Bill Text: IA SF2400 | 2019-2020 | 88th General Assembly | Enrolled

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Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to broadband service, including matters under the purview of the office of the chief information officer, the empower rural Iowa broadband grant fund, and certain broadband infrastructure tax exemptions, and including effective date and retroactive applicability provisions. (Formerly SF 2262, SSB 3112.) Effective date: 06/25/2020. Applicability date: 07/01/2015.

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Passed) 2020-06-25 - Signed by Governor. S.J. 864. [SF2400 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2019-SF2400-Enrolled.html

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Senate File 2400 - Enrolled
Senate File 2400
AN ACT
RELATING TO BROADBAND SERVICE, INCLUDING MATTERS UNDER THE
PURVIEW OF THE OFFICE OF THE CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER,
THE EMPOWER RURAL IOWA BROADBAND GRANT FUND, AND CERTAIN
BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE TAX EXEMPTIONS, AND INCLUDING
EFFECTIVE DATE AND RETROACTIVE APPLICABILITY PROVISIONS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
Section 1. Section 8B.1, subsections 5, 13, and 14, Code
2020, are amended to read as follows:
5. “Facilitate” means a communication service provider’s
ability to provide broadband service at or above the download
and upload speeds specified in the definition of targeted
service area in this section or section 8B.11, subsection
5, paragraph “a” , if applicable, to a home, farm, school,
or business within a commercially reasonable time and at a
commercially reasonable price upon request by a consumer.
13. “Targeted service area” means a any of the following:
a. A United States census bureau census block located
in this state, including any crop operation located within
the census block, or other geographic unit the office sets
by rule, within which no communications service provider
offers or facilitates broadband service at or above the

Senate File 2400, p. 2
download and upload speeds identified by the federal
communications commission pursuant to section 706 of the
federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, as amended.
b. Any geographic area, as the office sets by rule, that
is materially underserved by broadband service such that
the download and upload speeds identified by the federal
communications commission pursuant to section 706 of the
federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, as amended, of the
broadband service in the geographic area are not meaningfully
available. The office’s power to determine the geographic
area by rule under this paragraph includes the power to define
and interpret standards as to whether a geographic area is
materially underserved and broadband service is meaningfully
available.
14. “Underserved area” means any portion of a targeted
service area within which no communications service provider
offers or facilitates broadband service meeting the download
and upload speeds specified in the definition of targeted
service area in this section .
Sec. 2. Section 8B.4, Code 2020, is amended by adding the
following new subsection:
NEW SUBSECTION . 17A. Provide technical assistance to
communications service providers related to grant applications
under section 8B.11.
Sec. 3. Section 8B.9, subsection 5, Code 2020, is amended
to read as follows:
5. An annual report regarding the status of broadband
expansion and coordination, the connecting Iowa farms, schools,
and communities empower rural Iowa broadband grant program
established under section 8B.11 , and the adequacy of the speed
set in the definition of targeted service area in section 8B.1 .
Sec. 4. Section 8B.10, subsection 1, Code 2020, is amended
to read as follows:
1. The determination of whether a communications service
provider offers or facilitates broadband service meeting the
download and upload speeds specified in the definition of
targeted service area in section 8B.1 shall be determined
or ascertained by reference to broadband availability maps

Senate File 2400, p. 3
or data sources that are widely accepted for accuracy and
available for public review and comment and that are identified
by the office by rule. The office shall periodically make
renewed determinations of whether a communications service
provider offers or facilitates broadband service at or above
the download and upload speeds specified in the definition of
targeted service area in section 8B.1 , which shall, to the
extent updated maps and data sources are available at the time,
include making such determinations prior to each round of grant
applications solicited by the office pursuant to section 8B.11 .
Sec. 5. Section 8B.10, Code 2020, is amended by adding the
following new subsection:
NEW SUBSECTION . 3. All findings and determinations made
pursuant to this section shall exclude mobile wireless or
satellite data, capabilities, and delivery mediums.
Sec. 6. Section 8B.11, subsection 1, Code 2020, is amended
to read as follows:
1. The office shall administer a broadband grant program
designed to reduce or eliminate unserved and underserved
areas in the state, leveraging federal funds and public and
private partnerships where possible, by awarding grants to
communications service providers that reduce or eliminate
targeted service areas by installing broadband infrastructure
that facilitates broadband service in targeted service areas
at or above the download and upload speeds specified in the
definition of targeted service area in section 8B.1 subsection
5 , in accordance with this section .
Sec. 7. Section 8B.11, subsection 2, paragraphs a and b,
Code 2020, are amended to read as follows:
a. A connecting Iowa farms, schools, and communities An
empower rural Iowa broadband grant fund is established in
the state treasury under the authority of the office. The
fund shall consist of moneys available to and obtained or
accepted by the office. Moneys in the fund are appropriated
to the office to be used for the grant program , including for
broadband mapping and the administration and operation of the
grant program .
b. The office shall use moneys in the fund to provide grants
to communications service providers pursuant to this section .

