1.1.................... moves to amend H.F. No. 2976, the delete everything amendment
1.2(H2976DE3), as follows:
1.3Page 14, delete section 1, and insert:

1.4    "Section 1. [116J.394] DEFINITIONS.
1.5(a) For the purposes of sections 116J.394 to 116J.396, the following terms have
1.6the meanings given them.
1.7(b) "Broadband" or "broadband service" has the meaning given in section 116J.39,
1.8subdivision 1, paragraph (b).
1.9(c) "Broadband infrastructure" means networks of deployed telecommunications
1.10equipment and technologies necessary to provide high-speed Internet access and other
1.11advanced telecommunications services for end-users.
1.12(d) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the Department of Employment and
1.13Economic Development.
1.14(e) "Last-mile infrastructure" means broadband infrastructure that serves as the
1.15final leg connecting the broadband service provider's network to the end-use customer's
1.16on-premises telecommunications equipment.
1.17(f) "Middle-mile infrastructure" means broadband infrastructure that links a
1.18broadband service provider's core network infrastructure to last-mile infrastructure.
1.19(g) "Political subdivision" means any county, city, town, school district, special
1.20district or other political subdivision, or public corporation.
1.21(h) "Underserved areas" means areas of Minnesota in which households or businesses
1.22lack access to wireline broadband service at speeds that meet the state broadband goals of
1.23ten to 20 megabits per second download and five to ten megabits per second upload.
1.24(i) "Unserved areas" means areas of Minnesota in which households or businesses
1.25lack access to wireline broadband service at speeds that meet a Federal Communications
1.26Commission threshold of four megabits per second download and one megabit per second
1.27upload."
2.1Page 15, delete section 2 and insert:

2.2    "Sec. 2. [116J.395] BORDER-TO-BORDER BROADBAND DEVELOPMENT
2.3GRANT PROGRAM.
2.4    Subdivision 1. Establishment. A grant program is established under the
2.5commissioner of employment and economic development to award grants to eligible
2.6applicants in order to promote the expansion of access to broadband service in unserved
2.7or underserved areas of the state.
2.8    Subd. 2. Eligible expenditures. Grants may be awarded under this section to fund
2.9the acquisition and installation of middle-mile and last-mile infrastructure that support
2.10broadband service scalable to speeds of at least 100 megabits per second download and
2.11100 megabits per second upload.
2.12    Subd. 3. Eligible applicants. Eligible applicants for grants awarded under this
2.13section include:
2.14(1) an incorporated business or a partnership;
2.15(2) a political subdivision;
2.16(3) an Indian tribe;
2.17(4) a Minnesota nonprofit organization organized under chapter 317A;
2.18(5) a Minnesota cooperative association organized under chapter 308A or 308B; and
2.19(6) a Minnesota limited liability corporation organized under chapter 322B for the
2.20purpose of expanding broadband access.
2.21    Subd. 4. Application process. An eligible applicant must submit an application
2.22to the commissioner on a form prescribed by the commissioner. The commissioner shall
2.23develop administrative procedures governing the application and grant award process.
2.24The commissioner shall act as fiscal agent for the grant program and shall be responsible
2.25for receiving and reviewing grant applications and awarding grants under this section.
2.26    Subd. 5. Application contents. An applicant for a grant under this section shall
2.27provide the following information on the application:
2.28(1) the location of the project;
2.29(2) the kind and amount of broadband infrastructure to be purchased for the project;
2.30(3) evidence regarding the unserved or underserved nature of the community in
2.31which the project is to be located;
2.32(4) the number of households passed that will have access to broadband service as a
2.33result of the project, or whose broadband service will be upgraded as a result of the project;
2.34(5) significant community institutions that will benefit from the proposed project;
2.35(6) evidence of community support for the project;
2.36(7) the total cost of the project;
3.1(8) sources of funding or in-kind contributions for the project that will supplement
3.2any grant award; and
3.3(9) any additional information requested by the commissioner.
3.4    Subd. 6. Awarding grants. (a) In evaluating applications and awarding grants, the
3.5commissioner shall give priority to applications that are constructed in areas identified by
3.6the director of the Office of Broadband Development as unserved.
3.7(b) In evaluating applications and awarding grants, the commissioner may give
3.8priority to applications that:
3.9(1) are constructed in areas identified by the director of the Office of Broadband
3.10Development as underserved;
3.11(2) offer new or substantially upgraded broadband service to important community
3.12institutions, including, but not limited to, libraries, educational institutions, public safety
3.13facilities, and healthcare facilities;
3.14(3) facilitate the use of telemedicine and electronic health records;
3.15(4) serve economically distressed areas of the state, as measured by indices of
3.16unemployment, poverty, or population loss that are significantly greater than the statewide
3.17average;
3.18(5) provide technical support and train residents, businesses, and institutions in the
3.19community served by the project to utilize broadband service;
3.20(6) include a component to actively promote the adoption of the newly available
3.21broadband services in the community;
3.22(7) provide evidence of strong support for the project from citizens, government,
3.23businesses, and institutions in the community;
3.24(8) provide access to broadband service to a greater number of unserved or
3.25underserved households and businesses; or
3.26(9) leverage greater amounts of funding for the project from other private and
3.27public sources.
3.28(c) The commissioner shall endeavor to award grants under this section to qualified
3.29applicants in all regions of the state.
3.30EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment."
3.31Page 17, delete section 3 and insert:

3.32    "Sec. 3. [116J.396] BORDER-TO-BORDER BROADBAND FUND.
3.33    Subdivision 1. Account established. The border-to-border broadband fund account
3.34is established as a separate account in the special revenue fund in the state treasury. The
3.35commissioner shall credit to the account appropriations and transfers to the account.
4.1Earnings, such as interest, dividends, and any other earnings arising from assets of the
4.2account, must be credited to the account. Funds remaining in the account at the end of a
4.3fiscal year are not canceled to the general fund, but remain in the account until expended.
4.4The commissioner shall manage the account.
4.5    Subd. 2. Expenditures. Money in the account may be used only:
4.6(1) for grant awards made under section 116J.395, including up to three percent of
4.7the total amount appropriated for grants awarded under that section for costs incurred by
4.8the Department of Employment and Economic Development to administer that section; or
4.9(2) to supplement revenues raised by bonds sold by local units of government for
4.10broadband infrastructure development.
4.11    Subd. 3. Restrictions. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (c), in any fiscal year, no
4.12more than one-third of the funds expended from the account established in this section
4.13shall be awarded to applicants located in areas whose household density exceeds 100
4.14households per square mile, as determined by the state demographer.
4.15(b) Except as provided in paragraph (c), in any fiscal year, no more than two-thirds
4.16of the funds expended from the account established in this section shall be awarded to
4.17applicants located in areas whose household density is less than100 households per square
4.18mile, as determined by the state demographer.
4.19(c) If applications are insufficient to exhaust all funds available in a given grant
4.20round under the restrictions imposed in paragraph (a) or (b), the unexpended funds may
4.21be awarded to eligible applicants, as determined by the commissioner, irrespective of the
4.22population density of the area in which the applicant is located.
4.23    Subd. 4. Appropriation. Money in the account is appropriated to the commissioner
4.24for the purposes of subdivision 2.
4.25EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment."
4.26Renumber the sections in sequence and correct the internal references
4.27Amend the title accordingly