Title: Governors' Broadband Development Fund Act of 2020
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications

Summary:
Governors' Broadband Development Fund Act of 2020
This bill establishes the Broadband Development Grant Program, under which the Federal Communications Commission shall make grants of at least $75 million to states for broadband development. A state that receives such a grant must give priority to opportunity zones and unserved areas or locations and must expend at least 5% of the grant funds in a technologically neutral manner to support broadband adoption by populations that face barriers to digital equity.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4411 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4411

  To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to establish in the Federal 
   Communications Commission the Broadband Development Grant Program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 4, 2020

 Mr. Graham (for himself, Mr. Warner, and Mr. Scott of South Carolina) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
           Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to establish in the Federal 
   Communications Commission the Broadband Development Grant Program.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Governors' Broadband Development 
Fund Act of 2020''.

SEC. 2. GOVERNORS' BROADBAND DEVELOPMENT FUND.

    Title I of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 14. BROADBAND DEVELOPMENT GRANT PROGRAM.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section--
            ``(1) the term `anchor institution' means--
                    ``(A) a public or private elementary school or 
                secondary school, as those terms are defined in section 
                8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
                1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801);
                    ``(B) a library;
                    ``(C) a medical or healthcare provider;
                    ``(D) a museum;
                    ``(E) a public safety entity;
                    ``(F) public housing;
                    ``(G) an institution of higher education, as that 
                term is defined in section 101 of the Higher Education 
                Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001), including a community 
                college; or
                    ``(H) any other community support organization or 
                agency;
            ``(2) the term `broadband' has the meaning given the term 
        `broadband internet access service' in section 8.1(b) of title 
        47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation;
            ``(3) the term `covered entity'--
                    ``(A) means an entity that--
                            ``(i) is owned by, controlled by, 
                        affiliated with, or acting at the direction of 
                        an entity that is organized under the laws of, 
                        or otherwise subject to the jurisdiction of, a 
                        country, the government of which is on the 
                        priority watch list established by the United 
                        States Trade Representative pursuant to section 
                        182(a) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 
                        2242(a)); and
                            ``(ii) has engaged in an action that is 
                        prohibited under--
                                    ``(I) section 1(a) of Executive 
                                Order 13873 (84 Fed. Reg. 22689; 
                                relating to securing the information 
                                and communications technology and 
                                services supply chain); or
                                    ``(II) any regulations issued in 
                                response to the Executive order 
                                described in subclause (I); and
                    ``(B) includes any subsidiary, affiliate, employee, 
                or representative of, and any related party with 
                respect to, an entity described in subparagraph (A), 
                without regard to the location or jurisdiction of 
                incorporation of that subsidiary, affiliate, employee, 
                representative, or party, as applicable;
            ``(4) the term `Program' means the Broadband Development 
        Grant Program established under this section;
            ``(5) the term `public housing'--
                    ``(A) has the meaning given the term in section 
                3(b) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 
                U.S.C. 1437a(b)); and
                    ``(B) includes housing receiving tenant-based 
                rental assistance provided under section 8(o) of the 
                United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o));
            ``(6) the term `qualified opportunity zone' has the meaning 
        given the term in section 1400Z-1(a) of the Internal Revenue 
        Code of 1986; and
            ``(7) the term `unserved anchor institution' means an 
        anchor institution that does not have access to broadband 
        offered with--
                    ``(A) a download speed of at least 100 megabits per 
                second; and
                    ``(B) an upload speed of at least 10 megabits per 
                second.
    ``(b) Program.--
            ``(1) Establishment of program.--There is established in 
        the Commission the Broadband Development Grant Program.
            ``(2) Grants.--From the amounts made available to carry out 
        this section, the Commission shall make grants under the 
        Program to each State that has submitted an application for 
        such a grant that the Commission has approved.
    ``(c) Applications.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Commission shall--
                    ``(A) not later than 90 days after the date of 
                enactment of this section, issue a notice inviting 
                States to submit applications with respect to the 
                Program, which shall contain the amount available to 
                each State; and
                    ``(B) not later than 60 days after the date on 
                which the Commission receives an application described 
                in subparagraph (A), approve or deny the application.
            ``(2) Rules for states.--
                    ``(A) Limitation.--A State may submit only 1 
                application under this section with respect to the 
                State, which may contain a comprehensive overview of 
                multiple project proposals, each of which shall satisfy 
                the requirements of this section and any rules issued 
                under this section.
                    ``(B) Timeline.--A State shall submit to the 
                Commission an application under paragraph (1) not later 
