Yesterday the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Broadband, and Rural Development discussed SF5366 – Putnam: Broadband supplemental appropriations and transfers
Governor’s supplemental broadband budget. (I have written about this bill before and have been following the House version HF5231.) They deciced to lay the bill over.

Presentation:

Supplemental budget proposal isn’t asking for more money but asks for permission to shift money among Border to Border, Low Density and Line Extension grant programs based on needs. The areas that are unserved are the hardest and most expensive areas to reach. We need to spend/allocate the state grants so we can take areas-to-be-served off the maps that define eligibility for federal funds. They want to make awards after July 1, 2024.

We need to authorize DEED Commissioner to access/allocate federal funds. Specifically, the recently allocated $12 million from the Digital Equity funds. The next step is to apply for those funds through capacity grants from the feds. MN is also expecting $65 million for broadband deployment.

Questions:

How much money do you want to transfer?
Up to $5 million based on applications received. We get some excellent proposals and look at match. It will just depends on the grants we see.

What area has the greatest need?
The red areas on the map in the presentation are the least served.

Does MN work with neighboring states for federal dollars?
Our broadband grants go to broadband providers, so they are in the better position to partner. But we are working with states to learn together and partnering more with tribal areas.