Florida Senate - 2021                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for SB 1592
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì430276.Î430276                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  04/20/2021           .                                
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       The Committee on Appropriations (Burgess) recommended the
       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. This act may be cited as the “Florida Broadband
    6  Deployment Act of 2021.”
    7         Section 2. Section 364.0137, Florida Statutes, is created
    8  to read:
    9         364.0137Attachment of broadband facilities to municipal
   10  electric utility poles.—
   11         (1)The Legislature finds that there is a need for
   12  increased availability of broadband Internet access throughout
   13  this state, particularly in areas where residents do not have
   14  access to acceptable Internet download and upload speeds, or any
   15  access at all. The lack of Internet connectivity and widespread
   16  broadband availability is detrimental to the growth of the
   17  economy, access to telehealth, and educational opportunities.
   18  The federal government has provided vast resources for private
   19  cable and other broadband providers to expand the deployment of
   20  broadband infrastructure in areas where Internet access and
   21  broadband service are inadequate or nonexistent.
   22         (2)As used in this section, the term:
   23         (a)“Broadband provider” means a person or an entity who
   24  provides fixed broadband service.
   25         (b)“Broadband service” means a service that provides high
   26  speed access to the Internet at a rate of at least 25 megabits
   27  per seconds for downloading and at least 3 megabits per second
   28  for uploading.
   29         (c)“Underserved” means that retail access to the Internet
   30  is not available at speeds of at least 25 megabits per seconds
   31  for downloading and 3 megabits per second for uploading.
   32         (d)“Unserved” means that retail access to the Internet is
   33  not available at speeds of at least 10 megabits per seconds for
   34  downloading and 1 megabit per second for uploading.
   35         (e)“Wireline attachment” means a wire or cable and
   36  associated equipment affixed to a utility pole in the
   37  communications space of the pole.
   38         (3)From July 1, 2021, to July 1, 2024, a municipal
   39  electric utility shall provide a broadband provider with a
   40  promotional rate of $1 per wireline attachment per pole per year
   41  for any new attachment necessary to make service available to an
   42  unserved or underserved end user within the municipal electric
   43  utility’s service territory during such time period.
   44         (a)A broadband provider that wishes to make wireline
   45  attachments subject to the promotional rate shall submit an
   46  application, including a route map, to the municipal electric
   47  utility specifying which wireline attachments on which utility
   48  poles are necessary to extend broadband service to unserved or
   49  underserved end users and therefore qualify for the promotional
   50  rate under this subsection, together with such information
   51  necessary to identify which unserved or underserved end users
   52  within the municipal electric utility’s service territory will
   53  have access to broadband service as a result. The broadband
   54  provider shall also submit a copy of such application and plan
   55  simultaneously to the Office of Broadband within the Department
   56  of Economic Opportunity.
   57         (b)A municipal electric utility shall report to the Office
   58  of Broadband which connections on which utility poles were made
   59  available to broadband providers subject to the promotional
   60  rate, together with any information available to it regarding
   61  which of its municipal electric utility customers do and do not
   62  have access to broadband service and whether they are unserved
   63  or underserved.
   64         (c)A broadband provider who makes an application to attach
   65  under the promotional rate shall make all reasonable efforts to
   66  make broadband service available to the unserved or underserved
   67  municipal electric utility customers identified in the
   68  application. If the broadband provider fails to make broadband
   69  service available to those customers within 12 months, the
   70  broadband provider may be required to pay the prevailing rate
   71  for those attachments that failed to make broadband service
   72  available to the intended customers.
   73         (d)Except to the extent provided in this section, wireline
   74  attachments subject to the promotional rate must conform to all
   75  other terms and conditions of existing pole attachment
   76  agreements between the broadband provider and the municipal
   77  electric utility. If no such agreement exists, the parties have
   78  90 days to enter into a pole attachment agreement for all other
   79  terms and conditions of attachment.
   80         (4)The local technology planning teams within the Office
   81  of Broadband shall work with rural communities to help the
   82  communities determine their current broadband availability,
   83  locate unserved and underserved customers, identify assets
   84  relevant to broadband deployment, build partnerships with
   85  broadband service providers, and identify opportunities to
   86  leverage assets and reduce barriers to the deployment of public
   87  and private broadband service in the community. In fiscally
   88  constrained counties, the teams or partnerships must be
   89  proactive in identifying and providing assistance with applying
   90  for federal grants for broadband service.
   91         (5)All wireline attachments must comply, at a minimum,
   92  with the safety and engineering standards for pole attachments
   93  specified in the National Electrical Safety Code. A municipal
   94  electric utility may adopt publicly available, reasonable, and
   95  nondiscriminatory safety and engineering standards for the
   96  protection of the public health, safety, or welfare which exceed
   97  specifications in the National Electrical Safety Code. If a
   98  municipality has adopt or adopts such standards that exceed such
   99  specification in the national Electrical Safety Code, the
  100  broadband provider must meet the stricter standards.
  101         (6)If the municipal electric utility is required to
  102  replace a utility pole due to a broadband provider’s attachment,
  103  the municipal electric utility may require, as a condition of
  104  pole attachment, a broadband provider to reimburse all
  105  reasonable and nondiscriminatory costs attributable solely to
  106  the new attachment minus the salvage value of the removed pole,
  107  if such value is positive. The municipal electric utility may
  108  not require a utility pole to be replaced to accommodate a
  109  broadband provider’s attachment except where necessary to comply
  110  with applicable engineering and safety standards. With respect
  111  to such replacement poles, if pole replacement is necessary to
  112  correct an existing violation, to bring the pole into compliance
  113  with any changes in applicable standards, or because the pole is
  114  at the end of its useful life, such replacement cost may not be
  115  charged to the broadband provider. As used in this subsection,
  116  the term “useful life” means not less than 30 years for a wood
  117  utility pole and not less than 50 years for a concrete, steel,
  118  or ductile iron pole and all other utility poles.
  119         (7)A municipal electric utility may not increase the fees
  120  charged to broadband providers for pole attachments made between
  121  July 1, 2021, and July 31, 2022.
  122         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.
  123  
  124  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  125  And the title is amended as follows:
  126         Delete everything before the enacting clause
  127  and insert:
  128                        A bill to be entitled                      
  129         An act relating to broadband Internet infrastructure;
  130         providing a short title; creating s. 364.0137, F.S.;
  131         providing legislative findings; defining terms;
  132         requiring municipal electric utilities to provide a
  133         specified promotional rate to broadband providers for
  134         wireline attachments made in unserved or underserved
  135         areas within the utility’s service area; requiring the
  136         broadband provider to submit an application that meets
  137         certain requirements to receive the promotional rate;
  138         requiring municipal electric utilities to provide
  139         certain information regarding connections made
  140         available to broadband providers to the Office of
  141         Broadband within the Department of Economic
  142         Opportunity; providing requirements for the
  143         promotional rate; requiring the local technology
  144         planning teams within the office to provide support to
  145         rural communities regarding broadband service
  146         availability; requiring wireline attachments to comply
  147         with certain safety and engineering standards;
  148         authorizing a municipal electric utility to require a
  149         broadband provider to reimburse the electric utility
  150         for the replacement of utility poles under certain
  151         circumstances; defining the term “useful life”;
  152         prohibiting a municipal electric utility from
  153         increasing pole attachment fees during a specified
  154         timeframe; providing an effective date.