Sec. 490I.0106.  BROADBAND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.  (a)  The broadband development office shall establish a program to award grants, low-interest loans, and other financial incentives to applicants for the purpose of expanding access to and adoption of broadband service.
(a-1)  The office may award grants, low-interest loans, and other financial incentives to applicants for eligible broadband infrastructure projects designed to provide qualifying broadband service to unserved and underserved locations.  For the purposes of this subsection, an eligible broadband infrastructure project includes a project in which not less than 80 percent of the broadband serviceable locations to be served by the project are unserved and underserved locations.
(a-2)  The office may award grants, low-interest loans, and other financial incentives to applicants for middle-mile broadband infrastructure projects.
(a-3)  The office may award grants, low-interest loans, and other financial incentives to applicants for projects not involving the deployment of broadband infrastructure that expand the accessibility, affordability, or adoption of broadband service, including education, training, community outreach, remote learning or telehealth facilities, equipment purchases, or any other use permitted by the applicable funding source.
(b)  The office shall establish eligibility and award criteria for making awards under this chapter for each applicable notice of funds availability.  The comptroller by rule may prescribe the manner in which the office shall provide notice to applicants of the applicable criteria.  In establishing eligibility and award criteria, the office shall:
(1)  take into consideration grants and other financial incentives awarded by the federal government for the deployment of broadband service;
(2)  prioritize the applications of applicants that will expand access to and adoption of broadband service in designated areas in which the highest percentage of broadband serviceable locations are unserved or underserved locations;
(3)  prioritize the applications of applicants that will expand access to broadband service in public and private primary and secondary schools and institutions of higher education;
(4)  give preference to an applicant that provided the information requested by the office under Section 490I.0105 or 490I.01061; and
(5)  take into consideration whether an applicant has forfeited federal funding for defaulting on a project to deploy qualifying broadband service.
(c)  Notwithstanding Subsection (b)(2), the office may establish criteria that take into account a cost benefit analysis for awarding money to the areas described by that subdivision.
(d)  The office may not:
(1)  except as provided by Section 490I.01062, favor a particular broadband technology in awarding grants, loans, or other financial incentives;
(2)   award a grant, loan, or other financial incentive to a noncommercial provider of broadband service for a broadband serviceable location if an eligible commercial provider of broadband service has submitted an application for the same location;
(3)  take into consideration distributions from the state universal service fund established under Section 56.021, Utilities Code, when deciding to award grants, loans, or other financial incentives; or
(4)  except as provided by Section 490I.01061, award a grant, loan, or other financial incentive for deployment of last-mile broadband service for a location that is subject to a federal commitment to deploy qualifying broadband service on the date the application is submitted or during the application process.
(e)  The office shall:
(1)  post on the comptroller's Internet website information about the application process and the receipt of awards and shall update that information as necessary; and
(2)  post on the comptroller's Internet website for at least 30 days information from each accepted application, including the applicant's name, the area targeted for expanded broadband service access or adoption by the application, and any other information the office considers relevant or necessary.
(f)  During the 30-day posting period described by Subsection (e) for an application, the office shall accept from any interested party, other than a broadband service provider that does not report information requested by the office under Section 490I.0105 or 490I.01061, a written protest of the application relating to whether the applicant or project is eligible for an award or should not receive an award based on the criteria prescribed by the office.
(g)  Notwithstanding any deadline for submitting an application, if the office upholds a protest submitted under Subsection (f) on the grounds that one or more of the broadband serviceable locations are not eligible to receive funding under this chapter, the applicant may resubmit the application without the challenged locations not later than 30 days after the date that the office upheld the protest.
(h)  The office shall establish and publish criteria for award recipients.  The criteria must include requirements that grants, loans, and other financial incentives awarded through the program for the deployment of broadband infrastructure may be used only for capital expenses, purchase or lease of property, and other expenses, including backhaul and transport, that will facilitate the provision or adoption of broadband service.
(i)  An award granted under this section does not affect the eligibility of a telecommunications provider to receive support from the state universal service fund under Section 56.021, Utilities Code.
Added by Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 625 (H.B. 5), Sec. 5, eff. June 15, 2021.
Amended by: 
Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 352 (S.B. 1238), Sec. 3, eff. June 2, 2023.