An Act to Allow Municipalities That Have Financed Fiber-optic
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 1096
Sponsors: MINGO, MOORE
Amends: 35-A MRSA §9211-A, 35-A MRSA §9402, 35-A MRSA §9405, 35-A MRSA §9405-A

Legislative Document
No. 1096
H.P. 718
House of Representatives, March 18, 2025
An Act to Allow Municipalities That Have Financed Fiber-optic 
Broadband Infrastructure to Use Loans or Grants to Repay 
Associated Debt
Received by the Clerk of the House on March 14, 2025.  Referred to the Committee on 
Energy, Utilities and Technology pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to 
Joint Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative MINGO of Calais.
Cosponsored by Senator MOORE of Washington and
Representatives: EDER of Waterboro, MALON of Biddeford, PERKINS of Dover-Foxcroft, 
QUINT of Hodgdon, RUDNICKI of Fairfield, TUELL of East Machias, YUSUF of Portland, 
Senator: CYRWAY of Kennebec.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  35-A MRSA §9211-A, sub-§3-B is enacted to read:
3-B.  Purpose of the fund; repayment of existing debt.  In addition to grants and 
grant match funding provided in accordance with subsections 3 and 3-A, the fund may be 
used to provide funding to a municipal entity applying for project grants to repay debt that 
was incurred by the municipal entity for the construction of a gigabit fiber-optic broadband 
network owned by the municipal entity. For purposes of this subsection, "municipal entity" 
means a municipality or a group of municipalities working together to support a gigabit 
fiber-optic broadband network project.
Sec. 2.  35-A MRSA §9402, sub-§4-A is enacted to read:
4-A.  Municipal entity.  "Municipal entity" means a municipality or a group of 
municipalities working together to support a broadband network project.
Sec. 3.  35-A MRSA §9405, sub-§11-A is enacted to read:
11-A.  Loans or grants to repay debt.  To make alone or in participation or 
cooperation with others direct loans or grants, as allowed by law, to a municipal entity for 
the repayment of debt incurred by the municipal entity for the construction of broadband 
infrastructure owned by the municipal entity;
Sec. 4.  35-A MRSA §9405-A is enacted to read:
§9405-A.  Municipally owned broadband infrastructure; duty of authority
In administering a grant or award for the development or construction of broadband 
infrastructure owned by a municipal entity, the authority shall permit the use of such funds 
for the repayment of debt incurred by the municipal entity related to the development or 
construction of the broadband infrastructure unless such use is prohibited by the federal 
agency or other source providing the grant or award.
SUMMARY
This bill authorizes the Municipal Gigabit Broadband Network Access Fund to provide 
funding to municipal entities applying for project grants to repay debt that was incurred by 
a municipal entity for the construction of a municipally owned gigabit fiber-optic 
broadband network project. It specifies that the Maine Connectivity Authority may make 
direct loans or grants to municipal entities for the repayment of debt incurred by a 
municipal entity for the construction of municipally owned broadband infrastructure. The 
bill also requires the authority, in administering a grant or award for the development or 
construction of municipally owned broadband infrastructure, to permit the use of grant or 
award funds for the repayment of debt incurred by a municipal entity related to the 
development or construction of the broadband infrastructure unless such use is prohibited 
by the source of the grant or award.