Senate File 2400, p. 4
The office may use not more than one percent of the moneys in
the fund at the beginning of the fiscal year to pay the costs
and expenses associated with the administration and operation
of the grant program. The office shall use moneys in the fund
to leverage available federal moneys if possible.
Sec. 8. Section 8B.11, subsection 2, Code 2020, is amended
by adding the following new paragraph:
NEW PARAGRAPH . d. Notwithstanding paragraph “c” or any
provision to the contrary, moneys in the fund that have been
awarded but not paid to a communications service provider
shall not revert but shall remain available to the office for
purposes of administering the award in a manner consistent with
the terms and conditions of any corresponding contract or grant
agreement governing the administration of the award.
Sec. 9. Section 8B.11, subsection 3, Code 2020, is amended
to read as follows:
3. Communications service providers may apply to the office
for a grant pursuant to this section for the installation
of broadband infrastructure that facilitates broadband
service in targeted service areas at or above the download
and upload speeds specified in the definition of targeted
service area in section 8B.1 subsection 5 . The office may,
by rule, increase the minimum download and upload speeds
for grant eligibility pursuant to this section . The office
shall include representatives from schools, communities,
agriculture, industry, and other areas as appropriate to review
and recommend grant awards. The office shall conduct an open
application review process that includes the opportunity
for the public to submit factual information as part of a
validation process to address claims that a targeted service
area is currently served with broadband service at or above
the download and upload speeds specified in the definition
of targeted service area in section 8B.1 subsection 5 . Upon
completion of the validation process, the office may modify
a proposed targeted service area to account for information
received during the validation process. The office shall make
available a public internet site identifying all publicly
available information contained in the applications, the
members of the review committee, a summary of the review

Senate File 2400, p. 5
committee’s recommended results, and any results of performance
testing conducted after the project is completed.
Sec. 10. Section 8B.11, subsection 4, paragraph a,
unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2020, is amended to read as
follows:
The office shall award grants on a competitive basis for
the installation of broadband infrastructure that facilitates
broadband service in targeted service areas at or above the
download and upload speeds specified in the definition of
targeted service area in section 8B.1 subsection 5 , after
considering the following:
Sec. 11. Section 8B.11, subsection 4, paragraph a,
subparagraph (2), Code 2020, is amended to read as follows:
(2) The applicant’s total proposed budget for the project,
including the all of the following:
(a) The amount or percentage of local or federal matching
funds, if any, and any funding obligations shared between
public and private entities , and the .
(b) The percentage of funding provided directly from the
applicant , including whether the applicant requested from the
office an amount less than the maximum amount the office could
award pursuant to subsection 5 and, if so, the percentage of
the project cost that the applicant is requesting .
Sec. 12. Section 8B.11, subsection 5, Code 2020, is amended
to read as follows:
5. The office shall not award a grant pursuant to this
section that exceeds fifteen thirty-five percent of the
communications service provider’s project cost. The total
amount of the grants the office awards from the empower rural
Iowa broadband grant fund pursuant to this section shall be as
follows:
a. For projects that will result in the installation of
broadband infrastructure that will facilitate broadband service
providing a minimum download speed less than one hundred
megabits per second but greater than or equal to the download
speed specified in the definition of targeted service area
in section 8B.1, and a minimum upload speed less than twenty
megabits per second but greater than or equal to the upload
speed specified in the definition of targeted service area in

