Reference is to the bill as introduced.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by striking all after the enacting clause and inserting:
/ SECTION 1. Chapter 7, Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
Section 59-7-300. There is established the Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology (GREAT) program to facilitate the deployment of broadband to unserved areas of the State. The purpose of this program is to encourage the deployment of broadband at the highest possible speeds throughout as much of the inhabitable geographic area of the State that is practical and feasible by the year 2030.
Section 59-7-310. As
used in this article:
(1)
'Agriculture' means:
(a)
the cultivation of soil for production and harvesting of
crops including, but not limited to, fruits, vegetables, sod,
flowers, and ornamental plants;
(b)
the planting and production of trees and timber;
(c)
dairying and the raising, management, care, and training
of livestock, including horses, bees, poultry, and other animals
for individual and public use, consumption, and marketing;
(d)
aquaculture as defined in Section 46-1-10(2);
(e)
the operation, management, conservation, improvement, and
maintenance of a farm and the structures and buildings on the
farm, including building and structure repair, replacement,
expansion, and construction incident to the farming
operation;
(f)
when performed on the farm, 'agriculture', 'agricultural',
and 'farming' also include the marketing and selling of
agricultural products, agritourism, the storage and use of
materials for agricultural purposes, packing, treating,
processing, sorting, storage, and other activities performed to
add value to crops, livestock, and agricultural items produced
on a farm, and similar activities incident to the operation of a
farm; or
(g)
a public or private grain warehouse or warehouse operation
where grain is held ten days or longer and includes, but is not
limited to, all buildings, elevators, equipment, and warehouses
consisting of one or more warehouse sections and considered a
single delivery point with the capability to receive, load out,
weigh, dry, and store grain.
(2)
'Authority' means the South Carolina Rural Infrastructure
Authority.
(3)
'Broadband service' means terrestrially-deployed Internet
access service with transmission speeds of at least twenty-five
megabits per second (Mbps) download and at least three megabit
per second upload.
(4)
'Cooperative' means a telephone membership corporation,
organized pursuant to Article 1, Chapter 46, Title 33.
(5)
'Director' means the Executive Director of the South
Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority.
(6)
'Eligible economically-distressed county' means a county
designated as a Tier IV or Tier III county as defined in Section
12-6-3360.
(7)
'Eligible project' means a discrete and specific project
located in an unserved area of an economically-distressed county
seeking to provide broadband service to homes, businesses, and
community anchor points not currently served. Eligible projects
do not include middle mile, backhaul, and other similar projects
not directed at broadband service to end users. The designated
area for an eligible project may not be smaller than a census
block.
(8)
'Eligible recipient' means private providers of broadband
services, including cooperatively organized entities, or any
partnerships formed between cooperatively organized entities,
private providers, or any combination thereof. To be considered
an 'eligible recipient' there must be either a demonstrated
success in having previously managed retail end-user networks
with proof of acceptable customer satisfaction, or the 'eligible
recipient' must hold a contract with such an entity to actually
provide service over the facilities being funded.
(9)
'Household' means a house, apartment, single room, or
other group of rooms, if occupied or intended for occupancy as
separate living quarters, and where the occupants do not live
with any other persons in the structure, and there is direct
access from the outside or through a common hall.
(10)
'Infrastructure costs' means costs directly related to the
construction of broadband infrastructure for the extension of
broadband service for an eligible project, including
installation, acquiring or updating easements, equipment, fiber,
construction, backhaul infrastructure, and testing costs. The
term does not include overhead or administrative costs.
(11)
'Unserved area' means a designated geographic area where
at least ninety percent of households are presently without
access to fixed, terrestrially-deployed broadband at speeds of
at least ten Mbps download and at least one Mbps upload. Areas
where a private provider has been designated or has applied to
receive funds through other state or federally-funded programs
designed for broadband deployment must be considered served if
the funding is intended to result in construction of facilities
in the area within twenty-four months.
