House Staff Analysis: PCS for HB 1543 Broadband Infrastructure (Commerce Committee)

Issuer: Congressional materials
Document type: 2022 3098 Commerce Committee Proposed Committee Bill Analyses Fn Pcs1543 Com
Case: 2022 3098 Commerce Committee Proposed Committee Bill Analyses Fn Pcs1543 Com

Summary

A Florida House of Representatives staff analysis of the PCS for HB 1543, Broadband Infrastructure, sponsored by the Commerce Committee and dated February 27, 2022. It states that the bill authorizes the Office of Broadband within the Department of Economic Opportunity to reimburse eligible applicants for certain pole replacement costs incurred deploying broadband Internet service in unserved areas. The analysis reviews federal broadband funding, including the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, the Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund with Florida's allocation of $366 million, and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Its section directory lists amendments to s. 288.9961, F.S. and a new s. 288.9964, F.S., and the fiscal analysis states DEO will incur rulemaking expenses. The bill takes effect on July 1, 2022.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Cite this document

“House Staff Analysis: PCS for HB 1543 Broadband Infrastructure (Commerce Committee).” Original at www.flhouse.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2022-3098-commerce-committee-proposed-committee-bill-analyses-fn-pcs1543-com/, SHA-256 90350606baad169e75dd48a10d0d0861084b843c8f3c1be5ca3d5e4e1a605f1c.

Full text

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #: PCS for HB 1543 Broadband Infrastructure
SPONSOR(S): Commerce Committee
TIED BILLS: IDEN./SIM. BILLS:

REFERENCE ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or
BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF

Orig. Comm.: Commerce Committee Keating Hamon

SUMMARY ANALYSIS
In 2021, the Legislature took steps to improve broadband Internet access in unserved areas of the state.
Among other things, the Legislature:
 Created the Broadband Opportunity Program (grant program) to be administered by the Office of
Broadband (Office) within the Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO). Subject to appropriation,
the program would award grants to applicants, regardless of technology, who seek to expand access to
broadband service in unserved areas of the state. This grant program has not yet received funding.
 Provided for a promotional rate of $1 per wireline attachment per pole, per year for any new pole
attachment necessary to make broadband service available to an unserved or underserved end user
within a municipal electric utility service territory.
 Appropriated $1.5 million to DEO to develop geographic information system maps of broadband service
availability, including transmission speeds. These maps continue to be developed and updated.

The Office is currently developing a strategic plan for increasing the availability and use of broadband service
in the state. Florida law requires this plan to be completed by June 30, 2022.

The bill authorizes the Office to reimburse eligible applicants for certain pole replacement costs incurred in the
installation or deployment of infrastructure to support the provision of broadband Internet service to customers
in an unserved area. The bill identifies the types of costs eligible, and establishes conditions, for
reimbursement. Any entity eligible to apply for funding under the grant program created in 2021 is eligible to
apply for reimbursement. However, an entity may not receive reimbursement funds if it has been awarded or
has applied for funds under the grant program to deploy broadband Internet service to the same area.

The bill requires that applications for reimbursement of pole replacement costs must provide information
sufficient to establish the actual amount of the costs incurred and eligible for reimbursement and such other
information as required by the Office. Applications must be submitted in a form specified by the Office.

The bill requires the Office, beginning January 1, 2023, and each year thereafter, to publish on its website and
provide to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, a list
of all reimbursement applications received during the previous fiscal year and other specified information,
including reimbursements amounts awarded.

The bill requires DEO to adopt implementing rules, which may specify maximum annual reimbursement
amounts per applicant and maximum reimbursement amounts per eligible pole replacement

The bill takes effect on July 1, 2022.