Senate File 2400, p. 6
section 8B.1, the total amount of the grants the office awards
shall not exceed fifty percent of the moneys in the fund at the
beginning of the fiscal year. However, if the amount requested
for projects that facilitate broadband service at the speeds
described in paragraph “b” for the fiscal year is less than the
amount reserved for projects under paragraph “b” , the office may
award the difference to projects under this paragraph for the
same fiscal year.
b. For projects that will result in the installation of
broadband infrastructure that will facilitate broadband service
providing a minimum download speed of one hundred megabits
per second and a minimum upload speed of twenty megabits per
second, the total amount of the grants the office awards shall
not exceed fifty percent of the moneys in the fund at the
beginning of the fiscal year. However, if the amount requested
for projects that facilitate broadband service at the speeds
described in paragraph “a” for the fiscal year is less than the
amount reserved for projects under paragraph “a” , the office may
award the difference to projects under this paragraph for the
same fiscal year.
Sec. 13. Section 427.1, subsection 40, paragraph b, Code
2020, is amended to read as follows:
b. The exemption shall apply to the installation of
broadband infrastructure that facilitates broadband service
at or above the download and upload speeds specified in the
definition of targeted service area in section 8B.1 commenced
and completed on or after July 1, 2015, and before July 1,
2025, in a targeted service area, and used to deliver internet
services to the public. A person claiming an exemption under
this subsection shall certify to the local assessor prior to
commencement of the installation that the installation of
broadband infrastructure will facilitate broadband service
at or above the download and upload speeds specified in the
definition of targeted service area in section 8B.1 within a
targeted service area and shall specify the current number
of homes, farms, schools, and businesses in the targeted
service area that were offered to which broadband service was
facilitated and the download and upload speeds available prior
to the broadband infrastructure installation for which the

Senate File 2400, p. 7
exemption is claimed and the number of homes, farms, schools,
and businesses in the targeted service area that will be
offered to which broadband service will be facilitated and the
download and upload speeds that will be available as a result
of installation of the broadband infrastructure for which the
exemption is claimed.
Sec. 14. Section 427.1, subsection 40, paragraph f,
subparagraph (1), subparagraph division (d), Code 2020, is
amended to read as follows:
(d) Certification from the office of the chief information
officer pursuant to section 8B.10 that the installation will
facilitate broadband service at or above the download and
upload speeds specified in the definition of targeted service
area in section 8B.1 in a targeted service area.
Sec. 15. 2019 Iowa Acts, chapter 136, section 6, subsection
1, is amended to read as follows:
1. There is appropriated from the general fund of the state
to the office of the chief information officer for the fiscal
year beginning July 1, 2019, and ending June 30, 2020, the
following amount, or so much thereof as is necessary, to be
used for the purposes designated:
For deposit in the connecting Iowa farms, schools, and
communities empower rural Iowa broadband grant fund established
under section 8B.11 for a broadband grant program; and for
salaries, support, maintenance, and miscellaneous purposes:
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 5,000,000
Sec. 16. PUBLIC HEALTH DISASTER EMERGENCY
GRANTS. Notwithstanding section 8B.11 and any rules adopted
by the office of the chief information officer pursuant to
chapter 8B, the office of the chief information officer may
provide grants of federal moneys obtained as a result of the
public health disaster emergency proclaimed by the governor on
March 17, 2020, to communications service providers to install
broadband infrastructure in this state or facilitate broadband
service in this state so long as the office of the chief
information officer complies with the federal requirements for
the use of the federal moneys.
Sec. 17. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act, being deemed of
immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.

Senate File 2400, p. 8
Sec. 18. RETROACTIVE APPLICABILITY. The following applies
retroactively to July 1, 2015:
The section of this Act enacting section 8B.11, subsection
2, paragraph “d”.
______________________________ ______________________________
CHARLES SCHNEIDER PAT GRASSLEY
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that this bill originated in the Senate and
is known as Senate File 2400, Eighty-eighth General Assembly.
______________________________
W. CHARLES SMITHSON
Secretary of the Senate
Approved _______________, 2020 ______________________________
KIM REYNOLDS
Governor