Florida Senate - 2021 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for SB 1592
Ì430276.Î430276
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
.
.
.
.
.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
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:
9 364.0137 Attachment 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.