II 118th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 2542 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES July 26, 2023 Mrs. Fischer (for herself and Mr. Luján ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry A BILL To amend the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to establish a last acre program, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Linking Access to Spur Technology for Agriculture Connectivity in Rural Environments Act of 2023 or the LAST ACRE Act of 2023 . 2. Last Acre Program (a) Amendment Title VI of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 ( 7 U.S.C. 950bb et seq. ) is amended by adding at the end the following: 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 deployment for agricultural producers by expanding high-speed internet access across the last acre. (b) Definitions In this section: (1) Broadband internet access service 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 successor regulation). (2) Broadband maps The term broadband maps means any map created under— (A) section 802(c)(1) of the Communications 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. (4) Configuration management plan The term configuration management plan , with respect 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 directly engaged in the production of agricultural products, including crops or livestock, on eligible land that is unserved or underserved, such that a majority of the gross income of the person or entity is derived from those products. (B) Inclusion The term covered producer includes agricultural research centers of the Agricultural Research Service. (6) Covered provider The term covered provider means— (A) with respect to the provision of qualified connectivity to eligible land, a provider of broadband internet access service; or (B) with respect to the provision of wireless solutions using or extending the range of network connectivity, a provider of wireless equipment or communications services, in association with an entity described in subparagraph (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 livestock. (8) Farm site The term farm site means a portion of land contiguous to land actively devoted to agricultural production and that includes improvements that are agricultural or horticultural in nature. (9) Limited resource farmer or rancher (A) In general Subject to subparagraphs (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 Service; and (ii) that has a total household income that is— (I) at or below the national poverty 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 documentation to verify the status of the covered producer. (C) Exclusion For purposes of this paragraph, the term covered producer does not include the agricultural research centers described in paragraph (5)(B). (10) Precision agriculture The term precision agriculture means managing, tracking, or reducing crop or livestock production inputs, including seed, feed, fertilizer, chemicals, water, and time, at a heightened level of spatial and temporal granularity to improve efficiencies, reduce waste, and maintain or improve environmental quality. (11) Qualifying connectivity (A) In general The term qualifying connectivity means the service offered by a covered 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 transmission capacity; and (ii) carries out not less than 1 of the activities described in subparagraph (B). (B) Activities described The activities referred to in subparagraph (A)(ii) are— (i) providing broadband internet access service by any technology to structures and devices on eligible land, including tractors, combines, irrigation systems, drones, under-soil sensors, livestock facilities, and farm offices; (ii) providing multipoint wireless network connectivity that facilitates data transmission between structures and devices on eligible land, including structures and devices described in clause (i); and (iii) supporting— (I) the construction of wireless infrastructure, including poles, towers, base stations, or other structures, regardless 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 center pivots, to accommodate wireless infrastructure. (12) Remote area The term remote area means the frontier and remote ZIP Code areas published 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 service that is capable of a speed of not less than— (A) a 100-Mbps downstream transmission capacity; and (B) a 20-Mbps upstream transmission capacity. (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 capacity. (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 qualifying connectivity to unserved and underserved eligible land. (2) Limitation Of the amounts made available under subsection (k) for a fiscal year for assistance 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 assistance provided to the covered provider under subsection (c), as necessary, to address the cybersecurity 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 subsection (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 subparagraph (A) to 90 percent if the covered producer of the applicable eligible land is a limited resource farmer or rancher. (e) Bid applications (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 covered 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 capable 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 specific commitments contained in the application, 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 covered 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 providers (A) In general Not later than the date on which the Secretary establishes the program under this section pursuant to subsection (c), the Secretary shall create an online portal within which covered providers may register voluntarily 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 provider to submit the minimum amount of information necessary for the covered provider to demonstrate to the Secretary that the covered provider— (i) is capable of carrying out activities for which assistance is provided under subsection (c) in compliance with all applicable 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 operational capability— (I) to construct and operate broadband networks; and (II) to meet the requirement described in paragraph (1) of subsection (g) and provide the cybersecurity certification required under paragraph (2) of that subsection. (C) Prohibitions In registering covered providers under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall not— (i) require a covered provider to provide any proprietary business information for purposes of registering under that subparagraph; or (ii) require a covered provider to participate in the program under this section. (D) Public availability The Secretary may make a list of covered providers registered under subparagraph (A) publicly available. (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 applications for the proposed service area. (B) Notification to covered providers 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 providers the necessary identifying information of eligible land contained in a complete 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 application without assistance under subsection (c); (II) the covered provider could initiate qualifying connectivity through a routine installation within 10 business days of a request with no extraordinary monetary charges or delays attributable to the extension of the network of the covered provider; or (III) the covered provider has an enforceable commitment to deploy broadband to the eligible land. (ii) Adjudication of challenges (I) Process The Secretary shall establish a transparent, evidence-based, and expeditious process for adjudicating a challenge submitted under clause (i) with respect to a location within 90 business days of the date on which the Secretary posts the information described in subparagraph (B)(i). (II) Requirement The process established by the Secretary under subclause (I) shall include making publicly available on the website of the Secretary a written notice