Section 59-7-320. (A)
The Growing Rural Economies with Access to
Technology Fund (fund) is established as a special revenue fund
in the South Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority, with
amounts to be appropriated by the General Assembly. The director
may award grants from the fund to eligible recipients for
eligible projects. The funds must be used by the recipient to
pay for infrastructure costs associated with an eligible
project. To ensure consumers served by the infrastructure funded
by this program are actually receiving the service intended and
that the network is properly maintained, the recipients are
subject to applicable rules and regulations governing other
similar providers or others receiving state support to provide
communication services and are subject to the authority of the
Office of Regulatory Staff (ORS) regarding inspections, audits,
or examinations, as set forth in Section 58-4-50. The Authority
and ORS are authorized to share relevant information with each
for the purposes of carrying out their respective tasks.
(B) Project areas
comprised of census blocks, or portions thereof, within which a
broadband provider is receiving state or federal matching funds
to deploy technologically neutral scalable broadband facilities
within the next twenty-four months are ineligible for the GREAT
program. It is essential for the Authority to know the location
of census blocks, or portions thereof, comprising these areas so
it can determine project eligibility. A private provider
receiving state or federal matching funds to deploy broadband
facilities within the area shall, before January 1, 2020, submit
only a listing of the census blocks, or portions thereof,
comprising each of its federally-funded project areas meeting
this requirement and nothing more to the Authority. In future
program years, the cutoff date for submitting this census block
data is May fifteenth. The Authority only shall utilize this
data to update maps of census blocks to reflect these census
blocks, or portions thereof, as being served. Information
provided to the office pursuant to this subsection is exempt
from public disclosure pursuant to Chapter 4, Title 30.
(C) Applications for
grants must be submitted at times designated by the director
and, at a minimum, must include:
(1)
an attestation to the office that the proposed project
area is eligible;
(2)
evidence demonstrating the applicant's experience and
ability in building, operating, and managing Broadband Service
networks serving residential customers;
(3)
the total cost and duration of the project;
(4)
the amount to be funded by the applicant;
(5)
an illustration or description of the area to be served
and the number of homes, businesses, community-anchor points,
agricultural operations, or agricultural processing facilities
that have access to broadband service as a result of the
project;
(6)
an assessment of the current level of access to broadband
service in the proposed deployment area and the current level of
service provided at the point from which broadband deployment is
made;
(7)
the proposed construction time line, with specific annual
build-out percentage commitments;
(8)
a description of the services to be provided, including
the proposed upstream and downstream broadband speeds to be
delivered and any applicable data caps, provided that any
applicant proposing a data cap below one hundred fifty gigabytes
of usage each month shall provide justification to the
satisfaction of the office that the proposed cap is in the
public interest and consistent with industry standards;
(9)
any other information or supplementary documentation
requested by the office;
(10)
for the proposed area to be served, the infrastructure
cost for each household for the project;
(11)
evidence of support for the project from citizens, local
government, businesses, and institutions in the community;
(12)
the proposed advertised speed to be marketed to end
users;
(13)
an explanation of the scalability of the broadband
infrastructure to be deployed for higher broadband speeds in the
future;
(14)
proof that appropriate interconnection agreements and
physical pathways to transport consumer broadband traffic to the
internet exist;
(15)
a five-year business plan demonstrating that the project
in question is a viable business and that operating costs,
including capital cost, can be supported from operations;
and
(16)
evidence of successful operation of retail services,
including evidence of appropriate customer satisfaction, or
evidence that an operating contract exists with a third party
that can meet these requirements.
(D) Applications must
be made publicly available by posting on the website of the
Authority for a period of at least thirty days before award.