This docum ent does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives .
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FULL ANALYSIS

I. SUBSTANTIVE ANALYSIS

A. EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES:
Present Situation

Broadband Internet Deployment

Fixed and mobile broadband Internet services provide access to numerous employment, education,
entertainment, and health care opportunities.1 Communities that lack broadband access can have
difficulty attracting new capital investment. While Florida’s urban areas are served at a fixed broadband
coverage rate of 98 percent, its rural areas are served at a rate of 78.6 percent.2 This disparity is
caused primarily by high per-unit construction costs required to build broadband infrastructure across
larger swaths of rural geographic areas.3

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has enhanced the need for broadband Internet access in everyday
life. Studies indicate that broadband Internet access matters for jobs, income, business relocation, civic
engagement, and health.4 In addressing broadband Internet access issues, states have established
broadband offices and created special funding programs to offer financial incentives for broadband in
lower density areas.5 Additionally, as schools go online, data indicates that low income households
disproportionally lack access to broadband Internet service, which puts their children at risk of falling
behind.6

Federal Broadband Initiatives

FCC Rural Digital Opportunity Fund

In January 2020, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) established the Rural Digital
Opportunity Fund (Fund) to fund the deployment of broadband networks in rural America over the next
decade. The program will consist of two phases. Using data from the FCC’s previous mapping efforts,
the first phase began in 2020 and made available up to $16 billion to target census blocks that are
wholly unserved with fixed broadband speeds of at least 25 megabits per second (Mbps) downstream
and 3 Mbps upstream (25/3 Mbps).7 The winning bidders from the first round under Phase I were
announced in December 2020, with entities that bid to provide service in Florida receiving over $190
million over the next 10 years.8

Phase II of the Fund will target underserved localities, as identified by the FCC’s Digital Opportunity
Data Collection Program.9 Using this more precise data, the second phase of FCC grants will make

1 U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), 2018 Broadband Deployment Report, at 1 (Feb. 2, 2018), available at
https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-18-10A1.pdf (last visited Feb. 1, 2022).
2 FCC, 2021 Broadband Deployment Report at 63 (Jan. 19, 2021), available at https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-21-

18A1.pdf (last visited Feb. 1, 2022). For purposes of this data, ‘fixed broadband services’ are measured at 25 megabits per s econd
downstream and 3 megabits per second upstream.
3 American Broadband Initiative, Milestones Report, at 11 (Feb. 13, 2019), available at

https://www.ntia.doc.gov/files/ntia/publications/american_broadband_initiative_milestones_report.pdf (last visited Feb. 1, 2022).
4 COVID-19 lockdowns expose the digital have-nots in rural areas – here’s which policies can get them connected (Sep. 2, 2020),

https://theconversation.com/covid-19-lockdowns-expose-the-digital-have-nots-in-rural-areas-heres-which-policies-can-get-them-
connected-144324 (last visited Feb. 1, 2022).
5 Id.
6 New American Economy Research Fund, Back to School: A Look at the Internet Access Gap. (Aug. 6, 2020),

https://research.newamericaneconomy.org/report/internet-access-covid-19/ (last visited Feb. 1, 2022).
7 FCC, FCC Launches $20 Billion Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-launches-20-billion-rural-

digital-opportunity-fund-0 (last visited Feb. 1, 2022).
8 FCC, Auction 904 Winning Bidders, https://www.fcc.gov/document/auction-904-winning-bidders (last visited Feb. 1, 2022).
9 See, FCC, FCC Launches $20 Billion Rural Digital Opportunity Fund , supra note 7 at 3. In August 2019, the FCC adopted the

Digital Opportunity Data Collection Program, which modernized the collection of broadband deployment data by creating granula r
coverage maps, as opposed to census tract maps, and by implementing a process to accept public data to confirm the maps’ accuracy.
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available at least $4.4 billion to target geographic areas where some locations lack access to 25/3
Mbps broadband.10 Grants from both phases of the Fund are provided directly to service providers.

