SPONSOR: Riggs
COMMITTEE ACTION: Voted "Do Pass with HCS" by the Standing Committee on Utilities by a vote of 9 to 0. Voted "Do Pass" by the Standing Committee on Rules- Administrative Oversight by a vote of 9 to 0.
The following is a summary of the House Committee Substitute for HB 2052.
This bill establishes the "21st Century Missouri Broadband Deployment Task Force". The membership of the Task Force includes: three members of the House of Representatives with two members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and one appointed by the Minority Leader, three members of the Senate with two appointed by the President Pro Tem of the Senate and one appointed by the Minority Leader, and 27 representing various interested parties.
The duties of the Task Force are to evaluate the status of broadband deployment in the state, evaluate the deployment process, and make recommendations about how to best increase broadband Internet deployment to certain residents. The Task Force will make recommendations for legislation as well as submit a report outlining a summary of Task Force activities to the General Assembly before September 30, 2023. At that time the Task Force will suspend operations and reconvene September 30, 2024, to provide updates and review recommendations to be presented by September 30, 2025.
This bill is the similar to HB 1160 (2021).
The following is a summary of the public testimony from the committee hearing. The testimony was based on the introduced version of the bill.
PROPONENTS: Supporters say that the COVID-19 pandemic brought additional light to the necessity of broadband internet. Broadband has become more of a utility than a luxury service. The task force created in the bill would bring stakeholders together to help guide the deployment of broadband funds.
Testifying for the bill were Representative Riggs; Madeline Romious, AT&T; Lumen; Missouri Municipal League; Missouri Association Of Municipal Utilities; Blake Rollins, Missouri Farm Bureau; Missouri Broadband Providers; Missouri Electric Cooperatives; Wisper Internet; Missouri Chamber of Commerce; Missouri State Medical Association; and City Utilities of Springfield. Additional written testimony was submitted in support of the bill.
OPPONENTS: Written testimony was submitted in opposition to the bill.
OTHERS: Others testifying on the bill say that the Department of Economic Development is conducting a gap analysis to assess the broadband needs across the state. The Governor has allocated $400 million to broadband needs and discussed the breakdown of how those funds will be used.
Testifying on the bill was BJ Tanksley, Missouri Department of Economic Development, Office of Broadband Development. Additional written testimony was submitted for informational purposes.
Written testimony has been submitted for this bill. The full written testimony can be found under Testimony on the bill page on the House website.
Statutes affected: