An Act To Encourage Broadband Coverage in Rural Maine
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 1399
Committee Amendment CA_A_S223 (Senate)

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to S.P. 477, L.D. 1399, Bill, "An Act To 
Encourage Broadband Coverage in Rural Maine" 
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 5. 
Amend the bill in section 6 in the first paragraph in the 7th line from the end (page 2, 
line 3 in L.D.) by inserting after the following: "an employee of the" the following: 
'Office of Infmmation Technology assigned to the' 
Amend the bill in section 9 in §9301 in subsection 4 in paragraph B in the first line 
(page 3, line 5 in L.D.) by inserting after the following: "service" the following: 'that 
voluntarily chooses to be assessed by the initiative pursuant to section 9311' 
Amend the bill in section 9 in §9301 in subsection 7 in the 3rd line (page 3, line 15 in 
L.D.) by striking out the following: "25" and inserting the following: '10' 
Amend the bill in section 9 in §9302 by striking out all of subsection 1 (page 3, lines 
to 24 in L.D.) and inserting the following: 
'1. Goals. The goals of the State related to high-speed broadband are to ensure the 
availability of competitive, secure, universal high-speed broadband services to promote 
economic development, education, delivery of cost-effective health care and public safety 
and to allow residents and businesses to compete in the national and global economy.' 
Amend the bill in section 9 in §9302 in subsection 2 in paragraph A in the last line 
(page 3, line 28 in L.D.) by inserting after the following: "State;" the following: 'and' 
Amend the bill in section 9 in §9302 in subsection 2 by striking out all of paragraphs 
Band C (page 3, lines 29 to 37 in L.D.) and inserting the following: 
'B. Support and facilitate the construction of advanced communications technology 
infrastructure and access to high-speed broadband service through financial and other 
incentives when partnerships and collaborations are not adequate to achieve the goal 
of providing high-speed broadband access and service to all areas and households, or 
when some areas of the State fall behind significantly in providing services 
Page I - 128LR1305(02)-l 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A" to S.P. 477, L.D. 1399 
equivalent to the variety and quality of services readily available elsewhere in the 
State.' 
Amend the bill in section 9 in §9303 by striking out all of subsection 3 (page 4, lines 
to 37 in L.D.) and inserting the following: 
'3. Maine Broadband Initiative director. The Governor shall, using a full and 
competitive search process, appoint a full-time Maine Broadband Initiative director, 
referred to in this section as "the director," who meets the qualifications in paragraph A. 
The appointee is subject to review by the joint standing committee of the Legislature 
having jurisdiction over public utilities and technology matters and to confirmation by the 
Legislature. 
A. 
The director must have demonstrable experience in the management of 
organizations that maximize partnerships and collaborations to expand the 
availability and deployment of high-speed broadband to unserved areas of the State. 
B. The director serves as the president of the board. The director shall manage the 
initiative's programs, services and employees and shall perform any other duties the 
board considers appropriate. 
The director shall report to the Commissioner of 
Economic and Community Development in the execution of the director's 
responsibilities. 
4. 
Board of Directors of the Maine Broadband Initiative. 
The initiative is 
governed and all of its powers exercised by a board of directors established in Title 5, 
section 12004-G, subsection 33-G. The board consists of 10 voting directors and 1 
nonvoting director. 
A. The Governor shall appoint 6 voting directors. In making appointments, the 
Governor shall give consideration to citizens of the State having knowledge of 
telecommunications technology, telecommunications regulatory law, transportation 
rights-of-way infrastructure, financing, federal funding or economic development. At 
least 4 of the appointees must come from areas of the State where high-speed 
broadband is not available. 
B. 
The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, or the 
commissioner's designee, is an ex officio voting director. 
C. The Chancellor of the University of Maine System, or the chancellor's designee, is 
an ex officio voting director. 
D. The chair of the Public Utilities Commission, or the chair's designee, is an ex 
officio voting director. 
E. The Public Advocate, or the Public Advocate's designee, is an ex officio voting 
director. 
F. The director of the initiative described under subsection 3 is a nonvoting director 
and serves as president of the board.' 
Amend the bill in section 9 in §9303 in subsection 4 in the first 2 lines (page 4, lines 
and 39 in L.D.) by striking out the following: 
", the Speaker of the House of 
Representatives and the President of the Senate" 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
i. d, ~· 
I 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A "to S.P. 477, L.D. 1399 
Amend the bill in section 9 in §9303 by striking out all of subsection 9 (page 5, lines 
to 19 in L.D.) and inserting the following: 
'9. Biennial report. By December 15th of every odd-numbered year, the initiative 
shall provide a report, with audited financial reports, on its activities to the joint standing 
committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over public utilities and technology 
matters.' 
Amend the bill in section 9 in §9303 by renumbering the subsections to read 
consecutively. 
Amend the bill in section 9 in §9304 in subsection 9 in the 4th line (page 6, line 26 in 
L.D.) by inserting after the following: "loans" the following: ', contracts for services' 
Amend the bill in section 9 in §9305 in subsection I in the 9th line (page 7, line 11 in 
L.D.) by striking out the following: "July" and inserting the following: 'September' 
Amend the bill in section 9 in §9311 by inserting after subsection 4 the following: 
'5. Limitation; administrative costs. The initiative may not spend more than I 0% 
of the funds received annually from the fund on administrative costs.' 