Department of Commerce Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund

The 2021 American Rescue Plan11 allocated $10 billion to eligible governments to carry out capital
projects to meet critical needs, with an emphasis on broadband infrastructure. 12 Each state is eligible
for a fixed amount of $100 million plus an additional allocation based on the state’s population, the
proportion of its population that lives in rural areas, and the proportion of individuals who receive a
household income below 150 percent of the poverty line.13

Eligible states must have applied by December 27, 2021, and submit a grant plan by September 24,
2022.14 Capital Projects Fund recipients may pass the funds on to subrecipients, such as other levels of
government, non-profits, or private entities. Florida’s allocation of these funds is $366 million,15 for
which Florida’s Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) timely applied.

Presumptively eligible projects under the program include the construction and deployment of
broadband infrastructure that is designed to deliver service that reliably meets or exceeds symmetrical
speeds of 100 Mbps, or if impracticable, speeds of 100 Mbps downstream and 20 Mbps upstream. 16
Projects that may be eligible on a case-by-case review include investments in capital assets, such as
buildings, towers, digital devices and equipment, fiber-optic lines, and broadband networks.17

USDA Programs

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has several rural utilities programs to provide a variety of
loans and grants to build and expand broadband networks.18 The ReConnect Program offers federal
loans, grants, and loan/grant combinations to facilitate broadband deployment to rural areas without
access to sufficient broadband service. Eligible entities include cooperatives and nonprofits, for-profit
companies, and state and local governments and their agencies and political subdivisions. Applicants
for a grant or a loan/grant combination under the ReConnect Program must submit a scoring sheet by
which USDA may analyze nine separate evaluation criteria to score the application. One of the
evaluation criteria is whether the proposed project is in a state with a broadband plan that has been
updated within the previous 5 years.19

Additional Federal Broadband Funding and Initiatives

In March 2020, Congress ratified the FCC’s Data Collection Program with passage of the Broadband Data Act, which requires the
FCC to establish a semiannual collection of geographically granular broadband coverage data to use to create coverage maps.
Congress allocated $65 million to the FCC to achieve this mapping project in December 2020.
10 Id. at 4.
11 Pub. L. 117-2 (117th Congress) (H.R. 1319).
12 U.S. Dep’t. of Treasury, Capital Projects Fund, https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/coronavirus/assistance-for-state-local-and-

tribal-governments/capital-projects-fund (last visited Feb. 1, 2022).
13 U.S. Dep’t. of Treasury, Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund: Allocations Methodology for States, Terri tories, and Freely

Associated States (Aug. 2021), https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/Allocations -Methodology-States-Territories-Freely-
Associated-States.pdf (last visited Feb. 1, 2022).
14 Id. See also, U.S. Dep’t. of Treasury, Guidance for the Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund for States, Territories, and Freely

Associated States, 1, 14 (Sept. 2021), https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/Capital-Projects-Fund-Guidance-States-Territories-
and-Freely-Associated-States.pdf (last visited Feb. 1, 2022).
15 U.S. Dep’t. of Treasury, Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund: Allocations for States, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico,

https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/Allocations-States.pdf (last visited Feb. 1, 2022).
16 U.S. Dep’t. of Treasury, Guidance for the Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund for States, Territories, and Freely Associated States,

supra note 14 at 3.
17 Id. at 7.
18 USDA, Telecom Programs, available at https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs -services/all-programs/telecom-programs (last visited

Feb. 1, 2022).
19 See USDA, ReConnect Loan and Grant Program, available at https://www.usda.gov/reconnect#anchor1 (last visited Feb. 1, 2022).
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Multiple federal assets have been made available to assist with the expansion of broadband, for
example:20
 The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 21 offers block grants that can support
broadband infrastructure;
 The Department of the Interior launched a mapping tool to allow service providers to locate
federal property available for infrastructure development;22 and
 The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) within the U.S.
Department of Commerce is working to improve coordination between federal programs that
fund broadband and statewide efforts.23

