§ 4-20 — Use of other broadband funds

The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the Office of Broadband, or any other State agency, board, office, or commission appropriated funding to provide grants for broadband deployment, broadband expansion, broadband access, broadband affordability, and broadband improvement projects must establish program eligibility and selection criteria by administrative rules. The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, when evaluating grant applications for the deployment of broadband network, must consider the expediency with which a project can be completed and broadband Internet access service delivered. Projects for which the Department awards grants to deploy broadband service in unserved areas or underserved areas shall include, as a project expense, costs necessarily incurred for the acquisition of any license, easement, right-of-way, or other property interest, or for the use of or for access to public utility (as defined in Section 3-105 of the Public Utilities Act) owned or State or local government owned infrastructure or assets for such project that are used directly in the provision of broadband service to locations in such unserved or underserved areas.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 104-426, eff. 8-15-25.)