HOUSE BILL NO. 193                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
     "An Act relating to funding for Internet services for                                                                      
     school districts; and providing for an effective                                                                           
     date."                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
9:03:55 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Olson relayed that the committee had heard the                                                                         
companion bill for HB 193 the previous year.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
9:04:12 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE BRYCE EDGMON, SPONSOR,  relayed that the bill                                                                    
was not new,  and had been through both bodies  and had been                                                                    
the subject  of a joint  session. He noted that  the version                                                                    
that was  in front  of the committee  would do  exactly what                                                                    
the previous  years  version  (SB 140)  proposed to  do. The                                                                    
bill  would take  an existing  state broadband  program (the                                                                    
Broadband Assistance  Grant (BAG)  Program started  in 2014)                                                                    
that  allowed  schools  to apply  matching  funds  with  the                                                                    
School  Universal  Services  Program   at  the  rate  of  10                                                                    
megabytes per second.  In 2020 the rate was  increased to 25                                                                    
megabytes per second.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
Representative Edgmon  continued that  the bill  proposed to                                                                    
provide better  internet services for  schools, particularly                                                                    
in far-flung  areas, and would  increase the  internet speed                                                                    
to 100  megabytes per second.  Smaller schools that  did not                                                                    
have  the ability  for fiber-optic  or  other options  would                                                                    
have the  ability to compete through  an application process                                                                    
for matching monies  of up to $9 in federal  funds for every                                                                    
$1 in state funding.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair   Olson   thought   the   potential   funding   was                                                                    
significant.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Representative Edgmon  relayed that the fiscal  note was not                                                                    
insignificant.  He  explained  that the  note  assumed  that                                                                    
every  applicant would  qualify  and the  maximum amount  of                                                                    
funding would  be drawn upon,  which he did not  think would                                                                    
be the actual  case. He pointed out that the  issue was very                                                                    
time sensitive, and  that at midnight in two  days there was                                                                    
a  federal  deadline  for  schools  to  participate  in  the                                                                    
program.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Hoffman  MOVED to  report HB  193 out  of Committee                                                                    
with individual recommendations  and the accompanying fiscal                                                                    
note. There being NO OBJECTION, it was so ordered.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
HB  193 was  REPORTED out  of committee  with six  "do pass"                                                                    
recommendations and one   no recommendationrecommendation,                                                                      
and  with one  previously published  fiscal impact  note: FN                                                                    
1(EED).                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
9:07:21 AM                                                                                                                    
AT EASE                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
9:08:42 AM                                                                                                                    
RECONVENED