describing the outcome and reason for the decision of the Secretary with respect to each challenge submitted under clause (i). (III) Limitation The Secretary may not award any assistance under subsection (c) for a particular application until all challenges with respect to the eligible land described in that application have been fully adjudicated. (iii) New solicitation If, after adjudicating a challenge under clause (i), the Secretary determines that the land subject to the challenge is eligible land that is unserved or underserved, the Secretary shall transmit to each covered provider registered under paragraph (2)(A) a bid notification for the provision of qualifying connectivity to the eligible land. (D) Competing bid applications A covered provider registered under paragraph (2)(A) that receives a notification under subparagraph (B)(ii) or a notification under subparagraph (C)(iii) and wishes to submit a competing bid application for provision of qualifying connectivity to the eligible land described in that notification shall, not later than 120 days after the date on which the covered provider registered under paragraph (2)(A) receives the notification, submit to the Secretary a competing bid application to provide that qualifying connectivity in accordance with paragraph (1). (E) Evaluation Not later than 30 business days after the date on which the 120-day period described in subparagraph (D) ends, the Secretary shall evaluate the bid applications received and select the applicant that— (i) presents the lowest cost to the Secretary for the provision of qualifying connectivity to the eligible land that is unserved or underserved; and (ii) best demonstrates to the covered producer the ability to provide downstream and upstream transmission capacity that can reliably support the specific connectivity needs of all on-farm applications described in the bid application, including mobility, if mobility was included in the bid application. (F) Enhanced speeds (i) Finding Congress finds that there are unique connectivity needs to support the adoption of precision agriculture. (ii) Prioritization In selecting bid applicants under subparagraph (E), the Secretary may give priority to a covered provider that offers enhanced service speeds that are greater than those described in subsection (b)(11)(A)(i), if the applicant demonstrates that the proposal to serve the eligible land of a covered producer that is unserved or underserved requires such enhanced service speeds. (G) Treatment of proprietary information (i) In general The prohibition under paragraph (2)(C)(i) shall not apply to a covered provider in the submission of a bid application under this subsection, including a competing bid application under subparagraph (D) or a challenge under subparagraph (C), if the proprietary information is necessary for the Secretary— (I) to determine the eligibility of a covered provider; or (II) to evaluate an initial bid application, competing bid application, or challenge. (ii) Disclosure in notification (I) In general In the notification required under subparagraph (B), the Secretary— (aa) shall only disclose the necessary and appropriate information contained within an initial bid application for the purposes of facilitating competing bid applications; and (bb) shall not divulge proprietary information of the applicable covered provider and covered producer in the application. (II) Requirement In a bid application under this subsection, including a competing bid application under subparagraph (D) or a challenge under subparagraph (C), an applicant shall clearly mark any proprietary information with the term confidential proprietary information . (iii) Treatment If a covered provider provides in a bid application under this subsection, including a competing bid application under subparagraph (D) or a challenge under subparagraph (C), proprietary information that constitutes a trade secret, proprietary commercial or financial information, confidential business information, or data affecting national security, the Secretary shall treat the information in confidence to the greatest extent permitted by law. (iv) Privacy Nothing in this section affects the applicability to this section of section 1619 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 ( 7 U.S.C. 8791 ). (4) Timeline (A) In general For each project for which assistance under subsection (c) is provided, the Secretary shall establish service buildout milestones and periodic certifications by recipients of the assistance for purposes of project compliance and implementation. (B) Requirement The milestones required under subparagraph (A) shall establish a maximum buildout timeframe of not more than 4 years from the date on which the assistance is provided. (C) Penalties The Secretary shall establish and enforce standardized penalties, fines, and sanctions for noncompliance with a milestone or certification established under subparagraph (A). (f) Priority In providing assistance under subsection (c), the Secretary shall give priority to applications to carry out projects in the following order: (1) Unserved eligible land in remote areas. (2) Other unserved eligible land. (3) Underserved eligible land in remote areas. (4) Other underserved eligible land. (g) Cybersecurity As a condition on receipt of assistance under subsection (c), a covered provider shall— (1) ensure that any structure, device, or system provided or constructed using the assistance incorporates a layered defense strategy as a means of defensible security architecture; and (2) certify to the Secretary that the covered provider maintains a regularly updated configuration management plan. (h) Prohibition In selecting recipients of assistance under subsection (c), the Secretary shall not advantage or disadvantage the selection of a recipient under this section based on consideration of the existence, or lack thereof, of any State law. (i) Report to Congress The Secretary shall, on an annual basis— (1) submit to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives a report that describes the outcome of the bids that occurred during the previous fiscal year, including the number of parcels of eligible land for which initial bid applications were submitted during the previous fiscal year, the number of challenges filed under subsection (e)(3)(C) during the previous fiscal year, the outcomes of those challenges, the number of competing bid applications received under this section, and the respective amounts awarded for eligible land; and (2) make the report required under paragraph (1) publicly available on the website of the Secretary. (j) Provision of data to FCC The Secretary shall, on an annual basis, make the necessary data available to the Commission for inclusion on the broadband maps. (k) Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section such sums as are necessary for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028. . (b) Repeal Section 602 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 ( 7 U.S.C. 950bb–1 ) is repealed. 3. National Agricultural Statistics Service data collection on broadband adoption To provide for the collection and analysis by the National Agricultural Statistics Service of more comprehensive broadband usage data, the Secretary of Agriculture shall update the computer usage and ownership survey and the census of agriculture conducted under section 2 of the Census of Agriculture Act of 1997 ( 7 U.S.C. 2204g ) to contain questions relating to— (1) whether the respondent subscribes to a broadband internet access service for a farm site (as defined in section 607(b) of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936); and (2) if the respondent subscribes to the broadband internet access service described in paragraph (1)— (A) the download and upload speeds of the broadband internet access service to which the respondent is subscribed; and (B) the purposes for which the internet access is used, including the use of precision agriculture (as defined in section 607(b) of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936).