During the thirty-day period, any interested party may submit
comments to the director concerning any pending application. A
provider of broadband services may submit a protest of any
application on the grounds the proposed project covers an area
that is not an eligible area pursuant to this section. Protests
must be submitted in writing, accompanied by all relevant
supporting documentation and must be considered by the Authority
in connection with the review of the application. For
applications with filed protests, the director shall issue a
written decision to the protesting party at least fifteen days
before the approval of that application. The Authority may not
award any grants to fund deployment in an area that fails to
meet the criterion for being unserved. Appeals may be made to
the Administrative Law Court pursuant to the Administrative
Procedures Act.
(E) The Authority may
consult with the Department of Commerce to determine if an
eligible project proposed pursuant to this section will benefit
a potential economic development project relevant to the
proposed area outlined in the eligible project.
(F) Applications must
be scored based upon a system that awards a single point for
criteria considered to be the minimum level for the provision of
broadband service with additional points awarded to criteria
that exceed minimum levels. The Authority shall score project
applications in accordance with the following:
(1)
projects involving service by a South Carolina-based
company, a company that historically has provided broadband
service, or that has existing facilities in close proximity to
the designated area, must be given five points in its
application score where it is documented to the satisfaction of
the Authority that service by the company will facilitate
deployment and reduce cost for each housing unit by utilizing
existing resources, facilities, and infrastructure;
(2)
the Authority shall give additional points to projects
based upon the estimated number of unserved households within
the eligible economically-distressed county, as determined by
the most recent data published by the Federal Communications
Commission or any other reliable information available to the
Authority. Points are given as follows:
(a)
projects that will be located in counties with estimated
unserved households of seven hundred or less receive one
point;
(b)
projects that will be located in counties with estimated
unserved households of between seven hundred and one thousand
ninety-nine receive two points; and
(c)
projects that will be located in counties with estimated
unserved households of two thousand and over receive three
points;
(3)
the Authority shall give additional points to projects
that will provide broadband service to unserved households
within the eligible economically-distressed county, as
determined by the most recent data published by the Federal
Communications Commission or any other reliable information
available to the Authority. Points are given as follows:
(a)
projects proposing to serve less than one hundred fifty
unserved households within the project area receive one point;
(b)
projects proposing to serve between one hundred fifty and
two hundred forty-nine unserved households within the project
area receive two points; and
(c)
projects proposing to serve two hundred fifty or more
unserved households within the project area receive three
points;
(4)
the Authority shall give additional points to projects
that will provide broadband service to unserved businesses
located within the eligible economically-distressed county, as
determined by the most recent data published by the Federal
Communications Commission or any other reliable information
available to the Authority. Points are given to projects that
serve unserved businesses within the project area as
follows:
(a)
projects proposing to serve between one and four
businesses receive one point;
(b)
projects proposing to serve between five and ten
businesses receive two points; and
(c)
projects proposing to serve either more than ten
businesses or an agricultural operation, agricultural processing
facility, or a business with thirty-one or more full-time
employees receive three points;
(5)
the Authority shall give additional points to projects
that minimize the infrastructure cost of the proposed project
for each household, based upon information available to the
Authority; and
(6)
projects that will provide minimum download and minimum
upload speeds have the aggregate points given under items (1)
through (5) multiplied by a factor at the level indicated in the
table below:
Minimum Download: Minimum Upload
Score Multiplier
25:3 Mbps.
1.00
100:3 Mbps. or greater
2.00
(G) The office shall
score applications based upon the metrics provided in subsection
(F).
(H) Applications
receiving the highest score receive priority status for the
awarding of grants pursuant to this section. Applicants awarded
grants pursuant to this section shall enter into an agreement
with the Authority. The agreement must contain all of the
elements outlined in subsection (C) and any other provisions the
Authority may require. The agreement must contain a provision
governing the time line and minimum requirements and thresholds
for disbursement of grant funds measured by the progress of the
project. Grant funds must be disbursed only upon verification by
the Authority that the terms of the agreement have been
fulfilled according to the progress milestones contained in the
agreement. At project completion, the grant recipient shall
certify and provide to the Authority evidence consistent with
Federal Communications Commission attestation that the proposed
minimum upstream and minimum downstream broadband speeds
identified in the application guidelines, and for which a base
speed multiplier was awarded pursuant to item (F)(6), are
available throughout the project area before any end user
connections. A single grant award may not exceed two million
dollars. No more than one grant may be awarded each fiscal year
for a project in any one eligible economically-distressed
county.