The Consolidated Appropriations Act passed by Congress in December 202024 included the following
funding to expand broadband Internet access for students, families, and unemployed workers:25
 $300 million for areas lacking broadband, especially rural areas;26
 $250 million for the FCC’s telehealth program;27
 $285 million to fund a pilot program to assist with broadband issues at historically Black colleges
and universities;28 and
 $1 billion in grants for tribal broadband programs.29

The American Rescue Plan, signed into law on March 11, 2021, includes multiple appropriations that
can be used for broadband infrastructure, including $10 billion for the Coronavirus Capital Projects
Fund (discussed above) to provide grants to states for the costs of capital projects, like broadband
infrastructure, and $130.2 billion for Community Development Block Grants that can be used for
community development projects, including broadband infrastructure.30

Additionally, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,31 signed into law on November 15, 2021,
contains $64 billion in funding for broadband expansion and access. The law: 32

20 See generally, National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), American Broadband Initiative, Progress
Report (June 2020), available at https://www.ntia.doc.gov/files/ntia/publications/abi_progress_report_june2020.pdf (last Jan. 21,
2022).
21 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, State CDBG Program Broadband Infrastructure FAQs (Jan. 7, 2016),

available at https://files.hudexchange.info/resources/documents/State-CDBG-Program-Broadband-Infrastructure-FAQs.pdf (last
visited Feb. 1, 2022).
22 U.S. Department of Interior, Supporting Broadband Tower Facilities in Rural America on Federal Properties Managed at Interior ,

available at https://www.doi.gov/broadband (last visited Feb. 1, 2022).
23 Broadband USA, State Broadband Leaders Network (Dec. 19, 2018), available at https://broadbandusa.ntia.doc.gov/ntia-

resources/state-broadband-leaders-network-sbln (last visited Feb. 1, 2022).
24 Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020, H.R. 1865, 116th Cong. (2020).
25 NCSL, COVID-19 Economic Relief Bill: Broadband, (Jan. 4, 2021) https://www.ncsl.org/ncsl-in-dc/publications-and-

resources/covid-19-economic-relief-bill-stimulus.aspx#:~:text=Erlinda%20Doherty-
,Overview,agency%20operations%20through%20September%202021. (last visited Feb. 1, 2022).
26 See generally, NTIA, Overview of Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021: Broadband Infrastructure Deployment Grants, available

at https://broadbandusa.ntia.doc.gov/ntia-common-content/overview-consolidated-appropriations-act-2021 (last visited Feb. 1, 2022).
These grants will be available to support infrastructure for the deployment of fixed broadband service in a census block with at least
one household or business that does not have access to internet at 25/3Mbps or higher.
27 FCC, COVID-19 Telehealth Program (Feb. 9, 2021), available at https://www.fcc.gov/covid-19-telehealth-program (last visited

Feb. 1, 2022).
28 See generally, NTIA, Minority Broadband Initiative, available at https://www.ntia.doc.gov/category/minority-broadband-initiative

(last visited Feb. 1, 2022).
29 See generally, NTIA, NTIA Announces Tribal Consultations on New Program to Increase Broadband Access Across Indian

Country (Feb. 5, 2021), available at https://www.ntia.gov/blog/2021/ntia-announces-tribal-consultations-new-program-increase-
broadband-access-across-indian (last visited Feb. 1, 2022).
30 Pub. L. No. 112-2, ss. 603 and 604 (117th Congress) (H.R. 1319). U.S. Treasury, FACT SHEET: The American Rescue Plan Will

Deliver Immediate Economic Relief to Families, https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0069 (last visited Feb. 1, 2022).
31 Pub. L. No. 117-58 (117th Congress) (H.R. 3684). See also, Congressional Research Service, The Infrastructure Investment and

Jobs Act (P.L. 117-58): Summary of the Broadband Provisions in Division F (Nov. 16, 2021),
https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R46967 (last visited Feb. 1, 2022).
32 NTIA, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Overview, https://www.ntia.doc.gov/category/grants (last visited Feb. 1, 2022).
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 Establishes the Broadband Equity, Access, and Development Program to be administered by
the NTIA to states through matching grants;
 Allocates $2.75 billion to the Digital Equity Act Competitive Grant Programs administered by the
Department of Commerce;
 Invests $2 billion in the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program; and
 Funds the Middle Mile Grants program, administered by the NTIA, with $1 billion, especially to
support construction, improvement, or acquisition of broadband infrastructure.