                than 90 days after the date on which the Commission 
                issues the notice under that paragraph.
    ``(d) Amount of Grant.--The amount of a grant that a State receives 
under this section shall be determined as follows, subject to the 
availability of appropriations:
            ``(1) Each State receiving a grant under this section shall 
        receive a grant in an amount that is not less than $75,000,000.
            ``(2) Of the amounts remaining to carry out this section 
        after carrying out paragraph (1), the Commission shall use the 
        following calculation with respect to the State:
                    ``(A) Divide the number of individuals living in 
                the State by the total number of individuals living in 
                the United States.
                    ``(B) Multiply the total amount made available to 
                carry out this section after carrying out paragraph (1) 
                by the quotient obtained under subparagraph (A).
    ``(e) Uses of Funds.--
            ``(1) In general.--A State that receives a grant under the 
        Program--
                    ``(A) shall--
                            ``(i) expend not less than 30 percent of 
                        the grant funds in qualified opportunity zones 
                        within the State;
                            ``(ii) prioritize expending grant funds in 
                        areas or locations that are not served by 
                        existing broadband networks;
                            ``(iii) expend not less than 5 percent of 
                        the grant funds in a technologically neutral 
                        manner to support the adoption of broadband by 
                        populations within the State that are 
                        identified as facing barriers to digital 
                        equity; and
                            ``(iv) prioritize project proposals that--
                                    ``(I) would provide broadband not 
                                later than 60 days after the date on 
                                which the project is initiated; and
                                    ``(II) rely on advanced broadband 
                                capabilities and technologies;
                    ``(B) may expend any of the grant funds, including 
                in a manner described in subparagraph (A), to--
                            ``(i) construct, acquire, or lease 
                        facilities, spectrum, land, or buildings to 
                        deploy broadband for--
                                    ``(I) residential and business 
                                customers; or
                                    ``(II) unserved anchor 
                                institutions, which, in the case of an 
                                unserved anchor institution that is a 
                                medical or healthcare provider, may use 
                                the deployed broadband for telehealth 
                                purposes;
                            ``(ii) provide broadband service free of 
                        charge, or with reduced charges, to unserved 
                        anchor institutions for a period of 2 years; or
                            ``(iii) expand, construct, acquire, or make 
                        improvements to a community center that 
                        provides internet access to the public; and
                    ``(C) may not expend--
                            ``(i) any of the grant funds to purchase 
                        products, materials, or services from a covered 
                        entity; or
                            ``(ii) more than 5 percent of the grant 
                        funds for administrative purposes.
            ``(2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
        a State that receives a grant under the Program should partner 
        with private entities to engage in the uses required and 
        permitted under paragraph (1).
    ``(f) Reallocation.--If, as of the date that is 5 years after the 
date on which a State receives grant funds under the Program, a State 
has not allocated any portion of those funds--
            ``(1) the State shall return those remaining funds to the 
        Commission; and
            ``(2) the Commission shall, in accordance with subsection 
        (d)(2), reallocate the funds received under paragraph (1) to 
        the remaining States for which the Commission has approved 
        applications.
    ``(g) Direct Provision of Broadband.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Program shall contain sufficient 
        measures to ensure that a State that uses grant funds received 
        under the Program to directly provide broadband to consumers 
        applies and enforces, without discrimination, with respect to 
        the State and any other provider of broadband within the 
        jurisdiction of the State, all applicable laws, regulations, 
        and other requirements, including laws, regulations, and 
        requirements relating to--
                    ``(A) taxation;
                    ``(B) zoning;
                    ``(C) land use;
                    ``(D) the building of facilities or other 
                obligations to serve;
                    ``(E) the imposition of regulatory fees;
                    ``(F) customer service;
                    ``(G) public, educational, and governmental access 
                channel mandates; and
                    ``(H) technical quality of service.
            ``(2) Rates.--If a State directly provides broadband to 
        consumers using grant funds received under the Program, the 
        State may not charge a rate for the service in an amount that 
        is less than or equal to the cost of providing the service.
    ``(h) Impact of Other Federal Grant Programs.--Participation by a 
State in the Program shall not impact the eligibility of, or otherwise 
disadvantage, the State with respect to participation in any other 
Federal broadband program.
    ``(i) Reports.--A State that, in a year, receives grant funds under 
the Program shall submit to the Commission--
            ``(1) a report for the applicable year regarding how the 
        State expended the funds; and
            ``(2) a certification that the State, for that year, has 
        complied with the requirements of this section and with any 
        additional requirements prescribed by the Commission, including 
        a description of each service provided with the grant funds and 
        the number of locations in which service was provided using the 
        grant funds.
    ``(j) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Commission $10,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2020 to 
carry out the Program, which shall remain available through fiscal year 
2026.''.
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