Florida Senate - 2012                                    SB 1242
       
       
       
       By Senator Hays
       
       
       
       
       20-01220-12                                           20121242__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to broadband Internet service;
    3         amending s. 364.0135, F.S.; adding to the legislative
    4         findings that the sustainable adoption of broadband
    5         Internet service is critical to community development;
    6         designating the Department of Economic Opportunity
    7         rather than the Department of Management Services as
    8         the agency to receive and manage all federal broadband
    9         initiative funds for the state; requiring the
   10         Department of Economic Opportunity to establish a
   11         public-private partnership to work with certain
   12         private and governmental organizations to oversee
   13         broadband development; revising the oversight
   14         criteria; providing an effective date.
   15  
   16  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   17  
   18         Section 1. Subsections (1) and (2) of section 364.0135,
   19  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
   20         364.0135 Promotion of broadband adoption.—
   21         (1) The Legislature finds that the sustainable adoption of
   22  broadband Internet service is critical to the economic, and
   23  business, and community development of the state and is
   24  beneficial for libraries, schools, colleges and universities,
   25  health care providers, and community organizations. The term
   26  “sustainable adoption” means the ability for communications
   27  service providers to offer broadband services in all areas of
   28  the state by encouraging adoption and utilization levels that
   29  allow for these services to be offered in the free market absent
   30  the need for governmental subsidy.
   31         (2) The Department of Economic Opportunity is the agency
   32  designated to receive and manage all federal funds from the
   33  United States Department of Commerce for state broadband
   34  initiatives and shall establish a public-private partnership
   35  that will Management Services is authorized to work
   36  collaboratively with, and to receive staffing support and other
   37  resources from, Enterprise Florida, Inc., state agencies, local
   38  governments, private businesses, not-for-profit organizations,
   39  and community organizations in order to:
   40         (a) Monitor the adoption of broadband Internet service in
   41  collaboration with communications service providers, including,
   42  but not limited to, wireless and wireline Internet service
   43  providers, to develop geographical information system maps at
   44  the census block tract level which that will, at a minimum:
   45         1. Identify geographic gaps in broadband services,
   46  including areas unserved by any broadband provider and areas
   47  served by a single broadband provider at the census block level
   48  of detail;
   49         2. Identify the download and upload transmission speeds
   50  made available to businesses and individuals in the state, at
   51  the census block tract level of detail, using data rate
   52  benchmarks for broadband service used by the Federal
   53  Communications Commission to reflect different speed tiers; and
   54         3. Provide a baseline assessment of statewide broadband
   55  deployment in terms of percentage of households for which with
   56  broadband access is available availability.
   57         (b) Create a strategic plan, developed through the use of
   58  consumer research into residential and business technology
   59  utilization data, which that has goals and strategies for
   60  increasing the use of broadband Internet service in the state.
   61         (c) Build and facilitate local technology planning teams or
   62  partnerships with members representing cross-sections of the
   63  community, which may include, but are not limited to,
   64  representatives from the following organizations and industries:
   65  libraries, K-12 education, colleges and universities, local
   66  health care providers, private businesses, community
   67  organizations, economic development organizations, local
   68  governments, tourism, parks and recreation, and agriculture.
   69         (d) Encourage the use of broadband Internet service,
   70  especially in the rural, unserved, and underserved communities
   71  of the state through grant programs having effective strategies
   72  to facilitate the statewide deployment of broadband Internet
   73  service. For any grants to be awarded, priority must be given to
   74  projects that:
   75         1. Provide access to broadband education, awareness,
   76  training, access, equipment, and support to libraries, schools,
   77  colleges and universities, health care providers, and community
   78  support organizations.
   79         2. Encourage the sustainable adoption of broadband in
   80  primarily unserved areas by removing barriers to entry.
   81         3. Work toward encouraging investments in establishing
   82  affordable and sustainable broadband Internet service in
   83  unserved areas of the state.
   84         4. Facilitate the development of applications, programs,
   85  and services, including, but not limited to, telework,
   86  telemedicine, and e-learning to increase the usage of, and
   87  demand for, broadband Internet service in the state.
   88         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012.