Florida Broadband Initiatives

Florida’s Office of Broadband

In 2020, the Legislature designated the Department of Economic Opportunity as the lead state agency
to facilitate the expansion of broadband Internet service in the state. 33 The Florida Office of Broadband
(Office) was created within DEO’s Division of Community Development for purposes of developing,
marketing, and promoting broadband Internet service in the state. 34

The Office must:35
 Create a strategic plan36 for increasing the availability and use of broadband Internet service in
the state, which must identify federal funding sources for the expansion of broadband and
include a process to review and verify public input regarding transmission speeds and
availability of broadband Internet service throughout the state;
 Build local technology planning teams representing, among others, libraries, schools, colleges
and universities, local health care providers, private businesses, community organizations,
economic development organizations, local governments, tourism, parks and recreation, and
agriculture to identify needs and resources to reduce barriers to the deployment of broadband
Internet services;
 Encourage the use of broadband Internet service, especially in rural, unserved, and
underserved37 areas of the state through grant programs; and
 Monitor, participate in, and provide input in proceedings of the FCC and other federal agencies
related to the geographic availability and deployment of broadband Internet service as
necessary to ensure that Florida’s rural, unserved, and underserved areas are best positioned
to benefit from federal and state broadband deployment programs; and
 Administer Florida’s Broadband Opportunity Program.38

DEO may apply for and accept federal grant funds, enter into necessary or useful contracts, and
establish any committee or workgroup to administer the program to further the above goals.39

In 2021, the Legislature appropriated $1.5 million to DEO to develop geographic information system
maps of broadband Internet service availability, including transmission speeds, consistent with the
FCC’s data collection program standards.40 DEO must collaborate with broadband service providers,
state agencies, local government entities, private businesses, educational institutions, and community
organizations to develop these maps.41 Through its website, DEO allows for public input concerning the
speed, connectivity, and access to broadband Internet service in areas throughout the state to help

33 Ch. 2002-26, Laws of Fla.
34 Id.
35 S. 288.9961(4), F.S.
36 The strategic plan must be submitted to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representa tives

by June 30, 2022, and updated biennially thereafter. S. 288.9961(4)(a), F.S.
37 Section 288.9961(2)(f), F.S., defines the term “underserved” to mean a geographic area of this state in which there is no provider of

broadband Internet service that offers a connection to the Internet with a capa city for transmission at a consistent speed of at least 10
Mbps downstream and at least 1 Mbps upstream.
38 The Broadband Opportunity Program is established in s. 288.9962, F.S., to award grants to those who seek to expand broadband

Internet service to unserved areas of Florida.
39 S. 288.9961(5), F.S.
40 Ch. 2021-24, Laws of Fla.
41 Id.
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identify unserved and underserved areas. DEO’s mapping efforts are not complete and will continue to
be updated as more data is added.42

Broadband Opportunity Program

In 2021, the Legislature created the Broadband Opportunity Program 43 (grant program) to award grants
to applicants who seek to expand access to broadband Internet service44 in unserved45 areas of the
state, regardless of the technology to be used. Grant funds may not be used to provide broadband
Internet service to a geographic area where broadband Internet is already deployed by at least one
provider. Applicants eligible for grant awards include corporations, limited liability companies, general
partnerships, limited partnerships, political subdivisions, and Indian tribes.