(I)(1) Grant recipients
are required to provide matching funds based upon the
application scoring pursuant to this section in the following
minimum amounts:
Score Matching
Requirement
7.0 points or less
55%
Greater than 7.0, but less than 14.0 points
50%
Greater than 14.0, but less than 21.0
points 45%
21.0 points or greater
30%
(2)
Federal or state grants or program funds may not be used
for any portion of the matching funds paid by the grant
recipient.
(J) The Authority shall
require that grant recipients offer the proposed advertised
minimum download and minimum upload speeds identified in the
project application for the duration of the five-year service
agreement. At least annually, a grant recipient shall provide to
the Authority evidence consistent with Federal Communications
Commission attestation that the grant recipient is making
available the proposed advertised speed, or a faster speed, as
contained in the grant agreement. For the duration of the
agreement, grant recipients shall disclose any changes to data
caps for the project area that differ from the data caps listed
in the grant application to the Authority.
(K) A grant recipient
shall forfeit the amount of the grant received if it fails to
perform, in material respect, the obligations established in the
agreement. Grant recipients that fail to provide the minimum
advertised connection speed for which a reduction in matching
funds was applied shall forfeit that amount. A grant recipient
that forfeits amounts disbursed pursuant to this section is
liable for the amount disbursed plus interest, computed from the
date of the disbursement. The number of subscribers that
subscribe to broadband services offered by the provider in the
project area may not be a measure of performance pursuant to the
agreement for the purposes of this subsection.
(L) Grant recipients
shall submit to the Office of Regulatory Staff an annual report
for each funded project for the duration of the agreement. The
report must include a summary of the items contained in the
grant agreement and level of attainment for each and also must
include:
(1)
the number of households, businesses, agricultural
operations, and community anchor points that have broadband
access as a result of the project;
(2)
the percentage of end users in the project area who have
access to broadband service and actually subscribe to the
broadband service;
(3)
the average monthly subscription cost for broadband
service in the project area;
(4)
verifiable evidence that retail services are offered at
rates and upon terms and conditions commensurate with those
provided by any incumbent broadband provider operating in the
general area; and
(5)
information related to service outages, customer
complaints, or other such performance data as necessary to
ensure the funding is being used to provide high-quality
service.
(M) The Office of
Regulatory Staff shall submit an annual report to the General
Assembly before September first. The report must contain the
following:
(1)
the number of grant projects applied for and the number of
grant agreements entered into;
(2)
a timeline for each grant agreement and the number of
households, businesses, agricultural operations, and community
anchor points expected to benefit from each agreement;
(3)
the amount of matching funds required for each agreement
and the total amount of investment;
(4)
a summary of areas receiving grants that are now being
provided broadband service and the advertised broadband speeds
for those areas;
(5)
any breaches of agreements, grant fund forfeitures, or
subsequent reductions or refunds of matching funds; and
(6)
any recommendations for the grant program, including
better sources and methods for improving outcomes and
accountability.
(N) Nothing in this
article is intended to regulate the provision of broadband
except as it relates to oversight of providers receiving funds
to provide the services described herein."
SECTION 2. The existing provisions of Chapter 7, Title 59 are designated "Article 1, General Provisions".
SECTION 3. The Rural Infrastructure Authority shall collaborate with the following agencies in implementing the provisions of this act: the Department of Commerce, the Department of Administration, the South Carolina Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office, South Carolina Education Television, and the Department of Transportation.
SECTION 4. No provision of this act changes any rights an entity may have to provide broadband service in this state.
SECTION 5. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor. /
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend title to conform.