A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to make various changes to the statutes regarding broadband deployment with the department of information technology.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 143B‑1373 reads as rewritten:
"§ 143B‑1373.  Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology (GREAT) program.
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(d)	Applications for grants will be submitted at times designated by the Secretary and will include, at a minimum, the following information:
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(15)	A listing of areas in the State that are being provided broadband service by the broadband service provider applying for funds.
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(e)	Applications shall be made publicly available by posting on the Web site of the Department of Information Technology for a period of at least 20 days prior to award. During the 20‑day period, any interested party may submit comments to the Secretary concerning any pending application. A broadband service provider currently providing broadband service in a project area proposed in an application may submit a protest of any application on the grounds the proposed project covers an area that is a protected area under subsection (c) of this section, or that the proposed project area contains ten percent (10%) or more of total households with access to broadband service as defined in this section. Protests shall be submitted in writing, accompanied by all credible and relevant supporting documentation, including specific addresses, and detailed mapping demonstrating that the protesting broadband provider has installed infrastructure sufficient to provide broadband service to the specific addresses provided in the protest, along with an attestation that broadband service is available in the public right‑of‑way at the specific addresses indicated. In addition, the protest shall include a listing of areas in the State that are being provided broadband service by the broadband service provider submitting the protest. The protest shall be considered by the Office in connection with the review of the application. Upon submission of evidence satisfactory to the Office that the proposed project area includes a protected area or prospective broadband recipients that are presently served, as measured using a methodology satisfactory to the Office, the Office may work with an applicant to amend an application to reduce the number of unserved prospective broadband recipients in the project area to reflect an accurate level of current broadband service. The Office may revise application scores in accordance with amended applications; however, the Office may reject any amended application resulting in a lower application score to the extent that the lower score would have impacted the ranking of the application in the initial scoring process. For applications with filed protests, the Secretary shall issue a written decision to the protesting party at least 15 days prior to the approval of that application. Following a protest that is granted for a portion of the application, the Office may release to an applicant the locations or areas declared ineligible. The information released to the applicant is not a public record, as that term is defined under G.S. 132‑1, and shall remain confidential. Any provider submitting a protest shall verify that the information in the protest is accurate and that the protest is submitted in good faith. The Office may deny any protest or application that is incomplete or contains inaccurate information.
As a means of resolving a protest, the Office may utilize speed tests to determine if the protested area or individual households or businesses currently have access to broadband service as defined in this section. The Department shall publish the speed test methodology it uses to assess speed levels pursuant to this section. All decisions regarding the speed test to be utilized and the manner by which the speed tests are applied shall be made by the Secretary or the Secretary's designee.
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(m)	The Office of Broadband Infrastructure in the Department of Information Technology (Office) shall be the designated agency for receipt and disbursement of federal grant funds intended for the State for broadband expansion and shall seek available federal grant funds for that purpose. Federal grant funds received for the purpose of broadband expansion shall be disbursed in accordance with this section, G.S. 143B‑1373.1, or as otherwise directed by an act of the General Assembly. The Office shall serve as the designated agency for the receipt of all State, federal, and private grants, gifts, or matching funds for broadband mapping, as provided by G.S. 143B‑1370(a)(5)h. For the purposes of this subsection, the term "broadband expansion" means a program designed to expand broadband infrastructure or broadband utilization.
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SECTION 2.  Section 38.5 of S.L. 2021‑180, as amended by Section 10.1 of S.L. 2021‑189 and Section 16.1(b) of S.L. 2022‑6, reads as rewritten:
"SECTION 38.5.  The Department of Information Technology shall use the funds appropriated in this act for Stopgap Solutions–Federal Broadband Funds to provide grants to internet service providers, local government entities, and nonprofits for the provision and installation of infrastructure, as that term is defined in G.S. 143B‑1373(a), that will expand the provision of broadband service to unserved and underserved households, businesses, State facilities, and community anchor institutions in this State. The Department shall ensure that grant funds are awarded and utilized in compliance with applicable federal guidelines. No more than five percent (5%) of the funds described in this section may be granted for broadband projects located in any single county."
SECTION 3.  Section 38.4(b) of S.L. 2021‑180, as amended by Section 6(a) of S.L. 2022‑69, reads as rewritten:
"SECTION 38.4.(b)  The Department of Information Technology shall incorporate the intent of the General Assembly as described in subsection (a) of this section in any proposal or application for funding under the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (P.L. 117‑58) for grants in the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program (B.E.A.D.) and the Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program. Of the initial federal B.E.A.D. funds received under the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (P.L. 117‑58) for broadband programs, the Department of Information Technology may utilize (i) up to three percent (3%) of initial B.E.A.D. grant funds for planning purposes, (ii) up to two percent (2%) of initial B.E.A.D. grant funds for administrative purposes, and (iii) any Digital Equity planning and grant funds received by the Department of Information Technology, and these funds are hereby appropriated for those purposes. All other funds received under the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act shall remain unexpended until appropriated by an act of the General Assembly."
SECTION 4.  This act is effective when it becomes law.