In evaluating grant applications and awarding grants, the Office must prioritize applications that:
 Offer broadband Internet service to important community institutions, including, but not limited
to, libraries, educational institutions, public safety facilities, and healthcare facilities;
 Facilitate the use of telemedicine and electronic health records;
 Serve economically distressed areas of the state, as measured by indices of unemployment,
poverty, or population loss that are significantly greater than the statewide average;
 Provide for scalability to transmission speeds of at least 100 megabits per second download
and 10 megabits per second upload;
 Include a component to actively promote the adoption of the newly available broadband Internet
services in the community;
 Provide evidence of strong support for the project from citizens, government, businesses, and
institutions in the community;
 Provide access to broadband Internet service to the greatest number of unserved households
and businesses;
 Leverage greater amounts of funding for the project from private sources; or
 Demonstrate consistency with the Office’s strategic plan. 46

The Office must endeavor to award grants to qualified applicants in all regions of the state. The Office
may not award any grant to an otherwise eligible grant applicant to provide broadband Internet service
in a project area for which any other federal funding has been awarded. A grant, when combined with
any state or local funds, may not fund more than 50 percent of the total cost of a project, and a single
project may not be awarded a grant in excess of $5 million.

The Office has not yet received funding for the grant program.

Promotional Pole Attachment Rates

The term “pole attachment” refers to the process by which communications companies can collocate
communications infrastructure on existing electric utility poles. Utility poles are divided into various
“spaces” for specific uses, and different vertical portions of the pole serve different functions.47 Utility
poles often accommodate equipment used to provide a variety of services, including electric power,
telephone, cable, wireline broadband, and wireless, which benefits the public by minimizing
“unnecessary and costly duplication of plant for all pole users.”48

42 DEO, Office of Broadband, https://floridajobs.org/community-planning-and-development/broadband/office-of-broadband (last

visited Feb. 1, 2022).
43 Section 288.9962, F.S.
44 Section 288.9961(2)(a), F.S., defines the term “broadband Internet service” to mean any service that provides access to the Internet

with a capacity for transmission at a consistent speed of at least 25 megabits per second download and 3 megabits per second upload.
45 Section 288.9961(2)(g), F.S., defines the term “unserved” to mean a geographic area of the state without access to broadband

Internet service.
46 The Office is in the process of developing a strategic plan for submission by June 30, 2022, as required by section 288.9961(4)(a),

F.S.
47 See Florida Public Service Commission, What’s on a Utility Pole? http://www.psc.state.fl.us/ConsumerAssistance/UtilityPole (last

visited Feb. 1, 2022).
48 S. REP . NO. 95-580, at 13 (1977), as reprinted in 1978 U.S.C.C.A.N. 109, 121.
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When a new attacher, such as a broadband Internet service provider, seeks access to a pole, it is
necessary to evaluate whether adding the attachment will be safe and whether there is room for it. In
many cases, existing attachments must be moved to make room for the new attachment. In some
cases, it is necessary to install a larger pole to accommodate a new attachment. 49

Except for certain small cell wireless facilities, attachments of cable and telecommunications carrier
facilities to utility poles owned by a municipal electric utility are not regulated at the state or federal
level.

In 2021, the Legislature provided for a promotional rate of $1 per wireline attachment per pole, per year
for any new attachment necessary to make broadband Internet service available to an unserved or
underserved end user within a municipal electric utility service territory. This rate began July 1, 2021,
and ends July 1, 2024.50

Under this promotional program, if a municipal electric utility is required to replace a utility pole due to a
broadband provider’s attachment, the municipal electric utility may require the broadband provider to
reimburse all reasonable costs attributable to the new attachment, minus the salvage value of the pole.
A utility cannot require pole replacement to accommodate the broadband provider’s pole attachment
unless it is necessary to comply with applicable engineering and safety standards. Additionally, if the
pole replacement is necessary to correct an existing violation, to bring the pole into compliance with
changes in applicable standards, or because the pole is at the end of its useful life, the replacement
cost may not be passed on to the broadband provider.51

Effect of Proposed Changes

The bill provides that, for purposes of reimbursement under the bill, pole replacement costs are the
actual costs incurred by an eligible applicant:
 To remove and dispose of one or more existing poles that are owned by an electric utility as
defined in s. 366.02(2), a communications services provider as defined in s. 366.02(5), a cable
television operator, or a local exchange carrier and that are used in whole or in part to distribute
electricity or provide wireline communications service;
 To purchase and install one or more replacement poles; and
 To transfer to such replacement pole or poles any facilities previously attached to the pole or
poles that were removed and replaced.

