§ 51:2370.7 — Scoring

Louisiana § 51:2370.7

• Jurisdiction: Louisiana
• Title 51: Trade and Commerce

Text

§2370.7. Scoring
Applications shall be scored based upon a system that awards a single point for
criteria considered to be the minimum level for the provision of broadband service with
additional points awarded to criteria that exceed minimum levels. The office shall develop
a scoring system in accordance with the following:
(1) The office shall give additional points based upon the experience, technical
ability, and financial wherewithal of the applicant in successfully deploying and providing
broadband service, as well as the proposed amount of matching funds committed by the
applicant relative to the minimum required amount of twenty percent.
(2) The office shall give additional points to applicants that provide a letter of support
from local government.
(3) The office shall give additional points to projects based upon the estimated
number of unserved households within the eligible economically distressed parish, as
determined by the most recent data published by the Federal Communications Commission
or any other information available to the office.
(4) The office shall give additional points to projects that will provide broadband
service based upon the percentage of the total unserved households within the eligible
economically distressed parish that the project will serve. The number of unserved
households shall be determined using the most recent data published by the Federal
Communications Commission or any other information available to the office.
(5) The office shall give additional points to projects that will provide broadband
service to unserved businesses located within the eligible economically distressed parish, as
determined by the most recent data published by the Federal Communications Commission
or any other information available to the office.
(6) The office shall give additional points based upon the applicant's ability to
leverage its own or nearby or adjacent broadband service infrastructure in the proposed
project area, and shall consider the ultimate price to the consumer in awarding points.
(7) The office shall give additional points to projects receiving funding or in-kind
contributions from local government for eligible projects within the jurisdiction of the local
government.
(8) The office shall give additional points to projects in which the eligible grant
recipient is a small business entrepreneurship certified by the Hudson Initiative, R.S. 39:2001
et seq., or the Veteran Initiative, R.S. 39:2171 et seq., in accordance with rules promulgated
by the office.
(9) The office shall give additional points to projects in which the eligible grant
recipient commits to a good faith subcontracting plan to contract with or employ a small
business entrepreneurship certified by the Hudson Initiative, R.S. 39:2001 et seq., or the
Veteran Initiative, R.S. 39:2171 et seq., to substantially participate in the performance of the
project, in accordance with rules promulgated by the office.
(10) The office shall not consider the format of mapping data provided by a
broadband provider evaluating a grant proposal.

Legislative History

Acts 2021, No. 477, §1, eff. July 1, 2021; Acts 2023, No. 383, §3A.