Amend the bill in section 10 in §457 in paragraph E in the 2nd line (page 11, line 27 
in L.D.) by striking out the following: "July" and inserting the following: 'September' 
Amend the bill in section 11 in subsection 2 in the first 2 lines (page 11, lines 34 and 
in L.D.) by striking out the following: ", Speaker of the House of Representatives and 
President of the Senate" 
Amend the bill in section 11 by striking out all of subsection 3 (page 12, lines 1 to 11 
in L.D.) and inserting the following: 
'3. Staggered terms. Notwithstanding Title 35-A, section 9303, subsection 4, in 
making the initial appointments of members to the Board of Directors of the Maine 
Broadband Initiative, the Governor shall appoint 2 members to serve an initial term of 
one year, 2 members to serve an initial term of 2 years and 2 members to serve an initial 
term of 3 years. Members appointed pursuant to this subsection may serve no more than 
consecutive terms.' 
Amend the bill in section 11 in subsection 4 in the first line (page 12, line 12 in L.D.) 
by striking out the following: "ConnectME Authority" and inserting the following: 
'Office of Information Technology' 
Amend the bill in section 11 in subsection 4 in the first line (page 12, line 12 in L.D.) 
by inserting after the following: 
"Employees of the" the following: 
'Office of 
Information Technology assigned to the' 
Amend the bill by inserting after section 11 the following: 
'Sec. 12. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and 
allocations are made. 
ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, DEPARTMENT OF 
Office of Broadband Development Z245 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
\\, (i ~· 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A 
"to S.P. 477, L.D. 1399 
Initiative: Provides funds for one Public Service Executive II position to serve as 
President of the Maine Broadband Initiative effective January 1, 2018. 
GENERAL FUND 
POSITIONS - LEGISLATIVE COUNT 
Personal Services 
GENERAL FUND TOT AL 
2017-18 
1.000 
$66,040 
$66,040 
2018-19 
1.000 
$136,094 
$136,094 
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or 
section number to read consecutively. 
SUMMARY 
This amendment makes the following changes to the bill: 
1. 
It clarifies the process for the appointment and confirmation of the Maine 
Broadband Initiative director by requiring that the Governor appoint a person who has 
experience in the management of organizations that maximize partnerships and 
collaborations. The amendment also provides that the appointee is subject to review by 
the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over public utilities 
and technology matters rather than telecommunications and broadband matters and must 
be confirmed by the Legislature rather than the Board of Directors of the Maine 
Broadband Initiative; 
2. It changes the definition of "unserved area" to mean an area within the State that 
has an actual broadband speed that is slower than 10 megabits per second, rather than 25 
megabits as in the bill; 
3. It removes a policy and goal of the Maine Broadband Initiative from the bill; 
4. 
It changes the criteria that the Governor must consider when making an 
appointment to the Board of Directors of the Maine Broadband Initiative; 
5. It removes the provision in the bill that allows appointment of directors of the 
Board of Directors of the Maine Broadband Initiative by the Speaker of the House of 
Representatives and the President of the Senate; 
6. It further changes the composition of the membership of the Board of Directors of 
the Maine Broadband Initiative; 
7. It limits administrative costs of the Maine Broadband Initiative to no more than 
10% of the annual funds received from the Maine Broadband Initiative Fund; 
8. It changes the date from July 1st to September 1st as it relates to the crediting of 
the tax assessment by the State Tax Assessor to the Maine Broadband Initiative Fund; and 
9. The amendment also adds an appropriations and allocations section. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 06/05/17 fe.ac 
LD 1399 
LR 1305(02) 
An Act To Encourage Broadband Coverage in Rural Maine 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment "p/ 
Committee: Energy, Utilities and Technology 
Net Cost (Savings) 
General Fund 
Appropriations/ Allocations 
General Fund 
Revenue 
General Fund 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
FY 2017-18 
FY 2018-19 
$66,040 
$6,386,094 
$66,040 
$136,094 
$0 
($6,250,000) 
Projections 
FY 2019-20 
Projections 
FY 2020-21 
$6,389,632 
$6,393,263 
$139,632 
$143,263 
($6,250,000) 
($6,250,000) 
This bill includes ongoing General Fund appropriations of $66,040 in fiscal year 2017-18 and $136,094 in fiscal year 
2018-19 to a newly established Office of Broadband Development within the Department of Economic and 
Community Development for one Public Service Executive II position to serve as President of the Maine Broadband 
Initiative beginning January 1, 2018. 
The bill replaces the ConnectME Authority with the Maine Broadband Initiative. Revenue generated from the 
telecommunications excise tax will now be credited to the Maine Broadband Initiative Fund instead of the General 
Fund. This is estimated to reduce General Fund revenue by $6,250,000 annually beginning in fiscal year 2018-19. The 
Maine Broadband Initiative is authorized to issue bonds for the purpose of construction of advanced communications 
technology infrastructure and for the fulfillment of other undertakings it may assume. These bonds do not constitute a 
debt of the State or of any agency or political subdivision of the State but are payable solely from the revenue of the 
initiative, and neither the faith nor the credit nor taxing power of the State or any political subdivision of the State is 
pledged to payment of the bonds. 
Additonal costs to the University of Maine System and the Department of Economic and Community Development to 
serve on the Board of Directors of the Maine Broadband Initiative can be absorbed within existing budgeted 
resources. 
LR1305(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1