The bill provides that these pole replacement costs are eligible for reimbursement if the costs are
actually incurred by an eligible applicant to install or deploy infrastructure to support the provision of
broadband Internet service to customers in an unserved area and:
 Federal or state funds have not been awarded to a broadband Internet service provider to install
or deploy infrastructure to support the provision of broadband Internet service to customers in
the same area; and
 The applicant has not applied for any other federal or state funds to install or deploy
infrastructure to support the provision of broadband Internet service to customers in the same
area.

49 FCC-CIRC1808-03 at 4-5.
50 S. 288.9963, F.S.
51 Id.
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Under these provisions of the bill, an entity may not receive reimbursement funds if it has been
awarded or has applied for funds under the grant program to deploy broadband Internet service to the
same area.

The bill requires that applications for reimbursement of pole replacement costs must provide
information sufficient to establish the actual amount of the costs incurred and eligible for reimbursement
and such other information as required by the Office. Applications must be submitted in a form
specified by the Office.

The bill requires the Office, by January 1, 2023, and each year thereafter, to publish on its website and
provide to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, a list of all reimbursement applications received during the previous fiscal year. For
each application, the Office must provide:
 The reimbursement amounts requested;
 The reimbursement amounts awarded, if any; and
 To the extent available, the number of end-use locations, by customer class, to which
broadband Internet service has been made available through pole replacements for which
reimbursement was provided.

The bill requires DEO to adopt implementing rules, which may specify maximum annual reimbursement
amounts per applicant and maximum reimbursement amounts per eligible pole replacement.

B. SECTION DIRECTORY:
Section 1 Amends s. 288.9961, F.S., relating to promotion of broadband adoption and the Florida
Office of Broadband.

Section 2 Creates s. 288.9964, F.S., relating to reimbursement of certain pole replacement costs.

Section 3 Provides a contingent effective date.

II. FISCAL ANALYSIS & ECONOMIC IMPACT STATEMENT

A. FISCAL IMPACT ON STATE GOVERNMENT:

1. Revenues:
None.

2. Expenditures:
The bill authorizes reimbursement of certain pole replacement costs, based on the availability of
funds.

DEO will incur expenses to conduct rulemaking as required by the bill.

B. FISCAL IMPACT ON LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

1. Revenues:
None,

2. Expenditures:
None.

C. DIRECT ECONOMIC IMPACT ON PRIVATE SECTOR:

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Reimbursement of eligible pole replacement costs, if funded, will lower the costs for broadband service
providers to extend broadband service to unserved areas in the state. This may encourage the
extension of service to such areas, providing greater access to broadband service in those areas.

D. FISCAL COMMENTS:
None.

III. COMMENTS

A. CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES:

1. Applicability of Municipality/County Mandates Provision:
Not Applicable. This bill does not appear to affect county or municipal governments

2. Other:
None.

B. RULE-MAKING AUTHORITY:
The bill requires DEO to adopt rules to implement the provisions of the bill.

C. DRAFTING ISSUES OR OTHER COMMENTS:
None.

IV. AMENDMENTS/COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE CHANGES

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DATE: 2/27/2022

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Our copy: 2022_3098_commerce-committee_proposed-committee-bill-analyses_fn-pcs1543-com.pdf
Original: www.flhouse.gov

House Staff Analysis: PCS for HB 1543 Broadband Infrastructure (Commerce Committee)

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