
30 days, the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(i) post on an internet website of the 
Secretary that is accessible to covered pro-
viders the necessary identifying informa-
tion of eligible land contained in a com-
plete initial bid application; and 
‘‘(ii) not later than 24 hours after the 
time at which the information described in 
clause (i) is posted, send notice of that 
post to covered providers registered under 
paragraph (2)(A) by electronic mail. 
‘‘(C) CHALLENGES.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 45 
business days after the date on which the 
Secretary posts the information described 
in subparagraph (B)(i), a covered provider 
may submit to the Secretary notice of a 
challenge of any posted eligible land at 
which— 
‘‘(I) the qualifying connectivity of 
the covered provider is available to the 
entire portion of land in the initial bid 
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